X61 SXGA+ mod cable

[trmsw]

I tried the mod and totally screwed the stock X61 LCD cable.

I know that feeling well! If you can wait - and as long as I don't mess them up - I'll have three more cables for sale at the end of January.

[Raceboy]

There are two types of LCD cables (besides the BT option), one has the GND and +3.3V lines arranged a bit better for separating than the other and it is easy to cut through the 3.3V line on the worse one.

[zoob]

Might be a silly Q. How do you take off the plastic connector? I got my hands on a spare LCD cable and am interested in trying this out.

[trmsw]

The plastic connector is two parts: the pin housing (which goes inside the socket), and a handle half grips the cable (and stays outside the socket). The ears on either side are what grip the cable most strongly.

In this picture you can see the bottom face of the connector (well, as similar one) and the two parts: the housing is below and the handle is above, with a gap in between the two.

What I do is lift or completely remove the handle part.

There's no glue, so you can use a knife to lift the handle to loosen its grip. In fact you can remove it entirely, get the cable out, and put it back when you reassemble the connector.

hth,

[trmsw]

I have some newly-modded cables for sale - pm me if you're interested. Thanks!

[beeblebrox]

I have some newly-modded cables for sale - pm me if you're interested. Thanks!

Tom,
I have one of your cables here and am having problems.
The cable only works sporadically, most of the time the thinkpad would not boot or would shut down immediately. Now even the inverter LEDs do not light up. Is it a problem in the cable or at the connector? I think it is in the cable since the inverter LEDs won't work even without a connected LCD.

Mainboard is fine and just work great with a regular CCFL assembly.
The middleton BIOS was flashed but I pulled the CMOS battery. Is it gone now or do I have to flash again? Can you help?

Cheers.

[trmsw]

The cable is probably damaged. Since the inverter LEDs don't light up it's likely that the damage is between the motherboard connector and the cable switch: it's the first branch after the motherboard connector and it's easy to tear - being small, awkward, apparently pointless and attached to a reinforced part of the cable. I once bought a bit batch of used cables and more than two thirds were useless because this little tag had got torn.
When you say that the thinkpad won't boot I assume that you are also checking the VGA output, not just that the screen is blank?

[flyingfishfinger]

Question here! I'm about to try this mod on my X61 cable (I may have already broken my cable by bending it too far near the LCD-side plug, but that remains to be seen) but my cable does not look like the one described in the first post.

The link to the back side photo of the cable is dead, but I'm assuming this is what's being referred to: http://7c04b141459380c00194-e47feb96920 ... _NC3-2.JPG. The back of my cable does not look like that. It does not have threee wide areas (not an issue), but more importantly there is no room between pins 3 and 4, so it will be almost impossible to make a cut there.

Has anyone else had a cable like this before? If this isn't enough info, I can post a picture later.

I think I can still do the mod (very carefully), but I'm wondering what I'm looking at here..

R

[wileE]

I like using these http://www.pchub.com/uph/laptop/503-486 ... erter.html better.
Changing the pinout is fairly easy.

[flyingfishfinger]

What exactly is that cable? I heard mention of it before...

R

[radio303]

hello,

the pchub adapter still in stock, but I couldn't follow if it is suitable for the mod- any ideas?

[flyingfishfinger]

It seems like this is how it's used:

http://thinkwiki.de/(X6x)_SXGA%2B-Displ ... %C3%BCsten

PS: AFAIK, it looks out of stock to me...

[Bibin]

I soldered such an adapter myself just now, and did the SXGA+ bios mod. The panel works great, but it is still being sent an XGA signal in the top-left corner, after the bios mod. Before the flashed bios the screen was flickering, and after the only change is it is a stable XGA image. Is there anything I missed? Do any LCD pins need to be tied to ground or something to indicate SXGA+?

Here is what it looks like now: http://i.imgur.com/Ytg8cTy.jpg

Resolved: I soldered in the EDID pins I had neglected and all is well now.

[flyingfishfinger]

Cool. I ordered one of the cables, let's see if / when it shows up...

R

[axur-delmeria]

Dang. My SXGA panel cracked while I was cutting the metal tabs. T_T

On a related note, the backlight on my aunt's X60 is getting dim. Can I salvage the CCFL from the Boe-Hydis and transplant it to a non-IPS LCD panel?

[Bibin]

Dang. My SXGA panel cracked while I was cutting the metal tabs. T_T

On a related note, the backlight on my aunt's X60 is getting dim. Can I salvage the CCFL from the Boe-Hydis and transplant it to a non-IPS LCD panel?

Next time you try, if you do, remove the metal frame, then do the cutting work there.

You can swap the CCFLs, yes.

Also, if you end up using a Boe-Hydis XGA panel, it's easier to swap the Boe-Hydis LCD into the original XGA panel / assembly, and then it mounts properly without any ghetto stuff.

[axur-delmeria]

Thanks for the CCFL advice. I'll do it once my aunt's X60 is free for a week.

I may have to scout for a spare panel in case I mess up horribly and break that one as well. >_<

~~
I'm not trying the SXGA+ mod again unless I find a bargain on the screen.

It was part of a package deal of 3 battered X61 Tablets, and the sole SXGA+ panel had cracks on the protective glass, making it a natural candidate for the mod.

I ended up having 2 working X61 Tablets and various parts from the third.
The third's planar board later became a weird Frankenpad inside an X60s chassis.

My current project is to somehow insert a webcam module inside one of the remaining X61Ts.
I've scavenged cameras from the dead laptops in my possession, all i need is to figure out the connector pinout (information is very scarce, almost all data came from trial and error) then the wiring.

Additional finding:
As I was mucking around after the incident, I discovered that #30 AWG solid wire (wire-wrapping wire) fits perfectly on the holes of the female DF19 connector.

Which means it may be possible to do the mod without soldering --> the wires' ends are stripped and inserted into the proper holes, put a little hot-melt glue, and pray to the heavens that it will hold.

The other ends are then crimped to the DF19 connector that will plug to the LCD panel.

[FryPpy]

Additional finding:
As I was mucking around after the incident, I discovered that #30 AWG solid wire (wire-wrapping wire) fits perfectly on the holes of the female DF19 connector.

Which means it may be possible to do the mod without soldering --> the wires' ends are stripped and inserted into the proper holes, put a little hot-melt glue, and pray to the heavens that it will hold.

The other ends are then crimped to the DF19 connector that will plug to the LCD panel.

Another hints.
If you get complete LCD assembly from tablet (i have done this for better transportation) you can get tablet LCD cable. It have DF19 connector crimp to wires (not soldered to flex PCB). And it is good starting point to make this adapter cable.
Other way is to desolder connector from old XGA (non IPS) and solder it to small PCB and solder wires from tablet LCD cable. It needs soldering skills but it is more solid then gluing.

PS
When i done my mod on X61 i have turned LCD connector LCD cable downwards and fixed it with kapton tape. So the adapter cable connects from bottom and wires goes to the right and up to LCD connector. If it is possible to insert wires in LCD connector wires can be fixed to connector and LCD cable with kapton tape too.

[flyingfishfinger]

If you get complete LCD assembly from tablet (i have done this for better transportation) you can get tablet LCD cable. It have DF19 connector crimp to wires (not soldered to flex PCB). And it is good starting point to make this adapter cable.

Easier said than done. Im trying this method right now, turns out each individual wire is actually a minuscule coax cable with ground strands surrounding it. I have yet to find a good way of removing both the outer and inner insulation to get at the core without damaging it. Will report back later.

R

[Bibin]

Additional finding:
As I was mucking around after the incident, I discovered that #30 AWG solid wire (wire-wrapping wire) fits perfectly on the holes of the female DF19 connector.

Which means it may be possible to do the mod without soldering --> the wires' ends are stripped and inserted into the proper holes, put a little hot-melt glue, and pray to the heavens that it will hold.

The other ends are then crimped to the DF19 connector that will plug to the LCD panel.

Another hints.
If you get complete LCD assembly from tablet (i have done this for better transportation) you can get tablet LCD cable. It have DF19 connector crimp to wires (not soldered to flex PCB). And it is good starting point to make this adapter cable.
Other way is to desolder connector from old XGA (non IPS) and solder it to small PCB and solder wires from tablet LCD cable. It needs soldering skills but it is more solid then gluing.

PS
When i done my mod on X61 i have turned LCD connector LCD cable downwards and fixed it with kapton tape. So the adapter cable connects from bottom and wires goes to the right and up to LCD connector. If it is possible to insert wires in LCD connector wires can be fixed to connector and LCD cable with kapton tape too.

I used the female plug off of the old XGA panel to make this:

http://i.imgur.com/924kbUM.jpg

Mod edit: picture too big, tags removed.
Please adhere to the Forum rules, Section 5!

[flyingfishfinger]

I think I broke my original LCD cable I accidentally bent it right by the connector while plugging it into the PCBHub adapter, which I think broke some of the joints between it and the connector end. I get all sorts of interesting colors when I attach it now, mostly a completely yellow background (this is with the original screen, I haven't modified the adapter yet)...
I will do the mod and see if I get the same interesting colors on the SXGA panel, but I'm thinking I need a new cable assembly Does anyone here have one on the cheap by any chance?

R

PS: Sorry if this is cross-posting, I want to keep this thread "clean" for cable discussions. See my specific results in my "$500..."thread.

[vavet]

I have couple of modifies sxga+ cables with missing hall effect sensor.
It means it won't detect closing of the lid. otherwise they should be fine.

[flyingfishfinger]

What's the difference between FRUs 93P4535 and 91P4535? The HMM says I need a 93P4535, the cable I physically have says 91P4535. Interchangeable?

R