Ok, the backlight has been installed and i didn’t screw up the LCD, BUT, first things first turbo charged warning here;
Firstly, the reflector guard has like zero clearance, so once the lights are removed it may not easily be reinstalled.
Second, a 10W backlight is not as bright as the original 50W one. I dont think its even close. But, and now we can slow down now, i wasnt able to use the reflector so the LED strips are about 4mm from the LCD where they would have been anyway, but currently are without a reflector and light may be being lost in my setup, it could be that the 10W leds are just as strong as the 50W cffls. In retrospect though, i probably could have rigged something up pulling the reflector out since it was only plastic sheeting.

Continue reading Success! Its alive, LED backlight is installed and working in a wacom cintiq 24HD →

Ok, a quick update.

I got the old removed CCFL tubes to work, without a signal input both the LED and the CCFLs operate at 100% power, and i have identified a potential problem, while both are overwhelmingly bright, the CCFLs are running at 24v 2.2A, while the LEDs 12v 800mA tops, which a crude comparison gives me 50W and 10W and i dont know how the output efficiency differs between the two. I cant really safely do a side by side comparison of the outputs, especially since i dont want the CCFLs on the same circuit and potentially compromising it. Both are bright enough that its not really worthwhile to really test which is actually brighter, taking that aforementioned risk.

Currently im in the process of building the LEDs into the special reflector guards for the tubes, i want to keep the reflective sheet in tact so most likely  i think i will be just 3D printing something which the LEDs can slide into, which fits in the slot, and can accomodate a pin of sorts that goes through the holes which previously fastened the silicone into  the guard also. It doesnt look like the LEDs themselves will ever get hot enough that this will pose any threat to printed holders integrity. But, before i do that i might just see what happens if i try hotgluing the LEDs in there, as that would be much quicker, and doesnt really do any harm. in the attempt, especially if i use the non-tacky glue which is more suited as filler material than as a glue since it peels off everything.

One important thing to take from this is, with LED kits, you dont need to have a compatible brightness signal, just bridge the brightness and power in with a 5-20kohm resistor, the higher the better (actually mohm may work too since just touching 12v with one hand and the wire going to the brighness pin is enough across your skin), and it will automatically sit at 100% brightness, and as is the case with most LED kits, often they are a total let down, i highly recommend that you just buy a nice cheap high powered dense packed LED bar or thick powerful backlight LED strip on its own, and just do the brightness control on your own, or with a standalone controller/regulator which takes PWM. The garbage they pair together is, together, not worth it when you have the option of something heavy duty instead for a few bucks more.

Ill have to confirm it by checking the component specs, listing description and then actually running it at 24v to see if it can directly run off 24v instead of the usual 12v, make sure the driver isnt overheating even though its in-spec.

If it works fine, i have a few challenges ahead of me; first, the fragile and tiny LED strip needs to be properly mounted in the reflector shield/case for the light tubes. In all likelyhood i can probably pot it and either end and run a little wire through to keep it fixed, plus glue the strip to the back of the reflector with thermal paste.

Continue reading LED Kit arrived →

This is just a quick entry to mention that i have taken the monitor apart and extracted the CCFL tubes.
I have come to a few conclusions, i dont have much time to elaborate so ill just list them.

• The tape holding the monitor together should just be cut along the tear line, dont bother with untaping it, the adhesive wont reapply most of the time anyway.
• The monitor is held together with clips on the long ends and friction, plate on plate, on the short ends. the clips CAN be non-destructively unclipped and keep the monitor VERY secure.
• The Tape is probably just to keep dust out from getting at the backlight high voltage leads, if you are using an LED replacement kit you dont even need to replace it. If you are replacing the tubes, then you can replace it wil pretty much anything as long as that compartment is airtight.
• Inside the monitor there are plastic sheets, the main one making noise is a seperator sheet keeping the white background on the LCD and the touch sensor array apart, dont worry about it, its like 3mm thick plastic double sided taped to circuit board. Nothing important is glued to each other inside and the tubes are also very secure, the monitor will easily come apart, but DO NOT apply force to any glass/crystaline parts, ensure all levering is done on the frame and visible components only
• Remove the plastic shell asap, its not neccesary and can easily break if mishandled. It offers no physical/useable support whatsoever.
• Lastly,  you cant pull the monitor apart, you need to lever it apart, however while not quite apparent, you can do it entirely through the holes in the side  frame, levering off the threading that normally sticks through said holes, its the only safe way to apply even force and lift the backplate, ill provide images and diagrams later.

As of yet since i have taken so many parts off i havent been able to run the monitor yet to see if i possibly broke it.

Still, i have ordered a 540mm LED CCFL conversion kit off aliexpress, the slot to fill is 11x7mm, and no diffusion lens seems to be used, although some sheeting exists that reflects light shon into the screen, the lights just shine in the LCD glass through the side, which is very thick and seems to make up allot of the product weight.
Because of this, underpowered LED strips might leave impressions in the lighting consistency.
In all likelyhood i will probably need to use my own driver for the LEDs