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n cook n cook is offline
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Default Retrofit LCD display light - any tips?

Arfa Daily wrote in message
...

"N Cook" wrote in message
...
Kit often used in bad lighting and no built in illumination , gooseneck
illuminator would be awkward.
Complex 2 inch square one with only zebra spacing, so indirect side
illumination. Intend 2 bright white 5mm LEDs angled into the LCD glass

or
would some thin translucent white perspex/luxite in the zebra space make
for
better illumination. Just thin white backing sheet there at the moment.


--
Diverse Devices, Southampton, England
electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list on
http://home.graffiti.net/diverse:graffiti.net/




I'm not sure that you are going to have too much success with this. I have
tried before to light displays that were not intended for it, and have

never
managed to get enough light in there to make it work. On transreflective
types, the reflective surface is, I seem to recall, bonded to the back

face
of the glass panel, to maximise the light reflection back through the

panel,
and minimise the losses. The light output from high intensity white LEDs

is
also pretty narrow angled, so you might struggle to get even illumination
across the display surface, if you attempt to side inject it. How about a
couple of the surface mount LED 'bars' that you can get now, perhaps fixed
along the two long edges of the display, casting their light across its
surface. I'm sure that with a bit of imagination, they could be shrouded

and
fixed on in a way that looked ok. Can't remember where I saw them now, but
I'm sure that one of the newsletters that I get from suppliers, or a mag
advert somewhere, showed some bars that were 'snap-off' to the length /
number of LEDs that you needed. Googling might turn up something along

those
lines.

Arfa



My camera does not work well enough at low light levels to produce an image
worth capturing. But visibly works well enough with, 2 off, using 25mA white
5mm LEDs angled diagonally. The white tippex on the other side works quite
well, in reflecting back some, for filling in the opposite side of the LCD.

Not the sort of kit that justifies electroluminescent panels and inverters
etc, just a get by solution was fine. A "Saltire" illumination pattern was
acceptable here.


--
Diverse Devices, Southampton, England
electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list on
http://home.graffiti.net/diverse:graffiti.net/