On Mon, 8 Nov 2010 15:24:38 -0800 (PST), the renowned Mark
wrote:

I'm trying to repair a cheap alarm clock with an LCD display.

(I know this isn't worth my time but at this point I'm more
curious...)

A few segments of the LCD are not working and when I press the
conductive tape that connects the LCD to the board, it starts to
work. OK a bad connection.

But am trying to buy a piece of this conductive tape and I can't find
it anywhere even described on the Internet.

It seems like ordinary scotch adhesive tape but with conductive ink
tracks. It is 1.5mm pitch and has 28 conductors. It is simply stuck
onto the lip of the LCD and the PWB.

It's not zebra strip.
It's not flexible flat cable FFC which is actual wire.
This stuff is actually adhesive tape with conductive (black) ink.

What is this stuff called so I can search for it?

They're called "Heat Seal Connectors" generically. Originated by a
Japanese company, IIRC (Shin-Etsu, maybe?) , but now more widely
produced.

Anybody seen it for sale anywhere?

Tons of it, but only in Asia. You allegedly need proper (expensive,
generally) equipment to get reliable bonds, so it's generally
considered unsuitable for low volumes, but I suspect anyone with a
small mill could cob something up with an arbor press and a
temperature-controlled metal strip that would work adequately given a
bit of practice.

thanks
Mark


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
--
"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward"
Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com