Anyone know what causes dark clouds to gather along the top edge of the
LCD?!

This calculator has been sitting on a shelf for years and when I tried to
use it found the batteries were flat, the seals had begun to sweat a little
and my first though was electrolyte contamination. Careful examination
showed the slight leakage was more or less confined to the individual button
cell compartments, the LCD internally has a Cd plated metal surround which
was pristine - no evidence of electrolyte contamination.

To make sure I dismantled the calculator and stuck all the buttons on double
sided tape to keep them in the right order while I scrubbed the casing with
detergent. The plastic window must be polarising as there was no sign of the
clouds with this off the LCD.

Another thing that makes me doubt electrolyte contamination is the cause,
the various enunciators along the top edge of the LCD seem to cut an overlap
out of the cloud effect. Ideas anyone?!

TIA.

"Meat Plow" wrote in message
news
On Fri, 17 Nov 2006 16:52:27 +0000, ian field Has Frothed:

Anyone know what causes dark clouds to gather along the top edge of the
LCD?!

This calculator has been sitting on a shelf for years and when I tried to
use it found the batteries were flat, the seals had begun to sweat a
little
and my first though was electrolyte contamination. Careful examination
showed the slight leakage was more or less confined to the individual
button
cell compartments, the LCD internally has a Cd plated metal surround
which
was pristine - no evidence of electrolyte contamination.

To make sure I dismantled the calculator and stuck all the buttons on
double
sided tape to keep them in the right order while I scrubbed the casing
with
detergent. The plastic window must be polarising as there was no sign of
the
clouds with this off the LCD.

Another thing that makes me doubt electrolyte contamination is the cause,
the various enunciators along the top edge of the LCD seem to cut an
overlap
out of the cloud effect. Ideas anyone?!

TIA.

I would say just a deterioration of the crystal due to air seeping in?

--
Pierre Salinger Memorial Hook, Line & Sinker, June 2004

COOSN-266-06-25794

Would that clear around an active display segment? It seems more likely that
air ingress would cause complete and permanent malfunction in the affected
area. But then I'm obviously hoping its not air seepage!

"ian field" wrote in message
...

Anyone know what causes dark clouds to gather along the top edge of the
LCD?!

Bleeds? Just a poor display. The original Radio Shack Pocket Computer is
notorious for this.

In article ,
"ian field" wrote:

Anyone know what causes dark clouds to gather along the top edge of the
LCD?!

Ian-

I don't know about yours, but mine has a completely black LCD display.

I haven't done anything about it after several years, but it would be
neat to restore it to operation. Does anyone know where I would look to
find a new display?

Fred

"Homer J Simpson" wrote in message
news:liu7h.15164$C94.8792@edtnps82...

"ian field" wrote in message
...

Anyone know what causes dark clouds to gather along the top edge of the
LCD?!

Bleeds? Just a poor display. The original Radio Shack Pocket Computer is
notorious for this.

Sadly that may be true - some of the Radio Shack calculators were Sharp ones
in disguise.

"Fred McKenzie" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"ian field" wrote:

Anyone know what causes dark clouds to gather along the top edge of the
LCD?!

Ian-

I don't know about yours, but mine has a completely black LCD display.

I haven't done anything about it after several years, but it would be
neat to restore it to operation. Does anyone know where I would look to
find a new display?

Fred

If its a Sharp, simply google for it there are people out there selling
spares but at inflated prices! My EL5100 has a little bit of sentimental
value because it was a present from a relative when I started college, and I
quite like the 10 or so memories that can store 80 term formulas, but I have
plenty of other calculators that do most things I need and I didn't like the
look of the Sharp spares prices.

"ian field" wrote in message
...

Bleeds? Just a poor display. The original Radio Shack Pocket Computer is
notorious for this.

Sadly that may be true - some of the Radio Shack calculators were Sharp
ones in disguise.

All were Sharp or Casio. See http://www.trs-80.com/ (or
http://www.trs-80.com/trs80-pc.htm) etc for more.

In article ,
"ian field" wrote:

If its a Sharp, simply google for it there are people out there selling
spares but at inflated prices! My EL5100 has a little bit of sentimental
value because it was a present from a relative when I started college, and I
quite like the 10 or so memories that can store 80 term formulas, but I have
plenty of other calculators that do most things I need and I didn't like the
look of the Sharp spares prices.

Ian-

I see what you mean. However, I was only able to find two places that
listed the part (VVLLF8034XE-1). One, bigwarehouse.com.au, listed it
for $97.25. I assume this is in Australian dollars.

The other, Partstore.com, listed it as "not available". They have a
reverse-lookup that shows the display is also used in the EL506D
calculator, which I happen to have. Sadly, the EL506D display is about
half as long as the one on the EL5100.

A year or two back, I was able to obtain a user manual for a Sharp
microwave by calling a number in South Florida. Perhaps I can locate a
display by following that route. Or maybe not, at that kind of price!

Fred

"Fred McKenzie" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"ian field" wrote:

If its a Sharp, simply google for it there are people out there selling
spares but at inflated prices! My EL5100 has a little bit of sentimental
value because it was a present from a relative when I started college,
and I
quite like the 10 or so memories that can store 80 term formulas, but I
have
plenty of other calculators that do most things I need and I didn't like
the
look of the Sharp spares prices.

Ian-

I see what you mean. However, I was only able to find two places that
listed the part (VVLLF8034XE-1). One, bigwarehouse.com.au, listed it
for $97.25. I assume this is in Australian dollars.

The other, Partstore.com, listed it as "not available". They have a
reverse-lookup that shows the display is also used in the EL506D
calculator, which I happen to have. Sadly, the EL506D display is about
half as long as the one on the EL5100.

A year or two back, I was able to obtain a user manual for a Sharp
microwave by calling a number in South Florida. Perhaps I can locate a
display by following that route. Or maybe not, at that kind of price!

Fred

Refusing to believe I could be so unlucky as to get a leaky LCD, I started
to wonder if LCDs "stagnate" if left for a long time - maybe the liquid
crystals start to align together in a way that blocks light, the fact that
the LCD seems to have cleared round the arrow that shows LH display
overflow, this area had been particularly badly affected.
It may be my imagination or wishful thinking, but the clouded area seems to
have receded slightly after leaving the calculator on top of one of the HiFi
speakers for a couple of days and playing a Black Sabbath CD on repeat all
24/7.