I just got my hands on a Powerbook 5300cs. I want to make it a slideshow but I don't want to play around with software too much (there's no ethernet, usb, or cd-rom for me to put pictures on it). I've seen a project elsewhere where someone hooked up a Playstation LCD screen to a SanDisk digital picture viewer (with a Sony memory stick), and I though it'd be nice to do something similar.
I want to put the picture viewer in the Powerbook case and then just hang it on my wall stripped of most of its guts...does anyone have any ideas how I could hook up a composite cable or s-video to the LCD screen? The Powerbook has an s-video port but I imagine it requires the laptop to be running. Do you think I could just strip down an RCA cable and splice/solder to the LCD screen?
Any help is appreciated, as I don't want to tear apart the comp before having a good idea what I'm getting into.
It sounds like you want to pump video right into the LCD panel, without needing to use the computer? That's the holygrail in the AF FAQ. There's already a page on here about hacking a laptop into a digital picture frame. That's about the best you are going to get with the hardware you have. Certain, specific panels might take RCA video in (hacks on PS1 LCD screens), but in general a bare panel only works with specific video controllers.
The port that you think is s-video is actually the ADB port used for connection a Keyboard and Mouse.
If you are interested in using the powerbook as a digital picture frame it can be done. JPEGView (dont remember the site, google it) is a nice image viewer/slideshow app for the classic OS. A PC Card Flash Media Reader can help cope with the limits of the PB5300 (no cd, ethernet etc)
mak
My other thread in this forum, I took a 5300cs and made it into a digital picture frame. JPEGView is your best bet for a slideshow program, it works wonderfully. As far as getting pictures on and off, your best bet will be a PCMCIA ethernet or camera card reader. They can be had for less than $10 on eBay. If you need any parts, let me know, I've got a spare 5300cs minus the display cable and power adaptor.
Thanks everyone for the quick comments, I'll let you know how I do.
I have several parted-out 5300's (cs and ce models) on a shelf in my basement. I managed to take six 5300 carcasses and get 2 working units. I was hoping for a third, but time and patience started wearing a little thin, so there they sit.
A note: a PCMCIA Ethernet card for this unit is more difficult to find than you might imagine. Apparently the slot has a 16-bit data path, whereas most PCMCIA cards available are 32-bit. I've wasted too much money and lost too many hours of sleep to keep putzing around with this route.
However, there is a video/Ethernet card out there (which I'm using in my 5300ce) that replaces the stock video card on the 5300. It was made by Focus Enhancements and I think the card was called LapisColor. Ebay will be very helpful here.
I saw Gossamer's work -- very nice. His idea of placing JPEGview in the Startup Items folder, and having it begin playing a slideshow upon opening, is a stroke of sheer genius. Wish I'da thunk of it.
All told, this is a very doable project. Keep us informed. Good luck!
Hi,
Im about to buy Powerbook 5300 Focus Ethernet / 16 Bit Video Card, for my PowerBook 5300cs and Im hoping it will increase the resolution of display to 800x600. Can I expext that from my 640x480 dual scan monitor?
Thanks
Two reasons: one, the video part of that card only runs an external monitor. It has no connection to the LCD screen.
Two, the pixels of an LCD screen are made up of separate little bits of hardware etched into the surface of the screen. There are exactly 640 x 480 of them, and no software or signal tweaking can change that. Unlike a CRT monitor where you can change the way the electron beam scans across the surface to make more dots, on an LCD the dots you got are the dots you got.
Speaking of 5300s, I have one with a dead screen, but with a video card installed. I tried hooking up a monitor, but I can't get anything to show up on an external screen. Does anyone know if there's a key combo that needs to be held down during boot?
FYI there is a PCMCIA modem/ethernet card from Global Village called the Platinum Pro which works with the 5300's. I've picked them up on eBay in the past for under $10.
The internal 10T card is even harder to find......
I've worked on a CE which had an aftermarket internal video card installed, just don't recall the make off the top of my head.
Kevin