replaced a 17" PowerBook backlight tube

I picked up a mostly complete 1.5GHz 17" AlBook with a non-working backlight. I already had a smashed-LCD 17" display with a working backlight hanging around. I figured little to lose by swapping the working tube into the intact LCD.

The key was to partially pull off the metal frame around the LCD to allow access to the tube at the bottom. The intact LCD's tube turned out to be smashed, how that happens I have no idea. Getting the good tube out of the busted LCD was a matter of very careful tugging, prying and pulling. Until you've held a tube this long and thin, you can't imagine how fragile they are.

Anyhow, I got the good tube into the good LCD, buttoned it back up and it works fine. As expected, the only issue is my dusty non-cleanroom workspace left some small debris inside the visible area of the display. Ideally, one would do this in a _very_ dustfree place.

Just figured I'd file a quick report here for the record.

dan k

ps: please see my plea for some bits (screws and suchlike) I need to complete this beauty, thanks!

Did that with some 12" iBook lcd panels some time ago. It can be an entertaining process.

How much did you pay for the Powerbook? Just curious.

Ah, a boy never tells . . . oh, all right, I'll tell . . .

At TCF 2008, I bought a box of various junked 'Books, including a pair of apart Pismos, a semi-working 700 iBook, and some other bits and pieces, and this AlBook, for the grand total of ~$250. I sold off the Pismos for ~$120 before the show even ended.

Don't cry for me . . .

Heh, same show, I stupidly bought a _totally_ trashed 15" AlBook for $200, I'll be lucky to get half that out of the _very_ few bits that are actually worth anything. &^%$%$#$^&(*&

Lucky one deal, unlucky in another. Averages out in the end you know. Honestly, the 17" didn't look too promising laying there in the box-o-stuff. Could have been the value of aluminum scrap metal as far as I knew.

dan k

Sounds like a good deal to me. I know I would have gone for it. I need some hookups for stuff like that.

I have experienced how brittle those tubes are from LCD's. i found it fun hacking together an old 17" lcd with white car neon tubes (minus plastic protectors) and external inverter. i once took a tube and inverter from a scanner and made it into a trunk light for my car haha.

Dan - I've got a 17inch Pbk with no backlight.
How do you tell if it's the backlight or the inverter ? - and how the heck do you get the screen apart ? Help!

btw - I loved the TiDesktop. You did a really nice job.
I've got a few busted hinge machines and might have a go at something similar.

regards - - Alastair

Dan - I've got a 17inch Pbk with no backlight.
How do you tell if it's the backlight or the inverter ? - and how the heck do you get the screen apart ? Help!

btw - I loved the TiDesktop. You did a really nice job.
I've got a few busted hinge machines and might have a go at something similar.

regards - - Alastair

a different BL into the inverter and see if it lights up. I think you'd be OK using the BL from a 15" LCD, the current requirements are gonna be very similar.

Thank you for your kind words re: the TiDesktop.

dan k