Converting old laptop to be portable Flat Panel display...??

Webslinger2300 RemoveThis @hotmail.com wrote:
>
> If anyone has any idea how I should approach this project, I'll be
> grateful for any advice that would get me started.

Google is your friend, especially in the Laptop NGs.

In short, don't bother. You can buy a 15" desktop LCD for less than you'd
lay out just for the parts necessary to turn your old laptop display into
something usable.

Regards,

James

Think I'd rather take a laptop and convert it. I don't want something
that would fit in a briefcase. I want another laptop size/heaviness.
I'm small and not very strong. I'm willing to put the time/money into
it.

Can someone tell me what it would take? I'm going to assume that there
are no off-the-shelf parts that will do this. I have access to a full
electronics shop. It would give me enough of an edge so that it would
be worth it.

Thanks,

Lee

Went and looked up X-Terminal. I'm not sure, but my understanding is
that it wouldn't act as a second screen where I could put my tools on
one screen while the object I'm working on would be in the other and
the cursor would track across the two screens as if they were one. If
I'm mistaken, I want to learn more. I'm looking for additional screen
real estate, like when I hook up my desktop screen to my powerbook.

If my understanding of the nature of x-terminals is flawed, please, I
want to hear more.

Thanks,

Lee

Webslinger2300 DeleteThis @hotmail.com wrote:

> Thanks, James,
>
> Is there a way to put a flat-panel display into a laptop housing so I
> can carry it around with me and it would fold up and be protected?

Use the mounting holes on the back to attach whatever you want to use for a
cover. Or just get a piece of plywood and some velcro or rare-earth
magnets.

> Thanks for your response,
>
> Lee

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

Webslinger2300.TakeThisOut@hotmail.com wrote:

> I'm often finding myself wishing that I had a second screen onsite. I
> currently have a Powerbook and was wondering whether it would be
> possible to convert a laptop that has no motherboard or hard drive into
> a display that I could carry with me and slave as a second screen to my
> powerbook.

Given that the circuitry that drives the display is on the motherboard,
you'd have quite a task cut out for you.

JHEM wrote:

> Webslinger2300.RemoveThis@hotmail.com wrote:
>>
>> If anyone has any idea how I should approach this project, I'll be
>> grateful for any advice that would get me started.
>
> Google is your friend, especially in the Laptop NGs.
>
> In short, don't bother. You can buy a 15" desktop LCD for less than you'd
> lay out just for the parts necessary to turn your old laptop display into
> something usable.

Now if it had a functioning motherboard, but no hard drive, he could turn it
into an X terminal.

Webslinger2300.DeleteThis@hotmail.com wrote:

> Is there a way to put a flat-panel display into a laptop housing so I
> can carry it around with me and it would fold up and be protected?
>

Again, it'd be more trouble than it's worth. You may find some diplays,
that are meant to be portable and come with a suitable case.

Webslinger2300.RemoveThis@hotmail.com wrote:

> Think I'd rather take a laptop and convert it. I don't want something
> that would fit in a briefcase. I want another laptop size/heaviness.
> I'm small and not very strong. I'm willing to put the time/money into
> it.
>
> Can someone tell me what it would take? I'm going to assume that there
> are no off-the-shelf parts that will do this. I have access to a full
> electronics shop. It would give me enough of an edge so that it would
> be worth it.

Basically what you are going to have to do is design, build, and test the
electronics to put a VGA or DVI interface on the existing panel, or
alternatively fit the video controller and associated components from the
laptop onto an AGP or PCI board that you can plug into a conventional
computer and make up the necessary cabling. The latter _might_ be easier
in practice because you may be able to scrounge the parts from the laptop
where getting the parts to go the other way in small volume might be
difficult or may end up costing a ludicrous price.

But I don't understand what you mean by "laptop size/heaviness". An LCD
monitor without the stand weighs about the same and is about the same size
as a laptop.

> Thanks,
>
> Lee

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

Webslinger2300.TakeThisOut@hotmail.com wrote:
> Thanks, James,
>
> Is there a way to put a flat-panel display into a laptop housing so I
> can carry it around with me and it would fold up and be protected?

None that I can think of as that would require a relatively enormous laptop
housing, but there are plenty of desktop LCDs that are small enough with
their stands removed to fit into a briefcase.

The one thing to bear in mind in the above scenario is that often times the
power brick is thicker than the display!

Regards,

James

I don't know about X-Terminal, but adding a second video card and
another monitor does exactly that under Windows 98 or higher.


Cheers!


______________________________________________
Bill (using a Toshiba 2595XDVD & Windows 2000)
-- written and edited within Word 2000


<Webslinger2300.DeleteThis@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:1111330323.984963.180650@l41g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
Date: 20 Mar 2005 06:52:04 -0800

Went and looked up X-Terminal. I'm not sure, but my understanding is
that it wouldn't act as a second screen where I could put my tools on
one screen while the object I'm working on would be in the other and
the cursor would track across the two screens as if they were one. If
I'm mistaken, I want to learn more. I'm looking for additional screen
real estate, like when I hook up my desktop screen to my powerbook.

If my understanding of the nature of x-terminals is flawed, please, I
want to hear more.

Thanks,

Lee

SORRY ALL! I didn't realize that Lee spammed many newsgroups. I thought
I was replying to one on:

comp.sys.laptops

So the rest of you on the other newsgroups, just ignore my previous
post.

Bill



"BillW50" <BillW50 RemoveThis @aol.kom> wrote in message
news:jnh%d.22760$hU7.17352@newssvr33.news.prodigy.com...
Date: Sun, 20 Mar 2005 16:18:23 GMT

I don't know about X-Terminal, but adding a second video card and
another monitor does exactly that under Windows 98 or higher.


Cheers!


______________________________________________
Bill (using a Toshiba 2595XDVD & Windows 2000)
-- written and edited within Word 2000

BillW50 wrote:

>
> SORRY ALL! I didn't realize that Lee spammed many newsgroups.

Nobody spammed anything. Someone asked a perfectly reasonable question,
on-topic for all groups to which it was posted, using cross-posting for
exactly the purpose for which it was intended.

> I thought
> I was replying to one on:
>
> comp.sys.laptops
>
> So the rest of you on the other newsgroups, just ignore my previous
> post.
>
> Bill
>
>
>
> "BillW50" <BillW50.TakeThisOut@aol.kom> wrote in message
> news:jnh%d.22760$hU7.17352@newssvr33.news.prodigy.com...
> Date: Sun, 20 Mar 2005 16:18:23 GMT
>
> I don't know about X-Terminal, but adding a second video card and
> another monitor does exactly that under Windows 98 or higher.
>
>
> Cheers!
>
>
> ______________________________________________
> Bill (using a Toshiba 2595XDVD & Windows 2000)
> -- written and edited within Word 2000

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

Webslinger2300.TakeThisOut@hotmail.com wrote:

> Can someone tell me what it would take? I'm going to assume that there
> are no off-the-shelf parts that will do this. I have access to a full
> electronics shop. It would give me enough of an edge so that it would
> be worth it.

You'd have to design & build the circuitry, that would take the video signal
and use it to drive the circuitry that runs the display. Now some of that
can be done with application specific ICs, but you're looking at
essentially designing & building a video monitor. Just think of what it
would take to design and build a car, if all you had was an engine.