Hi,

I just want to share with you a project that I am working on lately.  The LCD panel on my C1 is getting a little dim.  So I decided to replace the CCFL tube with LEDs, but then I thought maybe I should do this on my TR as well.

I took apart the C1 and measured the voltage levels for the brightness control.  It uses an analog signal to control the screen brightness.  You can find the details at:

http://www.waves.utoronto.ca/~joshua/Projects/LED/index.html

You can also find my progress of the LED controller design for the TR.  I still have a few more details to work out before I layout the board and build it.

Josh

Hi Josh ,

Great project ..
I really hope to see the result !

Please keep going ..

Thanks.  I finished designing the controller and I am working on the circuit board layout right now.  It is really difficult to fit a bunch of LEDs in place of the CCFL.  I only have a 2mm x 2.5mm cross section to work with.

Power consumption of backlight in mobile devices often exceed 50% of the total energy dissipation.  I am hoping to achieve around 40% to 50% reduction in power consumption.  This translates roughly to an extra hour of battery life.  :mrgreen:

And the nice thing about LED backlights is that they do not suffer from the pinkish effect in cold weather and do not have brightness degradation over time like CCFLs do.  So I am REALLY excited about this project!!  :D

Anyway, I will post an update when I have more progress.

I have to admit Josh, this TR laptop is the first laptop that I want to modify and tweak more than any other laptop I have ever owned.

Your project will be another great contribution and one that will give me an inspiration to try more of these kinds of things! I will be watching for more updates!