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Marinus · Sep 4, 2006, 01:47 PM

Hi,

I have a 14" iBook G4 with the wide LCD flex plug variant (CHI MEI N141XB).
Found a replacement LCD, but it has the small flex plug.
The color coding is not the same and I have a small type cable available. It however does not match the tight and round taped cable.
Can anybody help me with a resolder wiring schematic? That way I only need to exchange the upper half of the cable.

Thanks!

Marinus.

duck · Sep 5, 2006, 09:04 AM

In many cases, the wires are coaxial, meaning they're like antenna wires. Resoldering them won't work.

shifuimam · Oct 2, 2006, 03:14 PM

See, I don't get the coax thing.

I know someone posted on a website awhile back a closeup of his TiBook LCD cable, and claimed it was coaxial.

The only experiences I've had with coaxial-style cables (e.g. digital audio, RF antenna), there is a metal contact for both the shielding and the pin. With the LCD cables, there is just a pin that inserts into a hole in the LCD cable, so I'm not seeing how the metal shielding plays into the mix at all.

I'm also looking into splicing together an LCD cable somehow to put a 12" G3/G4 iBook LCD into a clamshell. The pin configuration is the same, so I just need to figure out how to connect the narrower G3/G4 connector to the wide clamshell cable connector.

Anyhow, any insight into the whole coaxial deal would be appreciated.

duck · Oct 2, 2006, 04:39 PM

You may find the shield of the coax is tied to some form of earth on the other end, and just exists to provide sheilding. However, you're right, it is interesting if only one pin per wire makes any contact.

lowdaksport · Oct 2, 2006, 06:21 PM

I thought the surround on coax was for grounding/termination purposes. Not sure if this is the same as a networking cable but the first paragraph there explains all the parts of coax cable
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...t/Picture1.png

lowdaksport · Oct 2, 2006, 06:22 PM

Sorry for the size of that image. You have to squint to read or save it and zoom a little.

shifuimam · Oct 3, 2006, 07:53 AM

Well, here's my thought - even if the shielding was indeed used for grounding, wouldn't it attach to something on the LCD end AND the logic board end? That's how it works with network/audio/video/RF coaxial cables...

I'd be interested if anyone has undertaken any sort of project like this at all - working with LVDS cables to upgrade LCDs in anything (not just Apple laptops).

I just have my doubts about whether or not the shielding/metal braid on those cables really does anything.

here's the picture I found about the TiBook:

| macdan | Titanium PowerBook display repair |

BigBadBiologist · Oct 3, 2006, 01:10 PM

In my Sony 12" (V505 DXP) laptop that had a bad screen, I switched from one manufacturer's LCD to another. As long as the signal is the same (e.g. 1 channel LVDS) it should work, but the wires are just in different orders. I had to rearrange the order of the wires in the connector for the screen to work right. The problem is that it's a pain in the butt to find the connector pinouts for most LCD panels. I got lucky.

There is only one attachment point for each wire, so even though it is shielded, I think only the center really connects to the LCD panel.

shifuimam · Oct 3, 2006, 02:49 PM

Then this is excellent news!

From the labels on the LCD circuit boards for the clamshell and G3/G4 LCDs, it looks like the pinouts are the same for both. I think this means that I should conceivably be able to splice together the two cables and have a fantastic XGA display for my orange iBook!

Also, BigbadBiologist, how did you connect the spliced wires? Solder, heatshrink wrap, electrical tape...?