so, this started out as a reply to this comment under one of our posts at !unixsocks@lemmy.blahaj.zone, but it was pretty messy to follow, so we’ll make a tidy version here!

this section is an edited together version of that aforementioned reply we made and subsequent replies by us.

so, someone online was talking about putting old monitors up on a wall to use as wall art. following with that theme, we thought it would be cool to take an LCD TV with a smashed up LCD panel (which we had on hand), remove the LCD glass, and put in something to be lit up. we’d hook up the backlight to power somehow, then maybe frame it.

initially we were thinking of using some printed piece of artwork. but we ended up not doing that.

if you don’t know what this means, that’s okay! here’s an illustration, from this website:

basically, the bottom polarizer, top polarizer, and everything in between is glued together, and makes up the LCD panel. the things labeled LED are just lights, and the diffuser & prism (“diffusion”) layers make the light even and smooth. these three things make up the backlight.

the “glass substrate” layers in the TV we are using are cracked and broken. glass is glass, and glass breaks. so that’s why we are removing the LCD panel.

so, lets get working on this!

first, we opened up the back of the TV. a lot of this stuff is just gonna be tossed, so we need not exercise too much care into organizing what goes where.

and this is how it looks with all that stuff taken off!

now, we can remove the LCD panel…

and done! the white panel that remains is the backlight. if we hook up the controller board again to switch it on, we can see how it looks.

it is a very cool white, but that shouldn’t be the biggest issue ever. the voltage however—that 77.3 on the instrument near the top of the frame—was a little high. it was clear that we would need to:

a) get a special driver board
b) replace the LEDs with those of a lower voltage (and maybe higher CRI, IYKYK)
c) jerryrig this driver board

initially we were thinking option B, but then decided we were too cheap and lazy and went with option C.

this section from: https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/post/45257301 and comments under it

to jerryrig it to stay on, we put a zip-tie over the menu button on the board that handled the buttons on the side of the TV set.

you can also see us in the process of removing the remote control receiver module and status light cables because they share the same connector and were in the way.

to hang it up, we initially thought of just using string. while looking for something to hang a string on though, we realized one of those little hinged picture frame hooks fit might fit under a screw that just happened to be centered in the direction we want.

we gave it a try, and it worked! (we put the mainboard back on because we are now using it to drive the backlight)

this is how it appears on a wall. in the photo, we pinned a slightly dirty pillowcase procured from a pile of free stuff on the roadside over it to draw on. at the time we hadn’t the slightest clue as to what our future intentions would be, so for the time being this was the method we used to test it out.

what we did do is ask the internet for ideas. and there were a few. do read the comments of the relevant post!

@trinket@lemmy.blahaj.zone suggested using photo negatives. we did not have that many on hand sadly. this was a super amazing idea though, and helped us to land on the idea of using motion picture film!

this section from: https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/post/45646745

this is what the video film looks like (bought from this ebay seller):

we cut the first length as a gauge using scissors…

…but did the rest with a paper cutter to ensure the cuts were square. it is quite satisfying, click here for a video!

these were all the film snippets that we ended up with. why did we pick them back up? well, we initially put them on upside-down (and ordered right to left) because they wanted to curl and that made it easier.

now laying them out proper…

and with a little electrical tape to keep them in place, we should have something!

after this photo, we went to put it up on a wall, and the diffusion layers promptly fell out. we forgot to secure them hehe (^v^;)

some electrical tape later, it should be in better situ

and from there we hung it up.

since we are sorta editing this as the “definitive version” as it were, we shall provide the appropriate recognition to those involved here too :3

we would like to thank trinket oncemore for suggesting we get film involved. it was a very awesome idea!

we would also like to thank @strawberry_enjoyer42@lemmy.blahaj.zone for her kindness, and motivating us to actually carry this out <3

so yeah! stay wonderful dear readers xoxo