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The Kindle 3 uses a screen technology that looks almost like glossy magazine print. What makes it remarkable and so easy to read is that it uses ambient light to illuminate the screen rather than a back light. The quality of the image is fantastic in normal reading conditions, but gets difficult to read in low light situations.
Amazon, in their great redesign of this product has thoughtfully included an in-built power source to run a light. For a mere $60 Amazon provides a light-equipped leather cover that can tap into the power source.
This Instructable will show you how to tap into the power source and build your own lighted cover.
Difficulty: Moderate
For some reason the photo notes feature broke half way through this instructable. If something is unclear, please post a question and I will do my best to clarify. Hopefully the feature will be unbroken in the future and I can add some more helpful notes.
(By the way, I haven't been here in a while and I'm disappointed to find that Instructables is trying to sell "PRO" formatting features to the people that actually GENERATE their content for FREE. Lame.)
TOOLS:
* Google SketchUp (not needed, but helpful for viewing and manipulating plans)
* printer
* dremel tool with rotary cutting, routing, and grinding bits
* vice
* safety glasses
* ear protection
* assorted files
* scissors
* hobby knife
* soldering iron
* drill and assorted bits
* multi-meter
* small clamps
* coping saw
MATERIALS:
* 1.5 mm stainless steel sheet
* 6.5 mm bass wood sheet
* 2.5 mm bass wood sheet
*160 x 230 x 23 mm hard cover book (W x L x H outside dimensions)
* heavy cardboard/plastic sheet
* braided elastic band
* glue stick
* gorilla glue
* 2.5mm screws
* 2x 3mm bright white LEDs
* 3x 1K ohm resistors
* 3x 220 ohm resistors
* stranded hookup wire
* proto board
* SPST or DPDT micro switch (SPST for on/off) (SP Three Throw for low, off, high) RSOnline.co.uk Part 718-2317 or similar
* solder
Some Useful Information for other K3 Hackers:
Dimensions:
* Top power port 6mm wide x 8mm deep
* Bottom power port 5mm x 8mm
* Clips ~ .5mm thick
*~114 mm between ports
Electrical:
* Top port - +4V
* Bottom port - ground
Amazon, in their great redesign of this product has thoughtfully included an in-built power source to run a light. For a mere $60 Amazon provides a light-equipped leather cover that can tap into the power source.
This Instructable will show you how to tap into the power source and build your own lighted cover.
Difficulty: Moderate
For some reason the photo notes feature broke half way through this instructable. If something is unclear, please post a question and I will do my best to clarify. Hopefully the feature will be unbroken in the future and I can add some more helpful notes.
(By the way, I haven't been here in a while and I'm disappointed to find that Instructables is trying to sell "PRO" formatting features to the people that actually GENERATE their content for FREE. Lame.)
TOOLS:
* Google SketchUp (not needed, but helpful for viewing and manipulating plans)
* printer
* dremel tool with rotary cutting, routing, and grinding bits
* vice
* safety glasses
* ear protection
* assorted files
* scissors
* hobby knife
* soldering iron
* drill and assorted bits
* multi-meter
* small clamps
* coping saw
MATERIALS:
* 1.5 mm stainless steel sheet
* 6.5 mm bass wood sheet
* 2.5 mm bass wood sheet
*160 x 230 x 23 mm hard cover book (W x L x H outside dimensions)
* heavy cardboard/plastic sheet
* braided elastic band
* glue stick
* gorilla glue
* 2.5mm screws
* 2x 3mm bright white LEDs
* 3x 1K ohm resistors
* 3x 220 ohm resistors
* stranded hookup wire
* proto board
* SPST or DPDT micro switch (SPST for on/off) (SP Three Throw for low, off, high) RSOnline.co.uk Part 718-2317 or similar
* solder
Some Useful Information for other K3 Hackers:
Dimensions:
* Top power port 6mm wide x 8mm deep
* Bottom power port 5mm x 8mm
* Clips ~ .5mm thick
*~114 mm between ports
Electrical:
* Top port - +4V
* Bottom port - ground
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Signing UpStep 1Create the Clips
The Amazon lighted cover uses two small brass clips to hold the K3 to the cover. The kindle slides first onto the bottom clip at an angle and then a spring-loaded hook attaches to the top port. My solution uses the elastic band in the upper right corner to secure the kindle instead of the spring-loaded clip.
Check out the lighted cover instructions from amazon for a better idea how the clips work.
1) Use the attached PDFs as a template to create the clips. Print out each template and use a hobby knife to cut a template free. Use a glue stick to attach the template to the 1.5 mm stainless steel plate. NB! The PDFs are set for A4 paper and should print to the appropriate scale if A4 paper is chosen.
2) Cut the rough form using a cutting bit in a dremel tool.
3) Use the grinding tool to remove excess material and shape the clip. It may be necessary to apply a new template if it becomes scorched or damaged.
4) Use a grinding bit to remove around .5 mm from each side of the portion that will attach to the kindle, leaving the rest of the clip intact. To make this easier, I fastened the clip into a vice and only allowed the portion I wanted to grind to stick out.
5) Check your dimensions against the diagrams below.
6) Test your clips by gently pushing them into the ports. The lower clip should rotate upward as it slides into the port. The clips should slide into the ports with very little resistance. If it does not slide easily, grind the clip down and compare it to the printed templates.
7) Switch the kindle on and set your mulit-meter for DC voltage and check the voltage across the two clips. It should be around 4V. The top port should be positive and the bottom ground. If there is no voltage across the clips, ensure the kindle is on. When it is in sleep mode, the light will automatically turn off. I also found that when my bottom clip was slightly too short, it did not properly make contact.
8) Carefully drill 3mm holes in the clips. A drill press and machine oil will help greatly in this process.
Check out the lighted cover instructions from amazon for a better idea how the clips work.
1) Use the attached PDFs as a template to create the clips. Print out each template and use a hobby knife to cut a template free. Use a glue stick to attach the template to the 1.5 mm stainless steel plate. NB! The PDFs are set for A4 paper and should print to the appropriate scale if A4 paper is chosen.
2) Cut the rough form using a cutting bit in a dremel tool.
3) Use the grinding tool to remove excess material and shape the clip. It may be necessary to apply a new template if it becomes scorched or damaged.
4) Use a grinding bit to remove around .5 mm from each side of the portion that will attach to the kindle, leaving the rest of the clip intact. To make this easier, I fastened the clip into a vice and only allowed the portion I wanted to grind to stick out.
5) Check your dimensions against the diagrams below.
6) Test your clips by gently pushing them into the ports. The lower clip should rotate upward as it slides into the port. The clips should slide into the ports with very little resistance. If it does not slide easily, grind the clip down and compare it to the printed templates.
7) Switch the kindle on and set your mulit-meter for DC voltage and check the voltage across the two clips. It should be around 4V. The top port should be positive and the bottom ground. If there is no voltage across the clips, ensure the kindle is on. When it is in sleep mode, the light will automatically turn off. I also found that when my bottom clip was slightly too short, it did not properly make contact.
8) Carefully drill 3mm holes in the clips. A drill press and machine oil will help greatly in this process.
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Basically, I want my design to be as minimalistic as possible, or if nto, easily removable.
What I was thinking, is getting some 0603 or similar SMD led lights, and placing them at the 4 corners of the screen. Not sure this would get my optimum lighting (I would definitely play around with it), but that, coupled with thin wire or pcb, could pull off an elegant, thin solution. Any thoughts? Great guide btw :)
One option might be to drill holes in the corners and pop out some LEDs to get a bit more throw. You could also stick some along the left and right sides for that matter.
It's super easy to tap into the +4V though, you could simply solder right to the output clips.
Where did you pick up your donor screen? I just toasted my screen the other night and I'm pretty bummed to be without my kindle. Do you have a supplier you like and trust?
Im fine with it being an overlay as opposed to built in, I just prefer light and unobtrusive (which is why I wanted to go with surface mount LEDs). But as I have yet to get a case for said kindle maybe it wouldnt be bad if it took up some space..
As for my donor screen, I picked up a broken kindle off of ebay. Basically, I got a kindle with a broken screen for free, and stated looking for a replacement. Within a week of looking on ebay, I found one that the screen looked to be intact, and went from there. Turns out the screen was still good, albeit except for a 10px dead pixel area (for $36 bucks I can live with that). If you are going to look for one on ebay, just look for a kindle that will not charge or wont turn on. Its pretty hard as most of them there have broken screens, but I found a couple in a week. Avoid screens with fractures or "lines" going across them though (I posted onto a kindle forum and the general consensus is that the lines are a faulty screen, not faulty hardware/software). You can buy replacement screens for around $75, but for me anything over $60 and I wouldve just bought a new kindle.
As it so happens, my $36 kindle had around $150 of books on it :) Like the Hunger games and space odyssey books...
Good luck with the fix! :)
You do not need to use resistors, but depending on your voltage source, you will potentially shorten the life of the LEDs. The spec on most 3mm white LEDs has a max forward voltage of around 4V.
The resistors in my design are there to protect the LEDs and drop the voltage and decrease the brightness.
Hope that helps. Let me know if you need more information.
I cant seem to find it?
If you follow the patterns I supplied, you should be able to grind out a clip that works fairly well. I used stainless, but you could probably use brass stock as it is MUCH easier to work with. I just couldn't lay my hands on any here in Norway.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
It works!
The 220 Ohm resistor would work for full brightness right?
thanks!
I am using 5 3mm White leds in parallel.
Do you have anytips to make some sort of a diffuser?
Hot glue doesnt work that well!