Print PDF
Favorite
Email
Finally you can do something with that old LCD monitor you have in the garage.
You can turn it into a privacy monitor! It looks all white to everybody except you, because you are wearing "magic" glasses!
All you really have to have is a pair of old glasses, x-acto knife or a box cutter and some solvent (paint thinner)
Here is what I used:
an LCD monitor of course
single use 3D glasses from the movie theater (old sunglasses are just fine)
paint thinner (or some other solvent such as toluene, turpentine, acetone, methyl acetate, ethyl acetate etc)
box cutter (and CNC laser cutter :) but that you don't really need, I'm sure x-acto knife and a steady hand would do just fine)
screwdriver or a drill
paper towels
superglue
You can turn it into a privacy monitor! It looks all white to everybody except you, because you are wearing "magic" glasses!
All you really have to have is a pair of old glasses, x-acto knife or a box cutter and some solvent (paint thinner)
Here is what I used:
an LCD monitor of course
single use 3D glasses from the movie theater (old sunglasses are just fine)
paint thinner (or some other solvent such as toluene, turpentine, acetone, methyl acetate, ethyl acetate etc)
box cutter (and CNC laser cutter :) but that you don't really need, I'm sure x-acto knife and a steady hand would do just fine)
screwdriver or a drill
paper towels
superglue
Remove these ads by
Signing UpStep 1Take the monitor apart
Find an old monitor that you are willing to sacrifice.
Take off the plastic frame by unscrewing all screws from the back.
Take off the plastic frame by unscrewing all screws from the back.
| « Previous Step | Download PDFView All Steps | Next Step » |
Good thing I was using a semi-busted old display.
http://www.amazon.com/Rosco-Cinegel-Linear-Polarizing-Filter/dp/B000B78216/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1322705042&sr=8-2
I have no idea how to separate the films, since mine came apart without too much effort.
And the only thing I could use it for was my Elektronika 5 watch.
I'll post photos if you want when It will be done.
My LCD screens film seems to have the matte finish and polarized film as one sheet. I tried a lot but i cant get them off each other.
Perfect for me.
not with the hardware the author used.
You COULD do it with some more severe hacking.
You would need COMPLETE disassembly of the lcd.
Access to the rear polarizer would be required as well as the front. (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:LCD_layers.svg for a super simple diagram of what goes where in an lcd)
Once both are off(Need to come off clean, and complete, cause you'll be using most of both of them). you start the cutting.
First, divide both filters EXACTLY in half.
Second, reassemble the lcd with 1/2 of each filter covering each side of the screen, in place of the rear polarizer.
Third, make two pair of glasses. One with the left over of each polarizer.
If you want to get super tricky, make a third pair of glasses, with one lens of each type. Now, you could display stereographic images onscreen, for your own Stereoscopy!
If the filters didn't come off cleanly(like my last lcd backlight repair... the filters were held against the screen by pressure from the assembled screen frame. Also makes you less likely to destroy your lcd screen with the exacto knife!)
then you still have options!
You can BUY polarizer films pretty cheaply from educational stores/science surplus/e-bay/amazon.
Once you have cleaned the glue residue off from removing the old filters... simply use the new film to do the modification.
FINALLY... If you DO get this to work.
WRITE AN IBLE!
and be kind enough to mention me in credits :-)
hmm. I wonder.
That old Pentium 2 era IBM laptop might just work.
Let the race to document and post begin!
lifehacker.com
engadget.com
hackaday.com
news.cnet.com
ohgizmo.com
slashdot.org
stumbleupon.com
journaldugeek.com
reddit.com
and a bunch more
Too bad I didn't get entered in the Hack it challenge before all that traffic :)
for mine the best angle is to slightly tilt my head to the left but still it's cool
Another alternative is to use the "slide on" / "coverall" type sunglasses - the ones old people use over their glasses. They're basically oversized sunglasses made to fit over normal glasses, which is exactly what we want here. Pop out the lenses, replace with polarizers, and you should be set.
If you get prescription polarized sunglasses, they should work halfway, since polarized sunglasses are polarized horizontally, and almost all monitors are polarized 45 degrees from horizontal. The downside of this is that what you'll see is half the light from the image displayed, and half from the "blank screen" effect that everyone else sees, giving you a large reduction in contrast (but you should still be able to see it).