Put an LCD in your Poker Table

Step 2 Find an LCD to use...

Find and disassemble your LCD. We purchased a used LCD from a friend, liked the price and no warranty for us to worry about voiding. As if that would stop us, of course.

Taking it apart was very straightforward, just a few screws and popping off the plastic case. We ended up with just one assembly that housed all of the electronics and the screen its self.

Attached via a short connection are the buttons. We're going to let them hang loose for now, and later on will finish a mount for them in a separate Instructable about finishing the bottom of the table. This Instructable is just meant for getting the table top done and the LCD in place.

Also, the edge of our LCD is silver, about 1/4in wide. So, we covered this with some black electrical tape. This was purely to hide the silver, however it also helps to both keep the glass from sliding around, and to protect it against scratches should sliding around occur.

Comments

[242]

How has it held up after nearly a year? Anything you would have done differently?

[amcq]

Everything has held up great. Still perfect.

[swagama1]

Hi Jason, Thank you for your quick reply! I love your table and am interested in following your design. What I'm getting hung up on is the technology. I think you are connecting your LCD to a desktop unit, is that right? If so, do you have any ideas about how to make this connection to a laptop without using a docking station? Thanks! Stacey

[je1330]

Well, the monitor we used was a normal desktop LCD monitor, with a VGA connector. As long as your laptop has a hookup on the back for a VGA monitor, there wouldn't be any difference. If you're not sure, you should be able to google your model laptop for it's specifications and find out.

[swagama1]

Could you add more information about what type of LCD you used? And how to choose a correct model? Thanks!

[je1330]

Hi swagama, the LCD we used was a Hyundai ImageQuest L70S. We didn't pick it based on model or it's specs though. In fact, the entire reason this actually happened was I mentioned the idea to a friend, who's first response was that he had an LCD he'd sell me for $75. Going into it fresh though, the two things you need to look at are the viewing angles, both vertically and horizontally, and the size of the LCD, in that order. When you're sitting at the table, you'll be reading the screen from a very low angle, so if at all possible, try this with your prospective LCD before you decide. Oddly, ours is actually much more readable from the sides and top than it is from the bottom, and we haven't quite figured out why yet. Most times, the "Tournament Director" has to stand up just a bit to see and operate the computer. Another consideration might be the width of the non-viewable border surrounding the disassembled LCD, but this is negligible. Once it's under the smoked glass, the area around it just becomes a border, and the quarter inch on ours is almost perfect, I actually thing it would be worse without the border. I hope that helps, let me know if you need more information or have any more questions, I'm very interested to see another version! -- jason