Hello fellow hardware hackers. I was brought here from Makezine while looking in to a project I have in mind.
This idea could make a nice crash cart for server rooms, however my first thought was...
It started out on how to reuse a laptop LCD. I found several adapters on eBay (google “LVDS controller”).
I looked at my pile of old Thinkpads (R32-T43) and thought, man, I really like the keyboards. Can I make these in to a LCD/keyboard shell for a desktop? Just rip out the guts and use the LCD/keyboard?
What I’m after is an interface I can close the lid when I’m done surfing, taking up little room on my end table. But I’d like to hook it up to my desktop.
Makezine has an example of a hack:
http://makezine.com/2012/06/21/ask-make-thinkpad-keyboard-conversion/But it’s not well documented. Laptop keyboards tend to come with a ribbon cable to the motherboard where the controller is. So, the keyboard itself is just a matrix. I'm even tempted to buy a $60 thinkpad keyboard just for the controller board.
So, I come to you. Ideas, suggestions? I can solder, but trying to mach up the ribbon on a controller board is very time consuming (and hit or miss).
In the end, laptop case for a desktop keyboard/monitor. No need for the mouse/trackpoint (but it would be a bonus).
Long live the hacks...
Craig
