Using old Laptop Displays for Projects

I know a little bit about LCD Displays but I got lost on this one.

Laptop LCDs come in a few flavors such as LED and CFL Backlit. Typically they’re LVDS and some are a small handful that are HDMI ready. Some Panels have Two Channels and most importantly is the Voltage Level, They can use either 3.3v, 5v or 12 Volt.

I had ordered a random Controller Board that outputs HDMI. When it came in it had a CFL Power Supply Adapter and a 30 Pin connection. The LCD Panel I wanted to use was an LG LP156WH4 that is a 15.6inch 1366×768 resolution and uses up to 5 Volts. I ended up ordering a new Cable that would let me use the same Controller Board but breaks out the connection into a 40pin and jumper for the LED Backlit. When it came in I hooked it all up and blew out the screen. Come to find out the Controller Board was set to 12 Volts. I found a second LCD Panel and had set the Controller to use 3.3V and the Screen came on but wouldn’t display anything. I found the Datasheet for it and it said 3.3V in one section then 5v in other places. I tried both 3.3v and 5v and it seems all I get is the Test Mode.

Again I tried a much older LCD that was CFL backlit and uses the 30pin connection and all I get is the Test Mode on it.

From what I have learn in all of this you should pull the Datasheet for the LCD Panel first then find a compatible Controller Board. A lot of the Controller Boards you can find will list what LCD Panels are compatible with them.

Instead of buying another Controller Board for my LCD Panel that I honestly don’t know if it works now I’ll just use a standard Desktop LCD for my All-in-one Electronics Lab.

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