LCD Screen Inside Compact Mac Case

[SchoolBusII]

Hello There,

I know much has been written on this topic - however given that suppliers and what works best evolves over time - I want to ask:

What's the best modern screen to put inside an empty compact mac case? This would be in terms of appearance and ease of mounting.

I have two empty compact Mac cases leftover from a restoration project, and I'd like to put an LCD screen inside one, in a non-destructive way, in order to use it as a secondary display in my home office. Does anyone have suggestions for this? I'd love to (and I'm sure others to), see pictures of your projects if you have done something similar, hear about your process, and links to the materials you've used.

Thanks for considering!

 

[jmacz]

Depends on whether you are attempting to reuse the logic board and just replacing the CRT or whether you are just using the case and replacing all the guts. But look up @zigzagjoe’s LCD panel upgrade for SE/30s and that might give you some ideas on the mount. He has a 3D printable mount that uses the stock screw holes the CRT used.

 

[pff000]

Hello There,

I know much has been written on this topic - however given that suppliers and what works best evolves over time - I want to ask:

What's the best modern screen to put inside an empty compact mac case? This would be in terms of appearance and ease of mounting.

I have two empty compact Mac cases leftover from a restoration project, and I'd like to put an LCD screen inside one, in a non-destructive way, in order to use it as a secondary display in my home office. Does anyone have suggestions for this? I'd love to (and I'm sure others to), see pictures of your projects if you have done something similar, hear about your process, and links to the materials you've used.

Thanks for considering!

I had good luck with a Pimoroni 8 inch screen with HDMI controller.

HDMI 8" IPS LCD Screen Kit (1024x768) - Pimoroni

High-resolution 8" IPS 1024x768 HDMI display with a Pimoroni-made driver board and keypad, for arcade cabinets or as a handy Raspberry Pi display.

shop.pimoroni.com

I used this LCD to build an SE, you can see some pictures here.

https://tinkerdifferent.com/threads/macintosh-se-with-lcd.3952/

The LCD is held in place by a bezel which I found in thingiverse and some additional pieces that also hold the display controller.
I am happy to share the design files if you would like.

 

[JDW]

I recently bought the ZigZagJoe kit, in part because it looks fantastic, and in part because, like you, I always wanted to try color in an SE/30 but previously never found any of the posted projects to look that great. ZigZagJoe made a simply stunning kit though, and its a native 640x480 resolution LCD too. Pixel perfect! It's not IPS, but it has good viewing angles. My next video will be about that kit in fact. I'm writing the script this week and hope to start filming next week. Even if you don't buy that kit, the LCD used is probably the best one out there at the moment.

 

[jmacz]

I recently bought the ZigZagJoe kit, in part because it looks fantastic, and in part because, like you, I always wanted to try color in an SE/30 but previously never found any of the posted projects to look that great. ZigZagJoe made a simply stunning kit though, and its a native 640x480 resolution LCD too. Pixel perfect! It's not IPS, but it has good viewing angles. My next video will be about that kit in fact. I'm writing the script this week and hope to start filming next week. Even if you don't buy that kit, the LCD used is probably the best one out there at the moment.

+1, I love the kit. Really well done.

 

[SchoolBusII]

Depends on whether you are attempting to reuse the logic board and just replacing the CRT or whether you are just using the case and replacing all the guts. But look up @zigzagjoe’s LCD panel upgrade for SE/30s and that might give you some ideas on the mount. He has a 3D printable mount that uses the stock screw holes the CRT used.

Thank you!

 

[SchoolBusII]

I recently bought the ZigZagJoe kit, in part because it looks fantastic, and in part because, like you, I always wanted to try color in an SE/30 but previously never found any of the posted projects to look that great. ZigZagJoe made a simply stunning kit though, and its a native 640x480 resolution LCD too. Pixel perfect! It's not IPS, but it has good viewing angles. My next video will be about that kit in fact. I'm writing the script this week and hope to start filming next week. Even if you don't buy that kit, the LCD used is probably the best one out there at the moment.

Thank you I appreciate it

I had good luck with a Pimoroni 8 inch screen with HDMI controller.

HDMI 8" IPS LCD Screen Kit (1024x768) - Pimoroni

High-resolution 8" IPS 1024x768 HDMI display with a Pimoroni-made driver board and keypad, for arcade cabinets or as a handy Raspberry Pi display.

shop.pimoroni.com

I used this LCD to build an SE, you can see some pictures here.

https://tinkerdifferent.com/threads/macintosh-se-with-lcd.3952/

The LCD is held in place by a bezel which I found in thingiverse and some additional pieces that also hold the display controller.
I am happy to share the design files if you would like

I recently bought the ZigZagJoe kit, in part because it looks fantastic, and in part because, like you, I always wanted to try color in an SE/30 but previously never found any of the posted projects to look that great. ZigZagJoe made a simply stunning kit though, and its a native 640x480 resolution LCD too. Pixel perfect! It's not IPS, but it has good viewing angles. My next video will be about that kit in fact. I'm writing the script this week and hope to start filming next week. Even if you don't buy that kit, the LCD used is probably the best one out there at the moment.

Awesome - thank you.

 

[SchoolBusII]

I had good luck with a Pimoroni 8 inch screen with HDMI controller.

HDMI 8" IPS LCD Screen Kit (1024x768) - Pimoroni

High-resolution 8" IPS 1024x768 HDMI display with a Pimoroni-made driver board and keypad, for arcade cabinets or as a handy Raspberry Pi display.

shop.pimoroni.com

I used this LCD to build an SE, you can see some pictures here.

https://tinkerdifferent.com/threads/macintosh-se-with-lcd.3952/

The LCD is held in place by a bezel which I found in thingiverse and some additional pieces that also hold the display controller.
I am happy to share the design files if you would like.

Yes - if you can share the design files I would appreciate it. Thank you!

 

[pff000]

Yes - if you can share the design files I would appreciate it. Thank you!

I used a 'sandwich' of several pieces to mount the Pimoroni screen, in the following order, all held in place by the regular CRT screws. The front bezel I found on thingiverse and the other parts I designed to fit the Pimoroni screen and controller in particular.

1) bezel from thingiverse (CRT-Test_REV2.STL)
2) Pimoroni screen
3) back support for the screen (Mac screen bracket.stl)
4) piece to hold the HDMI controller that comes with the screen (Screen controller bracket.stl)

I am attaching the files in a zip archive.

 

[SchoolBusII]

I had good luck with a Pimoroni 8 inch screen with HDMI controller.

HDMI 8" IPS LCD Screen Kit (1024x768) - Pimoroni

High-resolution 8" IPS 1024x768 HDMI display with a Pimoroni-made driver board and keypad, for arcade cabinets or as a handy Raspberry Pi display.

shop.pimoroni.com

I used this LCD to build an SE, you can see some pictures here.

https://tinkerdifferent.com/threads/macintosh-se-with-lcd.3952/

The LCD is held in place by a bezel which I found in thingiverse and some additional pieces that also hold the display controller.
I am happy to share the design files if you would like.

I used a 'sandwich' of several pieces to mount the Pimoroni screen, in the following order, all held in place by the regular CRT screws. The front bezel I found on thingiverse and the other parts I designed to fit the Pimoroni screen and controller in particular.

1) bezel from thingiverse (CRT-Test_REV2.STL)
2) Pimoroni screen
3) back support for the screen (Mac screen bracket.stl)
4) piece to hold the HDMI controller that comes with the screen (Screen controller bracket.stl)

I am attaching the files in a zip archive.

Thank you!