Power FC Commander mod
12-20-04, 10:55 PM
#1
I won't let go
Thread Starter
Power FC Commander mod
Ok, I'm using this as the refrence thread.
https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...4&page=2&pp=40
And I put this in this forum as it's more towards the interior look rather than the functionality of the PFC.
So, the formalities out of the way, here goes.
So the display in that thread was modified from the crappy green LEDs that we all know and probably hate into a rather attractive blue EL display. Here's the issue with that. EL panels are mainly limited in color and those colors aren't very deep as far as saturation goes. I guess you can get a little more specific on color, but cost goes up. Second, it's "half life" is about 4000 hours from some of the things I've read. That's not a lot, especially compared to an LED's MTBF of about 100,000 hours. Not to mention that LEDs come an a variety of colors and are very cheap.
The white display that was talked about in the thread is a diffuser for the two banks of 10 LEDs that line either side of the displays background.
Now, as you can see, these LEDs are extremely small. I've never seen any this small. I believe they're wired in series that's connected to two points that are soldered to the PCB. Simple enough there. And the white piece will seperate with care to gain better access to the LEDs. This is as far as I've gotten to this point. My goal is to convert the display to either red or orange and reverse the polarity of the film so that you will get lighted text on a dark background. The film is the easy part as well. Unfortunately the existing film is bonded on the glass very well, so I'll have to add another piece.
But the question I have is does anyone have any clue to as to a reference # or part # for these LEDs? The ones on the lower panel of the commander are easy. Those will be red or orange as well. I'm not going with blue anymore as the luminosity of those LEDs isn't strong enough and I'd rather have it a little too bright than too dark.
Any ideas, suggestions, comments or what have you are greatly appreciated and accepted.
Thanks all,
Christian
https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...4&page=2&pp=40
And I put this in this forum as it's more towards the interior look rather than the functionality of the PFC.
So, the formalities out of the way, here goes.
So the display in that thread was modified from the crappy green LEDs that we all know and probably hate into a rather attractive blue EL display. Here's the issue with that. EL panels are mainly limited in color and those colors aren't very deep as far as saturation goes. I guess you can get a little more specific on color, but cost goes up. Second, it's "half life" is about 4000 hours from some of the things I've read. That's not a lot, especially compared to an LED's MTBF of about 100,000 hours. Not to mention that LEDs come an a variety of colors and are very cheap.
The white display that was talked about in the thread is a diffuser for the two banks of 10 LEDs that line either side of the displays background.
Now, as you can see, these LEDs are extremely small. I've never seen any this small. I believe they're wired in series that's connected to two points that are soldered to the PCB. Simple enough there. And the white piece will seperate with care to gain better access to the LEDs. This is as far as I've gotten to this point. My goal is to convert the display to either red or orange and reverse the polarity of the film so that you will get lighted text on a dark background. The film is the easy part as well. Unfortunately the existing film is bonded on the glass very well, so I'll have to add another piece.
But the question I have is does anyone have any clue to as to a reference # or part # for these LEDs? The ones on the lower panel of the commander are easy. Those will be red or orange as well. I'm not going with blue anymore as the luminosity of those LEDs isn't strong enough and I'd rather have it a little too bright than too dark.
Any ideas, suggestions, comments or what have you are greatly appreciated and accepted.
Thanks all,
Christian
12-21-04, 06:38 AM
#2
I have no clue on the part your looking for but PLEASE keep us informed on this mod as its the one thing the PFC needs. Hell if your up for it ill send you mine.....make some $$ Go with the amber (even though thats your decision) so it matches the stock look.
12-21-04, 01:01 PM
#3
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Originally Posted by Mazdabation
I have no clue on the part your looking for but PLEASE keep us informed on this mod as its the one thing the PFC needs. Hell if your up for it ill send you mine.....make some $$ Go with the amber (even though thats your decision) so it matches the stock look.
10-02-06, 11:01 AM
#4
I won't let go
Thread Starter
Ok...long time dead, but here's an update...
And forget the other thread...
To give a brief, I have a friend that works for a gov't contractor and their electronics gurus have been kind enough to take a look at this for me. I've acquired the LEDs from a company called Lumex. Basically they sent me samples for no cost as I indicated that this was for a prototype.
The LEDs for the buttons are no problem and should be done. The LEDs for the display are another thing. Basically they're held in place with some adhesive and can't be removed easily so at this point, LED swapping for the display isn't fesable, however, I've asked whether the old LEDs can be destroyed as I don't care about them. It makes sense that due to the size of these, some adhesive would be used instead of solder. If the latter was used, it would have probably burned out the diodes instantly.
Basically scraping them off and exposing the contacts, along with proper prep work should make the new LEDs easy to be installed.
So...progress is being made, though I don't have any info for a polorized piece yet. One step at a time.
And forget the other thread...
To give a brief, I have a friend that works for a gov't contractor and their electronics gurus have been kind enough to take a look at this for me. I've acquired the LEDs from a company called Lumex. Basically they sent me samples for no cost as I indicated that this was for a prototype.
The LEDs for the buttons are no problem and should be done. The LEDs for the display are another thing. Basically they're held in place with some adhesive and can't be removed easily so at this point, LED swapping for the display isn't fesable, however, I've asked whether the old LEDs can be destroyed as I don't care about them. It makes sense that due to the size of these, some adhesive would be used instead of solder. If the latter was used, it would have probably burned out the diodes instantly.
Basically scraping them off and exposing the contacts, along with proper prep work should make the new LEDs easy to be installed.
So...progress is being made, though I don't have any info for a polorized piece yet. One step at a time.
10-02-06, 03:08 PM
#5
I've always wondered why Apex never bothered to upgrade the Power FC commander to a more modern look. The thing basically looks like a throwback to 1980s HKS EVC I and days of yore. They've upgraded every other piece of electronics they have, and still market the PFC, so why not bring it up to date?
10-04-06, 12:36 PM
#7
I won't let go
Thread Starter
It's not the screen that lights up but rather the LEDs on each side of it as shown in the pics above (if you see an X, my server is off at the moment. It'll be on tonight). There was one thread (perhaps the link on the first post) that has someone doing an EL panel behind the LCD display. That is definitely possible, but your color choices are limited and the hue on some isn't desired.
And don't worry...as soon as there's an update, it'll be here.
And don't worry...as soon as there's an update, it'll be here.
