Every time you sit in front of your monitor or flat-screen TV, you're being bombarded by a grid of LED lights (or a couple of CFL tubes) on the back. The quality of the lights and diffusers is essential for a good image, but if we remove those components, what we get is a transparent LCD panel with enormous potential. The YouTubers Evan and Katelyn teach us the disassembly process on a conventional monitor, and some of the difficulties we'll find along the way...
A Different Use for an Extra Monitor
What can we do with a monitor we no longer need? These days, connecting a second screen to your computer is an excellent decision, and there's always someone waiting for a deal in the second-hand market, but today we want to explore something different. I still remember the case of the magic mirrors which, with the help of an HDMI monitor and a Raspberry Pi, can completely change an environment. However, there is another alternative: transparent screens.
Inside the Monitor: The Surgery
The YouTubers Evan and Katelyn decided to perform some major surgery on an Asus monitor, removing all its secondary elements until obtaining the screen, its controller, and the power supply. Opening the monitor is a challenge in itself (let's say manufacturers don't like the idea), and even though they discarded the original case, there isn't much room for "breaking things".
The Challenges of Disassembly
Another interesting aspect of this project is that it teaches us how traumatic the process of separating the LCD panel from the rest of the structure can be. Sometimes we have to replace an LED strip, clean trapped dirt on the other side of the glass, or correct a blemish in the diffuser, and we discover that everything is extremely thin and fragile inside the monitor. Even if we succeed, reassembling the unit is also torture, because if a dust particle gets between the layers or behind the panel... we will notice it, and a lot. With this specific model, Evan and Katelyn were forced to cut an anti-dust foam protection.
The Final Result
After several tense moments, including removing the "antiglare" layer using wet paper towels, the last step is to create a wooden support that can hold the LCD panel, the acrylic plate on the back, and all the electronics. Obviously, you'll need a light source to see something on the transparent screen, but a simple example like placing it next to a window should be sufficient. Personally, the final result reminds me of the classic Game and Watch Crystal toys from Nintendo. I think a game of Super Mario Bros. or a good Game Boy emulation session wouldn't be bad on such a screen...
