Installing HV150UX2-100 in 15-inch 4:3 T60/T61

The HV150UX2-100 is a 15-inch UXGA(1600*1200) AFFS LED-backlit LCD panel. With several small modifications it can be installed in a 15-inch T60 or FrankenPad.

I've never used a CCFL-backlit UXGA AFFS LCD that was a factory option for T60, so I can't make any direct comparison. However, I can say that the LED-lit screen is as bright as my other Asus LED-lit laptop, and perfectly usable in indirect sunlight, while my CCFL-backlit SXGA X60 tablet is pretty much unreadable.

The Data Connector

The pinout order of the data interface is the same as other LCDs used in 15 inch T60s, but the connector is different. The existing 30-pin data connector on the LCD is a JAE FI-XB30SL-HF10, which must be replaced with a FI-XB30SRL-HF11 in order to mate with T60's LCD cable. (These two connectors are reverse of each other.) This connector may be salvaged from other LCD panels, or bought from the usual electronics distributors like Digikey or Mouser.

Digikey link for the required connector. Data sheet and catalog of the connector series can be found there.

Originally I wanted to keep the LCD connector and instead modify the LCD cable, but JAE does not make a reversed connector for flex cables, so that's a no-go.

Since the connector is further down on the new panel, the LCD cable must be folded for the ThinkLight to reach the top of the screen.

The Power Connector

The 14-pin backlight connector is a Hirose DF19L-14P-1H. The mating connector can be bought online as well, but they are designed for either flex cables or crimp contacts, and the tiny crimp contacts are useless without a crimper - they won't even fit into the plug housing when uncrimped. I ended up soldering wires directly to the connector pins.

The pinout of this connector is (from left to right):

1: VSS - ground

2-6: HVDD - power supply

7: Not connected

8: BL on - backlight enable

9: Vdim - PWM dimming control

10-14: VSS - ground

The Inverter

The CCFL driver chip on the inverter is a MPS MP1014. It shares the same pinout as MP1010B, whose datasheets are easier to find online. The required signals can be easily found by tracing from pins of this chip.

The chip has built-in safety features, and will shutdown if it detects an "open lamp" situation - i.e. when no CCFL is plugged in because we're using LED backlight. Therefore, it should not drain additional power after the mod. It would be cleaner to remove this chip and the transformer, but I didn't do so due to time constraints.

BTW, the two T60 inverters (one for XGA, one for SXGA+/UXGA/QXGA) use identical PCBs and almost identical parts, except the UXGA inverter has 2 fewer components. I think both are resistors, but am not certain.