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DIY 5k Monitor - success :-)
- Thread starter fiatlux
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Its stuck down well but as Paul has stated - warm it up, its only glued in... then use a pick/dull blade/panel pry bar and slip under one of those corners at the top and just apply consistent pressure and eventually it will release. It does go right down into the grille at the bottom of the iMac so it does need a bit of back and forth movement to bring it up out of that section as its starting to release.
This one does interest me as I have a spare current board kicking around that wasn't compatible with the T18, and weirdly the FA1 is clearly much duller than the AA1 - I've tried 2xAA1 boards and the one FA1 board across 4 different panels and its the same issue on each. Either I got a dud FA1 board or there's a vast difference between it and the AA1 boards which are much closer in brightness to the T18 and also much closer in colour as well.
I'd be keen to see if there ends up anyway to make the constant current board work with the newer boards... its a bit of an odd-looking paperweight
I don't use an additional board and the screen is already VERY bright; in fact, it's so bright I had to turn it down quite a bit.I am almost decided on a SA1 but one thing is not clear to me: is this 50W Current Board DZ-LP0818 needed or not for SA1 in order to achieve maximum possible brightness?
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Why do you want to remove it? Just connect your power supply to the wires on the inside of the case?Added bonus: you get to keep the pretty power cable of the iMac.
nooooo... this is 1kW 24V Dell server PS (or 500W 12V when single unit used) modified to work as a standard stand alone PS 😉
and it will be used just for testing purposes before I will get something more subtle 🤣😅🤣
I’m running the LCD board controls through the case—nothing fancy with this build, just keeping it simple.
Next up is a 27", but I haven’t even chosen a board yet. Ideally, I’d love to integrate as many of the iMac’s built-in features as possible—speakers, camera, mic, power supply, etc. But that could get pricey, so I may just go cheap.
Is anyone really happy with a 5K board for a 27" iMac that’s under $200? I’d love to hear your recommendations.
The truth is I am not decided whether use in-build PS or to keep it outside of the shell... and there are 2 main reasons for that:
1. heat management - no matter what the PS will generate it and I thing I would like to keep this build fanless
2. PS failure - unlikely to happen, but if so it will require screen disassembly I would like to avoid it as much as possible
TBH, I would still recommend the SA1. Price is reasonable, installation was easy, picture quality is very good (and bright), can be run over one single USB-C cable (I wanted to reduce clutter) while still serving as a hub (and you can go quite crazy there)...
The sub-par sound is due to my errors and the as for the sleeping issue, it may be due to the fact that mouse and keyboard are hooked up to the macMini (will change that, when I change the sound).
@jag001 "I'd be keen to see if there ends up anyway to make the constant current board work with the newer boards..."
It may take someone with an oscilloscope to delve into the problem...
The JRY--FA1/SA1 boards have 5 pins on the interface to control the Backlight Constant Current board, whilst the R1811 only has 2 pins - both boards also have multiple Power and Ground lines.
The JRY boards may have the extra controls to support multi-zone backlight control?
But in the only monitor detail I've found that uses the SA1 board (at 4K) – the Jichuang G272UP – there is no multi-zone support.
It has an additional backlight board to give 445 nits in SDR, and 580 nits in HDR mode.
Below is the internal layout of that monitor, showing the 12 wires running from the SA1 to it's backlight board.
Although there is a PWM line, the video seems to infer that that monitor isn't using PWM backlight brightness control.
The R1811 (and so the DZ-LP0818) does use PWM I think, on its brightness control line.
An oscilloscope would be needed to determine its pulse frequency.
However it is possible that just connecting the FA1's _ENable and _ADJust wires to the DZ's Switch Control, and ADJ input wires might work????
(Together with the power feed wires - after checking whether the SA1 outputs 12V...)
Equally likely there may be a mismatch between PWM frequency, polarity, or 5V/3.3V that may make it unworkable without extra interface circuits.
Like in earlier 2K iMac projects. 🥲:
This is the R1811 pinout:
Below
It may take someone with an oscilloscope to delve into the problem...
The JRY--FA1/SA1 boards have 5 pins on the interface to control the Backlight Constant Current board, whilst the R1811 only has 2 pins - both boards also have multiple Power and Ground lines.
The JRY boards may have the extra controls to support multi-zone backlight control?
But in the only monitor detail I've found that uses the SA1 board (at 4K) – the Jichuang G272UP – there is no multi-zone support.
It has an additional backlight board to give 445 nits in SDR, and 580 nits in HDR mode.
Below is the internal layout of that monitor, showing the 12 wires running from the SA1 to it's backlight board.
Although there is a PWM line, the video seems to infer that that monitor isn't using PWM backlight brightness control.
The R1811 (and so the DZ-LP0818) does use PWM I think, on its brightness control line.
An oscilloscope would be needed to determine its pulse frequency.
However it is possible that just connecting the FA1's _ENable and _ADJust wires to the DZ's Switch Control, and ADJ input wires might work????
(Together with the power feed wires - after checking whether the SA1 outputs 12V...)
Equally likely there may be a mismatch between PWM frequency, polarity, or 5V/3.3V that may make it unworkable without extra interface circuits.
Like in earlier 2K iMac projects. 🥲:
This is the R1811 pinout:
Below
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I use the original button, it does not have any mystery, follow the clues of the button to the two cables, one is the common one and the other the ON/OFF and you connect to the cable that goes to the original button.
@jorycz "Anyone knows how Noctua NA-FC1 is wired inside?"
No idea, but it's complicated, because it is generating a variable PWM signal when one isn't incoming...
So you would have thought the +/– signal would be passed through, but I'm not going to test.
An earlier post in this thread described 'a small spark', resulting in a dead FC1, and 0V on the R1811 12v fan socket. ☹️
No idea, but it's complicated, because it is generating a variable PWM signal when one isn't incoming...
So you would have thought the +/– signal would be passed through, but I'm not going to test.
An earlier post in this thread described 'a small spark', resulting in a dead FC1, and 0V on the R1811 12v fan socket. ☹️
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will this type of switch work as a replacement of "ugly" control board?
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I've read through this thread a couple times and don't remember seeing that anyone has done that...not sure why you would really want to.
on the aa1 board I can't control the speaker volume, if I place the bluetooth inside, then I can control the volume via a wireless connection.
@ItsAShaunParty I agree with @adriansp
I just completed my 2017 27 inch conversion using the SA1 and I couldn't be happier. I will be posting more about it soon. I re-used the speakers and the iMac case fan. Sound is actually still pretty good if you get crossovers that allow for some adjustments to the bass and treble signals. I have no sleeping issues. I also have the brightness turned down slightly - definitely no need for the constant current board, at least not in the room where the display is (I would say the room has an average brightness level - not in direct sunlight, but certainly not like a cave either)
I will also be updating the very first post of this thread with a lot of background info in general.
For those still thinking about or working through the conversion process, I recommend reviewing Post #1 of this thread. As it is now a Wikipost, we can use it as a repository for useful conversion information. This will hopefully reduce the need to take the time scrolling through the 2600+ posts on this thread, especially for those looking for driver board comparisons and other useful conversion information.
The info has been compiled from my own experience supported by many others in this thread and other locations on the web.
Note - do not post questions on it. Please create a new post for any questions.
@PaulD-UK -- I finally got around to getting the post created!
The info has been compiled from my own experience supported by many others in this thread and other locations on the web.
Note - do not post questions on it. Please create a new post for any questions.
@PaulD-UK -- I finally got around to getting the post created!
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