So first off, I have , and read, and thought, and google, and some more, and here's where I'm left... I have removed 2 seperate LCD display's from 2 different laptops, a compaq LTE 5200 providing me a 10.4" Toshiba LTM10C039 and a compaq presario 1685 giving me a 12.1" Torisan TM121SV-02L03A, both with inverters. Looking around I have found datasheets for both displays so I know those pin-outs from that point. The Toshiba display spec has 31 pins, while the attached connector only has 30, so I assume it just dropped a GND or something along those lines. Either way, I'd need a controller for it. Upon further inspection of the Torisan display though, it appears that it has extra circuitry added to the back, so of course my thoughts were along the line of 'Am I lucky enough to have found a display with built on controller'? After inspection of the circuits it reavealed a chip that appears to be a FPGA, but that's the most I can get out of it by imediate inspection leaving conclusions to be inconclusive (that sounds funny). Also looking at the connector that connected to the laptops mobo, it has 21-pins whereas the datasheet specifies only 20-pins for the display. On a seperate note, the inverter has a 6-pin connector. So I guess what I'm asking for is this: does anyone know the layout of the 21 pin connector or where I can find such information? How about the inverter input (6-pin)? I would power-up the dead laptop but in my infinte wisdom/stupidity, I threw it away not thinking I could extract more from it than I already had. I sincerely belive that if I can find out these signals/pinouts I can build a VGA converter for it to use as I wish.
3 options: 1) buy a LCD controller (EarthLCD) 2) have a go at the VFC method 3) build a VGA controller yourself! The circuitry you see on the back of the panels are most likely the column and row driver PCB's. The 20 pin connector is LVDS. I'm donating one TFT LCD to the author of LCDInfo, he'll have a go at building a VGA controller.
Maybe I wasn't very clear on expressing what I was hoping for. I know what the 20-pin connector (even though there is no physical connector, it's more of an interface) is since it's spec'd in the datasheet, I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on the 21-pin connector signals since that's what I have to design around. After inspecting the extra circuitry on the back I have determined that yes, it is just row and column drivers so I will be completly designing my VGA controller for it, but that's what I had expected to do from the start. Doing that should be no problem but I need to know what signals I'm working with. Maybe I should be posting this somewhere else, you guys just seemed the most competent at the time. Let me know if anyone has any idea.
Sry for the revival, just thought I'd share... Afetr I had figured out the pin out on the Torisan display (much poking and proding) and what signals they used, took me ~7hrs to design and build myself a controller board for around $30 (FPGA design is soo nice). Anyways, works great, pix up later when/if I get my camera...
...and a logic diagram would be nice, too. Congrats, that's pretty hardcore by most people's definitions around here...