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Disclaimer: Neither GruntvillE
nor any of its writers, staff, members, sponsors nor affiliates
take any responsibility for anything you do or happens to you or
your property. This is designed to give you ideas for your own projects
and a good rule of thumb to go by but is not guaranteed to be 100%
correct. We feel, to the best of our knowledge, that most of you
will be fine on this project. This was designed to keep the idiots
from trying to sue us when they break something. If you understand
this, please continue. If this is not acceptable to you or you do
not understand it, please close this window immediately.
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Date: Dec 15 2002
Total Cost: approx. $150
Difficulty: 6 out of 10
Risk Factor: 4 out of 10
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| What exactly is a video module? Well, you’re
more likely to see them in the local soccer moms new minivan than
in your neighborhood RadioShack®. Figure it out yet? That’s
right, they’re most commonly used in headrests and flip-down
displays in luxury vehicles. Now with that being said, any self respecting
Modders ears should immediately “perk up”. You see, anything
designed to run natively in a vehicle is most likely 12volt; and your
PSU is also kind enough to output same voltage. This makes video modules
an excellent choice for case modification.
Tools, everyone needs some basic tools and supplies to get this
job done correctly. The majority of the tools I used are shown below.
Obviously you can substitute these with your own choices; this is
just what I used.
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• Ruler with increments in
mm or smaller
• Wire cutters/crimpers
• Fine File (optional)
• “Tweaker” otherwise known as a small double
sided screwdriver
• Sharpie® permanent marker
• Epoxy (could be substituted with Hot Glue)
• Misc. wiring
• Either a SPDT (Single Pull Double Throw) or a Rocker
type switch (optional) |
• Dremel (or other rotary
tool)
• Small milling bit
• Medium cylindrical sanding attachment
• Reinforced Cut-off Wheels |
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Now that we’re all up to speed, lets take
a look at the model we’ll be working with today; The LCD 5"
ULTRA THIN VIDEO MODULE part # 205-013 from Parts
Express. Here are some quick specs on this little beauty.
• 12 VDC Drawing ONLY 500mA
• Resolution: 960 x 234= 224,640 pixels
• Viewing area (mm):102.6 W x 74 H
• Viewing area (in): 4.04" W x 2.91" H
• Overall dimensions (mm): 127 W x 93 H x 19 D
• Overall dimensions (in): 5" W x 3.62" H x 0.75"
D
• Contrast Ratio: 80-120
• Response Time (ms): 30 Rise, 50 Fall
Now seeing as I chose to mount the module into my front Antec door,
one of the main selling points of this unit is “19mm in Depth”.
If you take a look at some of the other modules available you’ll
see the depth quickly shoots up to 40mm! That just won’t do!
You see the allowable dimensions of the door are 27mm in center
sloping out to 5mm at the edges. Even using the “Ultra Thin”
module, that puts the two outer 20mm of the module past the allowable
size of the cavity.
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Well here’s how we solve that problem. You
see that small block on the rear upper left of the module with “NTSC”
written on it? That’s the little guy that’s keeping
us at 19mm. Luckily the boards and the mounting brackets on the
back of the module can be removed with a few screws. This brings
the main unit down to a ridiculous 12mm in depth at the outer edges.
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NEXT > PAGE 2
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