New back lighting? [Zen Xtra]

Plantmiester · 10-November-05, 12:22 AM

I have my MP3 player sitting here beside me, begging to have something done to it. It's out of warranty, and almost out of life, so what I do to it won't worry me too much. I've almost painted it twice, but that much is simple and I'll probably do fairly soon.

What is really piquing my interest is swapping out the boring old blue back-light for something creative and seriously sweet looking. So, I'm wondering if anyone has ever tried this themselves, or knows how to do it.

Picture of the Zen Xtra 30gig: Here

Sparky · 10-November-05, 12:32 AM

Since its an LCD id guess that its just a blue Led in there, however ive never ripped open an mp3 player to find out so your just gonna have to open it up and see. If it is its just a simple LED swap job if the LED you swap it out with is rated the same as the existing one.

To find out just put a voltmeter to the positive side while its on and plugged in and see what shes rated at.

carbongraphite · 10-November-05, 01:33 PM

if the backlight is electroluminescent then changing the color will become tricky. you could either look for an EL sheet of a different color or figure out how to get a line of SMD LEDs along the LCD like some kind of disco nokia cell phone mod.
if the backlight is already LED you may discover that behind the LCD is an array of many, many LEDs unless its edge lit. my friend has one of the "large" zens and i think they are EL backlit. it's like a brick compared to the apple product

FunkyFresh · 10-November-05, 02:09 PM

Carbongraphite is right: according to the bottom of page 81 (Technical Specifications A-2) in the Zen Xtra Manual, it has an EL (electroluminescent) backlight.

Some colored EL panels use filters to change the color. So you might get lucky and have a white backlight with blue semitransparent plastic sheet over it. Others just glow a certain color when energized, and you'd have to swap out the EL panel like carbongraphite says (or try a color lens over it to make it purple or green or something, though that'd dim it).

On the upside, I've heard you can cut EL strips to size, though I haven't tried it myself (maybe someone who has can confirm).

10-November-05, 12:22 AM		#1 (permalink)
Plantmiester Apex Techie Lite	New back lighting? [Zen Xtra] I have my MP3 player sitting here beside me, begging to have something done to it. It's out of warranty, and almost out of life, so what I do to it won't worry me too much. I've almost painted it twice, but that much is simple and I'll probably do fairly soon. What is really piquing my interest is swapping out the boring old blue back-light for something creative and seriously sweet looking. So, I'm wondering if anyone has ever tried this themselves, or knows how to do it. Picture of the Zen Xtra 30gig: Here Last edited by Plantmiester; 10-November-05 at 12:28 AM.. Reason: Added Pic

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10-November-05, 12:32 AM		#2 (permalink)
Sparky Apex Tech God	Since its an LCD id guess that its just a blue Led in there, however ive never ripped open an mp3 player to find out so your just gonna have to open it up and see. If it is its just a simple LED swap job if the LED you swap it out with is rated the same as the existing one. To find out just put a voltmeter to the positive side while its on and plugged in and see what shes rated at.

10-November-05, 01:33 PM		#3 (permalink)
carbongraphite Pow - Hoe playa	if the backlight is electroluminescent then changing the color will become tricky. you could either look for an EL sheet of a different color or figure out how to get a line of SMD LEDs along the LCD like some kind of disco nokia cell phone mod. if the backlight is already LED you may discover that behind the LCD is an array of many, many LEDs unless its edge lit. my friend has one of the "large" zens and i think they are EL backlit. it's like a brick compared to the apple product

10-November-05, 02:09 PM		#4 (permalink)
FunkyFresh 'Da Doctor of Funk	Carbongraphite is right: according to the bottom of page 81 (Technical Specifications A-2) in the Zen Xtra Manual, it has an EL (electroluminescent) backlight. Some colored EL panels use filters to change the color. So you might get lucky and have a white backlight with blue semitransparent plastic sheet over it. Others just glow a certain color when energized, and you'd have to swap out the EL panel like carbongraphite says (or try a color lens over it to make it purple or green or something, though that'd dim it). On the upside, I've heard you can cut EL strips to size, though I haven't tried it myself (maybe someone who has can confirm).