PowerBook 165 with screen issues

[AndyO]

I seem to be collecting 100-series PowerBooks at present!

I just acquired a 165 which was sold as dead, and I wanted a few spares so I bought it. When it was delivered, I was surprised to find that with my new power adapter it booted without a problem. However, the screen is definitely not happy.

When set to black and white, and with a light desktop, it is just about OK, though there is a bit of visible slow rippling/flickering. When it has a dark desktop, or is set to greyscale, the image on screen inverts, and the slow rippling/flickering is very noticeable. The brightness and contrast controls don't really help, though they do work.

There are no apparent aberrations on the screen such as dark lines etc, and I assume the issue is most likely to be that the display needs recapping. Not that I have ever done this, or even know how to take it apart, but if this does sound like a recap task, does anyone have a list of the caps I need, and where to get them from?

I do have a soldering iron. I'm not very competent with it, and it's probably not that well suited to fine work. However I'm inclined to give it a go if I can get the parts, not least because I wasn't expecting the laptop to work at all, so it seems a good thing to try and preserve it in working condition instead of turn it into a pile of parts.

 

[3lectr1cPPC]

I did a quick search and found this video on recapping a 165 display, maybe this can help?
This panel looks a lot different than other passive-matrix panels I've seen. It uses those nasty SMD electrolytics instead of the weird plastic-cased ones I've seen on other boards.

 

[Juror22]

The caps in the video were the ones that I had in my 165, when I recapped it, but I don't recall having as much of an issue removing the old caps (on that one) as the person in the video did. Of course, mine were trying to leak and I think that made them come off a little easier.

I do have a soldering iron. I'm not very competent with it, and it's probably not that well suited to fine work.

My first soldering iron that I used for recapping was a really cheap Radio Shack model that plugged in and heated up. I practiced before I worked on my first recap and still should have practiced more. I cannot stress enough, that you should practice soldering a bit elsewhere first, so that you don't mess up the screen by 'practicing' there. One of the advantages of our throw-away society is that you can go out to almost any garage/basement/etc and find some piece of old cast-off electronics that you can safely practice on, before making the attempt on your prize Mac. Also, do not underestimate the importance of good solder and flux to assist in the process of desoldering as well as soldering.

Don't forget to learn from the others on the forum about how to remove caps - there are several different ways to do it and I've found that for me, it helps to know each of the different methods and use the one that works best for you and the situation.
Don't overheat the board and be patient, you can always try again later, but its very difficult to come back from a burnt board or a pulled pad (especially on the smaller boards in a laptop).

I don't have a list of the caps that I used, but I will try to find out if I have the values written down. I remember getting my caps from suppliers on eBay, but that was several years ago and some of those sellers may or may not be available anymore. I also go through Mouser for larger orders or specialized things that I cannot find (or don't trust to source) elsewhere.

When you remove the screen for disassembly, it is a good time to lubricate the hinges, so be sure to take care of that at the time and enjoy your laptop, once you get it sorted.

 

[AndyO]

The video was extremely helpful.... partly in serving to convince me I'm more likely to do harm than good! Pretty sure I can get the display apart safely enough, but that didn't look like a beginner project!

That said however, it's not time critical so it can wait until I'm ready to give it a try, and the panel itself looks in good condition from the standpoint of clarity and backlight, so it is definitely worth doing I think.

And it does seem sensible to learn the dark arts of recapping if I'm going to use these old systems... and I am, because they're so much better to get productive work done on!