Making A Backlight For TiBook Keyboard?

[Goftrey]

Was just wondering if it would be possible to make one out of cathodes or LED strips running up & down the keyboard? It's just I use my TiBook a lot at night to do coursework etc. and although I'm a typer dude who doesn't have to look at the keyboard it's a nice feature. Thanks guys

 

[theos911]

I've been thinking about a similar thing for my WS. (Haven't looked much into it yet.)

 

[Byrd]

A couple of LEDs would be more than sufficient, even better if you can make a "light bar" out of a piece of thin perspex or something to carry the light more consistently. You could power the LEDs off the USB port, assuming they are 5V.

There is a bit of space under the PB Ti's keyboard where you could fit all this.

I'm playing with my PB Ti as well at the moment - it was an 867@1067, but bought a $20 junker 1000Mhz model (which also has 64MB VRAM over 32 of the other board), hoping to put this board in there @ 1200Mhz. It would make for quite a fast unit, I think the Ti model has a better G4 over Alu models (more cache etc?)?

JB

 

[theos911]

They also have OS 9.

 

[Gorgonops]

I think the Ti model has a better G4 over Alu models (more cache etc?)?

Debatable. The 867Mhz and 1Ghz models have 256k of on-die cache plus 1MB of additional "level 3" cache on the motherboard, while Aluminum models use a CPU with 512K of on-die. Which layout (bigger+slower vs. faster+smaller) would be quicker depends a *lot* on what application you're running.

My guess would be that marginally faster system bus and improved chipset in the AL models would probably leave them with the edge over an overclocked-to-the-same-rate Ti, but there might be *something* the older system does better. All I know is when I swapped a 1.33gz Al for an 867Mhz Ti as my personal machine it felt like no contest, the Al ran rings around the Ti, but... that perception could simply be due to the fact that at that time an 867Mhz G4 had reached the point where it was objectively too slow to do certain things (like play certain video formats) while a 1.33Ghz box could still pull it off. Both are of course about equally "too slow" today.

 

[BGoins12]

In some craft stores here in the US, they sell LED strips that are very thin and narrow. I'm certain you would have no problem sourcing them in the UK. They would probably fit under the keys between each row with no problem, but the biggest problem is trying to hide the power source and switch to turn them on and off. I know on my AL PowerBook, the keys are painted silver, and have transparent letters which could easily be lit up. I think the bigger Aluminum PowerBooks (15 and 17 inch ones) came with a lite up keyboard.

 

[Goftrey]

A couple of LEDs would be more than sufficient, even better if you can make a "light bar" out of a piece of thin perspex or something to carry the light more consistently. You could power the LEDs off the USB port, assuming they are 5V.
There is a bit of space under the PB Ti's keyboard where you could fit all this.

I'm playing with my PB Ti as well at the moment - it was an 867@1067, but bought a $20 junker 1000Mhz model (which also has 64MB VRAM over 32 of the other board), hoping to put this board in there @ 1200Mhz. It would make for quite a fast unit, I think the Ti model has a better G4 over Alu models (more cache etc?)?

JB

Thanks for this, I'm looking around for LED strips ATM, I'm not too sure how I'd go about making a ''light bar'' out of perspex but hey?

And good luck with your TiBook!

 

[Goftrey]

In some craft stores here in the US, they sell LED strips that are very thin and narrow. I'm certain you would have no problem sourcing them in the UK. They would probably fit under the keys between each row with no problem, but the biggest problem is trying to hide the power source and switch to turn them on and off. I know on my AL PowerBook, the keys are painted silver, and have transparent letters which could easily be lit up. I think the bigger Aluminum PowerBooks (15 and 17 inch ones) came with a lite up keyboard.

There's no craft shops around me, I'm off to Cardiff tomorrow though to have a look for some then. Thanks dude

 

[Bunsen]

dealextreme.com have a ridiculously huge range of them, though it can take a while for stuff to arrive.

 

[Superdos]

dealextreme.com have a ridiculously huge range of them, though it can take a while for stuff to arrive.

Second on the DX suggestion, they rock for prices on just about anything you can have legally shipped to the US. I just got an original TiBook 500 myself, and I thought it'd be nice to do something like this maybe, sometime in the future when I'm more daring. Since of the black semi-seethrough keyboard, it'd be pretty easy to light these suckers up. and the white plasticky-looking sticker on the bottom of the keyboard looks like it'd be able to transfer off some sort of a glow if light was applied to it. I'd suggest looking into seeing about that, as well as where you'd put a switch. For me, it'd be in the space that would have otherwise housed the modem in mine. I took it out because I'm never going to use it... so now I have space to put something in the area next to the GPU as far as that goes. You can even see if there's some way to tap into the modem connector's power connection right there... that is, if you don't use your modem either.