Monitor Modding

[Burn23]

So, I was thinking about modding my monitor to match my case... really just removing the outer shell and giving it a paint job, and maybe some other stuff once i get the shell off. Any place out there that could help me out and show me anything that i might need to know before jumping right into this.. :) 'Cuz it looks like my monitor only has a few screws that hold the shell to the face.... maybe more once i get it open though.

[Ruckus]

I dont know of any moitor tutorials, but I've alweays liked the monitor mods. i.e. windows in the side and color matching. I cant stress enough though DO NOT TOUCH THE CAPACITOR IN THE MONITOR. It can kill shoot you across the room and stop your heart.

[Burn23]

Originally posted by Ruckus
DO NOT TOUCH THE CAPACITOR IN THE MONITOR!!!!

oh, HELL NO! no worries... thanks for caring :)

[Vertigo Acid]

www.twistedmods.com has a tutorial for monitor mods

[JMasterFunk]

Let monitor sit off and unplugged for a few days...
a few days later press the power button on and off just to make sure it's as discharged as you can get it...
Remove back of Monitor... set aside...
If you REALLY want.. take a screwdriver or preferably a resistor and discharge the capacitors that look scary to you.
try not to put your fingers under the suction cup...
remove four screws attaching tube to front.... remove other screws that are holding in the PC board, etc....

CAREFULLY set tube aside... take the board with it.

you now should have all the plastic peices separate...
spray with vinyl die or whatever you're doing.. cut holes, change LEDs from ugly to another color.....
let dry...
put monitor back together.... and don't fuck it up.
profit....

That's how I did it...


oh yeah.. and i'm not responsible if you do something horribly wrong....

[Ruckus]

Originally posted by JMasterFunk
Let monitor sit off and unplugged for a few days...
a few days later press the power button on and off just to make sure it's as discharged as you can get it...
Remove back of Monitor... set aside...
If you REALLY want.. take a screwdriver or preferably a resistor and discharge the capacitors that look scary to you.
try not to put your fingers under the suction cup...
remove four screws attaching tube to front.... remove other screws that are holding in the PC board, etc....

CAREFULLY set tube aside... take the board with it.

you now should have all the plastic peices separate...
spray with vinyl die or whatever you're doing.. cut holes, change LEDs from ugly to another color.....
let dry...
put monitor back together.... and don't fuck it up.
profit....

That's how I did it...


oh yeah.. and i'm not responsible if you do something horribly wrong....

LOL you better remember to ground the screwdriver or you get a nice suprise, because you become the ground.

[eL c0L0mb1aNo]

Originally posted by Vertigo Acid
www.twistedmods.com has a tutorial for monitor mods

That was the best I've seen. YOu might also want to try www.bit-tech.net I think i saw a tutorial there. Look in the articles section. Don't kill yourself though. The only really dangerous part of the monitor is under the little suction cup dealy. The rest won't necessarily kill you but you might want to stay away from it if you are really scared. :)

[’m‚³‚ñ]

Originally posted by eL c0L0mb1aNo
That was the best I've seen. YOu might also want to try www.bit-tech.net I think i saw a tutorial there. Look in the articles section. Don't kill yourself though. The only really dangerous part of the monitor is under the little suction cup dealy. The rest won't necessarily kill you but you might want to stay away from it if you are really scared. :)

I know someone who was almost killed by a capacitor in a disposable camera.

[emorphien]

Originally posted by ’m‚³‚ñ
I know someone who was almost killed by a capacitor in a disposable camera.

I know someone who got tossed across the room by one too.

[’m‚³‚ñ]

Originally posted by emorphien
I know someone who got tossed across the room by one too.

Did he have second degree burns on his hands/skin? The guy I know that did that had severe burns on his fingers and one of his thumbs.

[DRxAndy]

ive painted two monitors
take your time taking it apart
be very cautious
and you'll be fine
oh also
krylon fusion is awesome :D

[phasmatis_nox]

Originally posted by ’m‚³‚ñ
I know someone who was almost killed by a capacitor in a disposable camera.

Uh.... I've done that many times.

[eL c0L0mb1aNo]

Originally posted by ’m‚³‚ñ
I know someone who was almost killed by a capacitor in a disposable camera.

Meh. Me and my dad have played around with many monitors, televisions, VCRs, etc. As long as you unplug them and turn it on and off a few times to get rid of whatever charge is in there you should be fine. Just keep your hands away from them if you really are that worried about them. Also depends on what parts you touch. But to be safe follow what everyone else has been saying.

[’m‚³‚ñ]

Just curious... Would a grounding strap help at all? I mean, wouldn't most of the electricity go through the grounding strap into the third prong of your 3 prong outlet?

I've taken apart many a powersupply. Good way to get free fans. :p Dead power supplies, that is. Some of them still worked, though.

[Whatsisname]

uh sure they have plenty of power but they dont have enough to toss someone across the room.

Originally posted by emorphien
I know someone who got tossed across the room by one too.

[emorphien]

Originally posted by Whatsisname
uh sure they have plenty of power but they dont have enough to toss someone across the room.

right. :rolleyes: When your body convulses from one of those things (if it doesn't kill you) you'll probably launch yourself in some direction.

[cgrant26]

All you have to do to de-energize the flyback transformer and CRT is pull the plug while the monitor is on. I still wouldn't touch anything that looks ominous though. I tried to a disassembly with pictures for a tutorial but the old ass monitor I picked was probably the worst example I could have found and most of the pics were crappy. I'll have to give it another go when I take apart my main monitor for cleaning next time.
One important thing to remember is to tape off or remove any moving parts as not to adversly affect their operation. (I.E. adjustment knobs, access doors, power buttons, Etc.) Also don't forget to spray the paint from all 4 sides so you don't discover any unpainted spots when you put it back together. Those vent grills can be a real bitch to fully coat. For really nice paint finishes, you can warm up your oven and place parts in it to dry. This will help give the paint a nice glaze. Just make sure you turn it off before putting plastic parts in there because the local heat from powered heat coils can warp or melt the plastic.

[SpLIZaaT]

Monitor mod part 1:
http://www.twistedmods.com/modules.php?name=Sections&op=viewarticle&artid=192

Monitor Mod part 2:
http://www.twistedmods.com/modules.php?name=Sections&op=viewarticle&artid=213

Courtesy of www.TwistedMods.com

[Vertigo Acid]

Just curious... Would a grounding strap help at all? I mean, wouldn't most of the electricity go through the grounding strap into the third prong of your 3 prong outlet?

I actually ROFL'ed when I read this... If you wear a grounding strap, you are going to die!!!! The key to staying alive when working around high voltage/amperage electricity is to *NOT* be a ground. Hence, that's why people that work on power poles and the like wear rubber shoes and are isolated from the ground. If you are completely and totally 100% ungrounded and have no clear path to ground from your body ( Dunno how you'd acchieve this), you could touch all the caps and flybacks you wanted to, and then you would be at the same potential as it. Then, you could shoot electricity out of your body to a grounded object, say you neighbour. However, you'd die because you completed the circuit through you. Kinda OT, but fun to think about anyway.

[ItsTooHot]

Originally posted by phasmatis_nox
Uh.... I've done that many times.


Well that explains a lot...

[Burn23]

Originally posted by SpLIZaaT
Monitor mod part 1:
http://www.twistedmods.com/modules.php?name=Sections&op=viewarticle&artid=192

Monitor Mod part 2:
http://www.twistedmods.com/modules.php?name=Sections&op=viewarticle&artid=213

Courtesy of www.TwistedMods.com

Awesome, thanks for the good links!!:)


Originally posted by ’m‚³‚ñ
Just curious... Would a grounding strap help at all? I mean, wouldn't most of the electricity go through the grounding strap into the third prong of your 3 prong outlet?


hehe, yeh, maybe ill stand in a puddle while i do this! :D

[Whatsisname]

you hit two poles of the same cap you will fry, whether you are grounded to the 'outside' or not.

Originally posted by Vertigo Acid
I actually ROFL'ed when I read this... If you wear a grounding strap, you are going to die!!!! The key to staying alive when working around high voltage/amperage electricity is to *NOT* be a ground. Hence, that's why people that work on power poles and the like wear rubber shoes and are isolated from the ground. If you are completely and totally 100% ungrounded and have no clear path to ground from your body ( Dunno how you'd acchieve this), you could touch all the caps and flybacks you wanted to, and then you would be at the same potential as it. Then, you could shoot electricity out of your body to a grounded object, say you neighbour. However, you'd die because you completed the circuit through you. Kinda OT, but fun to think about anyway.

[’m‚³‚ñ]

Originally posted by Whatsisname
you hit two poles of the same cap you will fry, whether you are grounded to the 'outside' or not.

I don't know. I've heard stories about people being grounded and getting way more than enough voltage/amperage to kill someone and they only felt a little buzz. Not sure of the exact circumstances though.

[Sc0rched]

Using a grounding strap is not the smartest idea when dealing with monitors. You can read that anywhere... Its different with PCs, but when you are dealing with monitors and power supplies the capacitors in them are carrying an electrical charge which you dont wanna mess with, while PCs dont.

[File]

Speaking of horrible death by electricity, has anyone actually been killed by a monitor before?

[phasmatis_nox]

Originally posted by ItsTooHot
Well that explains a lot...


Ha ha! HA HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! SO FUNNY!!!

BTW, I'm in MA too.

[Whatsisname]

whether you or grounded or not has very little effect on whether caps are going to fry you or not.

Originally posted by ’m‚³‚ñ
I don't know. I've heard stories about people being grounded and getting way more than enough voltage/amperage to kill someone and they only felt a little buzz. Not sure of the exact circumstances though.

[randyc]

this reminds me when I was little, like 8 or nine years old I pulled apart an old monitor and had no idea of the risks.

(I lived through it btw)

[’m‚³‚ñ]

Originally posted by File
Speaking of horrible death by electricity, has anyone actually been killed by a monitor before?

Not that I know of. Although, I might die from a monitor sooner or later (I used to work in a small, enclosed space at school with a pile of monitors. One would fall off and start hissing, or someone would kick one over and it would hiss. Lots of broken tubes...)

[cgrant26]

Originally posted by File
Speaking of horrible death by electricity, has anyone actually been killed by a monitor before?

Absolutely. The Best Buy service center I worked at had 2 TV/Monitor related deaths alone in the past 10 years. I don't know what the figures are nation wide, but I bet it's a lot.

[Compuwiz]

Originally posted by emorphien
I know someone who got tossed across the room by one too.

You cannot be killed by a capacitor in a camera that has a 1.5V AA battery in it....moron.

It sings, might hurt a little, and it will leave some scar marks on your skin....but its not enough to kill you. If ya wanna have some fun with it though, cross the two wires on the capacitor and see what happens. :D

[Ruckus]

Originally posted by File
Speaking of horrible death by electricity, has anyone actually been killed by a monitor before?

Yes i knew an older guy in his late 40's early 50's that his heart stopped after being shocked from a monitor capacitor.

[emorphien]

Originally posted by Compuwiz
You cannot be killed by a capacitor in a camera that has a 1.5V AA battery in it....moron.

It sings, might hurt a little, and it will leave some scar marks on your skin....but its not enough to kill you. If ya wanna have some fun with it though, cross the two wires on the capacitor and see what happens. :D

Shows what you know. "moron" grow up a little.

[Vertigo Acid]

Don't really want to make this turn into a flame thread, but i've got some experience w/ bioelectrics. I'm involved in Athletic Medicine at my school extracirricularly, and work with E-Stim (Eletrical Stimulation) machines daily. The amount of electricy required to kill you if discharged across or through the heart is in the 2-digit milliamps, ie 10-20mA. The voltage doesn't really matter death wise(more likely to get shocked w/ a high potential tho).

So, yes, if you took for example a capacitor out of a camera, hook a sharp probe up to either side, and shoved one on each side of you circulatory system, with a path through you heart, you probably will die.

[fenton06]

has anyone evertriedmolding an LCDflat panel into the side of a case? I think thats what I'm goingto do with my next case.

[’m‚³‚ñ]

Originally posted by Vertigo Acid
Don't really want to make this turn into a flame thread, but i've got some experience w/ bioelectrics. I'm involved in Athletic Medicine at my school extracirricularly, and work with E-Stim (Eletrical Stimulation) machines daily. The amount of electricy required to kill you if discharged across or through the heart is in the 2-digit milliamps, ie 10-20mA. The voltage doesn't really matter death wise(more likely to get shocked w/ a high potential tho).

So, yes, if you took for example a capacitor out of a camera, hook a sharp probe up to either side, and shoved one on each side of you circulatory system, with a path through you heart, you probably will die.

That is true. My mother is an RN, so I have seen a few documents showing how this happens.

However, Cameras don't just take 1.5v, they store up electricity in their capacitor(s). They actually can store 230 volts and up. Don't believe me? Well, then, open up a disposable camera yourself and find out. How else would my aquantience get second degree burns on his hand?

[emorphien]

Those capacitors store a large amount of energy to give the flash enough power to fire. Granted the caps in a disposable are small, but they're still quite dangerous.


If I had a disposable to take apart I'd tell you what cap it has in it.

[Whatsisname]

doesnt matter that the battery is 1.5v. The camera has circuitry that feeds the caps upwards of 300volts. If you are an unlucky fellow, that can stop your heart.

Originally posted by Compuwiz
You cannot be killed by a capacitor in a camera that has a 1.5V AA battery in it....moron.

It sings, might hurt a little, and it will leave some scar marks on your skin....but its not enough to kill you. If ya wanna have some fun with it though, cross the two wires on the capacitor and see what happens. :D

[MasiveMunkey]

I've taken apart a disposable camera and was shocked by it, but it didn't seem that big to me and it definitly didn't damage me in any way. How can you resist not taking them apart... it's so much fun.:)

[emorphien]

Originally posted by MasiveMunkey
I've taken apart a disposable camera and was shocked by it, but it didn't seem that big to me and it definitly didn't damage me in any way. How can you resist not taking them apart... it's so much fun.:)

You got lucky, there must not have been much stored in the capacitor when you got to it.

[Vertigo Acid]

Luck and the amount of energy really has nothing to do with it. It is mearly where the energy is discharged across in your body. You could hypothetically discharge 20A thru the two sides of your finger, and you'd live, but loose your hand to 3rd degree burns.

[Whatsisname]

Luck and the amount of energy have a lot to do with it dumbass.

Originally posted by Vertigo Acid
Luck and the amount of energy really has nothing to do with it. It is mearly where the energy is discharged across in your body. You could hypothetically discharge 20A thru the two sides of your finger, and you'd live, but loose your hand to 3rd degree burns.

[Vertigo Acid]

I see no reason to start name calling over this issues. I would assert that luck has nothing to do with it because with a capacitor, the chances of the 2 leads or their connecting wires touching on either side of the heart, spinal cord, etc to be very slim to none. Furthermore, as I've already said, for death by electricity the amount of energy is relativly unimportant, simply because of the very small amount required to kill, depending on what it flows through.

[’m‚³‚ñ]

Originally posted by Vertigo Acid
I see no reason to start name calling over this issues. I would assert that luck has nothing to do with it because with a capacitor, the chances of the 2 leads or their connecting wires touching on either side of the heart, spinal cord, etc to be very slim to none. Furthermore, as I've already said, for death by electricity the amount of energy is relativly unimportant, simply because of the very small amount required to kill, depending on what it flows through.

Depends on the resistance of your blood. :p

[Whatsisname]

it doesnt matter where on your body you get zapped. your body has very high resistance, and therefore the charge will spread all over your body searching for a path. Your heart will feel it. Secondly, the amount of energy is very important. Sure it takes a small amperage to throw the heart off, but in order to have that amperage, you need a great load of voltage. The different between 12 volts vs 300 volts vs 12,000 is whats going to tell whether you live or die, more than any other factor.

Originally posted by Vertigo Acid
I see no reason to start name calling over this issues. I would assert that luck has nothing to do with it because with a capacitor, the chances of the 2 leads or their connecting wires touching on either side of the heart, spinal cord, etc to be very slim to none. Furthermore, as I've already said, for death by electricity the amount of energy is relativly unimportant, simply because of the very small amount required to kill, depending on what it flows through.

[Vertigo Acid]

Skin resistance: ~500K - 1M Ohm
Hemoglobin (Rust) and electrolyte filled blood resistance: ~100 Ohms

http://www.darwinawards.com/darwin/darwin1999-50.html
(Questionable source on the death itself... yes, well informed on internal resistance and the like, yup)

The different between 12 volts vs 300 volts vs 12,000 is whats going to tell whether you live or die, more than any other factor.


So, if I lick, say, a car battery charge which has an output in the range of ~12-20v, and a peak amperage of 100A, I have a lower chance of dying vs. say, a Van de Graaff generator operating at ~400,000V :eek: , but with say, a 10 MICROamp current. Why don't you die from Van de Graaff generators, then? Luck, no. It's all about where that electricty is discharging through.

... But I thought voltage, not amperage, was the primary factor in death by electricity. :rolleyes:

http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/construction/electrical_incidents/eleccurrent.html As much as I don't trust our Government, OSHA.gov is still a good source of information

Oh, and ’m‚³‚ñ, agreed. Now, get out the VOM and the knife, and measure! :D

edited because I found some more info on the resistance of the human body

[’m‚³‚ñ]

Originally posted by Vertigo Acid
Skin resistance: ~500K - 1M Ohm
Hemoglobin (Rust) and electrolyte filled blood resistance: ~100 Ohms

http://www.darwinawards.com/darwin/darwin1999-50.html
(Questionable source on the death itself... yes, well informed on internal resistance and the like, yup)


So, if I lick, say, a car battery charge which has an output in the range of ~12-20v, and a peak amperage of 100A, I have a lower chance of dying vs. say, a Van de Graaff generator operating at ~400,000V :eek: , but with say, a 10 MICROamp current. Why don't you die from Van de Graaff generators, then? Luck, no. It's all about where that electricty is discharging through.

... But I thought voltage, not amperage, was the primary factor in death by electricity. :rolleyes:

http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/construction/electrical_incidents/eleccurrent.html As much as I don't trust our Government, OSHA.gov is still a good source of information

Oh, and ’m‚³‚ñ, agreed. Now, get out the VOM and the knife, and measure! :D

edited because I found some more info on the resistance of the human body

NO problem with the knife, but I don't have a VOM. :p

[Rabid Yellow Dog]

i don't know what kind of disposable cameras you buy, but on a flight from frankfurt to san francisco, me and my friends broke one open and shocked ourselves for fun (it was a long flight). the worst it did was make your finger or knee or whatever you shocked twitch for a couple minutes. disposable cameras are not that dangerous-i speak from experience:o

[MAXX RS4]

I know someone who was almost killed by a capacitor in a disposable camera.


The capacitors in disposable cameras reach a maximum of about 400v with rather low wattage. Not nearly enough to kill you, but plenty enough to leave some scar tissue on your nutsac.

Note to remember: Don't touch capacitors to nutsac.

[MD_Willington]

I know someone who was almost killed by a capacitor in a disposable camera.

I killed a capacitor the size of a hand grenade...got it before it got me ;) BOOM!

LOL

MD