Ghetto monitor backlight fix.. Will this actually work?

[Veraster]

I have a Dell ST2010 monitor that has gone dim. A few days before it permanently became dim, the brightness was flickering between dim and fully bright. It eventually quit flickering and just stayed super dim. I bought a new monitor a long time ago but I haven't thrown the dim monitor away yet in hope that I will find a cheap way to fix it. Since it costs the same amount of money or more to repair a monitor than it is to buy a new one, I haven't even bothered with it.

Today I came across this
A few hours of modding and a $5 lightblub is a much more attractive solution than a $150 set of lights that probably won't work or sending the monitor to a repair shop that costs $200 just for them to give you a price estimate.

I noticed that the monitor they used is an older one. When I took apart mine, there was a metal panel separating the display panel from the rest of the monitor's guts. Do I dare take it off? Will poisonous gas of some kind be exposed? Will breaking it apart instantly kill it like taking apart a hard drive does? I haven't found any notable differences between the specs on that Dell ST2010 and the specs on the Dell E172FP other than screen resolutions, contrast ratio and size.

 

[patonb]

Yes it'll work, but you kjnow lights are only like 20 bucks.

I'd email these folks
LCDPARTS.net

 

[Veraster]

OK thanks. I thought I'd get a bunch of responses saying stuff like "you're an idiot don't ever try it". I'll see if I can get a back light from that website.

 

[patonb]

No, that's a cool mod actually, kinda like retro dude..
But it does make your monitor huge again.

 

[Veraster]

I think I'm going to make a new case out of plywood for it and put a few florescent light blubs behind the display panel. It will look cool that way. Are the florescent light bulbs you buy at lowes AC or DC?

 

[patonb]

Hmm, I think they can be both.

 

[Veraster]

I have the lights now. How do I power them? I have three 12 inch lights that take 8 watts each. The package doesn't say how many volts or if it's AC or DC current.
I went to Radio Shack hoping they'd know how to power those lights. They just said to go to Lowes. So I went to Lowes, asked if they had anything to power those fluorescent lights and they didn't even know what I was talking about. I don't see how they can sell fluorescent lights and not even know how to power them. They couldn't even tell me how many volts those lights use or if they need AC or DC current. They just said to go to Radio Shack.

EDIT:
I took a volt-meter and measured the voltage on my fluorescent lamp. It's AC120. However, I looked at the package on the lights I purchased and they are T5 bulbs. Not sure if that makes a difference.

 

[patonb]

Gotta link to them?

 

[Veraster]

The ones I bought are three of these.

The item description on the website says that the length of the bulb is 22 inches. The bulb is actually 12 inches long like it says in the title.

EDIT:
Walmart has a 6 inch bulb listed but the picture has the 12 inch unit on it which is what I have. Walmart doesn't have a very organized website :s
link

 

[patonb]

Those are DC , and you will require to macgyver up your wireing harness from the lcd panel, aswell as a way to keep them secure..