Taking the plunge, and getting myself in gear, I'm starting off on my first projector.

I purchased a Polaroid 7" LCD screen from Ebay last week, and it arrived today. Eager to see what I could to it, I (carefully) tore it open.

Here's what I purchased
Click to view attachment

...and after I exposed the innards:
Click to view attachment


I froze. I honestly got extremely nervous. I didn't know what to touch, where to start pulling, what to keep in tact, and what was ok to touch.

Well, for starters, just don't static fry anything. Touch a metal part of the casing before you touch any chips. This will release your static to the case in a safe way.

Everything is usually identifyable by what it's connected to. Just take it all apart slowly and carefully. If something doesn't come away, you probably missed a screw or a clip. The only circuit board you can get rid of, and still have a functioning lcd, is the backlight board (usually a smaller board with a wire going to, you guessed it, the backlight)(EDIT: probably the one with the pink and white wires). You can loose the speakers too. Everything else stays.

Trust me, once you start taking stuff out and it's not such a big mess, it seems less daunting.

edit - NM - coffee turning my brain on

red arrows answered my question

I managed to get all the boards properly and carefully disconnected from the surrounding plastic (keeping every single screw, just in case ), and *carefully* untangled the wires so it could lay flat. I've absolutely disconnected nothing else (with the exception of the speakers), just because of my dumb luck with "what does this wire do?" syndrome.

One of the big things that's confusing me at the moment (before I even start putting projector parts together) is the fact that there are 2 different power inputs (not including the battery). The labelling on the side of the unit says 9.5v, but there's an In and an Out jack. The unit didn't come with a power supply (so I guess I'll be hitting The Source or Walmart or something for one), but this just seems a little odd to me.

If you have the model number, you could probably go to the Polaroid site and download the user guide.

Thanks for that gentle reminder, Quasi. I often forget that user manuals can be found online (don't why I forget that, tho).

Anyway, this looks like what I've got

Edit: Nope. that's not it. Still looking...
Edit2: This looks like it (User Guide - Extra Screen). I'm at work, so I don't have the unit in front of me. It was shipped in a plain brown box, and without docs, so nothing stands out in my mind about it. Looking at search results, it appears that I have Unit #2 of a 2-piece item.

The bug has really bitten now, and I want to rush home and get this projector up and running today!

The Jacks labeled IN / OUT are most likely video Jacks.

for the 9v input, your going to want a power brick that can supply at least 2 amps.

Most supply 2 to 3 amps however with the back light disconected you save some power requirments.

From the User Guide (User Guide - Extra Screen, page 6)...


Click to view attachment

3. Audio Input Jack
Used for audio input.

4. Video Input Jack
Use for video input.

5. DC 9.5V Output Jack
Used for output power to the master DVD player.

6. DC 9.5V Input Jack
Used to connect the power adapter, including the car adapter.

Well, that is nothing like my portable.
Nevermind then.

Ok, I've run across a bit of a stumbling block, and I could really use some help...

When I try connect the DC adapter (ordered directly from Polaroid, so I know it's the correct one), I get absolutely no indication that power is going to the board (there is a red LED that shows when power is going to it). Once in awhile (about 1 in 50 times), I will get a brief flash of the red LED, but that's it. When I connect the battery connector to the battery pack, however, I get constant power. So I'm pretty positive that it is the POWER IN connector on the LCD screen that is having issues.

How can I get around this? Having zero experience with circuit boards (I can plug in video cards to computers with the best of them, but that's it), I'm not even certain if I can replace this part. If I can't, then am I "dead in the water" before I even really get going?

As always, any and all help is greatly appreciated.

EDIT: forgot to mention, I've been through 2 different adapters, both sent directly from Polaroid, thinking that the first adapter might have been faulty (don't have any other 9.5v DC electronics around the house to try them on)

1. Use a voltmeter to ensure that you're geting power from the adapter. Unlikely though it is, it's been known to happen and on more than one adapter.

2. Check the contacts on the socket. Does the power adapter feel like it's making contact when you plug it in? Does wiggling the plug make a difference?

3. Check the connection at the jack. Does the jack move? This may indicate a fault in the solder joint (Generally this can be repaired easily enough witha soldering iron.)