LCD Display Problem Help Needed

[callan]

Hi, my citizen's lcd is giving me an issue, it is working fine but you can see faintly the rest of the display in the background, from some angles it looks ok from others it all almost belnds to the point wher you cant differentiate between what you want displayed and the background bleeding through, any ideas / cheers

[retroleds]

That is a disappointing and frustrating problem. There is a piece of polarized plastic over the display, which blocks light waves except from certain directions. Your old plastic starts losing it's clarity(no decent UV inhibitors back then) and starts catching and passing light from other directions. It is hard to find the correct sheet, as there is an optimal relationship between how far apart the microscopic lines in the polarized plastic are, and the distance the plastic is from the actual liquid crystals. And the direction the lines run also is a factor - and different companies do things differently to avoid patent issues.

The plastic is often hard to remove, and it seems unless you are a manufactuerer of smaller LCD displays, the correct polarizing film is virtually impossible to find.

Early Seikos and CItizens (just my opinion) seem a bit more prone to this than some others. Possibly they were using same suppliers for the film or the entire display matrixs.

[callan]

That is a disappointing and frustrating problem. There is a piece of polarized plastic over the display, which blocks light waves except from certain directions. Your old plastic starts losing it's clarity(no decent UV inhibitors back then) and starts catching and passing light from other directions. It is hard to find the correct sheet, as there is an optimal relationship between how far apart the microscopic lines in the polarized plastic are, and the distance the plastic is from the actual liquid crystals. And the direction the lines run also is a factor - and different companies do things differently to avoid patent issues.

The plastic is often hard to remove, and it seems unless you are a manufactuerer of smaller LCD displays, the correct polarizing film is virtually impossible to find.

Early Seikos and CItizens (just my opinion) seem a bit more prone to this than some others. Possibly they were using same suppliers for the film or the entire display matrixs.

Thanks for the reply, so is this likely to just deteriorate as time goes by ? obviously it isn't going to get any better ! any idea on life expectancy ?

[retroleds]

Thanks for the reply, so is this likely to just deteriorate as time goes by ? obviously it isn't going to get any better ! any idea on life expectancy ?

Doesn't affect it's life, just your enjoyment. They get to a point and then don't seem to deteriorate much beyond that.

I fix your reply - just put your text after the [/quote] code/text, that is the end of the quoted stuff. Quote code is in pairs, like most all other computer code, so the computer can logically decide where somethign starts and stops:

your text

No biggy.

[Adam]

I have had some luck replacing the filters maybe I was just lucky. Here is a Seiko 0674 I put a new front polarizing filter on as the back has graphics printed on it.

Adam

[callan]

Ok, thanks, so where do i get polarizing filters from ?

[LEDluvr]

WOW - what a difference Ummedia. Did you removed the old filter or did you just place the new filter ontop of the LCD screen ?

[Adam]

I very carefully removed the old filter and replaced with new filter. I have had varying degrees of success. Its just a very scary process for me, well it was with the 0674 as those lcds are like gold dust.

Seeing what you guys do with LEDs I doubt it would be much of a problem.

Adam

[callan]

yeah man but where do you get the filters from ?

[Adam]

Polariziation.com or even ebay. I havent tried the adhesive backed version but when I order more I think i'll give it a try.

But please Callan, this isnt for the faint hearted, one slip and its over, these lcds are no longer available if you mess up.

Adam

[LEDluvr]

Ummedia, how did you manage to get the filter to come off?
Did you heat it up a bit, or use a razor's edge on a corner to get a little area lifted so that you could peel it off?
Inquiring minds want to know.

[Adam]

I use a scalpel and a hairdryer depending on how the glue reacts. You have to be really careful, I use light cutting movement and just let the blade do the work. Some filters are only glued on the outside edge while others are fully glued(joy), once removed I gently wipe off any additional adhesive with Isopropanol.


Adam

[LEDluvr]

You did a great job with this one. Thanks for the info ummedia.