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ViewSonic VA2232W-LED Monitor 12v Conversion

ID Label
ID Label

On the quest to get things on board replaced that are heavy users of power, the monitor in the main cabin was next. The original CCFL-backlit monitor was very heavy on 12v power, at 5A. This meant falling asleep watching TV would result in severely flattened batteries.

Replacement with a suitable LED-backlit monitor was definitely required. The cheapest on eBay was a ViewSonic VA2232W-LED, so I took to work converting it from 240v to 12v operation.

Back Cover Removed
Back Cover Removed

There are no screws holding these monitors together, so a spudger & frequent swearing got the back off. The shield holding the circuitry is also not screwed down, only attached to the back of the LCD panel with aluminium shielding tape.

Power PCB Trackside
Power PCB Trackside

Once the tape has been cut, the main power board is accessible. The large IC on the left is the main backlight LED driver.

In this case the monitor requires a pair of rails from the supply, 18.5v for the backlight circuitry & 5v for the logic.

DC-DC Regulators
DC-DC Regulators

A pair of DC-DC converters has been fitted in the small space between the power & control boards.

PCB Connection Points
PCB Connection Points

To save me some work & keep maximum compatibility, I’ve not modified the existing supply, just attached the new DC-DC converter outputs onto the corresponding outputs of the factory PSU. The 12v input leads are routed out of the same gap as the mains IEC connector, with some hot glue over the mains input solder points to provide some more insulation.

Wiring Tidied
Wiring Tidied

The wiring is tidied up with hot glue so the back cover will go back on.

Total current draw at 12v is 1.4A.