http://i28.tinypic.com/3479mbl.jpg
http://i29.tinypic.com/111ibnn.jpg
http://i27.tinypic.com/97thc2.jpg

BTW – my LCD case was a little different to take a part. I could not locate the “green tabs” as indicated in the PDF. I started at the back bottom right and began prying on the case until it came apart. I managed to break the little clips in each of the four corners, but I doubt it will have any problems as the stand on the back pretty much holds the load.

Thanks again!

-Andy

My board is Rev 0.1 with no 680µF caps and a 150µF at C105. All caps are CrapXon except the 330µF’s which are Samxon (Hong Kong). All caps are rated at 105ºC.

I will order a complete Cap replacement set but, since only the 820µF caps at C110,C111 were bulging, I went with the Radio Shack 1000µF 35V caps, pn 292-1032, 85ºC, $1.59 each. At 12.5mm x 20mm, height is perfect but the diameter is a little too wide so one had to be tilted slightly.

Thanks to Nick, a $1 2″ Plastic Putty Knife works perfectly for opening the case. Standing the panel upright, upside down, and holding the knife ‘stabbing’ style, starting over the ‘Samsung’ label, just push down with increasing pressure until the snaps yield. It sounds like they’re breaking but they’re not. Once the first ones open, just slide the knife along the widening gap while still pusing down with a rocking motion. The corners were a bit harder so I didn’t force them, just rotated the panel and started in the middle of the next side.

I used a $.50 10W 10kΩ wirewound resister to discharge all caps. Since the leads were so long, I just bent them at 90º and held the resistor with forceps across all cap leads for a minute each.

Desoldering was no problem at all. Using a Radio Shack 15W/30W soldering iron set to 30W, the old solder melted right away and wicked away easily. The leads were bent over but also seemed to be glued. I gently pried with a small knife at the tip of the lead until it moved then used forceps to bend upright. A slight push with the soldering iron and the old caps fell right out.

The whole operation took just over an hour but I was being anal about not rushing and getting it right.

The results were astounding. Went from a 15 minute wait for a dim image at 100 Brightness to an instant-on blazing image even at 25 Brightness!

Thanks again to Pavel and all who have contributed! It gave me the confidence I could do it myself!

David