lausvi wrote:

I'd be interested in one kit for sure! Just checked my stash and I have three BL5000's:

 

• One nice one where I got the LCD mostly working by heating the flatflex (display still has missing lines, but it's readable).
• One externally good one, with LCD with a small crack (and lots of missing lines), missing battery holder
• One beat-up unit with completely ripped out LCD, worn-out buttons etc.

 

Perhaps I could build one Ok-looking from the last two, and with your kit have a working display for it.

The working one says version 1.3 and has a CONTROL key. The second one has the same keys, couldn't power it up in it's current state. Last one: no idea (text worn out, no power in current state). The last one was loose, and the PCB looked just like in the photos here, although I am not sure how the different rev. boards differ visibly.

I am about to receive a REV 1.3 Beolink from Guy, to confirm if it works the same. From my understanding of the BL5000 revisions, if it has a CONTROL button, it is safe to assume it is a REV 1.3.

Hi Filip,

Indeed it is possible to avoid the blinking effect, but this requires obtaining some configuration data from the manufacturer, which I am quite sure I cannot get from them for such a low scale project.

Some other E-ink displays comes from the factory with the proper configuration to allow "fast" refresh (without blinking), but I could not find one with the proper dimension to fit in the BL5000 casing.

The E-ink display used here comes as a piece of glace about 1mm thick, which is too thick to fit nicely on top of the glass, and it needs some protection. Also the ribbon cable connecting it to my PCB is too short, but that I could design the PCB to fix.

Hi.

I would very much like to buy 2 "repair-sets".

Brilliant job :-)

Hi.

I would very much like to buy 2 "repair-sets".

Brilliant job :-)

Hello,

Once again I've been quite busy the last few weeks.

I'm working on a new PCB version, which should get rid of all the wiring required ( which was really painful to solder ).

In the meantime, I've ordered a few displays, so once I get the new PCB all working ( including on REV1.3 remotes ), I will be able to start sipping kits.

Stay tuned !

This is great news - looking forward to ordering a board when they are ready - I’ve been following your progress since you first posted on Reddit 

Hi,

Sorry for my late reply. But is it still possible to join?

As I got 10+ Beolink 5000 with bad display, both in the "CONTROL" and the "CLOCK" version, I'm interested in a couple of display for testing for a start.

/steffen

Hello,

Sorry, been a while since my previous reply.

Yes, it is still possible to join, actually I haven't taken proper orders yet 😁.

Today I've received the latest PCB version, which should allow 0 wire installation on the BL5000 PCB.

I'll try to install it on another BL5000 ( kindly provided by Guy ), to ensure the connection method I imagined works properly. ( flowing solder from the top of the board through a plated hole, to make connection with the BL500 PCB directly under my PCB )

You can see below a picture of the PCB simply laying on a BL5000 PCB, the left side, with the connections to the BL5000 PCB, is the big change compared to the previous iteration.

If this proves to work as expected, and if the current IC shortages stays manageable, I should be able to start taking orders for a first batch of kits soon. (Don't quote me on this, but i'm quite optimistic 🙂)

Stay tuned !

Hello,

Almost 2 weeks went by since my previous post, and I'm happy to announce that progress was made.

Firstly, I've been able to refine the process required to separate the LCD from the glass, without damaging the glass ( nor the LCD actually ). I used a hot air station blowing on the LCD until the LCD reaches about 100°C, at which point the glue was soft enough to allow the LCD to be slid along the glass. This does absolutely no damage to the nice black frame on the glass, as seen on the picture below :

Also, I've been testing the new PCB as much as possible, and found only minor issues, which will all be corrected in the next iteration. One of this issue was silly me forgetting that at least 1 wire is required, to provide direct positive battery supply to my PCB. Others issues mostly revolve around some transient glitches hapenning when power cycling the display, also resolved by adding some capacitors here and there.



But the main takeway was the new installation method, where my PCB is soldered directly to the Beolink top PCB, is working very well, and is quite easy to do, so huge success on that side ! It requires careful alignment of the 2 PCBs, (so that pads on my PCB lines up perfectly with pads on the Beolink PCB underneath), then flowing solder through the holes on my PCB.


I also added some debugging facilities to help me diagnose potential installation issues. A new startup screen was added, that only shows up after changing the batteries. This screen shows the current software version of the mod ( it's a 7 character number ), that will allow me to identify which software version in running on your board. I also added a small LED that lights up when my board is running, so that a dead board can be easily identified from a dead display. ( See if you can find the component with the "BUSY" marking on the following picture ).



Last but not least, I am now taking orders for this kit !
My goal is to see if we can reach 20 orders, then the price point of 50€ / kit ( shipping excluded ) gets manageable. Lower order count can still be fulfilled, but the price per kit will need to be higher. Kit includes 1 assembled PCB, 1 red wire, and 1 "Cradle" part for the display. Note that installing the kit requires soldering skills, with the hardest part being to cleanly desolder the original display controller IC and its 3 logic buffers from the Beolink PCB. Second hardest part is separating the glass from the LCD. The installation also requires some double sided adhesive tape, but I am sure that is less of an issue.

If you are interested in buying one or several of these kits, simply answer this post, and specify how many kits you are planning to buy. I'll then be able to estimate the total number of kits to be produce, and therefore the pricing.
You can also contact me if you want me to perform the installation on your remote.

Now waiting for your replies 🙂

pilatomic wrote:

Kit includes 1 assembled PCB, 1 red wire, and 1 "Cradle" part for the display. 

If you are interested in buying one or several of these kits, simply answer this post, and specify how many kits you are planning to buy.

This is very cool work, congrats and thanks for making this! 🤒

Can you show some close-ups how the boards need to be aligned and how the it solders to the PCB?

Just to make sure; does the kit include the e-ink display itself?

Count me in for one kit!