DIY Digital Picture Frame?
Is it possible to make a DIY digital picture frame? Yes it is! In fact, it is a great project to make, especially if you want to bring your old notebook or laptop back to life. Obviously, you need an old laptop or notebook and some tools that you will use to disassemble your old unit. You also need a touch screen, two small pieces of plexiglass, bunch of screws that fit the motherboard of your laptop, and other screws.
After getting all tools and materials ready, you can now proceed to creating a great DIY digital picture frame. To start, disassemble your laptop, but make sure to keep the usable parts. Keep the motherboard, RAM, CPU, and card slots that come with it.
Line up the two small pieces of plexiglass. Drill 4 holes to hold the plexiglass together. When the two pieces of plexiglass are in place, attach the touch screen and LCD to each piece of plexiglass on two opposite sides using a double-sided tape. Make sure that the touch screen is properly mounted so you can use it.
Mount the motherboard at the center of the 2nd plexiglass and mark a spot to drill the holes needed to mount the motherboard in place. Make sure that the motherboard is aligned with the LCD. Drill the 4 holes and mount the mother board.
After the motherboard is mounted, you can now determine where you need to place the power button. Drill a small hole on the place. Attach the VGA cable into your motherboard. Insert your WiFi card and mount it using your thumb screws.
Plug the USB cable from your touch screen into the USB port. Now that the installation is complete, can you now use your DIY digital picture frame? Yes of course! Plug it into an AC power supply. Turn it on and enjoy!
Need more instructions for DIY Digital Picture Frames?
- Instructables
- Dell Latitude made Digital Photo Frame with Linux
- List of Instructions for various laptops.
- Great set of instructions and schematics at HackaDay
- Popular Science has a good article on DIY Photo Frames
Know of other good ones? Let us know. Thanks and enjoy.
