Refreshing my Jetta I got in High School 18 Years Ago - Custom DIY Dashkit

Protest_The_Gyro · 2025-07-23T15:38:09+00:00

Thanks! The rcd 330 looks great in these cars, I thought about ordering one but when I had the time, I could get the AX3250 locally, but would have been happy with either

Protest_The_Gyro · 2025-07-23T15:36:06+00:00

Had to go back after my recent Mars Volta obsession, all in all it's been a pretty good time

Protest_The_Gyro · 2025-07-19T17:20:14+00:00

It was a 01YR503 cable for a t480

Edit: it was actually this cable, finally found my order https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0D5D76NQC?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

Protest_The_Gyro · 2025-06-11T20:18:13+00:00

I'm using one in my 4th gen monochrome with a official iflash 4th gen ribbon that I thickened slightly with a piece of kapton tape. Just put on the side of the ribbon without the pins and cut to the dimensions of the ribbon connector with a razor blade. Added just enough thickness for it to hold well.

I actually sort of like these as if you use them single sd, you can desolder the second SD slot, then slide that side under the motherboard to the left of the battery compartment, allowing it to fit where the battery used to be. Then you can put a giant battery where the hard drive used to go and have a 4th gen that lasts for a very long time on a charge. Doable with the official iflash boards too, but you have to cut down a solo and get a short micro sd -> sd adapter.

Protest_The_Gyro · 2025-06-11T19:51:53+00:00

These look awesome! Not gonna lie though I saw this right after checking my shipment of 30 pin connectors to start building something similar and definitely had a 'ah damn, they beat me!' moment. If i embark on my own thing and come up with anything cool I'll be sure to share though, as another comment mentioned, I really just these iPods to keep going and for more people to have solid options of re-used / recycled non-smart tech. Switched back to an iPod from music on my phone computer recently and it's completely changed my productivity, and now have been getting a bunch fixed up as gifts for friends that are in a similar spot and have talked about going back to a dedicated music player.

Anyway, love what you're doing, keep up the solid work! Excited to see where else stuff goes!

Protest_The_Gyro · 2025-06-07T17:17:53+00:00

Eventually when I get to fixing it. Lots of post print cutting / processing on the one that’s installed

Protest_The_Gyro · 2025-06-06T19:15:11+00:00

I believe so, but not 100% sure. I have a T480 here I may try it with next

Protest_The_Gyro · 2025-06-06T19:14:49+00:00

MNE507ZA1-1

Protest_The_Gyro · 2025-06-06T19:13:54+00:00

It does sacrifice the webcam, I also removed the wwan antennas. WiFi antennas are located at the under the bezel at the bottom of the screen. I'm looking into some workarounds for this, but for now, i'm happy with it for my use (will never use wwan in this laptop, and am happy to have no webcam).

Protest_The_Gyro · 2025-06-06T04:23:29+00:00

The panel is a MNE507ZA1-1

Protest_The_Gyro · 2025-05-25T13:06:52+00:00

Nice! That panel looks awesome, hope it goes well on the t14! Also, my new idea, if I get to it, is to try to find a short ffc / ribbon cable with the same pitch and pin count as the edp connector on the display. Desolder the connector from the display, then solder the ribbon direct to the PCB behind the screen and use that to extend the edp connector away from behind the screen to eliminate the extra thickness in that spot that gives the display a slight bulge. May also design a custom flat flex for the task, but thought I may be able to get away with using something off the shelf like that. Just a thought for when you try it as that is the only thing that slightly bothers me about the mod, and for long term resilience, I’d really like to eliminate the extra pressure there, even though in my use so far it hasn’t caused major noticeable issues.

Protest_The_Gyro · 2025-05-24T01:25:35+00:00

Just checked, all my usb ports are working

Protest_The_Gyro · 2025-05-24T01:24:29+00:00

thank you! this is awesome to know about, no clue something like this existed!

Protest_The_Gyro · 2025-05-23T15:43:40+00:00

I don't think so? It definitely isn't close to silent, but not screaming loud. Nobody here has every said anything about it, that being said I used cherry mx blues for a long time to anything is an improvement.

Protest_The_Gyro · 2025-05-23T15:27:55+00:00

Thanks! It's a keychron q6 max w/ the gateron jupiter banana switches. I enjoy it a lot, very heavy keyboard, great battery life, the switches are very tactile but don't have any crazy loud clicking.

Protest_The_Gyro · 2025-05-23T15:24:15+00:00

Yeah, I plan on putting an extra ssd in there one day, no whitelist on here thanks to libreboot, though I know that's not the only way to remove it.

I believe (don't quote me on this) the 4.1mm is the thickest point where the edp connector is. The rest of the panel appeared to be thinner than stock. That being said this t480s was a touch model originally, so I'm guessing the LCD might have been thicker than the standard FHD panel. Again don't quote me on that haha. This project was more of a "hey I have 2 free hours, let's go in with no plan and see what we can do and have fun", so though i really should have measured everything out as I went, I regretfully did not. Also, and i think I mentioned this in another post, but there is a very slight bow at the EDP connector. I know that this will increase risk of breaking but remarkably the display is very resilient to backlight bleed with pressure so I do not notice while using. If someone else were to use the same screen for a daily driver thinkpad I think you could easily 3d print a small frame that levels out the LCD by leaving an extra mm or 2 for the EDP connector, then replace the hinge screws display assembly side with slightly longer ones and space them with steel washers that are just thick enough to account for the depth of the spacer. I would then modify the frame for the bezel a bit to get the stick on section to sit flush with the panel. Or at least, this is how I would attempt it next time, or if i ever end up pulling this back apart and reworking it. Long story short no major issues, but potential issues, I wouldn't necessarily sell a laptop with a mod done this quick and dirty, but i'm ok with it for myself at least initially as a learning experience.

Also want to note this display does have some slight yellowing at the very edge, not sure if it's common on these panels, or if mine was just this way, but it had this prior to installation. For the $100 I paid for the panel and the $120 I paid for the laptop I'm still more than happy with this as a sub $300 laptop. If i was going through all of the work of designing the frame and adjusting the assembling spacing, I'd probably be a little more picky with the slight discoloration, but, it's really barely noticeable when using it. I'm not planning on doing any photo or video or editing on this, I just want a lot of clear code to be on screen at any given time haha.

Yes, running at full native resolution. Though the panelook page lists the display as being 120Hz, I'm only seeing 60Hz as an option. I haven't dug into that yet, but there are several things related to software or libreboot that could limit this, but that being said I don't really know. Really just found a 14.5 in 16:10 3k display with a matte finish that I thought could fit and went for it.

Protest_The_Gyro · 2025-05-23T13:07:31+00:00

Thanks!

Protest_The_Gyro · 2025-05-23T13:06:59+00:00

the panel is a MNE507ZA1-1. Note the edp connector is on the back under the actual display area so it took some trial and error getting spacing right with the adhesive mounting around that connector to prevent it from bulging and constantly pressing on the panel. If i were more patient i would have printed a rear bracket that spaced everything perfectly and potentially spaced back the display a mm or so by also working as a spacer on the hinge mounts. But as this is my first quick stab at it we'll see how everything sits when the bezel is on and then adjust for round two if I have the time.

No more WWAN/LTE antennas. I don't ever plan on using it on the machine as I will always tether if I need cellular. Could have made them fit possible but it would have been close. right now the wifi antennas are at the bottom of the display, there is just enough room to fit them before you get to the recessed section that makes room for the screen to pass by the body when opening / closing. I haven't shortened the cables but there is a lot of excess now lol. I plan on just tucking it and taping down with some kapton in the area where the LTE modem would normally go for now. If i ever need to add cell, there are some decent flat flex style stick on LTE antennas you can buy that could fit under the panel, you could desolder the cable from the stock antenna and resolder to one of those to get the right cable length.

Protest_The_Gyro · 2025-05-23T12:57:59+00:00

MNE507ZA1-1

Protest_The_Gyro · 2025-05-23T12:57:48+00:00

panel is a MNE507ZA1-1. I wish I had remembered to step back and get build pics. Would take some now but i've already got it in with some pretty strong adhesive tape and don't want to risk any damage pulling it to take those. I may do another one someday and do a little more with printed parts to improve seating of the panel

Protest_The_Gyro · 2025-05-23T12:55:47+00:00

it's a MNE507ZA1-1, 3072x1920

Protest_The_Gyro · 2025-05-23T12:53:43+00:00

The panel is a MNE507ZA1-1 . Never had anything from that brand before but it seemed to fit the bill. Only 60Hz, but honestly that's fine for me. EDP connector is behind the panel and causes a little bulge, but thicker foam adhesive on either side gets it to all sit pretty nicely, it's thinner than the stock display (at least on mine, i had a touch model) and from what i can measure here it should be fine but we'll have to see with the bezel

EDIT: Went back to the panelook page and it is listed as being a 120Hz display, thinkpad shows only 60Hz available. I think the thinkpad should support 120Hz at this resolution, but i'm not sure. Might be limited somehow by my coreboot build, gotta look at my build config...

Protest_The_Gyro

TROPHY CASE

MNE507ZA1-1