Products > Test Equipment
DIY: GW Instek GDS-1000B 7-inch to 8-inch Display Upgrade (with pics)
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Triode71:
Well, I decided my GDS-1054B's 7-inch display was just too damn small.

The later version of the GDS-1000B series 'scope has a case already molded to fit an 8-inch display, but with a glass insert having a black-masked surround to hide the smaller display's edges, so I googled around and found an 8-inch display with the right resolution and proper 50-pin ZIF connector here: https://www.buydisplay.com/8-inch-tft-lcd-display-module-screen-wvga-800x480-at080tn64-at080tn52.

Having no idea whether it would work or not, I figured for $40 with shipping I'd take the chance.

Well, it's working quite awesomely, and on the off-chance that it did work, I took some pics so I could post them here. For disassembly tips, see Dave's GDS-1000B teardown video on YouTube.
(NOTE: Dave's teardown *does not* show this newer version, with the larger opening; instead it shows the older version with a smaller opening, as seen in this post on the EEVBlog Forum: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/a-review-of-the-gwinstek-1054b/msg1091613/#msg1091613. The newer version's plastic case is already molded to fit 8-inch screens, so all that's needed is to remove the glass mentioned above.)

Here's the display's *smoked glass* (I assumed it was plastic— it ain't plastic!) bezel insert— with the black surround to hide the smaller 7-inch display's edges— inside view:



Since the rear connector come up just a *hair* on the short side of installation convenience, I pulled the old display (easy: four screws, pull connector) and tacked the new display on with very small pieces of 3M foam mounting tape (because I didn't want to over-attach, and I was right to be cautious, as even very small pieces stuck surprisingly well):





...having connected the thing (and I'd highly recommend removing the rear connector board to do this, and being very patient with your pliers/ grips)...

(EDIT: I stupidly didn't understand how these ZIF connectors worked— they release by *sliding out*, drawer-style. The little black section extends (loosened) and retracts (engaged/ tightened). See my later post with pictures, if you're unfamiliar with these as I was: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/gw-instek-gds-1000b-7-inch-to-8-inch-display-upgrade/msg3449302/#msg3449302)



...I booted up the 'scope, and it worked. This was a very nice surprise.

I then decided it was time to remove the "plastic" (I erroneously believed) bezel insert:



...and, applying pressure I thought appropriate for plastic, I broke the nice glass insert:



Oh well. Try being more patient than I was; of course you'll be more materially-cognizant than I was, if you're reading this.
It was coming apart nicely, until it wasn't. The adhesive tape they used is fairly strong stuff. It didn't shatter into a bunch of tiny shards, though (though there were a few smaller bits), and it was easy enough to peel off the remaining pieces over the trashcan and toss 'em in.

Right! So I'd thought I'd be modifying the original display's mounting frame, since it raises/ pushes the 7-inch display out to the bezel, and the two displays are nearly exactly the same thickness.

However, after seeing how well the 3M tape stuck, and realizing that modifying and shifting around the original frame/ bracket was going to be a bit of a pain, I opted for Plan B: 3M foam mounting squares, cut to fit, surrounding the plastic bezel and making alignment (and, when you get it wrong the first time, realignment) much easier.

To make fitting even more easy, I decided to again use a bare minimum of mounting squares, until I could eyeball it and get the alignment about right:



I wasn't actually firing up the screen to align it; at this point that was really an inconvenient option, since I was just tacking the display into the plastic bezel. I figured if I got it where you could peer in through the gap between the bezel and outer display edge, and see the display frame was about even on all sides, that would probably do it.

It did, in fact, do it.

Here's the way I ended up "stacking" the mounting tape so it would fill in the gaps and stick to the actual display's frame:



The way it wants to sit— and the way it's sitting in this picture, below— isn't quite right. From this perspective, I ended up shifting the display over about 3-4mm (maybe 1/8th inch) to the left (of this picture) and 3-4mm or 1/8th inch toward the bottom of this picture.



...and that was just about perfect:



One last note: the first time I connected the display, it fired right up. But after disconnecting, handling and reconnecting the 50-pin ZIF connectors a couple of times, it didn't immediately work on the second fire-up. I decided to try re-seating the white cable first, since it was the most accessible and easily replaceable. This did the trick.
So if you give this a go, don't think all is lost if the display fails a power-up. I'd actually ordered a replacement 50-pin ZIF cable from eBay for about US$8, just in case I mucked it up, but luckily it wasn't needed.
Triode71:
Well, clearly, even after much attempting to make the post easy to follow and the inline attachments actually apear in-line, I've made some noob mistake. 

The "preview" function didn't show me what to expect, graphics-wise, so my apologies for what's now a bit of a mangled post.

Hopefully it's easy enough to follow. If anyone can assist with making these attachments truly appear in-line, thanks very much in advance.
nctnico:
Great hack! Maybe replacing the glass with a piece of thin lexan makes it a bit nicer and the display fit better.

Unfortunately inline image attachements are broken for the umpteenth time so don't bother.
coromonadalix:
+1  for a thin lexan sheet,  or you could put an ipad / tablet screen protector ???  you wont have to dismantle everything again ?
Triode71:

--- Quote from: nctnico on January 24, 2021, 12:53:26 am ---Great hack! Maybe replacing the glass with a piece of thin lexan makes it a bit nicer and the display fit better.

Unfortunately inline image attachements are broken for the umpteenth time so don't bother.

--- End quote ---

Ah, thanks! I feel much better then. And as for extra screen protection: not a bad idea at all. I'm not terribly worried about the screen, but then again you never know when a careless moment may lead to an erroneous screwdriver stabbing, or something like that. 
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