AppleOnHP Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 Hi everyone! I haven't posted on these forums in quite some time, but now I'm back with a new project! I just bought a PowerBook G4 15" 1.67Ghz notebook off of eBay, and I'm hoping to install the iSight camera from a macbook into its display. I've got all of the information I need from various posts by CharredPC, as far as the pinouts etc of the iSight. So the reason I am posting this is to ask the experts whether or not there is room in the top of the powerbooks display (either to the left or right of the latch) for the camera. I'm afraid that I will find that the LCD screen part takes up all of that space by itself. Does anybody know for sure before I take this thing apart? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonestonne Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 http://www.kwikpiks.com/files/172/IMG_9115.JPG Easier said than done. The bevel around the LCD screen in the 15" MacBook Pro (1,1) vs the 15" Powerbook G4 1.67GHz is pretty big. considering the fact that the PCB that the camera is mounted on is going to need more space than just the width of the camera, I hate to say it, but I don't think it's going to fit. There just isn't really the room for it, even if it's mounted off-center. MBP on the left, PB G4 on the right, obviously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AppleOnHP Posted August 20, 2010 Author Share Posted August 20, 2010 http://www.kwikpiks.com/files/172/IMG_9115.JPG Easier said than done. The bevel around the LCD screen in the 15" MacBook Pro (1,1) vs the 15" Powerbook G4 1.67GHz is pretty big. considering the fact that the PCB that the camera is mounted on is going to need more space than just the width of the camera, I hate to say it, but I don't think it's going to fit. There just isn't really the room for it, even if it's mounted off-center. MBP on the left, PB G4 on the right, obviously. hmmm well that's depressing. I think I'll still take it apart just to be sure. I've attached some pics of the camera in question. I could strip away most of the black lens frame with a dremel to cut down on the size a bit more. You're right about the height of the PCB camera combo- it might be too tall. My real worry is that the LCD screen will take up all of the space up there. Take a look at these pictures anyhow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonestonne Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 The width of that PCB is not going to help you. I've noticed that MacBook Pro 1,1 (what i have) is actually slimmer than the PowerBook, however, the bevel just isn't going to be big enough to accommodate. The edge of the LCD goes at least 1/8" farther around in under the bevel, so getting the the PCB there would require a lot of modding. Behind the LCD there is some room, and if the iSight cam itself wasn't surface mounted, you might be able to get away with it, but currently you're looking at a surface mount cam. there's no reliable way to take them off and connect them with a ribbon cable, or any other homebrew fix, simply because of how the contacts are designed. The LCD snaps together (just how it's designed) and that's just part of the bevels themselves. I did take my LCD apart to put in the blue gel to have my blue apple, if you give me a day or two to find that picture, i will put it up, it gives you an idea of what the real space is around the edges. I thought about this mod too for my PB, but it just never happened because the power module died, and i ended up getting the MBP instead of trying to fix it (intel macs are just where it's at, for too many reasons). -bonestonne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AppleOnHP Posted August 20, 2010 Author Share Posted August 20, 2010 Thanks for the insight (haha puns). I'll take a look myself sometime next week. I'm starting my first year of college majoring in computer engineering this fall, so I'd like to get this project done before then. I agree- the lens being mounted on top of the PCB doesn't make this very easy. Today I am wiring up a connection between the isight PCB and a standard USB male connector to test it. I've already stripped away insolation from the impossibly small wires. Going back to the real issue of space here, I also found this camera on ebay: Perhaps that would give me the option to twist the PCB behind the display. Or maybe the macbook air isight would be even better. Look how thin it is. Surely it could fit, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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