LCD

If it does turn out to be LVDS . . .

               Righto, here is an eBay.co.uk link to a board (and screen - which I know you don't need).

               Included in the listing is a bunch of compatible displays and - more helpfully maybe - they offer a match-up service to your screen.

               Could be a starting point.

               HDMI VGA DVI 50PIN TTL LVDS Controller Board+8inch LCD Display for Raspberry PI | eBay

If it does turn out to be LVDS . . .

               Righto, here is an eBay.co.uk link to a board (and screen - which I know you don't need).

               Included in the listing is a bunch of compatible displays and - more helpfully maybe - they offer a match-up service to your screen.

               Could be a starting point.

               HDMI VGA DVI 50PIN TTL LVDS Controller Board+8inch LCD Display for Raspberry PI | eBay

The "less than 5 pounds" boards that you can buy on ebay seem to be boards for a specific monitor or laptop. Not generic HDMI to LVDS conversion boards.

They are, but a TV repair friend of mine has used them to 'test' LCD panels in the absence of alternatives - hence the 'sort of work-ish' comment. Whether he purchased a specific type I don't know, the gist of my comment was - buy better ones.

I'm kinda crossing my fingers for the DPI option . . . .

P.S.  Multiple posts as 'unexpected errors' were stopping me from editing posts!

Andrew Elvin-Dunham wrote:

 

They are, but a TV repair friend of mine has used them to 'test' LCD panels in the absence of alternatives - hence the 'sort of work-ish' comment. Whether he purchased a specific type I don't know, the gist of my comment was - buy better ones.

Often essentially the same stuff is sold for less, especially when there is a drive to cheaper stuff, like on Ebay. In that case, "more expensive" doesn't often mean that you're getting better stuff. So I would normally still investigate the cheaper option to see if that would work. This tendency to buy the cheapest variant sometimes gets me burned. I know the risks. In this case I would probably be hesitant to try it because I have more confidence in the more generic variants.

So, even if your friend managed to get an LCD panel working, it just might be that he happened to have a panel with the same dimensions (in pixels) as the original. Maybe because he knew that this was required, maybe because he was lucky. The story from "a friend" never tells that kind of details. :-) 

I did some counting and the cable has definately got 50 pins. Its too fine pitched but also too wide to fit into the DPI connector.

The connector that goes from the LCD to the board is labelled as 7dd1+1 fpc and the front of the board LCD070. The resolution is 800 * 480 (Pixel).

The possible candidate driver I found was this one which uses a VS-TY2662-V1 chip described as coping with 7 to 10 inch boards

New SainSmart 10.1 Inch TFT LCD Monitor Driver Board HDMI VGA for Raspberry Pi | eBay

I agree with you there Roger, was I said, I have few (read none) real details - all I was driving at was the cheap items can work (panel dependent I agree), but not necessarily how you need / expect.

If it is LVDS then the eBay link gives at least a small chance that the seller can supply the correct board, and If they screw up then nothing is (hopefully) lost except time - seller refunds if it's their fault.

TBH I'm going down a similar line here, old XVGA laptop monitor that I'd like to reuse, previous searches (about 7-8 years ago) yielded converters at about £100-200 GBP!! Alternative screens were cheaper!

Now with the prices between £5 and £50 it's a viable choice - and one I'm willing to take for a fiver.

               (Note I say I'm willing to take - not I'm advising anyone else takes).

So yes, both options should be investigated, if possible the panel and driver should be matched too. Hopefully what I have provided is what was requested - some direction with what to search / investigate. 

Spotted that one (and others) too with my eBay wanderings, < £15 GBP isn't bad either.

And the board has some startling similarities to my link . . . .

Also, by the time it arrives we'll have all forgotten about this conversation too!!

If all these comment(ers) are using this situation as a Teachable-Moment, then go right ahead. BUT if the object is to get a working 7" touchscreen for a RaspPi 3 B, then I would CUT my losses ($16.12 pounds = $15.42 USD). Get the Official RaspPi 7" Touch Screen (`$70.00 USD). I read the specs at that URL for the eBay entry for this $16.12 pounds, and it seems incomplete at Best. My knowledge dates back to my 73' BSEE (Syracuse Univ. NY USA), so maybe I am not up to speed. It maybe worth your trouble, It won't be worth my time and money. It is up to you. Like people say: "You can pay me Now or you can Pay me Later".

USCDADNYC

I have an old HP laptop screen and will be doing the same, if I can get it up and running for under £17 then I will.

I sure as heck can't afford to splash out £65 GBP for the smaller official screen, of a far lower resolution than the FREE item I have - (15.4-inch wide-screen display; 1,280x800).

I don't like the word 'can't' - it needs changing to 'haven't figured out how to yet'!

(except for striking a match on jelly - you really can't strike a match on jelly)!!

Hi Edward, yes cutting my losses was definitely an option. I've seen Makibes 7in screens with a proper HDMI connector for around £40 and that definitely seems a better option that buying separate boards that might not work together. Key lesson learnt is to re-read those EBay listing as you might not be getting what you thought.