Backlighting

[NightShift]

Im trying to figure out the deal with backlighting or indiglo on LCD displays. Does good backlighting cost a good buck? Some things I've seen or bought have a backlight, but it's a weeny little dim light at the bottom middle that fails to light the display up adequately. On the other hand, I bought a cheap car clock/thermometer and it has a bright blue evenly backlighted display. Is it really too much effort to include a good backlight? I figure if you are going to do it, do it right.

[Wits' End]

I don't know much about the current technology but... Timex developed the Indiglo technology about 15 years ago. The breakthrough was the low power consumption combined with the even light. The Indiglo technology is more expensive but IMO worth it. The days of the "grain of wheat" bulbs for back lighting SHOULD be gone.
I'll add to this topic with a plea--I used to have a Texas Instruments LCD watch with a Tritium backlight. I want another watch like this!!! Not, a very nice, Luminox with tritium inserts. But a digital watch with Tritium back light, always on, no button pressing, no hand twisting, no [img]graemlins/twak.gif[/img] OH! Sorry. To keep it short please let me know if you know of any of these. Thanks

[Saaby]

The spotty displays are likely using SM LEDs as the backlighting. LEDs make a fine backlight when their placement is strategic and used with defusion technology, but unfortunatly that's not always the case. Sounds like on one of your things mentioned they just stuck a LED where the grain of wheat bulb used to be 5 years ago and called it good :thwack:

LEDs are actually more practical in todays color PDAs as color rendition is a little better with bluish white backlighting than with that tell-take blue-green backlighting. CCFs are also used but LEDs are less suspectable to shock and age more gracefully [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[NightShift]

I bought this thermometer pretty recently and it wasn't all that cheap. The thermometer/clock on the right was about 1/3 of the Acu-Rite's price. The backlight on the Acu-rite just annoys me cuz it's the one good thing it's missing.

[Wits' End]

Originally posted by Saaby:
[QB]:thwack:QB]

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Saaby thats [img]graemlins/twak.gif[/img] OK how about ;thwak; only use :: no C in thwak.

NightShift nice picture. Can't imagine that the display upgrade would have cost the manufacturer more than 50 cents. And a better display would have been worth the $2 it would have cost at the register.
Anybody on a tritium backlit watch? [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]