A Worthy Nomad Mod

While many of the Nomad mods that I've seen are little more than bizarre case modifications, Racketboy user hailrazer created a mod worthy of respect. If you're going to alter a Nomad, the best method is to alter it for the better. hailrazer picked up on two of the Nomad's weaker points and succeeded in improving them; those two points being the dated Led screen and short battery life.

hailrazer explains his process for replacing the screen:

First things first. Get rid of the old Lcd.
Open up the Nomad. You will need a security bit for the bottom/middle screw. After you open the Nomad , pull the circuit board up and you will see the Lcd. Pull it of and then pull of the lcd cable attached to the main board.

Now you just ruined your Nomad. Just kidding

Here is the new Lcd we will be using :
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.20415
It is $50 shipped.

When we take it apart it will look like this :

Now what you want to do is get out your hot glue gun and glue the new Lcd into place. Make sure you get it centered. be aware the Lcd hole on the Nomad is slightly slanted so the Lcd will be slightly slanted when mounted.

Now it's time to solder the wires necessary to power the screen and get video to it.
You will be soldering 4 wires. 2 grounds, power, and video. the 2 ground wires go to the same spot on the Lcd's board.

Here is where the wires will be soldered to the Nomad's board :

After it is wired you will want to mount the Lcd's board on top of the Lcd. I put a small piece of paper between them to protect against shorts. You can then hot glue the 4 corners to hold it in place. :

Now put the Nomad back together. Make sure the wires are crimped anywhere, or in the way of the buttons.

Plug it in and see the new Lcd in all it's glory.

Here's a pic of what the old screen looked like:

hailrazer's images and walkthrough has been borrowed from his original post at Racketboy. I'm reposting it here out of respect for his awesome achievement. Check out the original posting for how he upgraded the battery for a life of 8.5 hours compared to the original 5.5 hours. Really impressive stuff!