DIY Photo Frame (large & cheap)

we've wanted an LCD photo frame for a while, but thought it was ridiculous to pay $200+ for a nice one that had a tiny 7" screen. I wanted one with wifi so i could easily upload new pics to it if possible.

Then I thought about using an old POS sony laptop i had lying around. I disassembled the screen from the unit, and bought a deep picture frame from some craft store, along with a pre-cut mat and some foam core.

i cut a hole the size of the "naked" LCD in the center of the foam core so it would hold the LCD flush against the back of the photo mat. i then basically wedged the rest of the laptop in there with some other pieces of foam core.

the cool part is that it uses a screensaver called "Slickr" ( http://cellardoorsw.co​m/slickr/ ) to automagically logon to my Flickr.com account and look for any pics with a tag that says "frame". It downloads those pics & automatically displays them. I can RDC into the laptop from my desktop if needed, or i can just plug in a usb mouse & keyboard too.

Works VERY slick, is HUGE (14" screen, IIRC), and cost me a whopping $35 at the craft store. You can find laptops for cheap on ebay and do the same thing. You just have to have a flickr account to auto-update the pics if you want to do that. Otherwise, just copy pics to it over your network.

I've had it running all day & it didn't overheat ... not saying a different laptop would overheat - just be careful. Also, most laptops will run without the battery hooked up if you have it plugged in.

anyway, here's the pics:

WOW............that is saweet! VERY GOOD JOB! Thanks for sharing.

Neat idea. Best thing is - any old laptop will do for this - even laptops with aged P166 CPUs.

rhys wrote in post #4178260
Neat idea. Best thing is - any old laptop will do for this - even laptops with aged P166 CPUs.

exactly. they don't necessarily need to have wifi (you could add a card, use ethernet, or just not network it), don't need a good battery (or a battery at all, for that matter), and don't need speed or memory.

a decent screen and resolution are about the only things most people would want.


TIP: if the surround around the screen comes off, take that with you to the craft store, so you know how large of a mat (and frame) to get.

That looks really good! If only I had the time, money, and expertise to do this.

I looked on ebay and there are plenty p266s for $20.

rhys wrote in post #4178501
I looked on ebay and there are plenty p266s for $20.

just make sure you get a good screen, or else your pics are going to look like deuce.

Sweet indeed! Good thinking! Your execution seems pretty awesome, the finished box is so superb no one would EVER guess you had a laptop crammed in there!

Thanks for sharing and keep up the good work!

that is awesome. So you ripped the screen off the laptop and shoved it all in there?

I'd be a little worried about heat. You said it doesn't overheat but I'm sure it's running a lot hotter than ideal. I'd drill a zillion holes into the backing to let air circulate. Especially around the fan area.

awesome, awesome project though. I love hacking stuff like this.

Very well made, I will be on the lookout for a picture frame like that!
I've been wanting to make one of these for ages, just trying to scrounge around at work for a working laptop with decent screen

That is great, yours looks really slick. I am going to have a go at building one myself. Thanks for sharing the tip

I have an old Toshiba 866mhz laptop laying around that would be perfect for this. Great idea.

thanks!

if you're looking for a frame, i just used a "picture box" and cut a mat to fit just behind the glass. worked out quite well.

i've left it on for hours, and while it's a little warm inside, i'm not particularily worried about it.

ace3 wrote in post #4181937
thanks!

if you're looking for a frame, i just used a "picture box" and cut a mat to fit just behind the glass. worked out quite well.

i've left it on for hours, and while it's a little warm inside, i'm not particularily worried about it.

I would run a monitoring program to log your internal temperatures to make sure.

thats an awesome idea, well done