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+---
+title: A look inside the Kobo Touch
+tags: DIY,electronics
+---
+
+The e-ink screen of my Kobo Touch ebook reader broke, probably because
+it didn't like being bent regularly.  It was a little over a year old
+when it happened, way too soon to give up on it, so I decided to take
+it apart and replace the screen if possible.
+
+If you want to open any device that is held together by plastic parts
+with teeny plastic flaps that snap into each other: use a guitar
+pick. The Jazz III pick (my favourite) is very well suited for the
+job. I used it to pry apart the plastic frame of my netbook before.
+The Kobo touch is really a beautiful device (if you have one, I
+encourage you to look inside) and is much easier to take apart than my
+netbook.  The battery is much smaller than I expected and the PCB is
+very clean and ordered.
+
+The screen is glued to a very robust frame (metallic, looks like iron)
+with two stripes of adhesives; with some nudging I could separate the
+two components. The screen's backside is shiny, polished;
+mesmerizing. If you want to keep it that way, don't touch it with your
+filthy fingers.
+
+Originally, I wanted to take the opportunity to upgrade the screen to
+whatever model is compatible with the driver chip. This is printed on
+the chip:
+
+    E INK
+    TPS65185
+    TI  181
+    A49F G4
+
+As it was difficult to get detailed documentation on the types of
+panels that can be used with the chip I decided to simply get the same
+model as the broken screen: ED060SCE LF T1.  The same screen seems to
+be used in the Nook.
+
+I paid CNY 180 for a replacement. It appears to be a more recent
+revision of the screen; there's a little IC on the flexible connector
+and a few numbers on the labels have changed.  It works fine, though
+ghosting seems to be significantly worse. The Kobo UI doesn't always
+force a full page refresh; this only really affects the library
+browser, though. (The refresh rate can be configured for reading
+mode.)  The more often a part of the screen is updated the more gray
+noise appears all over the screen.
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