Project UL-B TI-83+ Mod

[GameMakerThomas]

Hello all,

I've decided to take action and start my TI-83+ mod!

Things I'm going to do:
- Backlighting
- Install windows (on the case :P)
- Install inside lighting
- Paint

This project is being worked upon by NH Teknik (Will and me)

Here are some sketches:
http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/1026/calcmodrf2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/3909/calcmod2ze7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

I went to the store and bought a jigsaw, superglue, paint, and sandpaper.

So I started painting it today.

Let me tell you right now that I know NOTHING about painting and have never spraypainted in my life.

Also, my camera's screen is broken so I possibly took some crappy shots...

So the painting colors will be blue and red (they didn't really have any other colors at the store) and some enamel.

So I thought the enamel was clear. But I was about to learn (the hard way) that it wasn't... XD

Okay, so we're starting with the cover. I sandpapered it and washed it, it's now nastily marred but I really don't know what I'm doing.

http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/1323/pic0062zc5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I like the purple sandpaper.


Blue will be the base color, with red horizontal stripes, and then enamel on top (heh)

http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/1662/pic0064pk1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Blue paint, brown bag, Will's foot.

Time to install tape for the lines. In all my wisdom I grabbed some electrical tape (it was narrow, okay? sheesh) and used that for the stripe guiding... Which was a mistake.

http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/5853/pic0066nr5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Front looks alright.

The red paint was applied, in huge wasteful quantities:

http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/2140/pic0067ai2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Looks pretty good.

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/7528/pic0068gx9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Massacre! Who looks at the back though, anyways?

The back didn't turn out too bad, but I'll post a pic of the front.

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/7841/pic0069jm1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Pretty good. Could be improved.

Time for the "clear" enamel.

http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/2159/pic0072xa6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
I failed at life.

No, the white in the middle isn't from the flash, it's from white paint. When they say the color of the paint is the color of the can's cap, they mean it.

So I guess I'll be starting over in about 30 minutes. I covered it in enamel and will repaint it. However it should look much better :)

Questions for the community:
- Where can I buy EL wire, LED's, switches, and small inverters (possibly battery powered) at the same store?

[Monsterbox]

You can find either Rustoleum or Krylon clear acrylic. The Rustoleum you can find in Home Improvement stores, and the Krylon you can find in hobby and craft stores. Both will do the trick for a 'sealant' but you want to be very careful with the Rustoleum option. Rustoleum has a special additive in their paint that makes others have real issues with tacking properly. Putting Rustoleum over Rustoleum is no problem and putting Rustoleum over other products is usually not a problem. However, attempting to use other paints on top of Rustoleum can often result in severe problems. (Like the paint never drying. Ever.)

Look for a clear cap up on top. I had a 'close call' with nearly buying Primer Grey for the "clear coat" on another project. I felt like slapping myself afterward.

Looks good so far tho. Good luck getting it back in shape!

[Computer-Geek]

wow i didn't think you were serious lol i can wait to see how this turns out :p Now i wonder if my friend will let me mod his TI-83+ :twisted:

[Aero]

haha, I made a similar mistake when I painted my frist TI-83+, must be a curse or something. I've actually got a TI-83+ and a TI-83+ SE on my bench right now. One is the old BCOD which literally fell apart and fried itself somehow (plus all my crappy wiring actually fell apart..****y lead free solder). The other is BattleCalc which is going well, except it has no battery case or way to attach the back panel.

2 things to watch out for:

1) Don't bend your contacts coming out of the battery case or they won't sit right.
2) Don't loose your buttons. I had to clean out 1/2 my room when the "enter" key fell behind my stereo.

[Maz]

yeah, the enter key was always the worst behaved anyway...

[NocturnaL]

Boy do i love calculator mods lol

[GameMakerThomas]

Right now I accidentaly got enamel all over the enter key so its totally stuck... And the calculator is covered in white enamel gunk that's really sticky and gets over everything and this whole thing is a big mess.

I'll keep you updated.

[NocturnaL]

Well, use somethin to get it all off and repaint it :)

[Aero]

a razer blade can be your best friend... if your careful.

[GameMakerThomas]

I'll be picking up some paint thinner next week, also my plexiglass should be arriving around Thursday! But I could be up in Frankfurt =/

Keep you updated.

[GameMakerThomas]

Sorry about keeping you guys in the dark...
I was using paint thinner and sandpaper to remove the paint (a slow and ardous process) and I took apart the calculator to clean it a bit better (Since I had also gotten paint crusted on the enter button which made it hard to move) and I noticed a little bit of paint thinner had gotten on the rubber button pad, which shouldn't be a problem, right? Well when I put the calculator back together I noticed I couldn't get the rubber pad moutned because it was almost TWICE AS BIG as its normal size! So I've been waiting and it now fits, so I'll try and finish it up early this week, and I think the plexiglass is here so next time I check mail I'll pick it up.