Calculator Modifications ("mods")

• Electroluminescence backlighting of a TI-86
• Infrared Communications (TI-83 Plus SE)

EL Backlighting a TI-86

• Small philips screwdriver (Torx T5 for newer 86s)
• Fairly large flatblade screwdriver
• EL panel
• A sharp knife, preferably a small, long blade.
• Two AAA batteries
• One Ziploc bag
• Rubbing alcohol

• Open up the battery cover, and remove the main batteries. Unscrew the backup battery compartment and take the backup out. Make sure the backup battery screw and cover are out too.
• At the bottom on the back of the 86, unscrew the two screws that hold the calc together. Then pry with a flat screwdriver along the side and pop open the calc.
• Unscrew all the screws that hold the circuit board down, and the LCD to the circuit board. Take the circuit board and LCD out of the case, set the case and keypad aside.
• On the back of the LCD, there is tape that holds the black ribbon cable on the other one. Carefully remove it. Then you can unfold the black ribbon cable so that all but one side of the LCD is now knife accessible.
• With the knife, separate the LCD from the black foam that is under it. Be careful, and this may take up to 1.5 hours to accomplish. Use a combination of cutting, and gentle prying to remove the LCD, without damaging any of the ribbon cables. There's a lot of glue.
• Once the LCD is separated (except for that one ribbon cable on the bottom is connecting it), use the knife to scrape off the foil backing. There will then be some glue stuff left. Use the rubbing alcohol and your finger to try in a mostly futile attempt to get some of it off.
• Cut a rectangle the size of the LCD out of the ziploc bag. Coat the back of the LCD with rubbing alcohol, and press the plastic rectangle on, smoothing out all air bubbles. Let it set and dry, then cut your EL panel to fit the LCD, and put it on the back. I suggest orienting the prongs to the left side of the calc. Thanks to Jacob_P for first trying this.
• If you have any of the foam left, put it behind the EL panel for support, and then reassemble the calc. You will need to make a hole in the case where the two pins of the EL panel will stick out.
• You are done, now just plug in the EL panel to use the backlight!

Pictures:

Infrared Communications

• 276-142 Infrared emitter/detector pair from RadioShack
• One unit-to-unit link cable
• One television/VCR/other IR remote

• Cut the link cable in half, and strip the wires so the copper is exposed.
• Find the LED-looking thing that is clear in your RadioShack package. This is the detector.
• Connect (either by holding with your fingers, a LED holder, or solder) the longer pin of the detector to the ground wire of the link cable. The ground wire is the bunch of copper wires that aren't in a red or white insulated wire.
• Connect the shorter lead of the detector to the red wire of the link cable.
• You are now ready to receive IR signals. For routines to capture codes from TV remotes, please see below. Make sure the remote is pointed at the detector.

ASM (83+ SE only) routines:
Make sure you have execution speed set to 15 MHz first!

View the IR routines