Chriky wrote:Palmer had his running off USB at one point I think.
I did that, actually.
On the driver boards I've used, there's a little 8-pin IC that does power conversion from 12v to 5v, and then a linear regulator that does 5v to 3.3v.
The process is a bit convoluted, but here's basically what you do. Find the 12v input on the IC, cut it, and feed the board 5v directly after the IC. The screen's backlight runs directly off the 12v from the barrel jack, so you need to rewire it to give the screen's backlight 5v.
There should be two wires for the backlight - one is power, the other is a PWN signal for the brightness. I looked up the datasheet for the screen, and you can connect the brightness pin directly to 3.3v-5v, and it'll stay on constantly. I used a 1k resistor to limit the current, just in case.
That should be about it... if you need further explanation or a picture, just ask.
Thing is, USB is officially specced for only 500mA, and the screen+control board draws about 700-750mA at 5v. Most computers can handle it, but if you blow your USB bus fuse, it's not my problem.
![Razz :P](./images/smilies/icon_razz.gif)