[NTLK] An experiment to illuminate the keyboard on an eMate 300.

[Maury Estabrooks]

It worked !

I spent a good four hours with an Apple Newton eMate 300 and an idea to add an optional LED light for night time keyboarding use. 

The eMate arrived the night before with a stylus, but no power supply. Rather than test operability, I tested a theory first and proceeded to disassemble the eMate 300 without a tear down manual.

I had previously purchased a AAA battery operated (4.5V) pair of LED reading lights made for a parent/child reading session. The activation buttons had three settings of OFF/LOW/HIGH.

The LED light can be purchased through www.withitgear.com The part number is: R-M&M-002-003-WB-01

It retails for $19.89. I paid $9.98 at Target in the clearance bin. 

After installation behind the translucent case, I broke out the low voltage power regulator and tested my work. Perfect! It works well. The activation buttons protrude slightly on the top of the case. 

The lights will eventually be powered by a pair of coin sized batteries.

On to sourcing a power supply for the eMate 300. 
Here’s a link to “backlit_eMate300.JPG” in my Dropbox:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ublq55l2pvm7i5c/backlit_eMate300.JPG?dl=0



It is not obsolete until I say it is