Monitor Install Prep

John has brought up a fantastic and very troubling point in the comments of"Monitor Buying". While I knew the LCD power supply wouldn't fit right behind the Panel in the iMac, I was banking on being able to extend the wires to reach from the base of the iMac to the display. However, John adds that in the process of doing this, there will be a loss of current due to increased resistance over the longer cable. 


This made me sad. So, to double check, I emailed an Electrical Engineering teacher who also serves as faculty administrator of the Robotics Club. I figure if anybody should know it would be him. Here is his answer: "If you are just lengthening the power lines, you will not have any problems. There should be any 'dimming' issues." 


As you can tell, he seemed quite sure of himself. Now I'm not sure at all. A little research reveals that there is indeed a drop in current over longer lengths of wire. I'm guessing the wire on the Panel is 28 AWG, which is listed as having a resistance of about 65 milliohms per foot. However, I have no idea how much current the panel itself is pulling. I tried hooking everything back up (the panel must be plugged back in and have a source or the monitor will idol) and getting a reading with my multimeter but when I did there was something of a sparking sound and the backlight flickered on and off. I stopped at this point. It seems to still be working alright but I'd rather not take any more chances. 

At this point, I'm not exactly sure what to do. I guess I'll just extend the wires and hope for the best. Right now, I'm hoping that the ribbon cable that go from the monitor to the video card in the iMac is the same (or very similar) to the on on the LCD Panel so I won't have to worry about trying to thread a video extension cable through the neck. We'll see...