Update: Decided against going the DIY route.
I fell short of a lot of necessary stuff that was required for the process. I found out while i took the monitor apart to see the length of the cathode lamps. The things I require are given below. Since I don't have any of the below listed items, I will have to buy them new and thus cost of replacing the ccl would be more than what I would spend if I were to give it to say Viewsonic service center (they didn't even bother to reply to the mail I sent a week back, so I'm assuming they do not care to service out of warranty monitors
So thinking of getting a new one now).
Shortcomings in my diy project:
1. What is absolutely necessary - the right tools! I took apart the monitor frame etc, and while trying to take apart the metal jacket covering the inverter circuit, I found that I did not have the right screw driver. My smallest philips screw bit was smaller than the head and the next bit I had was a little larger! Also the screw was a + type and not the ordinary type of philips screw we find. So that would mean getting a new screw driver set (watch repair type) which sells on ebay for about 200 bucks or so. (Was looking at the prices for toolkits and it seems every single dealer hiked their prices by a lot on ebay now.)
2. Also found out that the aluminium foil tape that was stuck to the body is actually a heat dispenser. Problem is it does not stick back once removed. I measured the width and length and saw that a 2 inch width foil was used. The length I would require would be around 2-2.5 feet of tape to stick. Problem is I don't know where we get this tape here in India and what price, and importing it from amazon (3M brand ) of 2inch and 50 yards length would cost about - $13.5+shipping (~ Rs1.2K) to me :O
3. Heat shrink rubber & plastic ends for securing the cclamps. These are available as a kit with 6 inches of aluminium foil from lcdparts.net for 7$+ s/h. I require 2-3 of these since my monitor has 4 tubes in it. Each tube costs around $13.5. So total cost excluding shipping is $13.5 x 4 + $7 x 3 = $75.
4. Pointed soldering tip, hot air gun - to solder the ccl leads and for heat shrinking the rubber over the ccl ends. Don't have these and don't know cost but assuming they are about Rs 1000+.
So my DIY would turn out to be quite costly - around Rs 6k or so. And I would have the unnecessary and extra unused stuff lying about with me for an eternity. Also there's a chance of failure no matter how confident I am.
So result -
Thinking of getting the Dell U2311H now.
Where can I get this monitor at cheapest price? Or should i get it from dell directly?
And for those who want to know the exact process of doing it, this guide should help -
CCFL Installation