Hi everyone. I have a couple of G90 questions from those in the know.

1. Does the G90 have a battery or some non-volital memory for saving configuration, picture settings and convergence/Gemometry? If power is removed I have heard that all of this is lost. Sounded strange to me, but thought I would confirm.

2. Fan while in standby. I demo'ed a G90 today. When turned on the fan was about a loud as my 9500LC Ultra, maybe a bit less nosie, but not too much. However when the G90 was put in standby (as listed on the remote) it appeard to have no fan going or atleast it was so low that I could not hear one at all. With my 9500 when I turn it off I still hear a fan, hence I wanted to know if the G90 works difffernt.

thanks,
Jim

1. When power is cut, the memory does not go away. Dont know how long it will stay without power, but its certainly not volitile. I've left mine unplugged for a week or more when I first got mine and it never forgot the settings.

2. As far as I can tell, 'standby' is off. There is no fan or other obvious activity. There is a red light on the back panel, and thats about it. You can also turn it completely off with a switch on the power supply. I dont know what electronics are still being powered when in standby, but all the fans are off and the thermometer I have in the HV power supply drops to room temperature.

Great. Thanks Kris. Still would love to come over and see your setup. You are welcome up to see mine now that things have slowed down a bit.

one more question. As I indicated in my earlier post I went and saw a G90 today that I am considering purchasing if the price is right. I had another concern I wanted to get some feedback from a tech type like Tim or Curt. The G90 I saw has been housed inside a custom table. The table did not seem to be vented very well and as a result of heat build up on the unit at least one part (could not tell if it was plastic or metal) warped. As a result unless you MacGyver some pressure where it’s warped the projector turns off. This in itself is not a big deal. I am however concerned that this heat build up could cause some latent issues with parts on the projector. It seemed to work ok on test patterns, but we never could get the projector to display a picture.

Could this cause some latent issues in the life of the internal component cards??

thx,
Jim

If the G90 was less quiet than your 9500LC, then you really need to clean the LVPS fans! The 9500LC should be noticeably quieter than a G90.

Get Tim at etech's fan mod and you won't hear much of anything from the 9500LC in standby.

I remove power from my G90 when away on vacation sometimes up to 2 weeks. Never lost memory.

Louis

There is an on board Dallas Chip that has a built in battery and saves all settings.

Terry

the g90 uses a "dallas chipset" just like some of the computer motherboards. its a nvram with a battery that is intergrated in the chip. they last around 10 years (some longer some shorter). there is a procedure to replace it on the forum if need be. for safe measure some people run a ups with their projector. poor mans way is to right down all the settings.

So, I guess to re-cap. The chip that holds the memory settings has a battery in it that has a finite lifetime. A G90 in good working order should be able to be unplugged for a reasonable amount of time without loosing data. But as they age it is possible that the battery has gone bad and will loose its settings if unplugged or shut down all the way.

If the person you are looking to buy it from is giving you some song and dance about how it isn't supposed to keep its settings, they're wrong. Its not hard or expensive to replace the chip, but you will need to do a full factory reset to initialize it.

The other question you had about the heat build up sounds like a huge warning sign. Enough heat to warp part of the projector can not be good. They need good circulation and do generate a good deal of heat. Putting one in a box thats not setup for airflow seems like a really bad idea.

If they cant get it to throw a picture from an external input, it sounds like an excellent candidate for a parts machine. Let me know if you don't buy it...

I remove power from my G90 when away on vacation sometimes up to 2 weeks. Never lost memory.

Louis

Louis, you should NEVER DO THIS.

Cliff

So, I guess to re-cap. The chip that holds the memory settings has a battery in it that has a finite lifetime. A G90 in good working order should be able to be unplugged for a reasonable amount of time without loosing data. But as they age it is possible that the battery has gone bad and will loose its settings if unplugged or shut down all the way.

If the person you are looking to buy it from is giving you some song and dance about how it isn't supposed to keep its settings, they're wrong. Its not hard or expensive to replace the chip, but you will need to do a full factory reset to initialize it.

The other question you had about the heat build up sounds like a huge warning sign. Enough heat to warp part of the projector can not be good. They need good circulation and do generate a good deal of heat. Putting one in a box thats not setup for airflow seems like a really bad idea.

If they cant get it to throw a picture from an external input, it sounds like an excellent candidate for a parts machine. Let me know if you don't buy it...

Your best bet is to make sure that you keep the projector powered all the time. I sure do not want to have to replace batteries or anything else for that matter on the projector. I just want it to work.

For reference, I have Art's stack in my house and it has been plugged in the entire time it has been here. I'm not about to waste a battery if I dont have to. Keep it plugged in.

Cliff

The Dallas chips in G90s are now at the end of their service lives, and shuld be replaced. Or you will lose your memory when it is unplugged - it's happened repeatedly to a friend of mine.

The Dallas chips in G90s are now at the end of their service lives, and shuld be replaced. Or you will lose your memory when it is unplugged - it's happened repeatedly to a friend of mine.

Not quite yet Mark. Depending on the amount of time the projector spent "unplugged"" there is still plenty of time left.

I do agree though, it's time for a battery change. :)

Cliffy

Another item for me to take into account is setup. Can anyone recommend someone in the LA/San Diego area for one of these bad boys? Not only a setup but a rockin setup....

Another item for me to take into account is setup. Can anyone recommend someone in the LA/San Diego area for one of these bad boys? Not only a setup but a rockin setup....

LOL, yeah, check my sig.......

There is only one other person in the US that would even be able to compete.

Cliff

Heres a question for all of us poor suckers still stuck with the 12xx series.. What keeps the memory in our sets? I'd hate for it to be a dallas chip-type setup that'll eventually cost more to replace than the projector cost when I got it.. especially since mine has been unplugged for 2 months now:(

Last question....for now any how..

exactly how hard is it to get replacement parts? I understand the Curt will be (or maybe already has) a spare G90 he is planning to use as a parts projector, but to be honest it concerns me that that I would be competing with the rest of the G90 world for parts and the only qualified providers have no access to parts other then a couple spares?

Does Sony still make parts? or at least the most commonly problem components? is the only repair solution "having a spare G90 laying around"? if its the later it does not seem a safe bet to invest in a G90 at this time, especailly when you consider it will only get harder for parts?

thanks,
Jim

its true, there are parts that can't be had for the g90, sony is just plain out. but they can do board lvl repairs.

Cliff:
The SVRAM chip is not powered when the projector is off. Do you leave your projectors in standby mode when not in use?
If I leave for a trip, I always unplug the G90. Power surges and lightning strike do happen, and the SONY would be the first to go in a surge.
My 50 cents worth.
Ed.

Louis, you should NEVER DO THIS.

Cliff

Cliff,
Why, are you suggesting it is bad for the projector?

Louis

I think we established that some parts (not boards) are common between the G70 and G90. It would be interesting to know just how much they are the same. Manufacturers definately like to keep a common spares bin!!

exactly how hard is it to get replacement parts? I understand the Curt will be (or maybe already has) a spare G90 he is planning to use as a parts projector, but to be honest it concerns me that that I would be competing with the rest of the G90 world for parts and the only qualified providers have no access to parts other then a couple spares?
Hi Jim,

I do have all the G90 parts (boards and blocks) except GA/GB PSU boards. I bought these parts from 'Grae' (CurtPalme forum member) some weeks ago. I choose to buy these parts since I do have three G90 units I sold in France and I must be able to service them fastly ;)

I'm also able to do 'components level' servicing on G70/G90 boards as I did it several times in the past ;) (see curt's G90 servicing post in this forum).

John