Official AX-200 Owners Thread - Page 98

I had the AE500 and currently have the AX 200. Both have the flickering occur at times, but not constant enough to keep me away!

With an LCD projector, always get the extended warranty. Don't count on your credit card to extend it. On my first projector I bought the extended warranty and when it failed (blue LCD just like my AX200) the friendly folks at the warranty company (Squaretrade) sent me a check that almost covered the cost of the then brand new AX-200U.

Stupid me, I figured Panasonic would have ironed out all the bugs and I could save a few dollars and not get a warranty. Just under two years later and 100 hours past the limit on Panasonic's crappy rebate warranty I'm kicking myself, but my buddy has a brand new projector paid for with his warranty. On top of that they let him keep his broken projector which he got repaired cheaply for a backup, and he gets three free bulbs.

With an LCD projector, it's not a question of if it fails, it's when will it fail. When you combine high resolution with high lumens something has to give. However, I believe Panasonic could do more to extend the life of the blue lcd. More air flow would be a start. Blue is closest to the fan, but is also closest to the light source. Other projectors have moved blue to the other side (even older Panasonic PT models).

Live and learn I guess.

Just curious, which warranty offers 3 free bulbs?

I'll have to ask my friend where he got it, I don't remember for sure. It was an online AV retailer from Arizona(?) that looked a little fishy, but the warranties came through and were cheap. They sold at least three brands of warranties.

The bulb warranty was for three years, but I think had a limit of three bulbs in the contract.

You can get a three year Mack warranty from TapeWorks that covers the bulb and projector for the price of a retail bulb.
tapeworkstexas.com/mack_warranty_projector_combo.html

Totally agree. They are junk.

And here's one of them. I love mine. I've had an issue or two, but nothing that wasn't handled. It's a GREAT looking projector.

Hmm...and your signature states: All generalizations are false.

Ironic, wouldn't you say?

My AX200 has worked flawlessly for over 8400hours. I'm on the 2nd bulb only. Of course, it's on it's last leg as the blue polarizer is really bad after all that use and since I didn't plan on keeping it, I never fixed it on my own and it's REALLY bad now as to be expected. Probably a bad panel now too.

So, I've posted this on the forum but am still looking for a definitive answer. Thought I'd be more likely to get an answer from people who actually own this projector and know it's inner workings.

I opened up my ax200u to give it a light dusting. I found a piece of broken glass wedged inside the projector. It's not a polarizer because all colors look clear and brilliant when projected. Most comments I've gotten so far is that it's a UV/IR filter. But I would like to know for sure and where in the projector it is supposed to be. Not sure how this piece ended up broken, I am extremely gentle, and the projector has never been knocked around. I gave a call to Panasonic, and of course they want me to send it in. I would rather not do that if it is something I can repair myself.



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It is iridescent in color and has a number on it TESA284.

I just checked my service manual cannot find that part #.

Okay it's time for a new bulb. Where is the best place to pick one up currently? Also, is there a problem in getting a 3rd party bulb? I see a few retailers with prices 1/2 of what my vendor (projector people) is charging...should I stay away?

Several people have mentioned loose parts in their projectors: gear, spring, and most recently, broken glass. These are all parts to the "Pure Color Filter". This filter is in the light path in Theater Room modes and out of the light path for Living Room modes. The filter sits close to the light source.

Below is a picture of the Pure Color Filter. The white parts are the parts that drive the filter in and out. The purple parts are just a reflection from the filter of the white parts.



For orientation: The upper left corner (overexposed) in the photo is the largest circuit board. The right side of the photo is of the black housing for the lamp. The yellow wire goes to the temperature sensor on the lamp housing.

http://www.mwave.com/mwave/SKUSearch...iteria=BP00244

Anybody ever used Mwave for replacement lamps for the AX200? Mine has about 2600 hours on it and it's getting to be time for replacement.

On another note, does anybody happen to know of a comprehensive walkthrough of how to replace the blue polarizer on this projector? I've got a faint yellow hue in the middle of the screen, mostly evident when the picture being displayed is white or mostly white. I also see a faint darker blue in the middle of the picture when the blue screen is up (no input selected) - so that leads me to believe it's the blue polarizer issue many folks have posted about. I'd probably try to replace it by myself if I could get a part number and a walkthrough of how to do it.

Below are additional photos and tips that I have not found elsewhere on the internet. I will put links to other photos and "how to" in the next post.

1) The ribbon cables to the LCD panels are wedge lock. This one connector is unique in the projector and is not wedge lock. It is similar to a card edge connector where the white ribbon would be the "card". For this cable, and only this cable, I used two pairs of needle nose pliers to take it out and put it back in.


2) Next is a picture of the optical block after it has been removed. The blue LCD panel is on the right. The blue out polarizer is immediately to the left (ie behind) of the blue LCD panel. The polarizer is removed by pulling the short edge slightly towards the LCD panel then pulling it out parallel to the blue LCD panel. Both short ends of the polarizer are attached with gummy adhesive.

Note the green light in the blue polarizer. I assume that is incident light entering through the green LCD panel.

3) This is the bottom of the optical block. The tip of the red arrow is on the blue out polarizer. Notice that the green polarizer is a stack of two glass substrates with a total of three polarizer/filter layers. Hence the reason the green out polarizer costs $75 more than the blue polarizer.



4) I replaced my polarizer after 2200 hours as a preventative measure. It was not too bad. In the following photo, the upper polarizer is the old one and the lower polarizer is the new one.

I cut the strip of gummy adhesive, on the right side of the old polarizer, into four pieces. I transferred those four pieces to the new polarizer with tweezers. For the other side, there was plenty of adhesive left in the optical block.

5) The old polarizer shows signs of delamination in the photo below. The colored rings are interference patterns caused by (slightly) varying separation between the polarizer(s) and the glass substrate.


6) This is a picture of a much more damaged polarizer (taken from post #7 of the "Panny PT-AX100U Polarizer" forum.


The ultraviolet light from the lamp damages the polarizer. One theory is, that as the polarizer becomes opaque, the light is turned into heat and the heat can also fry the blue LCD panel. Sounds good to me.

Here is a link to the part numbers for the PT-AX100U. The PT-AX200U may be the same.http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1166504

Here are the best directions I found, post 2827 of this forum:http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...5#post18049885

Good photos inside the projector: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...19857&page=149
http://www.cine4home.de/tests/projek...TAX200Test.htm
Google can translate this last page into English.

I'm about 3 years late to the party but here is some info on flicker that I did not find elsewhere.

Summary: Many have speculated that their flicker was caused by the iris. That is confirmed and fixed.

Details: Below are two photos of the iris mechanism taken from the bottom with the lamp cover off. (Yeah, there is an interlock switch.) The left photo is a short exposure showing no motion. The right photo is a long exposure, through a (dirty) filter to increase exposure time. The motion can be seen by:
- The width of the bright area to the right of the green arrow,
- The loss of details in the surface by the red arrow, and
- The double image of the end of the plastic piece to the left of the yellow arrow.



At first, this machine had the sticky iris causing it to shut off after about 5 minutes. The top and bottom parts were lubricated with the first PTFE (Teflon) lubricant I could find locally. That fixed the sticky problem but created a new problem. The iris would vibrate (actually oscillate). The vibration caused big time flicker. The amount of flicker was a function of projector position (on its side was worst), picture mode, and input signal. With no input signal at all, I believe there was no vibration, not sure. The photos were taken with a still input image, dynamic iris and light harmonizer off, lamp in normal mode (though eco mode made no difference), yada yada.

To digress for a moment: I tried simply unplugging the connector to the dynamic iris. The machine balked and shut down after ~5 min.

The service menu that indicates the iris is not OK ("OK" in red) seems to reflect the previous power cycle not the current cycle. When I created a fault before power on, the machine would indicate "OK" in white and still shut down after 3 min. and 9 sec. The next time I turned it on, the iris "OK" would be in red. (Reset the OK status using "initialize" in the other service menu.)
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...4#post12252254

Below is a photo of the upper portion of the iris mechanism. To get there: take off the joystick (unscrew CCW and pull off), take out seven screws from the bottom and one from the back marked with an arrow. Flip the projector right side up and lift off the case. The arrow points to the end of the shaft on which the mechanism rotates. The projector can be run with the case off. It actually looks kinda neat.


Now back to our story: To fix the flickering I removed as much of the liquid PTFE as I could with a Q-Tip. Used tweezers to pick up leftover fibers. Then applied the recommended CRC dry PTFE (03044). This seemed to do the job.

Video on lubricating the iris:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jGwB05_gdk

CRC dry PTFE:
http://www.grovesindustrial.com/inde...ms_detail&data[history]=248;249;254;&data[catalog]=1&data[itemcode]=CRC+03044

CRC CO contact cleaner (expensive):
http://www.govofficesupply.com/servl...Cleaner/Detail

I've searched the forums and read as much of this thread as possible, along with the AX100 threads. Here's my problem:

I was watching a movie last night and my PT-AX200U suddenly turned off. No crazy colors or sounds, just went right to standby mode. Now whenever I turn it on, it turns off before the lamp warms up.

Specifically, the lamp strikes, the iris goes through its self-test, the dichroic filter ("Pure Color Filter") sled moves out of the way, and as the Panny logo starts to emerge, the whole projector drops back to standby (no fans) and cannot be restarted until the hardware power switch has been toggled. (No temp or lamp warning lights either.)

Here's what I've tried:
1) Unplugged and reseated lamp a few times. Nothing looks or smells problematic.
2) Flipped PJ over, since this seems to have solved some people's flickering problems.
3) Checked the iris: After reading of DIY solutions to the iris shutdown problem on the AX100 I figured I might have a sticky iris. It moves freely and I've observed it closely during startup. The shutdown does not occur in sync with any iris movements. Just in case, I tried limiting the iris lever's travel with a screwdriver, remembering an over-extension problem on the AX100.

Projector History:
Like many, this PJ has flickered since I bought it. First in Econo mode, then slightly better in normal. A few months ago it would occasionally fail to strike the lamp, trying 3 times and giving up. I reseated the lamp and had no further trouble until now. It's out of warranty due to age, but has very few hours on it (probably less than 300).

Ideas:
I'm thinking power-supply or lamp. If I send it to Heartland I'm out $130 plus shipping before they even diagnose it. That's pretty terrible if it's just a dead lamp. Anybody have ideas? (I'm handy with electronics, but not high-voltage arc-lamp ballasts.)

(I made a video but I can't post links until my third post. Thanks spammers!)

... and I already vacuumed the air filter. (it was clean anyway)

Totally lame

That's an excellent price...but it doesn't say whether that's an OEM part. Most of the lamps in the $200 range are not manufactured for/by Panasonic.

The Mwave ad says "Plureglare" which is not Panasonic. This is the website for PureGlare lamps:
http://www.pureglare.com/

Thanks...thought that was too good to be true. Sure would be nice to find a sub $200 Panasonic.

Get a new projector and this time don't buy a Panny.

Is the standby light staying green when it turns off? and you can't hear or feel the hot air coming out of the front vent?

My Panasonic has around 2,900 hours on the original bulb. No problems with picture and it still seems bright enough for me. Since I placed a 40 inch Samsung LCD in the room for casual viewing, the PJ is basically used from Friday to Sunday with minimal off/on cycles and run in eco mode.

Since a new bulb is in the $350 range, I rather wait for it to die and get a new 1080P or see if LED PJs become available for HT. Buying a non OEM bulb seems like gambling to me and I am not a lucky guy.

-Are there any warning signs that your bulb will be going soon besides not striking?

-Have people here had their AX-200 bulbs go to 4K hours or so? This would give me another good year of use.

We are finally getting around to getting some real nice Palliser sectionals for the A/V room and one year of more use will make the budget work nicer.

My 1st bulb was around 3K hours and I changed it out, just because I had another and wanted to see how much brightness I was missing. Turns out, not much at all. The 2nd is on around 5K hours so far and works just fine. I paid $220 (bing cashback at the time) or so. Can find OEM for approx. $300 on *bay, buyfromjapan.

Polarizer is burnt pretty badly as to be expected on over 8K hours, probably a panel too and I don't want to mess with it and the expense.

Waiting til after CEDIA to purchase a new 1080P. AE4000 or most probably one of the new Epsons.

Thanks J-Bo. I found some of your posts doing a search for bulb life a few minutes ago.

How does your picture look at 5K on the new bulb?

I have a darkened room and I really can't complain about the brightness as I don't watch in sunlight and the room has window treatments, dark walls and rugs. The only thing I have done is to raise the brightness a notch. That was interesting since I forgot that lowered it when I first bought the PJ because it was too bright.

I will check out the buyfromjapan site.

To be honest, I can't really say about the picture with the burnt polarizer.. everythings a shade of yeller..

As far as brightness goes.. I do have some dimness, but don't know if that's due to the burnt polarizer or the time on the lamp, although I'm betting on the time dealio. I've upped brightness +3 from original for those daytime images though.

So if you plan to keep it another year, you can bet you'll start seeing the burnt polarizer start to surface sometime soon. How long you can go with it in that state will determine when you purchase a new PJ. Hopefully, you can last until after next years CEDIA.

I think what I will do is to just reset the bulb hours soon and watch it till it dies. With the LCD TV in the same room, I have cut down on my viewing to just Fri, Sat and Sunday with only 3 on/off cycles. I have no issues with the picture being dim and when the room is very dark, it is still an outstanding picture.

Buying a new OEM bulb for $375 or even $300 seems silly if a new AX200 can be had for <$999. Even with a lower price, there is the issue of longevity and it being 720P where I can look at 1080P models very close to the AX200 replacement price. What I am hoping for is to see 1080P LED models with enough brightness to replace conventional bulbs. When I bought the AX200 I did not have a Blue Ray player or a reciever which could switch 1080 sources.

So far things have been trouble free. I clean the filter and minimize lamp strikes by keeping the PJ running for extended hours instead of many on/off cycles. No issues with heat either.