[Preed]

Hello,


I recently purchased a used Ecp 4500. I've had it for three days and it was working like a dream. I say was...because last night the blue tube went out. I checked the tube physically and it seems to be in great shape. No burns or other abnormalities. So I read through the service manual I had located most of in pdf(Thanks to a link found by searching this forum). Just to see if it would turn on I adjusted The G2 for the blue up and the blue tube turned on. Now it isn't usable, the image is distorted i.e.. on a cross hatch the vertical bars and dots are too wide and diffused and the horizontal lines are very pale but accurate in size. I tried focusing the center and edge focus and it helped only minimally. I adjusted for Flare and Stigmator with no success. I am preparing to do a color balance and Video alignment as per the service manual, unfortunately I have to find a voltmeter first. So for now I have turned the g2 back to where it was and shut the projector off. I'm still very new at this( This is my first projector ), so any advice or ideas would be quite useful. The Green and Red tubes are fine. The image they produce is clear and sharp. I can see why this projector is recommended as a first setup. I had it set up and running in about an hour ( it took longer to build the screen, blackout cloth is very good for the price ). Watching gladiator on it from my PC was terrific. I really hope I can fix this. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Of course, if anyone here is in Southern West Virginia and would like to help out in person or recommend a technician in the area that'd be great too

. This forum is great I've been lurking here for a while. Thanks in advance for any help given.


Patrick

 

[avale]

I had a similar issue with my ecp 4100. The driver boards (attached to the end of the tubes) have a two pin connector below the large heatsink on each board. The pins become tarnished and need to be cleaned. Some people even solder these wires to the connector and by-pass the connector all together. Try disconnecting and reconnecting this connector and see if the image comes back (or wiggle it while it is on). That may be the issue.

 

[Preed]

Thanks for the advice avale,


Unfortunately it didn't fix it. I disconnected and cleaned several connections on the driver board (listed as Video output module in manual).

It didn't help any. On the bright side it didn't make anything worse

So I'm still looking for ideas as to what would cause or fix this problem. Thanks for any help once again.


Patrick

 

[jeep lover 2]

Silly question, didyou check the switches on the focus board (bias module) to make sure they are all on ? Try flipping the blue switch a couple of times and see if that helps. What kind of tubes are these? sd187 or 07ms?


Sean

 

[Preed]

Thanks for the reply jeep lover 2,



Well I had tried that , but it is not a silly question. I do quite a bit of PC repair and you wouldn't believe how many calls I receive about broken printers that are really just unplugged . Flipping the switch doesn't make the blue turn on. The blue doesn't come on till g2 is set very high. The tubes are 07ms. Thanks, any and all idea's appreciated. I currently think the problem is in the control board (Video output module) on the back of the tube, but I don't have a voltmeter at the moment and I don't have a spare. Is say, swapping the same module off of the red for the one on the blue the only way to test it? I may be way off base with that guess as to what is wrong, but I'm not sure what else it could be? any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks for any and all help

 

[jeep lover 2]

Yes if the problem is the card, switching the cards will make the problem switch, in your case red wouldn't work. Try it. It only takes a few nminutes...


Sean

 

[Jay Wilson]

Yeah, swap the blue and red CRT boards and see if the problem follows the board or the CRT.

 

[jeep lover 2]

Check to see it the blue turns on with the crosshatch pattern. If so, prob is external..


If not, check the output from the video control module


Row A pin 3 for blue.

You can compare with row c pin 2 for red.


If the color is missing from the above, prob is likely with the video control module...


If all three colors are present per above, make sure p7 and p9 are securely fastened, check for K voltage at the module. At full contrast 0 brite the V should be around 140V. if this signal is not present, the module may be faulty....


This from the service manual (though not verbatim)


Sean

 

[Preed]

Thank you all for your help!!!!



I swapped the cards and the blue works fine and now red doesn't work. So thankfully it's the card and not the tube. So I need a new video output card for the back of the tube. I'm just glad to know whats wrong. So anyone know where I can get one of these cards? I'll go searching on the forum for where to get the board, but any suggestions of where to get one would be appreciated.


Again Thanks!!!

 

[Jay Wilson]

I've got a spare I'd sell pretty cheap...where you at?

 

[Preed]

Jay,


That would be great. I'm in Hinton (also known as middle of No-where) , West Virginia. If you want to sell PM me with the info and I will get back to you asap.


Thanks!!!!



Patrick

 

[jcmccorm]

Patrick, let us know how this works out. Hopefully you and Jay got it fixed up.


Cary

 

[Preed]

Well, I heard from Jay and the card went out in the mail this morning.

Thanks Jay!!! You are the best! Also Thanks to everyone for all your help diagnosing the problem. This forum is great. Thanks Everyone!!!



Patrick

 

[Preed]

Hello again,


Well I received the Video output Module today. Thanks again Jay! It looks to be in good shape, unfortunately I can't test it yet. The boards are two different revisions. I've looked both boards over very carefully and their appears to be only one difference. The connector for P9 is of a different type. The boards in my pj are rev 3 and have a round connector to place a single pinned cable into. The board jay sent is Rev 2 and has a two pin connector. Now I have looked over the boards and all of the pathways and components appear to be identical. Even on the rev 3 board the single pin(almost RCA style ) connector is split into two paths on the back of the board. I'm assuming the manufacturer just switched connector types to make the connection less likely to pull loose. I'm thinking about switching the connectors. I just wanted to know if anyone has done this before or if it might be a better idea just to cut the connector on the cable and replace it with a two pin plug. Thanks again for all the help everyone's given me! Thanks once more for Jay for selling me the part! Just one last hurdle here and I'll have it working. . So if anyone has any advice let me know.


Thanks!



Patrick

 

[Jay Wilson]

Well, glad it made it from BFE to the middle of nowhere safely


I didn't think about there maybe being multiple versions. I can't honestly say that there is only a physical difference, but hopefully someone else does. Hopefully they are not electrically different.


After you get it all back together and working, change the cap in the lower corner from that 4.7mfd to a Panasonic EB series, [email protected] This will improve your image quality. THe cap can be ordered from DigiKey for about $2-3. You will need one per CRT board.

 

[Preed]

Thanks Jay!



Thanks on the info about the cap, that replacement will be next on my list.

I didn't even think about there being different revisions either. I'm still studying the boards at the moment I'm 99.9% sure they are the same electrically. I'm just gonna wait and see if someone knows if that last .1% is the same too .

Quote:

Well, glad it made it from BFE to the middle of nowhere safely

I think if you don't mind I might put that in my sig Jay!


Anyway I figure it'll work once I can get it hooked up!


Thanks



Patrick

 

[Preed]

Update!!!!


Well I have a working projector!!!!!!!!! I managed to rig an adapter. The card works great. I just need to find a more permanent connection for it.



Thanks everybody!!!!!!!


I would like to buy an extra card, just in case. So if anybody has one or knows where I can buy one, I'd be very grateful for the knowledge!!



Patrick

 

[Jay Wilson]

Well, since it works, can you just take this connector off your old card and replace it on the one I sent yoU? That way you wouldn't have to rig anything.

 

[Preed]

Hi Jay,



Thats probably what I'm gonna do. It's just a difficult area to solder and I'd like a backup card. Just in case.


Patrick

 

[jeep lover 2]

Patric,

Describe the connector and I'll see if I have something that will work...


Sean