Re: Fixing lines out on a Data East DMD



frankgigliotti@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
On Sep 5, 6:28 pm, Cliffy <Cli...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Good luck Frank! I had *7* lines out. 3 one way, 4 the other. Like I
said the copper stuff is cheap, thick and quite conductive. I'll bet
window defrosters are pulling at least as much current as a dmd.





Frank Gigliotti wrote:
Yes, I searched, but apparently not very hard :)
I like this method, it's worth a try! Thanks Cliffy.
"Cliffy" <Cli...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:loqdnQjKh62HbEPbnZ2dnUVZ_jKdnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Google is your friend, Frank :) I posted how I fixed the one in my Star
Wars a couple years ago. I used a copper window defrost repair kit from
the local auto parts house. At the time everyone was using silver
conductive paint pens but man those are expensive! The copper paint is
absolutely conductive enough for the displays. I didn't have to expose the
broken lead. Dude, it's already exposed! Believe me, the glass doesn't
suddenly melt in over the top where they break off so no grinding needed.
All I did was scrape with a tiny jewelers screwdriver to clean the broken
leads. I could see them shiny under a mag glass. Then I pretensioned the
good leads so they would have pressure against the glass at rest. Now I
used a toothpick and dropped the copper paint at each joint and let dry
overnight. The next day I carefully plugged it in and by golly all lines
were back. At this point I needed it to be sturdy so I used drops of super
glue at the joints and built it up with about 3 or 4 drops on each one. My
star wars is still chugging along today just fine :)
frankgiglio...@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
I have a very nice and bright DMD with 4 lines out due to broken
traces and I figured I have nothing to lose trying to fix it. I know I
can just buy a new one, but what kind of challenge is that ;)
I spent sometime last night following
www.txpinball.com/fixing_DMD_displays.html.
This is a great tutorial, but I noticed the data east DMD I have
(128x32) has the traces at the bottom of the glass, not at the middle
like in the tutorial. This makes it very difficult to get the dremel
tip down at the bottom to grind away and expose the leads. Perhaps
they have a very tiny grind tip?
Has anyone had success fixing broken traces on Data East DMDs? If it's
possible I'll try again since I have nothing to lose aside from time
and my temper :)
--
Cliffy - CARGPB2
A passion for pinball!
http://www.passionforpinball.com
--
Cliffy - CARGPB2
A passion for pinball!http://www.passionforpinball.com- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

ok, here is the progress report.
At first glance, I had 3 rows out near the bottom, but I ran the
diagnostics and noticed I had 4 rows and 3 columns out for a total of
7 ! Perhaps all of the display swapping in and out jostled a few
more... anyway....

I picked up the window defroster repair kit at the local Pep boys and
some super glue, just in case. I noticed right away the top row was
just off the solder pad, easy fix, one down. The bottom 3 were sheared
off the glass and after close examination, I could barely see the end
inside the glass. Well, due to capillary action, the dots of copper
paint in the kit when applied to the edge with a toothpick met the
ends in the glass, so I continued a little trail of paint over to the
connecting wire. I bent the connecting wires onto the paint and let
them dry for 6 hours. There was continuity measured from the pad to
the paint, so it seemed to hold. I didn't think I could test it in the
state it was, so I put a drop of super glue on each and let it dry for
an additional 1/2 hour.

Next, 2 column pins were fixed easily by a small dot of solder at the
broken wires, but column 125 was sheared off inside and looks like
someone tried to fix it before and made a royal mess.

So, after reassembling and plugging it in, 5 of the 7 columns/rows are
now working! I'll have to revisit to 2 non-working pins another time,
but for now, its a marked improvement. I can see the full square
around many of the screens and some of the artwork I hadn't seen
before.

I am a true believer in the "window defroster repair kit" method for
fixing DMDs. THANKS CLIFFY!


Most excellent :) Good job, LUV!

--
Cliffy - CARGPB2
A passion for pinball!
http://www.passionforpinball.com
.

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