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WH2O DMD issue

jonathan

jonathan

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Jul 21, 2011
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Picked up a WH2O at the weekend and the DMD looked like this

IMG_0173.jpeg

I assumed the display was shot so bought a replacement. It arrived today and it looks exactly the same 🤦🏻‍♂️ I assume it's actually the DMD driver board that is knackered rather than the DMD?

IMG_0175.jpeg

IMG_0174.jpeg

I'm a semi-competent solderer. How easy/hard a fix is this?

I can pick up a rottendog replacement for £150ish, but am I right in thinking a pin2DMD bypasses the driver board and might be a better option?
 
You have tried the ribbon cable ?
I’ve had this a few times.
 
Looks like an outgased display on the pic. The 'new' Display is new or used as well?
 
jonathan said:
am I right in thinking a pin2DMD bypasses the driver board and might be a better option?
Click to expand...
Pindmd bypasses the HV (High Voltage) section. Which may well be where your issue is. Have you checked the voltages on your DMD board??

65V, 12.7V, 4.95V, -119V, -107V
 
harig said:
Looks like an outgased display on the pic. The 'new' Display is new or used as well?
Click to expand...

Used, but confirmed working. And both DMDs look exactly the same when plugged in. Resister R8 is getting red hot very quickly so I suspect the HV section of the board needs rebuilding. I've tried reseating all cables multiple times to no avail. I'll get the multimeter out and test voltages later tonight.

Couple of questions please:

1 - Are there any replacement driver boards for sale anywhere? They seem to be out of stock online

2 - If I'm rebuilding it myself, where is the best place to get parts?

3 - If I buy a pin2DMD does that bypass the HV section? Or is R8 still going to be setting fire to the rest of the board!?
 
I have had this sort of issue and now use an infrared camera to find the hot IC as that is often the issue. Otherwise, it is a nightmare to track down.
I have a repaired spare, but haven’t tested with a DMD as I have LCD’s in my machines and my test rig doesn’t have HV.
If you want to sell me yours for repair and buy my spare, let me know.
 
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Calimori said:
I have had this sort of issue and now use an infrared camera to find the hot IC as that is often the issue. Otherwise, it is a nightmare to track down.
I have a repaired spare, but haven’t tested with a DMD as I have LCD’s in my machines and my test rig doesn’t have HV.
If you want to sell me yours for repair and buy my spare, let me know.
Click to expand...

Thanks mate. I'll let you know. Trying to avoid chucking good money after board tracking down the problem!
 
Sorry, I will fully check it works with a HV DMD.
Or happy to send you a working board to test if you cover costs
 
Paul said:
Pindmd bypasses the HV (High Voltage) section. Which may well be where your issue is. Have you checked the voltages on your DMD board??

65V, 12.7V, 4.95V, -119V, -107V
Click to expand...

61.5V, 12.3V, 4.8V, 95.5V, 116.5V

Pinwiki says those are roughly correct if measured with the DMD disconnected (I assume you wrote the 119V & 107V the wrong way round?)

IMG_0178.jpeg

Quick video of the issue


View attachment 857A79DD-CBE3-44CA-8877-EE1AEF9C343D.mov
 
Last edited:
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I have one of these in one of my machines and it works well.
 
Have you tried reseating ALL ribbon cables (do it a few times each end) and also pushing in the ASIC chip on the CPU board? It looks like a data issue, I have had something similar in the past but can't remember if it was one of the chips on the board or not (it's rare for them to go but they do)
 
mufcmufc said:
Have you tried reseating ALL ribbon cables (do it a few times each end) and also pushing in the ASIC chip on the CPU board? It looks like a data issue, I have had something similar in the past but can't remember if it was one of the chips on the board or not (it's rare for them to go but they do)
Click to expand...

Just tried it to no avail. It's weird because all the dots are there in the scrolling line test on the DMD. But there's big chunks missing when animations are displayed

IMG_0183.jpeg

IMG_0184.jpeg
 
Col is hopefully going to loan me a DMD driver board so I can rule that in/out as the issue. May need to try new ribbon cables after that
 
I'm convinced it;s the Driver board, especailly considering the display has been replaced - have seen it before. It'll be the HV section if you have swapped the display out already...

EDIT : Just googled - see here - https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/dmd-cloudy
and this one : https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/dmd-help-wpc-game-wavy-and-fuzzy

Not sure what it comprises of, however it seems that Andy (when he is back open) stocks a rebuild kit - https://pinparts.co.uk/pinball-parts/ols/products/williams-bally-wpc-wpc-95-dmd-hv-rebuild-kit
 
Paul said:
I'm convinced it;s the Driver board, especailly considering the display has been replaced - have seen it before. It'll be the HV section if you have swapped the display out already...

EDIT : Just googled - see here - https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/dmd-cloudy
and this one : https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/dmd-help-wpc-game-wavy-and-fuzzy

Not sure what it comprises of, however it seems that Andy (when he is back open) stocks a rebuild kit - https://pinparts.co.uk/pinball-parts/ols/products/williams-bally-wpc-wpc-95-dmd-hv-rebuild-kit
Click to expand...

Possibly, but the DMD appears to be getting the correct voltages. And rather than having an orange cloud from getting too much power, it's a black cloud.

I guess there's only one way to find out!
 
Did a bit more testing today. Bizarrely pin 8 on the DMD power cable reads 65V disconnected but instantly drops to 33V under load. The other pins all stay relatively stable.

Col is going to loan me a new board to try tomorrow so hopefully it's as simple as the driver board being f****d
 
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