Samplers on ACiD

Eighty80

Member

Emu e6400 Ultra Screen Not Working

A couple of months ago, my basement was flooded and my sampler was laying on the floor unplugged. I opened it up and let it sit for a couple of days and then got an air compressor and blasted out any water that might have been left. After all of this, I plugged it in and while the screen lights up, nothing appears on it. However, everything else seems to be functioning just fine. I can load samples, audition and everything. So, I ended up doing some research to find a screen and I haven't had much luck. I did find one seller on eBay, but when I tried to clarify the details with him, he was rude and confrontational. I've been searching other places as well, but I haven't found anything.

It would be a real shame to let this awesome piece of hardware go to waste. I never really got to use it either. Does anyone know where I should be looking?

philtipping

Administrator

Re: Emu e6400 Ultra Screen Not Working

Don't know a supplier, but there are a few mentions of replacement screens on the E-MU Emulator IV User Group on facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/EMUEIVMachines. There's a post on the 19th Sept for with a blue one for 71,73€ + shipping from Spain, but if you search for others you may find something... although they may just be the ebay seller you've already found! Good luck.
Update: if this is the same guy on ebay from Bristol, UK, have a look at his feedback comments. One says "Hilariously irritable at times, but tremendous commitment advice & guide. 10000%", but the majority are very positive, so maybe it's worth gritting your teeth and re-visiting him if you get no luck elsewhere. Some people are just like that

Last edited by philtipping (2016-09-21 06:25:50)

Eighty80

Member

Re: Emu e6400 Ultra Screen Not Working

Don't know a supplier, but there are a few mentions of replacement screens on the E-MU Emulator IV User Group on facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/EMUEIVMachines. There's a post on the 19th Sept for with a blue one for 71,73€ + shipping from Spain, but if you search for others you may find something... although they may just be the ebay seller you've already found! Good luck.
Update: if this is the same guy on ebay from Bristol, UK, have a look at his feedback comments. One says "Hilariously irritable at times, but tremendous commitment advice & guide. 10000%", but the majority are very positive, so maybe it's worth gritting your teeth and re-visiting him if you get no luck elsewhere. Some people are just like that

Yup, that's the guy. Unfortunately, he blocked me from buying anything. The guy was being a complete prick. He asked me for my "address", so I gave him my address, but he threw a tantrum saying I was somehow wasting his time. From what I pieced together, I figured out he was asking for my PayPal email address...

It seems that he somehow assembles the displays. I wonder where he gets them from. Is the LCD used in the e6400 common?

philtipping

Administrator

Re: Emu e6400 Ultra Screen Not Working

Ok that's a shame - obviously gone from 'hilariously irritable' to 'annoyingly irritable'   The facebook group may help to find the LCD details, and then you could try sourcing it from one of those direct-from-China companies. AliExpress springs to mind - bought a lipo battery for an android tablet with no hassle. Don't be put off by all the fashion stuff; they deal with anything and everything! More info here http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shoppi … aliexpress. Good luck.

Eighty80

Member

Re: Emu e6400 Ultra Screen Not Working

Ok, I found a solution. The screen in the EMU E6400 ultra is a GLCD using the T6963C controller. You can find them here: http://www.buydisplay.com/default/5-2-i … k-on-white

Now, the screen is working, but there's few problems. First of all, these screens use 5v leds as backlights rather than the CCFL tube that is in the original screen. So, I need to find a place where I can get 5v somewhere off the board for the backlight.

The website I posted sells various colors, but I really recommend getting the normal black on white. I made a mistake by getting the white on black. I think the EMU is sending out a signal to make the pixels black...and that's a big problem when the background itself is black. So, either I'll have to just buy a black on white display or somehow figure out how to invert the EMU's display signal to make the black pixels become white. I've seen other people using white on black displays on the EMUs, but I'm not sure how they are working.

Can anyone help with regards to the 5v power and the screen pixels?

Last edited by Eighty80 (2016-12-23 05:20:32)

ennenn

Member

Re: Emu e6400 Ultra Screen Not Working

The display controller is monochrome. All the Emu knows about pixels is if they are on or off, it doesn't know or care about the colour. The white on black ones should be a drop in replacement. What problems are you having?

As for 5V, there's plenty of places. The schematics are in here:

http://www.deepsonic.ch/deep/docs_manua … uments.pdf

This is also floating around in a bundle with the parts separated.

Eighty80

Member

Re: Emu e6400 Ultra Screen Not Working

The display controller is monochrome. All the Emu knows about pixels is if they are on or off, it doesn't know or care about the colour. The white on black ones should be a drop in replacement. What problems are you having?

As for 5V, there's plenty of places. The schematics are in here:

http://www.deepsonic.ch/deep/docs_manua … uments.pdf

This is also floating around in a bundle with the parts separated.

You're right, the screen should be working either way. I think I might know what the problem is. I looked carefully and found that the ferrite bead at L5 is blown. It seems that one of the pads also burnt off...

Could I cut up an IDC cable and get VCC for the screen from another point on the board?

The screen behaves strangely. Whenever the EMU is trying to load from the hard drive, it becomes clear like it should be, but then goes back to normal after the loading or processing is done. For example, if I press Disk Browse and turn the wheel to load the floppy, the font turns white for a few seconds while it's loading and then goes back. My guess is that because of the burnt ferrite bead, it's having a hard time regulating enough voltage.

As a side note, I've also tried changing the contrast. Anything higher than -8 is not visible.

UPDATE: Got everything working. The screen was actually receiving no voltage. It was working purely off of the data buses. I ended up connecting pin 3 of the screen (vcc) to the AUX vcc pin near the floppy power connector with a 100 ohm resistor in between. In order to get the backlight working, I just connected the led positive to pin 3 and led ground to pin 2.

Last edited by Eighty80 (2016-12-25 13:10:14)