Screen turning pink - What to do ?

[ekianjo]

Today I just noticed for the first time an issue with my Rebirth Pandora: the screen turns pink (with stripes of pink moving vertically very fast) when in full position (screen flat, parallel to the keyboard). This does not happen 100 % of the time but if I move stightly it basically turns pink when there is a slight pressure on the hinge.


I guess this is a issue with the LCD cable ? I thought this was resolved in the new editions ?


Is there anything I can do without returning it ? I am using my Pandora very frequently and I am not very keen on sending it for repairs and waiting x months before seeing it again...


thanks for your help.

 

[PokeParadox]

You're options are:

• Try and tolerate until it craps out completely.
  
• Return for RMA right now.
  
• Purchase an LCD cable and perform the cable replacement yourself.
  

Basically I got this and managed to drag my Pandora through infrequent use for another couple of months before replacing the cable. YMMV, of course.

 

[ekianjo]

Basically I got this and managed to drag my Pandora through infrequent use for another couple of months before replacing the cable. YMMV, of course.

Did you end up replacing the cable yourself? If yes, what kind of skills are recommended to do so ?

 

[EvilDragon]

If you replace it yourself: it would be great if you could try to remove the old cable without damaging it.


According to the company, it's the exact same quality as the cables they produced two years ago for us - however, non of the old ones failed so far while I've seen a couple ones from the last batch (received in March).


They are asking for failed samples to check it and replace them and give me a compensation for it.

 

[skeezix]

ED put up a very detailed walkthrough video of doing the surgery yourself, so you can judge if you can manage it; its not too bad, but there is a hair raising part in the middle, trying to work with the hinge, that sort of freaks me out. I've done it a couple times now, and I'm sure each of those times I've cracked the hinge.. but so far so good


jeff

 

[ekianjo]

If you replace it yourself: it would be great if you could try to remove the old cable without damaging it.


According to the company, it's the exact same quality as the cables they produced two years ago for us - however, non of the old ones failed so far while I've seen a couple ones from the last batch (received in March).


They are asking for failed samples to check it and replace them and give me a compensation for it.

ED, ok I will check the video Skeezix mentioned and see if I can manage myself... where can I get a spare LCD cable ? I checked your Dragonbox.de shop and they are apparently out of stock ?

 

[ekianjo]

ED put up a very detailed walkthrough video of doing the surgery yourself, so you can judge if you can manage it; its not too bad, but there is a hair raising part in the middle, trying to work with the hinge, that sort of freaks me out. I've done it a couple times now, and I'm sure each of those times I've cracked the hinge.. but so far so good


jeff

I saw the video and it's very well explained. it seems feasible while the hinge part is certainly a little intimidating

https://www.youtube.com/embed/l8GfjAsbmK8?feature=oembed

Son, any idea where to find a LCD replacement cable? Is it a standard piece?

 

[EvilDragon]

Order it, we got some spare left.

 

[Kumaki]

Wow...no chance I'd be performing surgery that delicate....if this ever happened to me, it'd be straight off to anyone who could guarantee a repair. Let someone who knows what the heck they're doing...do it. LOL

 

[craigix]

It does not seem to be possible to make a 100% perfect LCD cable. The Pandora2, if it happens, will not use one, it will use alterative tech, ie a solid cable.

 

[EvilDragon]

If the Pandora 2 uses an OMAP5, it won't even need an LCD Cable, as the transfer is serial digital, not parallel anymore.


A perfect working LCD Cable is certainly possible, not a single one of the 2000 made in 2010 has failed yet... they were made by the same company though and should be the same, but that's what we're investigating, as it doesn't seem to be the case.


Might be though that 50 out of these 2000 had quality issues from the start though, who knows.


A perfect LCD Cable for our use case is damn hard to make though, I agree with that. I had a company analyze the cable and they don't even know a company in Germany that could produce such a complex cable...

 

[fusion_power]

It does not seem to be possible to make a 100% perfect LCD cable. The Pandora2, if it happens, will not use one, it will use alterative tech, ie a solid cable.

Good decission!

 

[craigix]

If the Pandora 2 uses an OMAP5, it won't even need an LCD Cable, as the transfer is serial digital, not parallel anymore.

NDA Ed? Is that common knowledge?

 

[Binky]

If the Pandora 2 uses an OMAP5, it won't even need an LCD Cable, as the transfer is serial digital, not parallel anymore.

surely it will still need a cable, just not such a complex one...?

 

[DAP]

Perhaps you could use an optical link through the hinge. A sensor at one end & a transmitter at the other end of the hinge. No light pipe necessary, and nothing but air between to flex.


Of course you would still need to find a way to get power between the base and the lid.

 

[ekianjo]

Perhaps you could use an optical link through the hinge. A sensor at one end & a transmitter at the other end of the hinge. No light pipe necessary, and nothing but air between to flex.


Of course you would still need to find a way to get power between the base and the lid.

Optical transfer without cables is very experimental and usually not recommended in setups that have moving parts. So you would still need a cable anyway, for efficiency and constant precision of the transfer.

 

[ekianjo]

If the Pandora 2 uses an OMAP5, it won't even need an LCD Cable, as the transfer is serial digital, not parallel anymore.


A perfect working LCD Cable is certainly possible, not a single one of the 2000 made in 2010 has failed yet... they were made by the same company though and should be the same, but that's what we're investigating, as it doesn't seem to be the case.


Might be though that 50 out of these 2000 had quality issues from the start though, who knows.


A perfect LCD Cable for our use case is damn hard to make though, I agree with that. I had a company analyze the cable and they don't even know a company in Germany that could produce such a complex cable...

What do they use on the DS and 3DS then ? Isn't that a very similar kind of design ?


I have never seen a DS screen fail due to cable quality so I am wondering what may be different.


But I have seen many DSes with broken hinges and I am glad the OP team made the hinge of the Pandora much larger

 

[EvilDragon]

The DS has a much simpler cable due to the simple LCD it uses, so they need less traces.


Not sure about the 3DS, but it probably already uses serial digital signals (most of the current devices do).

 

[notaz]

If the Pandora 2 uses an OMAP5, it won't even need an LCD Cable, as the transfer is serial digital, not parallel anymore.

NDA Ed? Is that common knowledge?

Even OMAP3 supports serial LCD interface, it would be crazy if OMAP5 didn't support that.

 

[larry]

The screen on my 1Ghz Pandora is suffering the same fate. It goes way green, flashes horizontal stripes, draws the screen without enough green, and just recently now the screen is mostly completely dead. But... I can get the screen to work at specific hinge angles!


Is this possibly a loose connection on the Pandora mb side? 'Cause I'm comfortable doing that much, at least. Failing that I guess I drop it in the mail at my earliest opportunity. (Will Link do RMA work on a 1GHz Pandora?)


Will continued use make repairing it any worse, or might I just as well go ahead and use it at specific hinge angles?


p..s Super Geometry Dust is a lot harder when the green circles are all-but invisible ;-)