LASER PROJECTOR trouble shoot/repair 101

Wow just what I needed- some points i had assumed correctly but you bring up much more-

its 9PM sat here- I hpe to have done most of BBs steps and will put up what I found Sun afternoon *Tx time) THANKS and read on what I had already did and found-


I DID hope that having three here would be helpful-

for the one that does nothing (George's PD2) I found 117 vac going into the PS but checking the two places next to those I did not get the 12 vdc that is printed on the PCB.

Am I OK to go ahead and remove geo's PS?? I can retest it (0nce out of the PJ) and also check the two other places for VDC output that were not reachable.-- -

OR do I need to do more before removing hat i think is a bad PS>>

I have heard that the china PJs weak point is often the cheap PS- I can get it shipped very quickly but woud lke to be sure i dont need another part also- thus avoiding two shippings on Linna- she is following this thread just now ands=will post stuff from her and her team- she is very much a hands-on aand does a lot more thasn just fill orders- at night we can expect replies to urgent Qs - so come monday here I hope we ehar more about the shutter issue and the low power green modules in bit the PD2 and the RGB5 could they both have the SAME problem?? I know the symptoms say yes but remember the PD2 is ttl blanking- the RGB5 is analog- -- it should help that on the green issue we have a working and the one needing work but they are not in the same location- for the full color-

As for the replacement TTL green it was already installed and did the SAME as what we thought was the 'bad' one- kinda doubtfull Linna would spend a lot on express 72 hrs shipping and send an untested green module-
I believe her when she tells us for an order of ten PJjs she spends about 12 hours running all of them before packing for ship. I believe her becasue out of >40 PJs a very few had alignment issues (during shipping is my bet)

the one .'bad' ttl green module we removed was later given away and was found to be OK- so IMO it was Never a problem with the green module BUT with the showcard-- what steps you have given will show me this- thanks for doing all this BB- we have lots following this thread- and a never-ending amount of low cost PJs needing lots of help--



BB and others- where do you start when the shutter locks down??- it stays that way with or with out ILDA/FB3- wont let the built-in stuff pass -- nothing is getting by the 'knife' as Linna calls it-

I was practicing with QS in QuickEFX morphing abstracts when all stopped.
not sure when george's RGB5 locked down= ( you can see the beams hitting the shutter blade by looking thru the fan on the back-

Mine locked down ten days ago and geoges more than a month after getting (and working fine) but at least a month ago- so late Jan?? early feb--

I assume that not all shutters work way with the same everything- - How to I tell what 'triggered' the shutter-- I bought a nice one from DZ for my 4W DIY and its still in the box-- I hope to gain lots of know-how fixing these that I will need once i resume my now three year old project PJ.-- I also just now started filing out my FDA apps- wow so many pages-& they want 4 copies-- will need help with that- & I can see now why some pay others $50+ for total help--with the FDA--plenty to do

I wouldn't assume anything is good until you've tested it. Maybe Linna tested it and it worked when she was using it, but it got damaged in transit. You should rely on your own testing, not just someone's word unless it's certified.

For the shutter, maybe it's using a relay of some sort to open the shutter with a solenoid? I'd expect those things to be spring-loaded to close as a safety precaution. On that same note, how does the PJ perform when you disconnect the shutter mechanism? Maybe it draws too much power?

My LKRGB5 worked right out of the box when I got it (minus the TTL green). I swapped the driver after getting it from LK, and bam, green became analogue. Then i noticed that the output slowly became blurry and finally lost all output. This was over a 5 week period of using the PJ for an hour or so every few days. The motor for the "knife" stopped working completely, so I kept it in the up position.

Then at about 6 weeks of using it, the green one day just stopped being bright. No gradual fade out, just turned it on and crappy 5mW green output. It worked just fine for an entire month after I swapped the driver out. BB thank you so much for your post, extremely helpful!!!! more later

Sorry for my absence- life keeps interupting me.

I need to have Linna send an amp for the LK PD2 we have apart- hate to jump the gun and make for more shipping but i know its bad so...

George asks IF they might be a better Power Supply that would fit but last longer- OR do you guys thing the same one will be OK- George does not mind paying the difference- out of >33 of these PJs this is the only one so far to have a failed PS...

I am now linking Linna and her techs in china- I want to hear thier thoughts about the problems- and how they go about the fixes-- win win i say- we COULD arrange a time and do the chat room thing here at LPF- i have done that in PM and its no big deal -
I have been able to get with Linna after midnight Texas time- about 12 yrs time diffIIRC

more coming


bump

spoiler alert- aixiz just added the My Effect II rgb projector (aka Spencers SD)BUT this one is NOT 405 V
its 450 B- priced best $195 iirc 350mw

Hi Len
Thanks so much for your all help.

And Please confirm what's the problem of the projector ?

Then I will conclude the problems, and check with our technicians

Best regards
Linna

hakzaw1 said:

Sorry for my absence- life keeps interupting me.

I need to have Linna send an amp for the LK PD2 we have apart- hate to jump the gun and make for more shipping but i know its bad so...

George asks IF they might be a better Power Supply that would fit but last longer- OR do you guys thing the same one will be OK- George does not mind paying the difference- out of >33 of these PJs this is the only one so far to have a failed PS...

I am now linking Linna and her techs in china- I want to hear thier thoughts about the problems- and how they go about the fixes-- win win i say- we COULD arrange a time and do the chat room thing here at LPF- i have done that in PM and its no big deal -
I have been able to get with Linna after midnight Texas time- about 12 yrs time diffIIRC

more coming


bump

spoiler alert- aixiz just added the My Effect II rgb projector (aka Spencers SD)BUT this one is NOT 405 V
its 450 B- priced best $195 iirc 350mw

Click to expand...

Not sure yet why but so far two of the LKRGB5s have had shutters lock-up..
The problem with he LK PD2 was the amp- PLEASE send me one ASAP- I have serched and cannot find ANY the same..

George has taken his LKRGB5 to Tim Walsh to see if he can find the shutter solution.

AND.. we still have NOT solve the, now two year old problem with every underpowered Green module(about 10 mW) (LK PD2) we installed the new one you kindly sent but that did NOT solve the problem-- please talk with your workers on the next possible solution --- maybe its a issue with the show card. len

Tim Looked at my LKRGB and could not find what is causing the weak green. He says it is either the power supply, showcard, or the laser, which we already have established. If this green would work, this PJ would be amazing. It would do everything and then some, but right now, all I have for white light is a bright magenta/pink.

Hak, not sure if you have the time/space, but maybe I could get my LKRGB to you so that you have 2 of the same PJ to test and trouble shoot problems from one to the other?

Can't make the scene without that green!

tell me- sending lots of Qs to LK right now -its sunday morn there so in a few we should hear back-

We need that VIP treatment we paid for..

poking linna again

Agreed , I don't care about the shutter working ATM. Just want the full color I paid for.

Subbed, more later

hello-

Okay -update time..

big thanks to the many who have given us the time to share--
update on one repair-

It was found that George's LK-PD2 indeed had a blown PSU/AMP. When I told him he then remembered a odd smell from the PJ-

May sound weird but I have been 'sniffing' electrical devices w/ problems for some time-- even long after the event you can detect a distinct oder- from burnt electronics- and We afaik all are gifted with a good memory on smells- A great chef can tell if what he is cooking needs more salt and pepper simply by the smell-

So I removed the PSU/AMP after using my DMM to show power going in but no 12vdc going out- to confirm I swapped the part with my working LK PD2 tested his and was able to ship it back the next day.-(with my PSU in it)- I have asked LK to send me another after a long search did not yeild any exactly like it--

as to the other issues I/we are working on LK has began to contact help from thier USA contacts- hopeing to avoid shipping to China--

we still have two PJs with grossely underpowered green modules both less than 10 mW--in the LK PD2 the Modules were replaced and LK sent one to us in just a few days after they knew of the problem-however - even with the new module installed ( big TY to MMaster/Jeffthe00 and D Sam for doing that for us while at SELEM.)

I later gave the 'underspec' green module away and the new owner tells me it is working correctly- and NOT below spec- some tell me that sez the most likely problem is with the show cards in both-

OK so although I cannot really afford it ATM I am going to put the good amp/psu in my PJ with the good green to make at least one whole for now and may ship the other sans PSU and with a low power green back to LK- they have offered to fix free and pay to ship back--

I am not at all wanting to ship back the other two-

bigger- Even if packed w/o using the travel cases-

way too much to ship & a risk of loss- damage or being seized and some kind of 'duty' being put on them until its paid( been there and did that)

- but have offered to send just the not working show card back-
surely they can test it and send one or two more if it fixes the green AND the shutter issues.

one of the RGB5s has a green issue just like the LK PD2--but not for sure the same as issue as the one I will be sending back is a PD2 and also they TTL while the two other aRE rgb5 & analog --same 'heads' but different drivers for green.


Both are having problems with the shutter- the 'knife' as LK calls it is down and will not go back up on its own- (LK RGB5) - I will post some pics showing a big issue with working on the shutter IF that involved removing the shutter- as its is so close to the galvo block that you MUST remove the scanners to get at it..

I have once agin asked LK to SKYPE with the two of us and their tech guys
as i have told then we cannot afford to ship these two back - I am puzzeled why Linna seems to think that doing that would not be worthwhile- IF her techs can find the problems in 'five minutes' WHY cant they do that remotely??

I have been asked by LK to begin another GB and 4 or 5 members of the forum have also asked about a GB #5- BUT until I am sure the problem PJs are going to be made whole I cannt do another LK GB..sorry.

I understand that LK has many more owners than just us- and they have been very good getting back with me in the past but lately.. they must be very busy over there..

I hope they WILL be able to hook us up with a USA 'expert' on repairs- but again - we have experts here- wiling to help- if the give us some instructions for sure one here will understand and be able to help get those tests done-

We do seem to have had some bad luck with these PJs and LK tells me many hundreds of these are owned and few problems have come up-

wtw??

one would think at least ONE owner would have had one of these two issues..

and they should be able to say what was done to fix them..

bbl ...when i get news- Thanks to all with the great help so far- Post here if you have new suggestions on the shutter- and the low power green that is NOT an issue with the module..


hak

Just want to thank HAK for swapping his PS and sending me the fix. My god man, so kind of you! and I am loving using this projector with QS and a DMX controller for the lens efx wheel. That combination of control provides an amazing amount of creative depth.

Got to use it against a thick tree line on 4th of july. Fireworks everywhere with lasers on this center tree line, thanks to HAK it looked superb with the 3d. Many many thanks good sir!

That is what I feel almost all GB hosts should do -- not just getting a low price and sending links- that is hardly any work at all--

I feel a few LPF members have critisized me VERY unfairly for the 'padding' I do on the cost- I have NEVER done this secretly and my GB members- those NOT in my GB have NO biz questioning me nor do I feel they have ANY right to an answer- That money has NOT covered my many expenses- both before and after the sale.- I strive for 'breaking even' but have no crystal ball that can predict this.


One MUST see the 'big picture' which includes free AND upgraded shipping - the best pre-ship testing by Linna herself(12 hours of it on 10 projectors) the VIP treatment after the sale- I saved each member from 30 to 40$ in bank transfer fees?PP fees etc- i make sure each address is correct- I send the tracking numbers as quickly as i can and follow each order up to delivery and WAY beyond that- I do any research needed- before the sale and after delivery- I was able to get us pics of the insides of every projector- BEFORE any of us had one.

and any 'special sales' that happen later are done with no knowledge of them by me.
And who can say they have NEVER purchased anything only to find a sale when its too late---

One new member who believed this load of horse chips - left the forum completely and will not allow me to explain--

This all happened after GB #3 and during GB #4.. before that I had nothing but happy buyers-- I would NEVER tell any GB Host how to run thier GB- & if i did not like the style --of course I am free to NOT join.


Some past GBs 'gone bad' has forced a few LPF members to leave the forum-- running them is for sure NOT for everyone. my style has allowed me to do 8 GBs for JETLASERS as well- with ONLY one unhappy buyer who got a full refund by mail with a USPS MO the same way I ask to be paid-

TBH right now we have three JL projectors in need of repair- & I am doing my best by 1) making two of those MY PROBLEM by sending a good working PJs to them or like george's I put my amp in his PJ so the wait was over for him.

shipping just ONE PJ way back to china is VERY expensive and IF it is done cheap there is a greatly increased chance of problems- like no delivery- damaged or customs seizure with duty added- so we are trying to get remote help and fix these ourselves--- a win win - and another WIN in the knowledge we gain by doing repairs this way.

I am very thankful for the many members here aiding us in this.

to those who feel some need to 'police' me
- get lost -
you are ignorant.

nobody asked for your opinion--

end rant

hak