416 replies to this topic

[randr]

I will say that the 100v japan converter transformer listed and pic on first post or two)will not work! NOT isolated!
Im 99% sure thats why fuse was blowing for Antropus. i am working on this currently and had the same problem with fuse/circuit blowing! All i can say is use good quality 80v and 100v transformers and ATX PSU for the 5 and 12 volts and all should be fine. Tonight i will have a new 100v transformer and will post my result, but again do not use the japan 100v transformer/converter listed on first post or two as it will blow circuit!!!!  

Edited by randr, 13 June 2013 - 12:17 PM.

[russdx]

Rocco's method uses only one custom transformer with the correct taps + a plasma power board. As far as im aware these are the only two components needed to get this system working.

[zebulon]

ask and ye shall recieve

 

 wpc-dmd-hv-all.pdf   436.37KB   80 downloads

[randr]

ask and ye shall recieve

 

wpc-dmd-hv-all.pdf

I want more women!.....

[RoccoC]

OK, so here's how I'm powering my DMD. Hopefully this answers outstanding questions and clears up any confusion. Credit is due to Kris for starting the thread and motivating me to try this out.

 

Please note that I'm not saying that this is the best or only way to do this! Be aware that the voltages at work here are very dangerous and could kill you!

 

As mentioned elsewhere in the thread, the ideal solution would probably be an all-in-one plug and play package - a single, enclosed component with the proper connectors for the ATX PSU, wall plug, and DMD. Until something like that is available, I'm using the following components to power a plasma DMD:

1. Power Supply Board - This is required to convert the transformer AC voltages to the DC voltages required by the display. I'm using the DMD Piggy from pinballlife (http://www.pinballli...product&id=2828), but any high voltage replacement board made for WPC pinball machine *should* work.
2. Transformer - The power supply requires inputs of 80VAC and 100VAC. You can either use two separate transformers for this, or use a single dual output transformer (NOTE: I have not tried using two separate transformers, but I believe someone in this thread mentioned that they did).
3. ATX PSU - The power supply board also needs 12VDC and 5VDC. I'm using a common ATX power supply for this, but you may be able to use separate supplies if necessary.
4. Connectors/wiring as noted in the original post.

And a rudimentary wiring diagram:

 

 

Hope this helps.

Edited by RoccoC, 13 June 2013 - 11:34 PM.

[Spoot]

Thanks RoccoC for the image.  My transformers just showed up from Mouser and the Piggy from PBL today as well. So hopefully I'll be powering up my plasma soon as well.

[zebulon]

 

ask and ye shall recieve

 

wpc-dmd-hv-all.pdf

I want more women!.....

I keep singing that State Farm commercial jingle but no one ever appears for me either...

 

The pcbs for the prototypes arrived today, I should be able to get one soldered up this weekend...

 

 Whitby-20130613-00884.jpg   98.47KB   53 downloads

[RoccoC]

The pcbs for the prototypes arrived today, I should be able to get one soldered up this weekend...

 

Whitby-20130613-00884.jpg

 

Awesome! As soon as I get the first batch of transformers I'll make sure to place one in your hands!

[russdx]

We just need to find a decent cheap supplier of plasma displays now

[duffbeerman]

I think the bigger question is how the heck do we get these color dmds in our cabs!

 

http://shop.colordmd.com/

 

not trying to derail the topic, just found this website and those things are awesome.

[russdx]

why would you want a colour DMD? its just a lcd monitor!! absolutely no different to what we are trying to get people to REMOVE from there cabs lol

 

Its all FPGA driven so im sure at some point some one will emulate it so pinMAME will have colour dmd support for people still using lcd monitors

[antropus]

I'm back from my grave!

 

I've been crazy busy at work, finishing the online class I was teaching for 10 weeks, health problems (just got my gallbladder removed for good about 3 weeks ago, after months of pain, so still recovering), vacation time and now organizing things for the arrival of another son, coming in November!

I 'm really proud of the work with did for the coming movie Pacific Rim. I'm pretty sure most of you guys are big fans of monsters and robots, so I bet you will have a blast seeing our work on the big screen. Here's the latest trailer (watch it in 1080p):

 

Wow! A lot of progress on this thread!!!!

Congrats Rocco for getting yours to work and for bringing precious info to the surface!!!! Also thanks to all of you who contribuited to this thread.

I cannot wait to get back to my project. I'll probably get the transformer from the same company you got, Rocco, since it was tested and approved by you personally. The price was pretty fair.

With all the excitment about Pacific Rim I decided to change my machine theme from Rango to Pacific Rim, so, at some point I'll get back to the artwork and try to wrap it up.

 

Thanks again everyone!

-Kris

Dang, I just realized that Zeb is at it with a driver board and things are moving towards a fool proof solution! You guys have been REALLY busy around here!

Awesome!!!!

 

-Kris

OK, I've finally got around to testing out the new transformer with my plasma display and everything works well. Here's a very crappy cellphone video of it in action:

 

https://dl.dropboxus.../Plasma DMD.mp4

 

If I place an order for 25 or more transformers, I can get the price down to around $35 each. I reached out to the manufacturer of the DMD Piggy and inquired about a bulk order as well. He said that he would be willing to customize the board size, connectors (e.g. molex for 5 and 12V), and mounting points, but that I'd need to order a minimum of one hundred. I'm not sure if there's enough interest to warrant that large of an order, though.

 

That said, even though I probably could put together a package using the off-the-shelf board, I don't think I'm going to pursue it. Quite honestly I don't know if it would be worth my time given the presumably small demand. However, I would be willing to order the transformers and help out anyone who is interested in getting a plasma display up and running. If you're interested and are comfortable pairing the transformer with a power supply board and doing your own wiring, send me a PM with your email address and shipping zip code/country, and I'll keep a "pre-order" list. When/if 20 or so are accounted for, I'll place the order and will send out invoices ($35 + shipping from Phoenix, AZ) when I have them in hand. Lead time once the order is placed is around two weeks.

 

Here's the transformer spec to get an idea of mounting dimensions:

 

 

Feel free to send any questions my way.

 

EDIT: Oh, Kris - I haven't seen you around on the forums lately, but if you still haven't got your display working yet and would like to give one of these transformers a shot, let me know!

No doubt!!! I would love to get of of those! I think it will work fine with the driver board I got, but I might even get one of Zeb's new boards when he releases it. Zeb's products = quality

[duffbeerman]

why would you want a colour DMD? its just a lcd monitor!! absolutely no different to what we are trying to get people to REMOVE from there cabs lol

 

Its all FPGA driven so im sure at some point some one will emulate it so pinMAME will have colour dmd support for people still using lcd monitors

 

Guess I didn't think of it as a lcd monitor, I thought it was a color plasma style dmd..... but what the heck to do I know lol, I don't know a whole lot about dmds, I just thought being able to change the color to purple and such was cool.

[russdx]

Yeah its just a lcd driven by a fpga . Only problem is there is a very limited set of supported games. As each game needs to be hand coloured. Quite cool for real pins but don't know how useful to a virtual pin it would be.

[duffbeerman]

Well back to the topic at hand I found this site that has Vishay plasma dmds for $159.00 plus shipping. I will be getting mine from here.

 

http://mad-amusement...?id_product=236

[clutester]

For the aspiring electrical engineers  ,you just need a good local electronics store to supply the parts or an old transformer from a microwave or something. Most difficult part seems to be the math, which isn't that bad.

[zebulon]

I wouldn't recommend wrapping your own transformer with recycled wire but more power to ya if you're so inclined.

[duffbeerman]

I wouldn't recommend wrapping your own transformer with recycled wire but more power to ya if you're so inclined.

Zeb, I know your board is still basicly in beta stages, but do you have any idea of a price point you will be asking?

[zebulon]

Assuming the circuit works and I don't have to dump any more money into R&D costs, the board alone without the transformer is looking to be in the $45-$50 range. I haven't done an actual total on what the parts cost is yet, but at that price point I figure I'll recoup my costs somewhere around 2020. Like the majority of this, it's definitely not a money maker....

[russdx]

Zeblon I can send you a little batch of pinDMD2's if you would like at a big discount and you could maybe bundle them this way people can save on postage and hopefully make a much cheaper package

 

Once you have sold them all just paypal me the cash

 

Give me a shout if your interested