416 replies to this topic

[randr]

My new vishtray display failed after 45 min. Have several originals and they work still with setup so thinking faulty new dmd? Ill look more into it later

[randr]

small crappy video of DMD working! Everything is covered in sawdust so don't judge me! lol

 

Edited by randr, 16 July 2013 - 03:39 AM.

[russdx]

looking good

[russdx]

was gonna buy

http://www.pinballli...product&id=2828

 

but seeing as shipping costs more then the actual board I wont bother lol, Think ill wait for zebs boards hehe, zeb can you make me the dmd power cable as well for extra $$$? (i'm so lazy lol)

[zebulon]

Nice to see he added heatsinks to that piggy, those Ti regulators wouldn't last too long without them.

 

Sure Russ, How long do you need?

[randr]

That's the board I used. Wonder how I warranty a dmd? Contact vishay? Or pinball life?

[russdx]

reken 2ft be ok zeb?

[duffbeerman]

was gonna buy

http://www.pinballli...product&id=2828

 

but seeing as shipping costs more then the actual board I wont bother lol, Think ill wait for zebs boards hehe, zeb can you make me the dmd power cable as well for extra $$$? (i'm so lazy lol)

 

Im in this boat too! ill pay a little extra to save some time and hassle.

[nickeltitanium]

How and where do I place the fuse? What do I get from Radio Shack?

[randr]

If your adding a fuse put it on black wire between transformer and power source.

[randr]

One thing I am noticing is dmd don't clear all the time when exiting a table, kinda like ledwiz does. I added the clear script for ledwiz so all good is anything available like that to clear dmd?

[clutester]

So I received my transformer on Monday like others. Finally got everything wired up tested the voltages from the transformer at 105 and 80.5 I believe so that looks good. output from the DMDpiggy look right on par with what it needs, below is my output to the DMD(Vishay APD-128GO32) voltage read from the DMD pins.

 

Pin                 Voltage (VDC)      _____Nominal Voltage (VDC)_
1                      -118                                 -125
2                      -107.3                              -113
3                      UNUSED

4                      GND

5                      GND

6                      5.2                                     5
7                      11.7                                  12
8                      63.4                                  62

 

For some reason though my DMD does not work. I installed the PinDMD 2 drivers and changed the VpinMAME.DLL to the one from the site, installed per the instructions. Ran the test application and PinDMD says it's sending without error but my display stays blank. I hope after all of this my DMD wasn't damaged during shipping. Everything on it looks fine. Ribbon cable is firmly seated in PinDMD and DMD. Are pin 1 and 2 just not being fed enough voltage?

[randr]

As soon as dmd has all voltages/grounds you should see pindmd.com displayed on dmd. Make sure you have good ground.

[russdx]

Do you have access to a pinball machine to confirm the DMD is ok?

[zebulon]

Just received my transformers, thanks Rocco.

 

Jeezus they're big....lol....have to rethink the mounting for this one...

So I received my transformer on Monday like others. Finally got everything wired up tested the voltages from the transformer at 105 and 80.5 I believe so that looks good. output from the DMDpiggy look right on par with what it needs, below is my output to the DMD(Vishay APD-128GO32) voltage read from the DMD pins.

 

Pin                 Voltage (VDC)      _____Nominal Voltage (VDC)_
1                      -118                                 -125
2                      -107.3                              -113
3                      UNUSED

4                      GND

5                      GND

6                      5.2                                     5
7                      11.7                                  12
8                      63.4                                  62

 

For some reason though my DMD does not work. I installed the PinDMD 2 drivers and changed the VpinMAME.DLL to the one from the site, installed per the instructions. Ran the test application and PinDMD says it's sending without error but my display stays blank. I hope after all of this my DMD wasn't damaged during shipping. Everything on it looks fine. Ribbon cable is firmly seated in PinDMD and DMD. Are pin 1 and 2 just not being fed enough voltage?

 

Test the DMD itself if you can, otherwise, I'd be looking at the 10.7 v difference between the 118v and 107.3v lines. The reference voltage of 12v isn't being met there. I suspect that you can exceed the 12v requirement but I'm not sure how far below it you can deviate.

[clutester]

I have a common ground, 12v and 5v from my computer psu. All i have powered currently by those is led buttons on the 12v side and of course the computer. I'll double check the ground and both voltages though. Unfortunately I do not have access to a real pinball machine here in anchorage Alaska. There is one arcade I may beable to convince the owner to help me out.

[zebulon]

That's not the 12v that I'm referring to.

 

There is supposed to be a difference of 12v on the -125v and -113v lines (125-113=12v). That 12v is used as a reference voltage on the high voltage side for exciting the plasma to get the display going and giving you the greyscale in the cells of the display.

 

You're running a difference of 10.7v instead of 12v. That could be holding up the dmd (although it should theoretically be within tolerance.) 

[RoccoC]

IIRC, my piggy was putting out very similar voltages. I know the difference between pins one and two was right around 10.8v and my Vishay was working fine. I'm not near the machine right now but will double check when I am.

[clutester]

@zebulon so your saying dmdpiggy is putting out the wrong voltage? All of the inputs seem solid. I may have to contact makers for a refund if that is the case. @rocco I appreciate your help.

[zebulon]

I looked into it with some guys on a different site and as Rocco has said, it should be working with that voltage deviation. If you assume a 10% tolerance in the parts ability to perform, at 125V you're talking 12.5v deviation either way as acceptible. Your Piggy board is working or you wouldn't have the voltages that you do.

 

I'd be back to looking at the DMD itself. The biggest problem with them is that you can't tell if it's working without a signal. A test pattern button and circuit built into the logic circuit would have been a great diagnostic tool for them.

 

I know the pindmd is sending, but it would really help if the dmd logic board itself could verify that it's capable of generating the image. Just my .02 Obviously in the days of travelling technicians, the manufacturers made twice the money by having a tech be required to always carry a spare, verified dmd for testing this sort of issue.

Edited by zebulon, 20 July 2013 - 01:49 PM.