Emax

Hi Emax Boffins,
Ever since a got my Emax it's produced a high pitch background noise
while it's on. This doesn't come through the audio outputs, so doesn't
effect its performance, but comes from the machine itself. It's not
very loud and sometimes I just mentally blank it out, but other times
it does get to me and is annoying.

Any one got any suggestions as to what it may be and how I might get
rid of it? I've put in a new power supply since getting the machine so
I don't think it's got anything to do with that.

Thanks for any advice,
Alan

From my experience, your power supply may be going.  Try opening the unit up
and check to see if the capacitors are bulging on the power supply.  My
EmaxSE did this for a few months right before it kicked the bucket
(fortunately there are replacement power supplies available out there now).

-s*
On Jan 14, 2008 9:33 AM, alancurrall <alan@...> wrote:

>   Hi Emax Boffins,
> Ever since a got my Emax it's produced a high pitch background noise
> while it's on. This doesn't come through the audio outputs, so doesn't
> effect its performance, but comes from the machine itself. It's not
> very loud and sometimes I just mentally blank it out, but other times
> it does get to me and is annoying.
>
> Any one got any suggestions as to what it may be and how I might get
> rid of it? I've put in a new power supply since getting the machine so
> I don't think it's got anything to do with that.
>
> Thanks for any advice,
> Alan
>
>  
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Seem to remember some Emax's had a problem with the backlight

There might be reference to it on the Emulator Archive site.

hope that helps
Lyn

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: alancurrall 
  To: emax@yahoogroups.com 
  Sent: Monday, January 14, 2008 2:33 PM
  Subject: [emax] high pitched whine


  Hi Emax Boffins,
  Ever since a got my Emax it's produced a high pitch background noise
  while it's on. This doesn't come through the audio outputs, so doesn't
  effect its performance, but comes from the machine itself. It's not
  very loud and sometimes I just mentally blank it out, but other times
  it does get to me and is annoying.

  Any one got any suggestions as to what it may be and how I might get
  rid of it? I've put in a new power supply since getting the machine so
  I don't think it's got anything to do with that.

  Thanks for any advice,
  Alan



   

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Thanks -s*,
I've just replaced the power supply - what an adventure that was,  
they may be out there but they're not so easy to track down - so I  
know this isn't the problem. I'm going the follow up the lead on John  
Silveria's website and modify my LCD backlight.
Thanks,
Alan
On 14 Jan 2008, at 2:40PM, s* wrote:

> From my experience, your power supply may be going. Try opening the  
> unit up
> and check to see if the capacitors are bulging on the power supply. My
> EmaxSE did this for a few months right before it kicked the bucket
> (fortunately there are replacement power supplies available out  
> there now).
>
> -s*
> On Jan 14, 2008 9:33 AM, alancurrall <alan@...>  
> wrote:
>
> > Hi Emax Boffins,
> > Ever since a got my Emax it's produced a high pitch background noise
> > while it's on. This doesn't come through the audio outputs, so  
> doesn't
> > effect its performance, but comes from the machine itself. It's not
> > very loud and sometimes I just mentally blank it out, but other  
> times
> > it does get to me and is annoying.
> >
> > Any one got any suggestions as to what it may be and how I might get
> > rid of it? I've put in a new power supply since getting the  
> machine so
> > I don't think it's got anything to do with that.
> >
> > Thanks for any advice,
> > Alan
> >
> >
> >
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
> 



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Try here - look under repairs.

http://www.emulatorarchive.com/Samplers/Emax2Overview/Emax2Upgrades/emax2upgrades.html

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: alancurrall 
  To: emax@yahoogroups.com 
  Sent: Monday, January 14, 2008 2:33 PM
  Subject: [emax] high pitched whine


  Hi Emax Boffins,
  Ever since a got my Emax it's produced a high pitch background noise
  while it's on. This doesn't come through the audio outputs, so doesn't
  effect its performance, but comes from the machine itself. It's not
  very loud and sometimes I just mentally blank it out, but other times
  it does get to me and is annoying.

  Any one got any suggestions as to what it may be and how I might get
  rid of it? I've put in a new power supply since getting the machine so
  I don't think it's got anything to do with that.

  Thanks for any advice,
  Alan



   

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Alan. I had this problem as well. It was caused by some sort of vibration in
the LCD. I don't recall the exact steps, but I eventually put a thin slice
of cardboard between the LCD and it's  base. Totally solved the issue.
And you're right -  it's  damned annoying, I'll know a TV is on in the
building even if the volume's turned off.

On 14/01/2008, alancurrall <alan@...> wrote:
>
>   Hi Emax Boffins,
> Ever since a got my Emax it's produced a high pitch background noise
> while it's on. This doesn't come through the audio outputs, so doesn't
> effect its performance, but comes from the machine itself. It's not
> very loud and sometimes I just mentally blank it out, but other times
> it does get to me and is annoying.
>
> Any one got any suggestions as to what it may be and how I might get
> rid of it? I've put in a new power supply since getting the machine so
> I don't think it's got anything to do with that.
>
> Thanks for any advice,
> Alan
>
>  
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi Alan,

Sounds like (no pun intended!) the voltage inverter/drive for the LCD
backlight, or the EL backlight itself.

You'll have to take the machine apart to get to it, but thankfully
Emaxes are very easy to work on, since they're so simple inside.

If you're confident enough, you can try taking out the LCD display, to
confirm that it's the source of the noise. If it is, a trick you can
try is to wedge a small piece of carboard between the EL backlight and
the LCD display, which can sometime work to eliminate the whine -
which is actually a high-frequency vibration.

Cheers,

Mike.

--- In emax@yahoogroups.com, "alancurrall" <alan@...> wrote:

>
> Hi Emax Boffins,
> Ever since a got my Emax it's produced a high pitch background noise
> while it's on. This doesn't come through the audio outputs, so doesn't
> effect its performance, but comes from the machine itself. It's not
> very loud and sometimes I just mentally blank it out, but other times
> it does get to me and is annoying.
> 
> Any one got any suggestions as to what it may be and how I might get
> rid of it? I've put in a new power supply since getting the machine so
> I don't think it's got anything to do with that.
> 
> Thanks for any advice,
> Alan
>

Uh oh!
I tried the bits of cardboard wedged behind the LCD as suggested, following the 
instructions on the Emulatorarchive site. I even disconnected the LCD module first to 
ascertain that this was indeed the source of the whine. It was. Unfortunately, however, all 
that wedging various thicknesses of card behind the display to fix the problem only seem 
to have created another problem. Now the readout on the display is gobbledygook. 
Everything else is working okay but the display is simply indecipherable. I wondered 
whether the problem could be caused by the front part of the display being lifter away 
from the EL backlight?

If no one has any bright ideas for fixing this I'm just going to have to fit a new module. 
Anyone know a good source?
Cheers,
Alan


--- In emax@yahoogroups.com, "Mike" <rolands50@...> wrote:

>
> Hi Alan,
> 
> Sounds like (no pun intended!) the voltage inverter/drive for the LCD
> backlight, or the EL backlight itself.
> 
> You'll have to take the machine apart to get to it, but thankfully
> Emaxes are very easy to work on, since they're so simple inside.
> 
> If you're confident enough, you can try taking out the LCD display, to
> confirm that it's the source of the noise. If it is, a trick you can
> try is to wedge a small piece of carboard between the EL backlight and
> the LCD display, which can sometime work to eliminate the whine -
> which is actually a high-frequency vibration.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Mike.
> 
> --- In emax@yahoogroups.com, "alancurrall" <alan@> wrote:
> >
> > Hi Emax Boffins,
> > Ever since a got my Emax it's produced a high pitch background noise
> > while it's on. This doesn't come through the audio outputs, so doesn't
> > effect its performance, but comes from the machine itself. It's not
> > very loud and sometimes I just mentally blank it out, but other times
> > it does get to me and is annoying.
> > 
> > Any one got any suggestions as to what it may be and how I might get
> > rid of it? I've put in a new power supply since getting the machine so
> > I don't think it's got anything to do with that.
> > 
> > Thanks for any advice,
> > Alan
> >
>

i've been having a problem with my display too. No whine, but occasionally it appears to offset all the information displayed in the screen to the left. Everything functions fine, but the words in the display become cutoff in the display.

I hadn't used my emax in a month or two and plugged it in again a few days ago. The backlight would light up, but i'd see nothing in the display. All functions worked fine, I was just flying blind. I opened up the emax and reseated all the multi-pin connectors I could get my hands on. This seemed to have fixed the display problem, and i've yet to experience the weird offset thing either. A similar thing happened on my oberheim synth, I lost a voice, and it turned out reseating the offending voice chip solved the problem.

Long story short, if you haven't tried it already plug and unplug the multipin connectors and see if that helps.

To: emax@yahoogroups.com

From: alan@...
Date: Thu, 24 Jan 2008 12:39:34 +0000
Subject: [emax] Re: high pitched whine
















  


    
            Uh oh!

I tried the bits of cardboard wedged behind the LCD as suggested, following the 

instructions on the Emulatorarchive site. I even disconnected the LCD module first to 

ascertain that this was indeed the source of the whine. It was. Unfortunately, however, all 

that wedging various thicknesses of card behind the display to fix the problem only seem 

to have created another problem. Now the readout on the display is gobbledygook. 

Everything else is working okay but the display is simply indecipherable. I wondered 

whether the problem could be caused by the front part of the display being lifter away 

from the EL backlight?



If no one has any bright ideas for fixing this I'm just going to have to fit a new module. 

Anyone know a good source?

Cheers,

Alan



--- In emax@yahoogroups.com, "Mike" <rolands50@...> wrote:

>

> Hi Alan,

> 

> Sounds like (no pun intended!) the voltage inverter/drive for the LCD

> backlight, or the EL backlight itself.

> 

> You'll have to take the machine apart to get to it, but thankfully

> Emaxes are very easy to work on, since they're so simple inside.

> 

> If you're confident enough, you can try taking out the LCD display, to

> confirm that it's the source of the noise. If it is, a trick you can

> try is to wedge a small piece of carboard between the EL backlight and

> the LCD display, which can sometime work to eliminate the whine -

> which is actually a high-frequency vibration.

> 

> Cheers,

> 

> Mike.

> 

> --- In emax@yahoogroups.com, "alancurrall" <alan@> wrote:

> >

> > Hi Emax Boffins,

> > Ever since a got my Emax it's produced a high pitch background noise

> > while it's on. This doesn't come through the audio outputs, so doesn't

> > effect its performance, but comes from the machine itself. It's not

> > very loud and sometimes I just mentally blank it out, but other times

> > it does get to me and is annoying.

> > 

> > Any one got any suggestions as to what it may be and how I might get

> > rid of it? I've put in a new power supply since getting the machine so

> > I don't think it's got anything to do with that.

> > 

> > Thanks for any advice,

> > Alan

> >

>




      

    
    
















_________________________________________________________________



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi Alan,

It sounds like you've either got a dodgy connection (on the 2x7-pin
IDC pin connector for the LCD assembly), or you've moved the thin
rubber connector between the LCD glass and the PCB.

I have a dead LCD backlight and I've found a supplier who does a
replacement LCD:

http://www.crestcomponents.com.au/wh1602cyyhjtk-p-3.html

I've yet to receive mine, but it seems to be the same spec, so it
should be fine. As far as I'm aware any "1602C" spec LCD (with the 2x7
 pinouts on the left side of the PCB) will work.

Obviously, since I'm in Australia it's my closest supplier, but I'd
guess that any company that supplies LCDs would have the "1602C" type
in stock.

Crest components also do a good range of backlight colours, plus
they're pretty cheap. Even if the LCD doesn't work (unlikely), I can
just remove the backlight and use that.

Cheers,

Mike.

--- In emax@yahoogroups.com, "alancurrall" <alan@...> wrote:
>
> Uh oh!
> I tried the bits of cardboard wedged behind the LCD as suggested,
following the 
> instructions on the Emulatorarchive site. I even disconnected the
LCD module first to 
> ascertain that this was indeed the source of the whine. It was.
Unfortunately, however, all 
> that wedging various thicknesses of card behind the display to fix
the problem only seem 
> to have created another problem. Now the readout on the display is
gobbledygook. 
> Everything else is working okay but the display is simply
indecipherable. I wondered 
> whether the problem could be caused by the front part of the display
being lifter away 
> from the EL backlight?
> 
> If no one has any bright ideas for fixing this I'm just going to
have to fit a new module. 
> Anyone know a good source?
> Cheers,
> Alan
> 
> 
> --- In emax@yahoogroups.com, "Mike" <rolands50@> wrote:
> >
> > Hi Alan,
> > 
> > Sounds like (no pun intended!) the voltage inverter/drive for the LCD
> > backlight, or the EL backlight itself.
> > 
> > You'll have to take the machine apart to get to it, but thankfully
> > Emaxes are very easy to work on, since they're so simple inside.
> > 
> > If you're confident enough, you can try taking out the LCD display, to
> > confirm that it's the source of the noise. If it is, a trick you can
> > try is to wedge a small piece of carboard between the EL backlight and
> > the LCD display, which can sometime work to eliminate the whine -
> > which is actually a high-frequency vibration.
> > 
> > Cheers,
> > 
> > Mike.
> > 
> > --- In emax@yahoogroups.com, "alancurrall" <alan@> wrote:
> > >
> > > Hi Emax Boffins,
> > > Ever since a got my Emax it's produced a high pitch background noise
> > > while it's on. This doesn't come through the audio outputs, so
doesn't
> > > effect its performance, but comes from the machine itself. It's not
> > > very loud and sometimes I just mentally blank it out, but other
times
> > > it does get to me and is annoying.
> > > 
> > > Any one got any suggestions as to what it may be and how I might get
> > > rid of it? I've put in a new power supply since getting the
machine so

> > > I don't think it's got anything to do with that.
> > > 
> > > Thanks for any advice,
> > > Alan
> > >
> >
>