Motu Ultralite Display Brightness

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Discussion related to installation, configuration and use of MOTU hardware such as MIDI interfaces, audio interfaces, etc. for Mac OSX
Daim
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Joined: Mon Apr 16, 2007 12:00 pm
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Motu Ultralite Display Brightness

Post by Daim »

Hi, just bought this interface and the display brightness is close to zero.. for a moment it went brighter but now it's very dark again.

tried with the firewire port of my mbp and as well with the external power supply, no change.

updated the firmware too, no change.

any help is appreciated......
siddhu
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Post by siddhu »

I have this problem also.

get it replaced as i compared the brightness on my unit with my girlfriend's as the difference is astounding.

MOTU tech support said that there is no way to control the brightness so it has to be defect within the Ultralight.

I'm taking mine in for a replacement from my retailer today!
Jens Groh
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Re: Motu Ultralite Display Brightness

Post by Jens Groh »

Same here.
The device has no more warranty, I'm thinking about trying to repair it myself. Anyone know what part it is that needs to be repaired? Is it an EL foil?
siepino
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Re: Motu Ultralite Display Brightness

Post by siepino »

....mmmhhh.....just few years late....anyway I just get my second-hand ultralite with lcd brightness problem....solved in few hours with only 29 AUD.
What you need is:
have few manual skill
a bit of patience for understand how to disassemble......and how to fit everything in again!!!!
a lcd display like that http://www.altronics.com.au/index.asp?a ... m&id=Z7018" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
on that one you MUST invert pin 1 with pin 2 in order to make it work
That's it.....easy
....a gorgeous Ultralite with Blue eye.....

Image

:woohoo:
Jens Groh
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Re: Motu Ultralite Display Brightness

Post by Jens Groh »

Cool, congratulations!
With your information and after 3 hours of searching where I can get such a part here in Germany, finally found a seller here:
http://de.rs-online.com/web/search/sear ... vc=prev_de" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
(or a yellowish one: http://de.rs-online.com/web/search/sear ... vc=prev_de" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; )
Will try that...
JeffTronics
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Re: Motu Ultralite Display Brightness

Post by JeffTronics »

Good for you. Especially if the unit is out of warranty. It's great to know the part numbers. For me, I was able to get mine repaired by MOTU quickly. It was under Warranty.

Still using my MOTU, love it. And who knows.. i may have to replace my own display some day.

J
topaz
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Re: Motu Ultralite Display Brightness

Post by topaz »

Hi guys

I have the same issue, ordered a new LCD from rs and managed
To remove the old one and replace with new but, I have no light. I can see
The readout but the LCD does not light up.

Any ideas would be great

Best
Matt
Jens Groh
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Re: Motu Ultralite Display Brightness

Post by Jens Groh »

topaz wrote:[...] ordered a new LCD from rs and managed
To remove the old one and replace with new but, I have no light. I can see
The readout but the LCD does not light up. [...]
1. Sorry, I haven't had the time yet to do it. So all following remarks are theory...
2. The datasheet says there are models with LED backlights and others with EL backlight, but it does not say which type the yellowish is. Nor does the RS catalogue. :( If the type is wrong, it won't work. It seems to be pretty sure the blue model has an LED backlight. Which one is yours?
3. I found on the web 4 manufacturers in total of mechanically very similar displays. (Can you recognize the brand of the display MOTU uses?) Some (not yours) have inverted pins for the LCD and logic power supply, like the one that siepino bought from Altronics. Yours has inverted pin numbering but is wired in a way that the connector need not be turned. And I just discovered that some even have swapped pins for the backlight power supply! For the one sold by RS, plus is on the top corner, same as the one siepino found. So, if he needed to swap those pins, too, we'll need to do so, too. It could help a lot if you could measure the voltage and polarity of the original backlight power supply. Can you?
topaz
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Re: Motu Ultralite Display Brightness

Post by topaz »

The I got was this as it was the only one in stock

http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/lcd-displ ... c/5326470/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I don't know how to measure the voltage, it sais in the docs that it has backlight just not
Sure why it is off . Hmm
Jens Groh
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Re: Motu Ultralite Display Brightness

Post by Jens Groh »

I think I found the problem. The part you bought has most likely no backlight. :(
I conclude this from the display type: "reflective" stated there. You need one of the "transflective" types: yellowish or blue, which are the ones I referred to on the German RS website.
Better take the latter one, to be sure it is not EL backlit. I assume LED backlight is the right sort because the part siepino bought has it, and it seems to work.
Last edited by Jens Groh on Tue Nov 29, 2011 2:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Jens Groh
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Re: Motu Ultralite Display Brightness

Post by Jens Groh »

Wait, the LED backlit parts are about 3mm thicker (14mm versus 11mm). Check if this will fit.
topaz
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Re: Motu Ultralite Display Brightness

Post by topaz »

Ok so I got the wrong one :banghead:

I should of got this one http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/lcd-displ ... c/5326486/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The blue is out of stock.
Jens Groh
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Re: Motu Ultralite Display Brightness

Post by Jens Groh »

Can you see any part number (or other hints on the manufacturer) on the old part?
Jens Groh
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Re: Motu Ultralite Display Brightness

Post by Jens Groh »

topaz wrote:I should of got this one http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/lcd-displ ... ic/5326486" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Risky, as long as we don't know which backlight type it has.
Last edited by Jens Groh on Tue Nov 29, 2011 2:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
topaz
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Re: Motu Ultralite Display Brightness

Post by topaz »

Yep

Tianma rohs TM162A9D P-2

Jens Groh wrote:Can you see any part number (or other hints on the manufacturer) on the old part?
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