Author Topic: Preenfm 3 - New build - Screen white  (Read 6842 times)

served

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Re: Preenfm 3 - New build - Screen white
« Reply #15 on: April 02, 2021, 06:30:18 AM »
Hello.

I have changed the bom of the diy kits. I will update the assembly instructions. You dont need to desolder the pinheader anymore. Also the screens were tested before kitting. So they all worked for me.

I had some issues with SD card holder. It was badly soldered. So I had to manually solder all my screens. But I didnt see such corrupt picture. They were all good on that part.

hoprocker

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Re: Preenfm 3 - New build - Screen white
« Reply #16 on: August 28, 2021, 03:57:41 PM »
Hey folks,

I'm going to piggy back on this discussion because I'm also having a screen issue, although not quite the same as the others described. I just assembled my PreenFM3 kit from Van Daal electronics. The instructions are a little sparse -- for instance, I didn't catch the first time through that the black jumpers need to be attached while doing the audio and midi ports and had to partially disassemble it when when I realized that -- but I was more or less able to make sense of it and get through the build. Additionally there is mention of the screen PCB having a "known issue with the SD card slot", which makes no sense, but I went ahead and added some extra solder on the SD card connections anyway.

I followed Xavier's instructions for flashing the bootloader and firmware from Linux, and everything seemed to go smoothly; when I turned the unit on, the LEDs came on and so did the screen. However, the image on the screen is quite terrible, horizontal white lines across it and a big blacked out section at the bottom. The picture DOES respond when I turn the encoders (the highlighted item on the right moves up and down), so I'm assuming that overall the software and hardware are functional, but the unit is totally unusable with the screen like this.

I've attached a picture of the screen (sorry about the refresh sync problems -- what I see is white horizontal lines). Does anybody have any idea about whether this is due to bad connections, bad software, or a bad TFT?

Thank you Xavier for yet another amazing design, I am so looking for to actually using it!

Xavier

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Re: Preenfm 3 - New build - Screen white
« Reply #17 on: August 29, 2021, 10:35:02 AM »

Hi,
Looks like a broker TFT  :(

hoprocker

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Re: Preenfm 3 - New build - Screen white
« Reply #18 on: September 03, 2021, 07:00:51 AM »
Hi Xavier, thank you for responding! It did indeed turn out to be a broken TFT. Ardi at Van Daal was very kind and refunded me a credit for the screen, and I purchased one from Amazon that fixed the problem.

For those interested, I bought the "WayinTop" (love those names!) brand screen; it was $2 cheaper and includes a bunch of test cables as well for some reason. It _does_ have the touch screen and chip, so the piece of acrylic included in Van Daal's kit no longer fits (it is a distinct layer on top of the TFT), but since this is a layer that is intended for contact I'm not going to worry about this. (I believe Xavier says something to this effect on the wiki page about TFT boards.)

Overall this was a very satisfying and interesting build; it is clear that a lot of experience has gone into this design and I am really happy that people are making and sharing projects like this with the world. I loved the PreenFM2 and am really excited with the upgrades on the PreenFM3. The 6 voices and separate output jacks in particular should make this a versatile multi-timbral instrument.