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#71913 - 19/02/2002 05:02 Re: Translucent Button Kits [Re: ninti]
rob
carpal tunnel

Registered: 21/05/1999
Posts: 5335
Loc: Cambridge UK
On no account should you grope for this particular nipple.

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#71914 - 19/02/2002 13:27 Re: Translucent Button Kits [Re: rob]
beaker
addict

Registered: 19/08/2000
Posts: 588
Loc: England
And please refrain from tweaking it - it may break off .
_________________________
Marcus 32 gig MKII (various colours) & 30gig MKIIa

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#71915 - 21/02/2002 19:53 Re: Translucent Button Kits [Re: TedP]
mlord
carpal tunnel

Registered: 29/08/2000
Posts: 14472
Loc: Canada
The basic hack for button illumination is now in Hijack v202.

Support for some form of variable dimming will follow after I get/install the physical button hack from Brian.

Cheers

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#71916 - 21/02/2002 20:02 Re: Translucent Button Kits [Re: mlord]
lothar
member

Registered: 21/01/2002
Posts: 107
no pressure to get Mr. Lord a kit of course...

:=)

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#71917 - 28/02/2002 14:35 Re: Translucent Button Kits [Re: lothar]
lopan
old hand

Registered: 28/01/2002
Posts: 970
Loc: Manassas VA
Just curious as to if anyone has tried installing the kit yet? I got the knob board and components... But still scared to actually do it!
_________________________
Brett 60Gb MK2a with Led's

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#71918 - 28/02/2002 14:41 Re: Translucent Button Kits [Re: lopan]
tfabris
carpal tunnel

Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31563
Loc: Seattle, WA
Did you look in the Reviews section of this BBS?
_________________________
Tony Fabris

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#71919 - 28/02/2002 23:11 Re: Translucent Button Kits [Re: bmihulka]
gbeer
carpal tunnel

Registered: 17/12/2000
Posts: 2665
Loc: Manteca, California
Just how many hard orders for buttons do you have? If there are enough, then this might be the place to have a short run made.

http://www.protomold.com/prices/prices.asp

Urk! I did the math. I think there would need to be 5-600 orders to make the cost come in.
_________________________
Glenn

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#71920 - 28/02/2002 23:58 Re: Translucent Button Kits [Re: lopan]
ninti
old hand

Registered: 28/12/2001
Posts: 868
Loc: Los Angeles
I wasn't even aware that these were shipping yet (except for Tony's).

Is there any progress on a more opaque button and knob color yet? I am even more anxious to give it a shot after Tony's writeup since I am a pretty good solderer. My first job many years ago consisted of me sitting there soldering and desoldering all day, and Tony's warning of the difficulty sounds like a personal challenge to me and only makes me want to do it more. But I want to wait to see if Brian can improve the light dispersion through those buttons a little bit more first.
_________________________
Ninti - MK IIa 60GB Smoke, 30GB, 10GB

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#71921 - 01/03/2002 03:42 Re: Translucent Button Kits [Re: bmihulka]
DarkStorm
addict

Registered: 13/04/2001
Posts: 481
Loc: Pompano Beach, Florida
One thing I am curious about is how do you mold the buttons?
_________________________
Steve DarkStorm Designs

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#71922 - 01/03/2002 09:35 Re: Translucent Button Kits [Re: ninti]
bmihulka
enthusiast

Registered: 15/06/1999
Posts: 259
Loc: Lincoln, NE
I've still been trying some diffusion techniques, and working on other colors. I have only shipped out three kits with preliminary buttons. I hope to finalize the process this weekend and start contacting people. But this all depends on a new interest I have and how much time that takes up.
_________________________
Brian

-See my empeg <a href="www.hulkster.net/empeg" target="_blank">here</a>-

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#71923 - 01/03/2002 09:37 Re: Translucent Button Kits [Re: DarkStorm]
bmihulka
enthusiast

Registered: 15/06/1999
Posts: 259
Loc: Lincoln, NE
I've made a silicon mold from the originals and then use a pourable plastic. I took me about three molds and twenty or so tries until I got them to come out 99% perfect.
_________________________
Brian

-See my empeg <a href="www.hulkster.net/empeg" target="_blank">here</a>-

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#71924 - 01/03/2002 10:12 Re: Translucent Button Kits [Re: bmihulka]
lopan
old hand

Registered: 28/01/2002
Posts: 970
Loc: Manassas VA
Which pourable plastic? I'm using Smooth-On Oomo 30 for my silicone mold, then task 10 pourable plastic. The mold turned out nice, but I can't for the life of me get the bubbles that form in the plastic out. The guy at smooth-on said I needed to bake the moisture out of my mold and I tried that, it helped but I'm still getting tiny bubbles forming in my plastic? Maybe I need to bake it longer?
_________________________
Brett 60Gb MK2a with Led's

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#71925 - 01/03/2002 10:14 Re: Translucent Button Kits [Re: lopan]
lopan
old hand

Registered: 28/01/2002
Posts: 970
Loc: Manassas VA
Brian, I tried the hack on my Empeg and failed miserably, now the player is acting 10 kinds of funky! Not to worry I ordered another 10gig player (been wanting to for a while, to have a backup). Ever considered letting people send you their VFD's? In my case I'd wanna send you a funky VFD to see if you could
A. Make it work properly again
B. Make it glow!
Either way I've got nothing to lose!


Edited by lopan (01/03/2002 10:21)
_________________________
Brett 60Gb MK2a with Led's

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#71926 - 01/03/2002 17:51 Re: Translucent Button Kits [Re: lopan]
eternalsun
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 09/09/1999
Posts: 1721
Loc: San Jose, CA
OMG, don't post stuff like that. When you kill an empeg it's a sad sad thing. Kind of like clubbing a baby seal.

Calvin

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#71927 - 01/03/2002 17:58 Re: Translucent Button Kits [Re: bmihulka]
eternalsun
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 09/09/1999
Posts: 1721
Loc: San Jose, CA
I'd be interested in different button colors. I don't have the skills to install the light kit, but I would definitely put in better buttons in a split second.

I'd like to have a very dark black color please.

Calvin

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#71928 - 01/03/2002 18:21 Re: Translucent Button Kits [Re: eternalsun]
acurasquirrel
member

Registered: 10/01/2002
Posts: 186
Loc: Georgia
have you ever tasted baby seal? mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

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#71929 - 01/03/2002 19:53 Re: Translucent Button Kits [Re: acurasquirrel]
lopan
old hand

Registered: 28/01/2002
Posts: 970
Loc: Manassas VA
Yes, It's yummy, except I hate the way the fur sticks to your teeth....

Just heard from tech support, they said they could definately fix my player. So thats cool, but I was still bummed that I couldn't do the fix, then I remembered a place my company uses to get replacement batteries for their Ipaq's, these guys will take a 32meg PPC and solder new ram chips to the board up to 256meg! Anyway I remember them seeming to be a small shop and pretty cool people in general that do quality work. I sent them an email asking them if they would like to take the project on and am anxiously waiting for their reply. I told them if they could do this as a service they might have quite a few people willing to give them their business. I'm wondering how many people here would want to send their units in to these guys if it turns out their willing to take it on?
_________________________
Brett 60Gb MK2a with Led's

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#71930 - 01/03/2002 20:14 Re: Translucent Button Kits [Re: lopan]
Laura
pooh-bah

Registered: 16/06/2000
Posts: 1682
Loc: Greenhills, Ohio
Guess it would depend on how much they would charge to do it and where they are located. Keep us informed if they are willing.
_________________________
Laura

MKI #017/90

whatever

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#71931 - 01/03/2002 20:20 Re: Translucent Button Kits [Re: lopan]
tonyc
carpal tunnel

Registered: 27/06/1999
Posts: 7058
Loc: Pittsburgh, PA
Well my first choice is sending it to Brian if he'll do it. I'd rather he got my money since he came up with this hack, and I'd trust the guy who originally hacked up his own Empeg to do mine... But, if he can't do it for some reason, I'd consider sending it to someone with *serious* electronics skills, as long as someone else reviews them favorably... I'm not going to be a guinnea pig... It'd be different if I bought my Empeg for $199 like a lot of people around here, but mine were $1599 and $699, so I'm not trusting them to just anyone.

Let us know how it works out, though.
_________________________
- Tony C
my empeg stuff

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#71932 - 01/03/2002 20:42 Re: Translucent Button Kits [Re: tonyc]
lopan
old hand

Registered: 28/01/2002
Posts: 970
Loc: Manassas VA
Definately if Brian wanted to do it, I would prefer that too! But I think A. He's really really busy right now, and B. He might not want to take on that liability, so just trying to open up some alternatives.
_________________________
Brett 60Gb MK2a with Led's

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#71933 - 01/03/2002 20:45 Re: Translucent Button Kits [Re: lopan]
tonyc
carpal tunnel

Registered: 27/06/1999
Posts: 7058
Loc: Pittsburgh, PA
I hear ya, and, like I said, this is a good Plan B. I heard there was a chance Brian might go to the West Coast meet and do some modding. That's definitely the ticket for me right now until I hear that's not an option.
_________________________
- Tony C
my empeg stuff

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#71934 - 01/03/2002 21:37 Re: Translucent Button Kits [Re: bmihulka]
mlord
carpal tunnel

Registered: 29/08/2000
Posts: 14472
Loc: Canada
Speaking of which, my kit arrived today, thanks.

My.. those components are tiny, much smaller than the photos seen so far would suggest. But no worse than other stuff I have worked with in the past. I'll post some pics of my own later.

I've also updated my toolkit with a nifty "Kester No-Clean SMT Repair Kit", which has some LMT solder, a flux-pen, tip-tinner, a roll of desolder-braid, and a cutesy suction gadget that's intended to be used in place of tweezers. Price was about the same as (or slightly less) flux-pen + solder + tinner purchased separately.

I've also got precision tweezers, a magnifier-gator-clamp thingie, a suction device for desoldering, and some micro-tips for my irons.

Perhaps I'll have a go at it on the weekend. If all goes well, I might even offer to provide installation for others in the Great White North.

Cheers

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#71935 - 02/03/2002 17:42 Re: Translucent Button Kits [Re: mlord]
mlord
carpal tunnel

Registered: 29/08/2000
Posts: 14472
Loc: Canada
Well, bad news here.

I installed the kit, worked first try, looks nice.

But.. my display is misbehaving. It's very dim, and the
standby LED stays on when the display is on, and the IR
receptor ignores my remotes.

Oh well, win some, lose some. I'll figure it out eventually.

Cheers

-ml

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#71936 - 02/03/2002 17:47 Re: Translucent Button Kits [Re: mlord]
lopan
old hand

Registered: 28/01/2002
Posts: 970
Loc: Manassas VA
That sounds exactly like the symptoms I'm having. Sorry to hear it.... I'd hoped I'd be the only one. On the plus side David Moss says worst case scenario is replacing the VFD board. But that plus the cost of shipping could be well over 170 bucks! Then again, I'm just the average user, I'm sure the Empeg guys will give you the programming god discount.


Edited by lopan (02/03/2002 17:50)
_________________________
Brett 60Gb MK2a with Led's

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#71937 - 02/03/2002 21:23 Re: Translucent Button Kits [Re: lopan]
ninti
old hand

Registered: 28/12/2001
Posts: 868
Loc: Los Angeles
> That sounds exactly like the symptoms I'm having.

Ok, um, that is bad. What are the odds that two of the first three people to try and install this (besides Brian himself of course) would make the exact same mistake and blow the same thing? Maybe we should pool some money together and get David or Hugo one so they can take a look at it and see if there are any unforseen issues with the design?
_________________________
Ninti - MK IIa 60GB Smoke, 30GB, 10GB

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#71938 - 03/03/2002 08:55 Re: Translucent Button Kits [Re: lopan]
mlord
carpal tunnel

Registered: 29/08/2000
Posts: 14472
Loc: Canada
>That sounds exactly like the symptoms I'm having.

Let's explore this a bit further. Do you really mean exactly the same? Please describe, from scratch, if you would. With enough information (and perhaps a few hints from David), we can figure this out.


>I'm sure the Empeg guys will give you .. discount.

Err.. dunno. Sometimes I suspect I'm viewed as more of an annoyance to them. But I'd really rather just get some information about voltages and test-points, so I can diagnose and fix it here.

Speaking of which.. Brian? The +5V connection point for the knob.. what voltage do you read from there? I only see 4V on that pin.

Thanks

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#71939 - 03/03/2002 09:51 Re: Translucent Button Kits [Re: mlord]
lopan
old hand

Registered: 28/01/2002
Posts: 970
Loc: Manassas VA
Well the symptoms are
  • dim display
  • no remote
  • sometimes after the "loading visuals" part of bootup my display shuts down and if I open hyperterm and hit enter a few times it comes back up.
  • and my standby LED also stays on.

    Thats all I can think of, and I'm also getting 4v from that pin.

    I spoke to David Moss at Empeg about it this was his reply....

    It sounds like you may have damaged the power supply circuit on the display
    board, although you might just have done something bad to the dimmer
    circuit. I think we can probably repair it, so sending the player back would be best.


    Brett


  • Edited by lopan (03/03/2002 10:42)
    _________________________
    Brett 60Gb MK2a with Led's

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    #71940 - 03/03/2002 10:00 Re: Translucent Button Kits [Re: lopan]
    mlord
    carpal tunnel

    Registered: 29/08/2000
    Posts: 14472
    Loc: Canada
    Cool. So it's probably not my ribbon cable, then. The cable on my unit was badly pinched during factory assembly, and felt like it might be just hanging on by a thread. I did check it for continuity, though, and it seems okay, but I worried that might be just luck of positioning (bending).

    But the symptoms you describe exactly match those seen here, so I'm inclined to assume the cable is working. One less variable to wonder about.

    I'm wondering if maybe soldering that +5V (+4V?) pin might have leaked and shorted a trace on the underside or something. Nothing else in the hack is mechanically close enough to anything to worry about.

    Let's see if David can send any hints (I emailed him) for what to measure. If not, I may have to break the seals on my other unit to compare signals/levels between the two.

    Cheers

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    #71941 - 03/03/2002 10:04 Re: Translucent Button Kits [Re: mlord]
    lopan
    old hand

    Registered: 28/01/2002
    Posts: 970
    Loc: Manassas VA
    Well, thats the difference here, I abandoned the project before even getting the LED's in the buttons (I'd ordered the wrong LED's) so I didn't even get to solder the knob button to anything. Just that tiny little resistor. I removed it and here I am.
    _________________________
    Brett 60Gb MK2a with Led's

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    #71942 - 03/03/2002 13:50 Re: Translucent Button Kits [Re: lopan]
    mlord
    carpal tunnel

    Registered: 29/08/2000
    Posts: 14472
    Loc: Canada
    I am now unclear about what you actually did. Did you actually install the knob mod, or just that single resistor (4-pack)?

    -ml

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