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#124392 - 02/11/2002 09:59 A different Dimmer problem
bodybag
addict

Registered: 07/03/2002
Posts: 504
Loc: Southern California
I've searched the board and checked the FAQ on this and I can't find anything. Just recently put one of my spare players into duty and noticed after a few days that the display was to light and decided to turn it up. Went into settings to check the dimmer settting and it was 70%. When I turned it up to 100%, I got static so bad that I can barely hear the music on the player or radio through my tuner. Turning the dimmer down reduces the static accordingly but makes the display unreadable. After turning it to 100% and bringing the static to my attention, I realized that what I always thought was just bad reception through the tuner was really the dimmer adjustment. When the dimmer is all the way down, the previous static I assumed was bad reception is gone, completely. Also, I've always figured this for background noise when using the player as the source but now realize that's not the case either. Please respond with your ideas, Thanks!
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Bodybag - So Cal
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#124393 - 02/11/2002 10:01 Re: A different Dimmer problem [Re: bodybag]
tfabris
carpal tunnel

Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31578
Loc: Seattle, WA
Wow, that's very interesting. Wonder if it's a wiring problem of some kind, like the headlight sense wire being connected to one of the tuner wires.

Definitely contact support.
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Tony Fabris

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#124394 - 02/11/2002 12:05 Re: A different Dimmer problem [Re: bodybag]
bodybag
addict

Registered: 07/03/2002
Posts: 504
Loc: Southern California
Just to be clear - This is not only when I'm using the tuner, it also happens when listening to the player as well.
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Bodybag - So Cal
Not a Whiner any more!!!

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#124395 - 02/11/2002 12:09 Re: A different Dimmer problem [Re: bodybag]
tfabris
carpal tunnel

Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31578
Loc: Seattle, WA
Hmm. If you have a really bad wiring problem, or a bad ground loop, the frequency of the dimmer could sound like noise coming out of the speakers. For an explanation as to why, click here.
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Tony Fabris

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#124396 - 02/11/2002 12:24 Re: A different Dimmer problem [Re: tfabris]
bodybag
addict

Registered: 07/03/2002
Posts: 504
Loc: Southern California
Tony,

The problem goes away when I put one of my other players on the same car. That would rule out a ground loop issue woudn't it?
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Bodybag - So Cal
Not a Whiner any more!!!

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#124397 - 02/11/2002 12:27 Re: A different Dimmer problem [Re: bodybag]
tfabris
carpal tunnel

Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31578
Loc: Seattle, WA
The problem goes away when I put one of my other players on the same car.

Maybe. It could be internal to the player, so yeah, contacting support is a good idea.
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Tony Fabris

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#124398 - 02/11/2002 16:04 Re: A different Dimmer problem [Re: bodybag]
vance
new poster

Registered: 21/10/2002
Posts: 2

if it's not this (fuse),
http://www.mrmunsell.com/EMPEG/Fuse_Replacement/fuse_replacement.html

nor this,
there might be a loose screw or wire fragment floating around.

then it's this,
a power supply within the empeg is going out or getting loaded too much. i.e. turning up the brightness of the display uses more power and a power supply can't keep up causing dips in the power rails. for this you will have to send it in.

you could try swapping the display boards to isolate wether its the display board or the main board. fyi, the (high voltage) power supply for the display is located on the display board itself.

-vance-
woohoo, my first post.

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#124399 - 02/11/2002 16:53 Re: A different Dimmer problem [Re: vance]
vance
new poster

Registered: 21/10/2002
Posts: 2
here is a description on how to measure the display panel voltage:

http://empeg.comms.net/php/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Board=empeg_general&Number=71111

-vance-


Edited by tfabris (02/11/2002 19:03)

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#124400 - 02/11/2002 18:25 Re: A different Dimmer problem [Re: bodybag]
AndrewT
old hand

Registered: 16/02/2002
Posts: 867
Loc: Oxford, UK
I was about to yell "ground loop" until your last post about trying another player. Perhaps it's a simple (but not an obvious) problem with the docking connector?

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#124401 - 03/11/2002 05:33 Re: A different Dimmer problem [Re: tfabris]
schofiel
carpal tunnel

Registered: 25/06/1999
Posts: 2993
Loc: Wareham, Dorset, UK
What type are your two players? (2, 2a, etc.). Which one is OK, and which isn't? Which is the newer one? What versions of software are you running?

If you get noise, you may have a car that has a lighting indication wire carrying a PWM signal to modulate lighting level, rather than indicate lights on/lights off. There is no standard for this: if this wire is incorrectly connected to an audio lead, or for some reason used as an earth line, it could be injecting noise into the ground line of the system. One release version of the software was modified to deal with PWM input on the lighting sense line. Check your harness wiring to the sled.
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