Possible cause of strange behavior

Greetings!

I shipped by last player down to Stuart for the digital output board installation. While it had some hard drive cable issues I had forgotten about, it was fully functional. It did, however, show the strange behavior mentioned in other parts of the board: basically the player would begin alternating between the sources (aux in and mp3) very quickly. The way I found to break this cycle was just to click pause. Nothing that I worried about.

When Stuart received the player, the display was dead. No sign of damage to the fill nipple, nothing appeared wrong. The button hack illuminated properly, the controls worked, etc. Just no pixels illuminating. Stuart checked the fuses per the FAQ and found that they seemed fine. He also did a bit of extra diagnostics, but nothing seemed to be wrong. But he did notice something unusual.

The cable between the display and the main board had frayed, most likely due to friction with the shock mount plate or the hard drive itself. While it had been working before shipment, it is likely that the jarring of shipment (enough to cause the hard drive cable to come loose again) frayed the cable even further.

As soon as I get the player back from the installation, I will test with the display cable from another player. If that is the cause, I will post it here. Otherwise, it will probably be shipped in for some repair work. I have already contacted support, and I will update David with the information Stuart sent.

I just wanted to post it here. If you are experiencing similar "strange behavior", and I know that some of the people here posted about it previously, you may want to visually inspect your display cable for signs of damage.

And a big, public "Thank You" to Stuart for trying to debug and trace the problem.

If it turns out to be the case, may I use that photo for the FAQ?

Actually, Stuart took it. I can't see why not, though.

Nice photo, just a quick observation.....
The IDC connector looks like it's bulging in the centre - perhaps it needs a squeeze in a vice?

Greetings!

Stuart also pointed that out. When I get the player back, I will try a different cable from another player. This will prove it, one way or the other. After that, I will either replace the cable or look for other problems. Given the extent of damage with the fraying, it is likely the cable will need replacement anyway.

The cable is soldered into the board on the display end, so can't easily be removed. I've got plenty of spare cables if it needs replacing though.

I have come across this before a few times. It seems that rough treatment in shipping is the usual cause. There have been cases where the wire has been cut right through - the repair is simple and I've attached an image showing it.

If it turns out to be the case, may I use that photo for the FAQ?

Feel free to use it. I will be taking a MUCH clearer picture with a real camera and lens (Nikon F100 w/ 60mm Nikon macro lens) which I will provide when the film is processed.

Stu

Greetings!

Stu has offered to try to make the fix David recommends. I will keep everyone posted.

David, can I use that pic for the FAQ, too?

Edit: Already used it... hope that's OK...

Yep.

Greetings!

Stu did the fix on the display cable, and it is working fine again! I do not know if the wearing cable was the cause of the strange behavior yet, but I will find out as I use the player.

Tony, you might want to recommend putting a piece of electrical tape over the display cable where it goes near the shock mount. Especially if there is any visible wear. A little prevention may go a long way.

Quick question:

What are the specs for the lock washer and the hex standoff used to hold the fascia to the display board? Over-torquing and breaking it is not the only thing that can happen - one of mine is stripped, and needs replacing. Stu found it in his repair of the display cable. Please let me know, so I can replace them. Thanks!

Edit: I found a thread that has all of the information about the particular spacer and lock washer, except for the specification. Worth a shot.

Email me and let me know what parts you need. I've got thousands of screws, bolts, standoffs and washers in stock here.

And he will send them free! I just got my extra HDD screws and washers on friday.

This product has the best customer SERVICE that I've ever seen. Most of the time when I have a problem with some electronics, I wait two hours to get a hold of someone just to have them tell me to go sit on my thumb. David and the rest of the guys go above and beyond the call of duty, and they've earned my business for as long as the Cambridge team is around.

I got the film of the damaged cable processed. They weren't really in focus on the damaged area. Macro photography is like that sometimes I guess. Oh well.

Paul, any odd behavior surfaced, post repair?

Stu

Greetings!

So far, no. I have not had that problem yet. Hopefully, I will not. But it was a very rare event, so it may still happen. I will watch out for it, and post if I see any problems.

Meanwhile, again, great job on the digital out boards!!!