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Thread: Grounds for murder?

  1. #1
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    Default Grounds for murder?

    So, Top recap another thread: I've just gotten my FB3 and I am currently putting together my projector. After wiring everything up and making sure it works (works perfectly, thanks to it's Bill Brenner tuning/modding) I was attaching the X axis scanner amp to my base plate when one of the actors on this tour came by to check it out. After talking for a bit (I'm working on this the whole time), he smacks me on the back of my right arm in a "good buddy" sort of way, knocking one of the trim pots off my x amp in the process! I pushed it back into place, praying that it's ok, but I have yet to fire them up and test them. I know that I can probably get the part at an electronic mart here, and possibly even tune it back, But right now I REALLY want that kids head on a plate.

    In case you guys were wondering, it's part number r28, a 10k ohm trimmer pot that's labeled SGA on the document I have for it. that's the "servo gain" pot, so it seems that I can replace and re-tune without too much worry.

    Jian, Can I just replace this part and re-tune it myself, or should I send this out to you? Keep in mind, I sent these to Bill Brenner and he did his mod to them.

    I'm going to go have a beer and try to calm down.
    "TO DO IS TO BE" - Nietzsche
    "TO BE IS TO DO" - Kant
    "DO BE DO BE DO" - Sinatra

  2. #2
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    If the pot does need replacing, measure the resistance, and adjust the new pot to the same resistance before replacing it. This will probably get you pretty close
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  3. #3
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    That's good advice, Dave, thanks.

    I will definitely have to replace the pot, at least one of the conductors has been broken off. I'm not actually sure that I can get a measurement off of it, but I plan to measure the same pot on the Y amp, this will at least get me to a place where I won't kill the galvo on power up.

    I'm done tinkering with it for tonight, I'm going to pick it up again tommorrow.
    but hey, at least when I get this fixed it'll be up and running.
    "TO DO IS TO BE" - Nietzsche
    "TO BE IS TO DO" - Kant
    "DO BE DO BE DO" - Sinatra

  4. #4
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    Even with the legs broken off your multimeter probe should still make contact.
    Don't forget that if you take a reading off the Y pot while it is still in circuit the reading will be effected by other components.

    Jim

  5. #5
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    Cool

    Mr Coffee;

    Did you yell at the actor? Does he know what he did? (I promise you he would have known what he did if it had happened to me!)

    Grounds for murder? Me thinks not. But I'd be seriously pissed off if I were you. The guy sounds like a jerk. If he had any decency he'd offer to pay you for the repairs.

    I think you'll be OK just replacing the pot and soldering it in place yourself. Get a good measurement of the resistance on the old one, and set the replacement one to the same setting and you should be fine.

    Worst case, you might want to send them back to Bill to be re-tuned - assuming that you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself. But in that case the "actor" that caused the problem ought to pay for the shipping...

    And in the future, remind the asshole that lasers are expensive, and that you'd appreciate it if he'd just leave you alone when you're working on them.

    Adam

  6. #6
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    it shouldn`t be too hard to get your own back on him, actors do tend to be easy targets (a bit like roadies, but more gullible)

  7. #7
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    Hey guys. First off, thank you so much for your quick and very helpful replies, I probably would have thought about the component swapping logistics when I calmed down, but I'm glad that you guys were here to steer me in the proper direction.

    as far as the actor is concerned, once he realized what happened, he was very apologetic. he offered to cover any repair cost, and even shouted me a couple beers at the bar. Im about to put the new pot in, so in about an hour you'll get either a very happy post, or a very angry one.

    once again, Thanks for all your help, guys and gals, I really appreciate it.
    "TO DO IS TO BE" - Nietzsche
    "TO BE IS TO DO" - Kant
    "DO BE DO BE DO" - Sinatra

  8. #8
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    UPDATE: so I matched the resistance as best I could and put the pot back in. Both scanners move, but the images are not recognizable at all. I'm not sure if this is a tuning issue or what. I'll bring a camera in tommorrow and show you guys pics of the test pattern, but it is very distorted, and the outer test pattern box (not the really big one, but the outside of the pattern), is nonexistent, and there are two vertical lines to the right of the pattern. I'm not sure if this is just wildly out of tune, or if some part of the board is messed up. I emailed Jian to see what he says. I'll wait for you guys to see the images before I make a decision, but my options at this point look like this:

    1) it's not broken, just out of tune:

    a) I'll try to retune the x amp, since the y amp hasn't changed, I should
    be able to leave that where it is, right?


    b) I send the scanners back to bill (assuming that's ok) for what must
    set the record for the shortest time between tunes.

    2) It is broken:

    a) I send the scanners (or just the x amp) to Jian for repair. He sends
    them back to me, and I try to tune them.


    b) I send the scanners to Jian for repair, and have him send them to Bill
    for the aforementioned record-setting tune-up


    I'm trying to decide how much I should make the guy pay, It was an accident (a really, really dumb one), and this guy doesn't have the greatest track record, but at the same time, we're all human, and this guy doesn't make a lot of money. I figure I'll ask him to go 50/50 with me on repair costs, but we'll see what those turn out to be.

    but man, for the 15 minutes I had my projector working, it was awesome...

    ah,well. C'est la vie I suppose.
    "TO DO IS TO BE" - Nietzsche
    "TO BE IS TO DO" - Kant
    "DO BE DO BE DO" - Sinatra

  9. #9
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    I think if you have any doubts, send the scanners to Bill. Bill is the guru period . Oh, and make the person pay for everything
    KVANT Australian projector sales
    https://www.facebook.com/kvantaus/

    Lasershowparts- Laser Parts at great prices
    https://www.facebook.com/lasershowparts/

  10. #10
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    Cool

    If you end up having to send the scanners back to Jian, I agree that having them sent straight to Bill afterwards is a smart idea. That way when you get them they should be perfect.

    Were the scanners powered up at any time before the pot was replaced? (That might have caused more damage.) If not, then it's possible that some other component was damaged when he hit your arm in addition to the pot breaking off. Having a stray line(s) off to the right like that sounds very strange. Maybe I'm just not visualizing it properly, but that doesn't sound like just a tuning issue to me. (A picture will help a lot.)

    One thing to consider though: If they are broken, adjusting the tuning won't hurt anything. So you can play with the tuning a little bit and see what you can get. And you are right, the "Y" amp should be just fine, though it will need to be tweaked to match the X amp once you get the X amp dialed in again.

    Something else to consider: If you have to send it back, Jian may decide to send you a replacement set instead of a single galvo. (You're going to have to re-tune the set anyway, even if he only sends you one galvo and amp.) Ask him about that if you end up returning them.

    Adam
    Last edited by buffo; 02-22-2008 at 04:48.

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