CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

[jbmeyer13]

+1 on VIM cables. Among other reasons to use a custom cable is to reduce the length. Stock cables are 32-33" so anytime you can go shorter there will be less capacitance. Many great deals on ebay if you know what to look for.

[stridsvognen]

Is there anyone knowing what to call those mini RCA conectors.? I cant find anything like that anywhere around here.

i would prefer straight conectors, where the screen can be conected all the way around the center pin.

[gnnash]

Are they still available here?

http://connect-tech-products.com/index1.php?subtype=Mini%20Phono/RCA%20Plugs&id=14

[jbmeyer13]

Just cannibalize a set from the stock cables (which is what I did). You can bend the holster section if you want the cable to go straight in rather than at an angle.

[mp20748]

I stayed up late two nights ago, working on the CLM going after the LINE in the image problem. I also spent time on my TEST unit, to now thinking I have fixed it. Now I need to fix a LVPS and get it all back up and running.

I spent time on the CLM because I hate using my maim Marquee to test and work on boards. Every time use my main Marquee, I start bitten my nails worrying about a PIN breaking off one of the CRT's.

So I spent a ton of time sliding the CLM in/out of the Marquee, after trying various things that came to mind and spending a lot of time looking at the schematics.

The line on mine is almost not visible at all now, and it's not there at all in the image. The only way I'm now able to see it is to raise the brightness.

Where I thought it was and the source of it turned out to be something different. I'll get rid of it completely after I get my test unit back up and working. But with the changes I've already made, there's really no need for me to go further, because between the cables and the fix I've done so far on the line issue, I've gotten rid of that other layer of noise (hash) and have improved my low end tremendous.

[mp20748]

Check out the bandwidth and resolution of the shot (below).

When using the modified (SD5401 - by-pass) 02 VIM, I was showing shots with a slight roll-off at 1920X1440 /60hz - 263mhz. But when I put in the 03 with the mini mod, I was able to go to two resolutions above the 1920X1440 /60 and both resolved.

They were 2048X1536 /60hz - 263mhz and 1920X1440 /75hz - 297mhz. The 297mhz shown below.



This when using the 03 w/mini board mod.

1920X1440 /75hz - 297mhz is what my generator is showing:

[stridsvognen]

Thats nice.. So now there will be a nice bandwidth headroom to a 1920x1080P 96 hz resolution..

Your running the max bandwith of the new Radiance 4K model lol.. To bad they cant run more than 75hz.

[mp20748]

Yeah, but do know that I was not expecting those numbers. I'm shocked really to have been able to make it happen.

Maybe Lumagen will make the 96hz happen.

I'm close enough to 300mhz to be able to make that claim, but I'd rather hold off and see what my few testers will also be able to confirm. But before you'll be able to get the level of bandwidth performance, you're going to need an 03 VIM with the mini board.

Now I need to see if Best Buy has the latest Harry Potter Blu Ray..

[stridsvognen]

I have the 03, i just need you to sende the mini board..

[mp20748]

Funny thing, I can't find my blank boards..

I do still have the file, so I'll most likely have to send off to have another set of boards made up. But first I'll keep looking for those blanks.

The mini board by itself will improve your 03. But the higher bandwidth will require the higher bandwidth neck boards.

[stridsvognen]

I just put my 03VIM in my marquee last night, and after some messing around, i had luck making it perform.. It was not the foult of the VIM that i prefered my 02 VIM.

Now i can just sit back with my mouth open and think damn..!!!

I was trying to make a few screenshots, but my cam is broken and the iphone and ipad dont like the 72hz, so it will have to wait.

Mike.. Your the man.. I bet these mods in a capable Marquee will slap around any other CRT ever seen.

Those colors.. that sharpness.. that punch.. WOW

And its without the mini board and super high bandwidth neckboards.

[stridsvognen]

A pic from my Ipad, 30cm from the screen. Quite a lot of angel to the screen so i dont get the ipad shadow.

I think its possible to get a idea of the punch and detail level..

[jbmeyer13]

Here's some shots of my new HBW VIM cables. I cannibalized mini RCA's from stock cables and used an Audioquest YIQ-3 cable. 22awg with a 6% silver core and heavy shielding make it superior to the stock Marquee cable. A little bit of work was involved but definitely worth the time.

[mp20748]

A picture of another mod for either 02 or 03 VIM.


This mod separates the Internal pattern op-amp (U16) on the VIM from the OSD on the CLM, by placing a capacitor in between the video connection. By placing that cap in the chain, it prevents DC offset from affecting U16. Not sure why a cap was not already in place because there is a DC restore on U16.


In the picture I cut a few traces and put three 10mfd 16vdc (0805) poly caps and three 39K resistors to make that circuit AC coupled. By now being AC coupled, not only are the patterns cleaner (stripped line in center of step pattern) so are the text and noise floor of the image.

I arrived at this by going further to correct the slight elevation of the pedestal, and by putting in the caps, I've corrected the elevation by eliminating an DC off-set voltage into U16.

[Nashou66]

I see where you got that idea from, it is basically the same way the external video is AC coupled just before U11,17,18.

But there they used a 470nf cap and you went with 10uf? Or is that a typo mike? maybe 1uf?

Athanasios

[mp20748]

I think almost anything will work there, but I went with the 10uf because I have them in the small size poly I prefer to use.

[Nashou66]

So the striped line goes away in the Stair step pattern and you say the text and noise floor. Do you mean any text from external source or the internal text?
the layout of those resistors is a bit different on 02 vim. have to see what I can do there.

Athanasios

[mp20748]

Yes, that dreaded line in the step pattern goes away, and all the OSD gets better, to include it fixes a slight problem caused from DC off-set into U16.

[Nashou66]

Ah thanks for that Mike. So does that lower the Black level that the dreaded Line Fix mod would elevate?

Nashou

[mp20748]