CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

[mhalsan]

With and RGB and stigmator points set to 50, I can't get a good flare pattern. I'm using 2-4-6 pole magnets, Frankenyokes, Mike Parker VIM and VNBs, and maintenance mods are done.

I have no way to take a good picture, but these images are pretty close. RED is the picture that shows the flare in the center with a smaller blob off to the side. BLUE is the picture that shows a wide, flat flare.

Green is a little off, but nothing like the other two colors.

Even with the best settings on the magnets, the stigmator can't get the dots round. Blue ends up much wider than the other colors with a standard crosshatch image.

It's impossible to get good horizontal resolution with this condition, and blue color fringing is obvious on the screen.

I'm wide open to suggestions on this one. THANKS in advance everyone!!!!!!!!!!!

Mark

[Nashou66]

when you were doing the CPC magnets did you do them with the Astig coil unplugged from the SWA board? If not try doing it that way since the frankenyokes astig winding inductance is different than the stock Marquees so a setting of 50 in the settings for the astig isn't actually the "null" position. Once you try your hand at the CPC magnets connect the astig coils and try again. But first set the CPC to the "null position" I spin them around the neck so i can see the color tabs and I bring them together, then I spin the whole CPC asembly around so the knobs /or tabs are now on top. to test that your magnets are ok if you take each knob and rotate it(not spinning the knob also) back and forth the dots or grid should not move at all or very little.

Athanasios

[zGman]

Hi Mark,

Have you had any luck with this?

G

[mhalsan]

Unplugging the stigmator wiring did help a little, but it's still not right. I estimate horizontal resolution is about half to 3/4 of what it should be on 1080p/HDMI sources.

I started using my PC to generate the test signals, and it looks to me like the 9500's internal signal generator is out of order. The internal signal looks "smeared" compared to an external signal. I can use the PC's signal to get very small, round flares, and work from there. I used single-pixel dots at 2600x1200x62Hz. This can be made to look very good.

Regarding the stigmator and RGB focus options in the setup menu: are these settings global, or are they individually adjustable for each recall memory?

Thanks, Mark

[zGman]

Ok Mark,

glad to hear things are getting better...
The focus and stigmator are global.

You may discover that the cpc magnets and stig are easier
to work with at a much lower resolution, they will be larger
and easier to see as you ramp the (pic 4)focus up and down
to check for movement, and watch if the dots change shape
during focus ramp.

I found recently that the six-pole cpc magnets can, on some tubes,
cause a similar condition where there was a persistant flare
that could not be adjusted out - even by a pro.....So I swapped
it for a 4-pole set and poof jimminy the whole thing popped
in perfect. So if you have some 4-pole cpc's to try out, it may
be worth the effort.

G

[mhalsan]

The three sets of magnets- I believe the green one in the middle is the six-pole. I can pull the 6-pole rings out; I do have a proper spacer.

Is it true that the CPC magnets should be as far towards the focus/stig yoke as possible?

When I was putting this unit together, I didn't really check to see of the 6-pole rings were even necessary- I just assumed that I needed every optional whizzbang and gadget I could find. Not really true, I'm finding...........

Thanks, Mark

[zGman]

Hi Mark,
don't pull your magnets all apart, they are no fun to re-assemble!
I can send you a 4-pole set to try, no problem.
G

[mhalsan]

Fortunately, I kept the 4-pole magnets that originally came with the machine- I'm putting them in today or tomorrow, and will report back.

Thanks, Mark

[mhalsan]

After implementing the ideas in this thread, I can report a big improvement. With 4 pole magnets and the stigmator coils unplugged, I can get the dots reliably centered and round. However, there are two issues:

- I have to use an external pattern source to set stig and focus. There's no way the internal generator is working right. It is stretched/smeared horizontally. This is a nuisance, but manageable.

- I can only get top-grade stig and RGB focus for one input signal. I can pick only one of 480p, 1080p or 1200p. The other two will be compromised. (primarily corner astig issues) It's a shame there isn't a way to have separate RGB/Stigmator memories for each recall memory.

Has anyone used the serial port and Librarian software? I wonder if you could save separate RGB focus/stigmator setups this way.

Thanks, Mark

[zGman]

Hi Mark,
Glad to hear you made some progress - that must be a relief of sorts.
I agree that it would be really nice if the focus at least would be separate
for each memory - that is standard on Barco, don't know about sony.
I will be interested to hear about what you could do with the librarian software.
Is there that big a difference between 1080P and 1200P? Are you running
the some type of source? eg. HTPC for those or is it between an HTPC and
a blu-ray or other stand-alone player? One possible solution would be
to try and match the video timings (porches, sync widths) between the
different resolutions - I found a pretty significant focus difference with the
MarqueeUltra when the scan is switched to "short retrace" (small porches)
Apparently the additional current does change the magnetic configuration.
The tests I ran involved moving the focus coils further forward, and the
magnetics of the focus, convergence, and deflection coils have some odd
interactions.
G

[mhalsan]

I've noticed a loss of vertical resolution when transcoding between 480 line sources and a 1080 display. Laserdiscs in particular look fuzzy when upconverted. I use 480p for laserdiscs, 1080p for blu-ray/HD-DVD, and 2600x1200p for PC Gaming.

My HDMI card doesn't accept custom resolutions, so I use analog RGBHV directly to input 1 on the projector, using high quality cables directly from the video cards. The DACs are spec'ed at 400MHz (GeForce Ultra). With the focus and stigmator set just right, this provides a truly amazing image.

I'll see how the Librarian software works- it's free after all, and it seems a shame not to have ideal focus/astig for both resolutions. If I understand the documentation, the software does save the complete onboard database.

Thanks, Mark

[mp20748]

[Curt Palme]

Hmmm, Mike's posting at 5:45 AM.

That's almost as bad as me reading his post at 2:45 AM on a Monday morning. Can't sleep..

[Curt Palme]

Hmmm, Mike's posting at 5:45 AM.

That's almost as bad as me reading his post at 2:45 AM on a Monday morning. Can't sleep..

[mp20748]

I'm usually up earlier, but in preparation to leave out or do something else that's very tasking. It's been very difficult balancing things this year with only one household income. Things are getting a bit better now.

Yeah, I'm definitely in for the next week or so. In that a time I have a lot to do around here.

It's time to clean up both shops and get some things ready for the new year. I have a bunch of stuff I'll more likely part out. but we'll see when I get into things. Sorta don't know where to start.



Anyway, it's good to be back. And I'm looking forward to getting back to the threads more often. I've burnt out on making mods but will continue with doing the R&D. It's just something I like doing. Plus I have a nice setup for this.

[mp20748]

I was on on the phone a few minutes ago discussing the changes (multi-zone focus) I had mentioned earlier in this thread about the differences made to the later version Marquee Ultras. Below is a quote taking from a magazine write up: I


"Starting with a basic chassis originally designed by ElectroHome of Canada, Madrigal has performed a number of significant upgrades, many of them recommended by video expert Joe Kane. Chief among these is color filtering of the CRTs for a more accurate color palette. The uniformity for multiple aspect ratios is also improved by adding greater flexibility to the horizontal and vertical deflection circuits. Enhanced software provides for a wider range of setup adjustments, including finer focus in the corners. And the electromagnetic focus may be separately optimized for each scanning frequency, making it possible, for example, to separately tweak the projector for maximum performance with both the upscaled standard definition programming and high definition (720p and 1080i) sources."

http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:3yVZvadfwrcJ:www.guidetohometheater.com/videoprojectors/30/+magrigal+mp9+individual+focus+zones&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us&client=firefox-a

This "Enhanced" software was not a Magrigal modification. It's an upgrade on later version Ultra's. Or Ultras with certain version Electrohome or VDC U35 ROM chips.

[mp20748]

[mhalsan]

Mike- Thanks for the info. You're right: the improved signal handling of the Mikron board far overshadows the issue with the internal signal generator. I've been using the PC as a signal generator, since none of the test discs have a dot pattern. (Any other suggestions for a dot pattern source?)

As far as the CLM software version goes, I currently have V4.4. Is there a more ideal version? Last winter, I checked with VDC- they have a version 8.0, but their technician recommended AGAINST using it in my Ultra, as it was developed only for their current production units.

Thanks, Mark

[mp20748]

[Nashou66]

I think Version 8 does away with Acon IIRC.

[mp20748]