CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

[rotoscoped]

Hi all,

Not having used my Marquee 9500LC for many months, I'm finding the projector isn't starting up smoothly -- on powering up, there are dozens of rapid 'clicking' sounds and the CRTs don't turn on. The projector doesn't immediately respond to the remote's power off command, either, the clicking continues. Finally I manage to turn it off. When I power it on again, I get the same, maybe with fewer clicks. After a couple tries at this, it starts up. And it projects an image without any issues.

I recorded audio of the clicking sounds on startup: Google Drive. (I'm also moving around, aiming the remote, etc, so forgive the bad quality.)

I read the following on the Marquee section of the site:

[Curt Palme]

Check the memory battery on the CLM board
Reseat all modules
Start taking boards out/disconnecting stuff. The set will/should turn on with only the LVPS and the CLM installed. Everything else is a load on the system.
Otherwise it's probably a bad power supply.

All vintage stuff needs to be used regularly. Not using things for months like this, and you're asking for problems. Sorry!

[Curt Palme]

Check the memory battery on the CLM board
Reseat all modules
Start taking boards out/disconnecting stuff. The set will/should turn on with only the LVPS and the CLM installed. Everything else is a load on the system.
Otherwise it's probably a bad power supply.

All vintage stuff needs to be used regularly. Not using things for months like this, and you're asking for problems. Sorry!

[rotoscoped]

Thanks for your reply, Curt. Indeed, I'll start disconnecting boards and see what happens! I did change the CLM battery a few years ago (after the original died on me) -- and for now all my memory settings are intact.

[garyfritz]

[kal]

Powering up older electronics helps because:

- Electrolytic capacitors, especially older ones benefit from occasional powering on to reform the dielectric. Prolonged storage (off state) causes the aluminum oxide dielectric layer to degrade. Manufacturing techniques have improved, but it's still a thing today with aluminum oxide e-caps.

- Using mechanical parts like switches helps control oxidation as moving the parts cleans the contacts. Not so much with vintage audio stuff, but electronic equipment with more advance mechanical components may have lubrication that when powered up helps distribute that lubricant (think old motors, hard drives, etc).

- If stored in higher humidity (like a home where you don't control humidity at all through A/C) powering stuff up helps evaporate moisture which can lead to corrosion. Putting that vintage equipment in storage somewhere in non-climate controlled environment is not a good thing.

Powering up doesn't mean it has to be used consistently. Even turning it on for an hour every few months is good.

Kal

[kal]

Powering up older electronics helps because:

- Electrolytic capacitors, especially older ones benefit from occasional powering on to reform the dielectric. Prolonged storage (off state) causes the aluminum oxide dielectric layer to degrade. Manufacturing techniques have improved, but it's still a thing today with aluminum oxide e-caps.

- Using mechanical parts like switches helps control oxidation as moving the parts cleans the contacts. Not so much with vintage audio stuff, but electronic equipment with more advance mechanical components may have lubrication that when powered up helps distribute that lubricant (think old motors, hard drives, etc).

- If stored in higher humidity (like a home where you don't control humidity at all through A/C) powering stuff up helps evaporate moisture which can lead to corrosion. Putting that vintage equipment in storage somewhere in non-climate controlled environment is not a good thing.

Powering up doesn't mean it has to be used consistently. Even turning it on for an hour every few months is good.

Kal

[Tim in Phoenix]

Suggest you pull out the Control Board and reseat all socketed chips, could be tarnish on the contacts

[rotoscoped]

Did as you suggested, Tim. Pulled CLM and reseated the socketed chips. Also pulled HDM and reseated a couple socketed chips on the daughter board. Per Curt's advice, I unplugged or removed every board and connection (not counting neck boards) -- more on that below. At first these simple fixes seemed to do the trick, or at least diminish substantially the amount of LVPS pulsing.

But it's difficult to get a dispositive result, because I've found that once I successfully get the projector turned on, it tends to turn on and off cleanly for a period of hours. One has to wait many hours with the 9500 powered off before the problems reemerge.

I removed the focus board and ran the projector without it, which turned out to make no difference. I admit I was nervous about fully following thru on Curt's advice and actually TURNING ON the projector without the HDM or VDM and some of the other boards. I've never done that before and didn't know what would happen to the CRTs themselves. Presumably some safety system is triggered and they won't power up? So no damage can be done to them or other systems?

Seeking some reassurance there... But otherwise the systematic removal of each board, a period of waiting, and then turning back on again, is the thing to try, to see if I can isolate the issue to one board.

[Tim in Phoenix]

Marquees are very failsafe and protective of the phosphor so no worries on removing boards. Just unplug one of the plugs on the vertical board.