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Author Topic: DTS reader light blinks irregularly Frank Dubrois Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 896 From: Cleveland, OH Registered: Mar 2005 posted 08-08-2005 09:28 PM                    So what would be involved in squeezing out a little more life? DTS was adament about taking the reader off, sending it in and (in the mean time) get a replacement. Big $$ for such a little problem. I'd be interested in getting a cheaper fix. Keep me informed.  |  IP: Logged Michael Schaffer "Where is the Boardwalk Hotel?" Posts: 4143 From: Boston, MA Registered: Apr 2002 posted 08-08-2005 10:35 PM                        quote: Mark Gulbrandsen I think you mean impurities in the doping stage. Doping is just one stage of making a semicondictor...... Isn't the injection of minority carriers into the P or N material called doting in English? Doping? I thought it was "to dote" because in German in it is "dotieren".  |  IP: Logged Bruce Hansen Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 847 From: Stone Mountain, GA, USA Registered: Dec 1999 posted 08-10-2005 06:59 PM                     OK, it has been a LONG time since I studied this stuff, so someone correct me if need be. Pure silicon does not conduct current. Doping is the process of adding another substance to the silicon to allow it to conduct. To form "N" silicon, the substance that is added has an excess of electrons in it's outer electron shell of it's atoms. "P" has a deficiency of electrons in the atoms outer electron shell. This is referred to as "holes". Minority carriers are "impurities" that have the opposite condition. For example, having an atom with a "hole" in the "N" area. Heat can cause minority carriers, and then the minority carriers can cause more heat, and on, and on. This is called thermal runaway, and can result in the destruction of the device. Here is how an LED works. "N" and "P" materials are joined together (or formed together). The area where the "N" and "P" areas are joined is called the junction. Foward current flow forces electrons from the "N" area to move across the junction and combine with an atom that has a "hole". In order to get through the junction the electron must take on extra energy from the current flow through the LED. This forces the electron into a higher energy electron shell. After it crosses the junction the extra energy is no longer needed, the electron drops back to it's normal shell position, and the extra energy is given off as a photon, which is a partical of light. An electron comes into the "N" area from the current frow into the diode, moves through the diode, then out the other end, and back to the power source. In a normal diode the extra energy would be given off as heat. [ 08-15-2005, 05:28 PM: Message edited by: Bruce Hansen ]  |  IP: Logged Alexander Alves Film Handler Posts: 33 From: Diwanman, Vasai, India Registered: May 2003 posted 08-11-2005 06:54 AM                     Could'nt one just try and short the small black wire with the tag at the reader cable end to the reader itself? This black wire come heat shrink wrapped I think.One could just loosen one of the reader allen screws and connect this wire there.  |  IP: Logged Bruce Hansen Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 847 From: Stone Mountain, GA, USA Registered: Dec 1999 posted 08-11-2005 09:14 PM                     Yes. That wire is there in case you have grounding problems. Grounding problems can cause noise in the time code, and make it hard for the player to read the code.  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 08-12-2005 01:08 AM                     I am awaiting some samples of an LED that will probably work just fine. Will install one and make some tests and comparisons to a brand new reader and so on and so forth. Will let you all know. Mark  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 08-16-2005 05:40 PM                     I received my sample LED's today and installed one in a reader. Its about an hour job . The darn thing is too bright at 9 mils so I will have to change the series resistor to get down to 5 or 6 mils. Am also considering a 10 turn pot in place of the fixed resistor to be able to extend the LED life a bit. More tommrrow. Mark @ CLACO  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 08-22-2005 07:56 PM                     Since the LED that Gord and I chose to use was considerably brighter than the DTS factory LED I ended up installing a small 10 turn pot in series with the current limiting resistor that was there. Installation was very easy. Now the LED is running at about 4 mils and works perfectly providing the same brightness as a new factory LED but operating this LED at much lower current. The manufacturer sent me some MTTF data and at 5 mils its 100,000 hours life span to 80% brightness level. So even after 100K hours I can bring the current up to say 10 mils and maintain the proper brightness of the LED for a very, very long time. The new LED is good running up to 20 mils. To ensure exact alignment of the drum which has to be removed to replace the LED I used a very accurate height gauge and measured off the inner flange and then upon re-assembly put the drum back at exactly the same position within .001". Works like a charm! Mark  |  IP: Logged Jim Ziegler Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 753 From: West Hollywood, CA Registered: Jul 99 posted 08-23-2005 10:50 PM                     So can we send our dying DTS heads to you?  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 08-24-2005 09:10 AM                     Sure, would be happy to repair yours. So far Gord will be doing them north of the border and I am doing them here in the states. The whole thing that brought this on was the rediclous amount that Gords customers were having to pay in duties/taxes to get them back over the border once repaired. Needless to say DTS'S rediclous price for changing the less than $3.00 LED also gave us some incentive to do this. We are charging a 100.00 flat rate to re-led them at CLACO, this inclcudes a 1-year warrantee on the repair. You need to check the small board inside the front of your TC reader before sending it in to us. Your board MUST have the small white adjustment potentiometer on it. Mark CLACO Equipment And Service 1212 South State St. Salt Lake City, UT 84111 801-355-1250 Office 801-355-1259 Fax  |  IP: Logged Brad Allen Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 688 From: Evansville, IN, USA Registered: May 2000 posted 08-24-2005 03:56 PM                     Just curious, what does DTS charge for this?  |  IP: Logged Gordon McLeod Film God Posts: 9532 From: Toronto Ontario Canada Registered: Jun 99 posted 08-24-2005 04:19 PM                     DTS charges 250 US i believe which is reasonable the problem we run inot is sending them one at a time through customs and getting the brokerage charges they really add up  |  IP: Logged Demetris Thoupis Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1240 From: Aradippou, Larnaca, Cyprus Registered: Apr 2001 posted 08-24-2005 05:02 PM                     Unfortunately something that I believe was never noted, COPIED DTS Discs. It happened here. DTS Does not work. I go with the Test discs, everything seems fine. Couple of days later the same problem occurs. After a week of investigation, that theater was copying the DTS discs and the copies did that exact same problem. The Reader blinking irregularly, drop-out every now and then and DTS comeback creating a disturbing come and go situation. D  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 08-24-2005 05:31 PM                     quote: Gordon McLeod DTS charges 250 US i believe which is reasonable The customer engineer that I spoke to when selectng the LED we are using called it rape! I've always felt that charging 250.00 for replacing a $3.00 LED was just a little bit absurd. Demetrius, I assume that your 4 volt setting in the TC reader is correct..... Mark  |  IP: Logged Gordon McLeod Film God Posts: 9532 From: Toronto Ontario Canada Registered: Jun 99 posted 08-24-2005 05:44 PM                     If you have older disk drives they often have issues with burned disks  |  IP: Logged

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