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toliveforfun
Dabler in electronics
toliveforfun
5 Posts
26 Nov 2008, 2:11am
I don't know if you've fixed the problem already but it seems like you need the version of the file 'MFC42.DLL' for your OS.


Quoting Jibbajaba
After almost two years, it is time for me to adjust my FW900 again. I still have the cable I built, but I am using a different computer. WinDAS keeps crashing when I try to back up my DAT file, complaining about some MFC business. I tried replacing my Mfc42.dll file, which worked for someone else in this thread a long time ago, but it isn't working for me. Has anyone else been able to fix a crashing WinDAS?

Thanks,

Chris
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Swap_File
New to the neighborhood
Swap_File
2 Posts
8 Dec 2008, 9:41pm
Quoting rice burner
Eljay and others with the P992, I have scoped out a possible resistance mod for you.

Here are the diagrams. Judge for yourselves if its worthwhile.

By the way, I found a G500 service manual for the P1110 at:-

http://www.theusermanualsite.com

Registration is free of charge.

Compare and contrast the attached marked-up circuit diagrams. It appears the modified resistances must be lower than standard value to reduce brightness.

Please refer to other threads in this forum for information, Thanks.

P1110 Modification
Attachment 25263

P992 Modification
Attachment 25264
Thanks for the information. I used it to fix my P992.

First, I opened the monitor, and clipped the 22M resistor off.


Then I clipped a little hole in the bottom shielding, and replaced the 22M resistor with a combination of resistors that equaled 16.6M. I tried several combinations, but eventually ended up with a 10M in series with a 10M and a 20M in parallel.


I then put the monitor back together, and let the other shielding cover the easy access hole I made.

You could also leave the 22M resistor in place, and just hook up something like a 70M resistor in parallel, but I did not have anything like that on hand.

Edit: I was going to use WinDAS with the P992 like I do with my P1110, but I heard a lot of people had problems with it. I figured going the resistor mod route would be the safer option.
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Swap_File
New to the neighborhood
Swap_File
2 Posts
8 Dec 2008, 11:39pm
Update: I got sick of trying to pick the exact resistor I needed, so I just put a 22M resistor back in and hooked my P992 up to my laptop and used WinDAS. It worked great. I don't know why other people were having problems with the P992 and WinDAS.

Edit: I did need to do this to unlock the onscreen controls:

Quoting LAGRUNAUER
After the interface is connected to the monitor and the COM port, start WinDAS, backup the existing DAT file, and then load the corrected DAT file. Once the corrected DAT file is loaded, go to "Adjustments", then click on "Procedure", and then on "Final setting"; and once WinDAS confirms the input signal of 1600x1200, click OK, then as soon as the program ask you "Do you set the final values"?, then click OK, then exit WinDAS.

Without touching none of the OSD buttons, power down the monitor, and turn it off, then disconnet the interface. Wait for 3-5 minutes, then turn the unit back on, and the OSD should be unlocked.

The issue is I was not telling WinDAS to save the final setting values into the DAT file and to the EEPROM BEFORE exiting WinDAS, and that was the reason why the OSD locked up.
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Swap_File edited : 9 Dec 2008 at 12:13am .
allouh
New to the neighborhood
allouh
4 Posts
9 Dec 2008, 12:27am
Quoting Swap_File
Update: I got sick of trying to pick the exact resistor I needed, so I just put a 22M resistor back in and hooked my P992 up to my laptop and used WinDAS. It worked great. I don't know why other people were having problems with the P992 and WinDAS.
the problem people encountered wasn't with windas exactly.
the problems mainly was messing with the dat file without having a backup, or error in the cable it self, or not using proper editor.
otherwise it should work perfectly.
i for my self want to use windas but i couldn't find proper cable, and local stores charge unresonable price for the ic max232(about $8), so i stuck with using resistors.

anyway i have a problem.
my monitor is compaq p1100, it has two vga inputs, the second input is working fine but when using the first input the brightness seems to fluctuate, and its very annoying, the monitor has a light sensor too but even when the sensor is turned off the problem still exist.
i have been told that the transistor that control the brightness need to be changed, and frankly i dont know where this transistor locate.
if anyone know the solution for this problem or can determin where this transistor is located reply to me.
click here for the schematic diagram.
thanks
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Shadowe
New to the neighborhood
Shadowe
2 Posts
30 Dec 2008, 3:14pm
Hello fellow trinitron fans, I've also got the usual overbright problem, I'm starting to see raster lines on dark areas and the usual contrast problems and lack of decent color depth.

I've decided to go the breadboard and spare wire route with mine, buuut circuit diagrams are a little foreign to me. Does anyone know of a good illustrated tutorial for hooking a max232 and 5 1uf caps up? I can figure out the breadboard's on my own, I just need to know how exactly it all comes together, what plugs in to what and where.
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Shadowe
New to the neighborhood
Shadowe
2 Posts
9 Jan 2009, 6:51am
Done! I had some difficulty working out everything on the breadboard but eventually I got it, using almost no jumpers too. I'll put together an easy MSpaint diagram of the layout later (the max and hin232's seem to have the same layout). I only used 4 1uf capacitors and I hacked my cords out of cat5's for long reach.

Taking the g2 from 198 down to 150, the monitor's amazingly better even with p260's being unable to do dynamic convergence. If anything I'm wondering if I might have turned it down a bit too much since some darker webpages are now a bit over-dark, but since everything else seems to be just fine and I've still got some leeway with software tweaking I think i'mo leave it.
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SpinDry
New to the neighborhood
SpinDry
2 Posts
18 Jan 2009, 5:08am
So i have been reading until my eyes started bleeding. ;P

Very good thread very helpful just wanted to say thanks

I have one problem i have not been able to find the answer to.

I have a Dell P1110 i did the resistor mod until i was able to order the parts up for the Windas soft.

I went in and got it all working lowed the G2 but the problem is when i remove the resistor mod it will turn on very bright then wash out all white then it turns it self off like its going in to protecting mode.

I have set the G2 from 206 down to 160 then down to 100 with the same problem. It just washes out after about 15 seconds of it being on.

Any ideas would be great if you guys could.
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SpinDry
New to the neighborhood
SpinDry
2 Posts
18 Jan 2009, 5:35am
NM i am a dumb ass i forgot i pulled the old resistor out when doing the mod.
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eljay
Getting settled in
eljay
8 Posts
18 Jan 2009, 11:18am
Quoting Swap_File
Update: I got sick of trying to pick the exact resistor I needed, so I just put a 22M resistor back in and hooked my P992 up to my laptop and used WinDAS. It worked great. I don't know why other people were having problems with the P992 and WinDAS.

Edit: I did need to do this to unlock the onscreen controls:
--------------------------
Hi,
I've just looked inside my P992 now. And looked at all the options..........

(1)I found RV901 (full of sealer). I carefully dug it out and twiddled, but this adjustment did not affect the brightness issue, only picture size as far as I could see. So anybody else thinking of this needn't bother.

(2)So I cut the shielding to do the mod,(as photos just above) but selecting the right resistor seems problematic....and why do I have to have 2 in series?? (Can't I buy an 18M?)
I presume 22M means 22MegOhms?

(3)So, I've decide to try the Windas route, and I've downloaded the software.
But I need intructions as to:-

(a)Build the exact lead I need for a Dell P992(I find all the terminology perplexing)

OR

(b)Buy the exact lead I need (in UK) at a reasonable price?

AND

(c)How do I find the COM port in my PC (Dell Dimension 4100)?


Thanks to you all for this geat thread

eljay
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tdlofcc
New to the neighborhood
tdlofcc
2 Posts
1 Feb 2009, 3:07pm
I got a Dell P1110 very cheaply ... should've know something would be amiss ... so I started to google my problem and found this site.

Before I do the resistor mod, I would like to know if it will solve other problems too. It might be in this huuuuge thread somewhere, but I got to page 10 and found no mention of it.

So here goes.

Aside from the fact that it's way to bright, it also seems like the image on the monitor is a little off to the left. By about 1/2cm ... And the left upper corner looks out of focus.

Would changing the resistor help me at all ?
Or am I better off getting another monitor ?

Thanks in advance.
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allouh
New to the neighborhood
allouh
4 Posts
8 Feb 2009, 3:17am
Quoting tdlofcc
I got a Dell P1110 very cheaply ... should've know something would be amiss ... so I started to google my problem and found this site.

Before I do the resistor mod, I would like to know if it will solve other problems too. It might be in this huuuuge thread somewhere, but I got to page 10 and found no mention of it.

So here goes.

Aside from the fact that it's way to bright, it also seems like the image on the monitor is a little off to the left. By about 1/2cm ... And the left upper corner looks out of focus.

Would changing the resistor help me at all ?
Or am I better off getting another monitor ?

Thanks in advance.
resistors only solve brightness issue, the other problems you mention can be adjusted through the monitor menu.
if all the adjustments are at their extreme values try using color return which restore the monitor setting to the default factory.(you can find about it here).
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tdlofcc
New to the neighborhood
tdlofcc
2 Posts
8 Feb 2009, 6:55am
Quoting allouh
resistors only solve brightness issue, the other problems you mention can be adjusted through the monitor menu.
if all the adjustments are at their extreme values try using color return which restore the monitor setting to the default factory.(you can find about it here).
Drat .. I was afraid of that.
I already tried the color return.

It still has all the flyback lines .. I found on another website that the video IC is very likely broken then. Too bad for me.

Good thing it was very cheap
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eljay
Getting settled in
eljay
8 Posts
8 Feb 2009, 9:29am
Quoting eljay
--------------------------
Hi,
I've just looked inside my P992 now. And looked at all the options..........

(1)I found RV901 (full of sealer). I carefully dug it out and twiddled, but this adjustment did not affect the brightness issue, only picture size as far as I could see. So anybody else thinking of this needn't bother.

(2)So I cut the shielding to do the mod,(as photos just above) but selecting the right resistor seems problematic....and why do I have to have 2 in series?? (Can't I buy an 18M?)
I presume 22M means 22MegOhms?

(3)So, I've decide to try the Windas route, and I've downloaded the software.
But I need intructions as to:-

(a)Build the exact lead I need for a Dell P992(I find all the terminology perplexing)

OR

(b)Buy the exact lead I need (in UK) at a reasonable price?

AND

(c)How do I find the COM port in my PC (Dell Dimension 4100)?


Thanks to you all for this geat thread

eljay
ATTENTION P992 OWNERS
Getting no replies to this post, I reluctantly went the resistance route. But it was not easy buying the right one. Eventually I found one on RS Components Website... Stock No 158-200. (£1.30 + £6 pp!)
It was 68MegOhms (To solder in parrallel).
I cut out the grid (as photos in post a page or so above) soldered it on. (All done with monitor long unplugged) and IT WAS PERFECT.
I can't believe it! Fantastic!

Thanks for this wonderful thread
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pbg157
New to the neighborhood
pbg157
3 Posts
26 Feb 2009, 6:16pm
Can anyone please help? I have a Dell P1110 monitor, and am trying to use WinDAS, and failing.

When I try to "Save Data to File", I get an error box reading "ECS syntax Error NG! NG! NG!". Then another "ECS syntax Error". It will then show a "Save as" dialog box, and it will fill the 5k .dat file with "ERR" data, with yet more "ECS syntax error" messages along the way.

The monitor profile is set to P1110 (there's another one I tried, P1110(PCD); I've no idea which is correct, or if there's another I should be trying).

The monitor is connected with four wires I hooked up to a (bought) serial adaptor (which itself has only four output pins: VCC GND TXD RXD).

Anyone...?

- Philip
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Paramedic
Noobie
Paramedic
16 Posts
10 Mar 2009, 8:49am
pbg157,

Hi, I just finished adjusting my Dell P991 monitor! So, a new success story. I thought I might help pbg157, since no one else has responded. Pbg157, the message you appear to be getting is poor communication between the monitor or your computer. You must make sure all connections are correct, as well as firmly attached. I had a loose connection on the 4 prong header of the monitor and I got the same message. Once I made the connector more secure and fit it more tightly, the error message went away. I was able to save the data, once the connections were good. In addition, your model is different than mine; however, the order of the 4 prong header on mine was GND, VCC Standby, RXD, and TXD nearest to the back of the monitor. I had to reverse my RXD and TXD wires on the cable I used. I hope that helps you, Philip.

On another issue, editing the "DAT" file didn't work for me at first. I found that using "Edit.com" in Windows XP did not work, until I forced it to see the file correctly. Another user stumbled on this previously, but I was able to force it to repeat the maneuver. Let's say your dat file that you backed up to the root directory (C:\) is called P991.DAT. Start a DOS box. Type "edit /50 c:\P991.dat" without the quotes. The "/50" switch sets the numbers of characters to 50 characters across when viewing the file. However, it doesn't seem to do it correctly at first. So, close the file, but do not exit the Edit.com utility. Instead, tell it to "Open" the file again, using the "File, Open" menu. Since the location of my file was C:\, it was listed in the program. I just highlighted it, and told the program to open it. This time, the program opened it with all the numbers lined up in columns. I have no idea why it didn't do it the first time, but it just takes opening it up a second time. However, I had to use the "/50" switch. At any rate, if the numbers are listed running across the top with no wrapping, editing the file will result in failure. I see no point in editing the file, until you are able to get the file to list the numbers in easy-to-read columns.

Use the "Insert" key on the keyboard to overwrite the existing G2 value, rather than use the "Delete" key.
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Paramedic edited : 10 Mar 2009 at 10:16am .
pbg157
New to the neighborhood
pbg157
3 Posts
10 Mar 2009, 12:02pm
Paramedic, thank you! :-) I will certainly try your advice, if (or when) Plan B fails... Plan B: A week or so back I ordered a different connector board from another eBay seller. This one was a little pricier but looks more solid. When it arrives I will see whether the first board was faulty (in which case no worries), or whether I get the same problem with both (in which case most-probably neither are faulty, and I can eBay the other).

I found an old four-wire audio card connector which I use to connect the monitor to the board; I am *reasonably* sure therefore that the connections are good (certainly the power LED lights up on the board), although on the monitor side it's difficult to see properly as the monitor casing gets in the way. Plan C will involve removing the monitor casing to make very sure. I had already taken the casing off once to check on the correct ordering of the pins (for my Dell P1110, these are top-bottom: GND,VCC,RXD,TXD) Back around the time I made my post, I made every which-way wire combination I could think of to see if that made a difference (and it didn't).

Reading up on these things, the RXD should always be connected to the TXD (it makes sense that info you transmit to the monitor should be received by it, and info it transmits back you should receive).

Again, Paramedic, thanks so much for your reply. I will report back again when the second board arrives (those two assembled boards were actually still cheaper than ordering parts and making it myself... although that might turn out to be Plan D!)
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pbg157
New to the neighborhood
pbg157
3 Posts
10 Mar 2009, 3:41pm
Holy cow, so here is my followup post (already)! The new board arrived today. Required a bit of soldering for the pin connection but... It Works!!! Thrilled. My monitor has black! G2 was at 168, I took it down gradually to 135, and I'm happy.

Note about Edit (following on from what Paramedic said): I used DOS Edit (via "Command Prompt Here" Powertoy), and found that it added 3 bytes of data to the .dat file on save. I am running XP SP3. My advice, therefore: do not use Edit! (or, if you do, check the file sizes before and after)
Instead, I downloaded a freeware hex editor from Cygnus. Worked just fine.

btw, for those who may be interested, the good board was "MAX232 RS232 to TTL Converter Board" sold by DiamondSecrets on eBay.co.uk. Ships worldwide from... Bulgaria (ha! Wicked stamps on the parcel too!). As I said, it required the four pins to be soldered on, but it also arrived with 12 multicoloured wires (+ 2 connector strips).
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Paramedic
Noobie
Paramedic
16 Posts
10 Mar 2009, 9:33pm
pbg157,

Congratulations! I, too, found edit.com a bit confusing at first, because I couldn't understand why it would not work (at first). I also used Vim, Hackman Hex editor, Hex Editor, Programmer's Notepad, and even Notepad on Win98. None of the programs seem to work, UNTIL I used my "Insert" key to overwrite the values, rather than highlighting and deleting over them. I know it doesn't seem to make much sense. However, I agree with issa, a gentleman from a private e-mail, that when editing the file, you must make sure for every character you remove, the file gets a new one. For example, if your value is 103 and you want to make it 90, then you have to add a space where the "1" in 103 used to be. For me, using the "Insert" key helped quite a bit. At any rate, whichever program works for you, go for it! Good luck!
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Radeff
New to the neighborhood
Radeff
1 Posts
5 Apr 2009, 10:57am

P991 fixed!

Amazing thread, guys!
Thank you all for the great information and instructions. I am now a happy owner of the P991 with a resistor fix. I had the same horizontal retrace lines and high brightness, just as everyone here. After reading all of the pages i finally took some courage to go for the fix. I chose to solder a resistor, although the WINDAS solution seems to be a better one, but the cable making wasn't to my liking. Although i am not a technician, i think i did a very fine job with that tiny R050 resistor chip. I had soldered just 2-3 times before and was a bit afraid not to screw up, but it took me only 10-15min to do it. Actually the hardest part of it was to get my hands calm after lifting the 27kg monitor and carrying it around.

I am attaching some photos for those who are interested to see the actual fix. I left both legs of the new 1Mohm resistor uncut, just in case i decide to change the resistance, so i won't have to solder again.

A great tip for the soldering is that the R050 is bridged with the "empty" spot just above it, below the R049. This spot can be used for soldering the new resistor in parallel with the R050 without any caution of spilling solder. The trick is not to touch the R049. I've marked the dangerous R049 with red color and green for the safe areas of the R050 on the first photo.


I used a 1Mohm, 1/4W resistor for the fix. Since then i have no visible retrace lines and the brightness looks good. From a setting of 0 before the fix, now i have it tuned up to 65 and the black is still black.

Thank you all again!
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Radeff edited : 5 Apr 2009 at 10:02pm .
momcilosystem
New to the neighborhood
momcilosystem
1 Posts
22 Apr 2009, 8:46am

Thank you all

From the first moment I've got my used Sony G500 I thought that image was a little bright, but when it wormed up I lowered Brightness and it was acceptable and I canceled my complaints to the lady who sold it to me.

Afterwards I was looking for 3D glasses and searching a bit for potential compatibility issues with my monitor when I stumbled at WinDAS howto on geocites, and noticed overbright and retrace lines, and also Dell monitors (I knew about Sony technology in them) and while reading found my exact problem and cheap solution to it. So I decided to give it a go.

Biggest problem was soldering MAX232, as I never soldered IC I was affraid of making shorts all over the board so I gave it to my friend to do it for me.

For all those with same fear like me, of soldering, creating shorts or anything in that manner I STRONGLY advise that you do it yourself anyway. Reason? I couldn't establish connection to my PC: "Can't connect the Monitor, check bus line and condition". I wasn't planning to read this entire forum, but eventualy I did, reading page 13, then 12, then 19, ... until I've read them all only to find that there is no trick (except in making WinDAS works, but with that great manual it's really no problem). So I was starting to rule things out. My serial port was enabled in BIOS and working with serial mouse, my pinouts were correctly ordered (I used unimer for determing and also consulting this forum), so only thing left is my convertor (or some other stuff that could took some time figuring out - antivirus, other application uses serial port, or some other stuff that would require clean install and then trying all over again).

So I had to choose, should I take out my Windows CD, or try to check his soldering. I choose to check the convertor, printed out scheme and started to compare. Now, this is where I realise that I should do it myself: he didn't made it to look like the scheme, I know that is not the problem, but it is veeery hard to find mistakes in someones idea! I tried to figure out if everything is in place and it looked ok at a first glance but after a while everything just started to look soldered all together, I was so confused I started to mistake serial connector to monitor ecs connector and making million tiny mistakes Finaly I gave up, I couldn't find any errors nor I had the solution and everyone first reading this forum then trying out, knows that this forum does rase your hopes sky-high.

What did I do? I took new board and step by step started to place things on it, capacitors, ic, bridges, connectors, ... and it looked very well and I was sure that everything was in place so I started soldering. It looked good, no shorts, everything was in place and I gave it a go.

Still no luck... I was depressed, everyone in whole wide world will repair their monitors but me, and I started to go through things once more I found that it was stupid mistake, somehow serial port changed from COM1 to COM2, I adjusted WinDAS and it worked... oh the happiness Btw, I am absolutely sure port was COM1 earlier, so that was no mistake.


So, to conclude my extremely long story of succes: You should do entire process by yourself, it's the only way of seeing mistakes from the right angle!

Thanks again to all the people here who were very nice to share their knowledge with us mortals
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Nussi
New to the neighborhood
Nussi
1 Posts
15 May 2009, 1:06am
Hello.
I have recently acquired an IBM p260 (6552-63N) which suffers from the brightness-problem, which I have not been able to solve so far.
So far it went like this:
I ordered this adaptor for use with WinDAS. The best I have been able to squeeze out of it is a "Cant' connect the Monitor ! Check Bus line and condition!" error message. Reading through places such as this thread, I tried to swap pins. However, since I lack the circuit schematics, I had to try around. What I worry about is, that in the process of trying around something got fried probably - be it the adaptor or the monitor's ttl-interface. I deduct this from the fact that switching two of the pins (whichever pins they were - probably not the TX and RX pins after all) caused the adaptor to heat up very quickly. My desperation of finding out the proper configuration of pins caused the adaptor to heat up like that 3 times altogether - whereas in the process of the third time, it suddenly went from hot to warm (whereas "warm" denotes its usual temperature when not being connected to the monitor), which might indicate that something died.

For a fact is, that the monitor still works. So, if something got fried it's either the adaptor or a part of the service port circuit, which probably isn't mission critical to the monitor's usual operation. However, it'd also mean that repairing it from its practically unusable condition has become impossible.

I don't know what exactly is the case, but I wish there was a way to find out for sure. What I am wondering too is, which configuration of pins might have possibly caused a grillfest.

What I consider at the moment is buying this adaptor in case the other one got cooked (however, only in case it is possible to get it presoldered, because from what I've seen on shops, SMD soldering equipment seems quite expensive. =\ - I'm also not certain about where to get a breadboard from without paying a fortune - in general, I get the impression that the area I live in is rather a wasteland if it comes to these things.). Also, I am not sure if probably I bought something that actually only works unidirectional - since it says "rs232 to ttl", but nothing about the other way around.
However, this time, things have to go right. I need to somehow get ahold of the service manual, or at least the circuit schematics for the 6552-63N, without having to pay for it, that is, for all that adaptor-stuff is starting to cost a little too much money. s: (mind shipping costs to Switzerland, too. :p).

Probably some people will be able to clear some of my questions and uncertainities.
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Nussi edited : 15 May 2009 at 1:16am .
Paramedic
Noobie
Paramedic
16 Posts
15 May 2009, 3:39am
Nussi,

See this link: http://techref.massmind.org/techref/io/serial/rlc2.htm

I assume you are located in Deutschland, since your converter's link referenced a German web site. Thus, you may pay extra for overseas shipping, but it would be a small charge. However, you might be able to find a similar adapter in your area.

The link I gave you shows the adapter that allowed me to fix my monitor. I attached some long wires to it, as extensions, that allowed me to connect more easily inside the monitor. I adapted a 4-pin connector from an electronics store to fit the monitor port. Specifically, I tried connecting the TX and RX in normal configuration using my extension wires, as well as reversing the wires, and I did not burn anything out. So, you may have crossed something else to burn out the adapter. At this point, I would not worry about your monitor, since it still works. I do agree that a different adapter be used to eliminate any further difficulties or risk to your monitor.
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BlackDiamond
New to the neighborhood
BlackDiamond
1 Posts
7 Jun 2009, 12:34pm
Hello, I tried to download the Windas software but it looks like it was removed ! Can anyone help ?
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Paramedic
Noobie
Paramedic
16 Posts
7 Jun 2009, 1:42pm
BlackDiamond,

Yes, it appears to me the site is down. It may be temporary, so keep checking it for awhile. In the meantime, perhaps someone on this site can find it, or will post it for you.

Paramedic
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mrfixit
New to the neighborhood
mrfixit
1 Posts
10 Jun 2009, 3:05am
Like everyone else over here, I've had the same over bright monitor problems on a Sony E400 that was just sitting about unused. I was about to throw it away until I found this thread (lucky for me!). Let me share my story and help some of you in the same situation.

After reading up on everything, I decided I would do it the proper way with the winDAS software.

So I set to work. I found all the parts to make a RS232 to TTL Converter. Then I setup a virtual machine on Vista 64 to run winDAS on Windows 98 (Overkill, I know, but I didnt want anything to go wrong!). Now I had everything set and ready to go, and all that was required was to download the winDAS software, spend a little time tinkering with it and low and behold I would be the proud owner of a "like new" Sony Trinitron monitor! (or so i thought!)

True to Murphy's law, the moment I want to fix my monitor, the winDAS software will disappear! (This just gets better doesnt it?). So I sat back, and contemplated going down the resistor route which I really didnt want to do. The thought crossed my mind for about 10 seconds after which I decided to declare war and hunt down the winDAS software! (One way or another, my monitor was going to get fixed!).

So I searched far and wide, high and low, to the ends of the planet! Eventually after A LOT of searching (and just as I was about to give up), I had finally found it! (Woohoo!!! Pop open the bottle of champagne!...errrrrr no!). Lurking in some corner, hidden deep deep within the world wide web! Thanks to some FTP file mirroring server I was able to download the whole directory at a painstakingly slow speed, but all was well.

I followed the guide on here to set up winDAS and then began to change my G2 value in small increments from 111 to 79, and now the monitor is like new! It was all worth it in the end.

One little niggle is that the convergence seems to be slightly off, but I am going to try and adjust it using this as a guide. (What could possibly go wrong? hahaha)

I hope my little story was somewhat amusing to you all! I would like to say thank you to everyone who's contributed to this thread. If not for you guys my monitor would likely be in the trash somewhere, and what a waste that would have been!

For all of those finding themselves in the same situation as me (being the nice guy I am) I have taken the liberty of uploading winDAS so you dont have to go through the same traumatising experience as I did!

The link is: http://rapidshare.com/files/242815664/windas.rar

Everything you need should be in there.

Thanks again guys!

MrFixIT
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Brute44
New to the neighborhood
Brute44
2 Posts
20 Jun 2009, 5:26am

I'm Having a bad time of It. Help!!

Quoting Paramedic
Nussi,

See this link: http://techref.massmind.org/techref/io/serial/rlc2.htm

I assume you are located in Deutschland, since your converter's link referenced a German web site. Thus, you may pay extra for overseas shipping, but it would be a small charge. However, you might be able to find a similar adapter in your area.

The link I gave you shows the adapter that allowed me to fix my monitor. I attached some long wires to it, as extensions, that allowed me to connect more easily inside the monitor. I adapted a 4-pin connector from an electronics store to fit the monitor port. Specifically, I tried connecting the TX and RX in normal configuration using my extension wires, as well as reversing the wires, and I did not burn anything out. So, you may have crossed something else to burn out the adapter. At this point, I would not worry about your monitor, since it still works. I do agree that a different adapter be used to eliminate any further difficulties or risk to your monitor.

Paramedic I too bought the RLC-2 adapter and for the life of me can't get it to communicate with my Dell P1110. I keep getting the can't communicate with the monitor problem. Almost like I have no cable even attached. You had to convert yours to make it work right? I bought this cable under the assumption that no additional swapping of wires was necessary. How did you eventually get it to work? You say that you added an extension cable with a 4 pin connector. Did you have to swap any wires?

Another problem I'm having is the ability to run as Administrator on an XP Home OEM Compaq Presario. When I try to run as admin after right clicking Windas, I get a logon error, something to do with account restriction. Can ANYBODY tell me how to get run-as admin working.

The strange thing is that I eventually connected another PC to this monitor running XP Pro and of course I added a Admin password and was able to run-as admin, but was not able to connect to this monitor. I was able to connect to my modem an com3 and got the Syntax error message. I'm beginning to believe that this cable could be bad or the chip is bad.

ANY Help would be greatly appreciated.
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Brute44
New to the neighborhood
Brute44
2 Posts
20 Jun 2009, 8:01am
Quoting Brute44
Paramedic I too bought the RLC-2 adapter and for the life of me can't get it to communicate with my Dell P1110. I keep getting the can't communicate with the monitor problem. Almost like I have no cable even attached. You had to convert yours to make it work right? I bought this cable under the assumption that no additional swapping of wires was necessary. How did you eventually get it to work? You say that you added an extension cable with a 4 pin connector. Did you have to swap any wires?

Another problem I'm having is the ability to run as Administrator on an XP Home OEM Compaq Presario. When I try to run as admin after right clicking Windas, I get a logon error, something to do with account restriction. Can ANYBODY tell me how to get run-as admin working.

The strange thing is that I eventually connected another PC to this monitor running XP Pro and of course I added a Admin password and was able to run-as admin, but was not able to connect to this monitor. I was able to connect to my modem an com3 and got the Syntax error message. I'm beginning to believe that this cable could be bad or the chip is bad.

ANY Help would be greatly appreciated.
I figured it out!!! The RX and TX wires needed to be reversed. Even though on the website for the RLC-2, it states that the wires are already prepared for ECS. So remember if you buy this cable be prepared to do some modding. I used an old floppy power connector from an old AT power supply and wired it up GND-VCC5v-RX-TX instead of GND-VCC5v-TX-RX.
I think Paramedic mentioned this earlier on this page. I almost feel like I should get a semi refund or something for haveing to finish this guys work correctly.

On a side note I changed the G2 from 167 to 130 and are still playing with it. This also fixed the ZOOMING or BLOOMING problem too. Even at 130 I can still read the text inside P991 Dell Sony's box, barly. The Color scan lines are gone and color is terrific. If you too have a Dell P1110, DON'T TAKE THE BACK COVER OFF. The ECS port has a small cover that can be removed with some fiddleing. I did take my cover off just to see if there were any resister mods done because I got this one second hand.

I would also like to THANK P991 Dell Sony and all the others for that matter, for all the years of HARD work and time spent on this forum. GOD BLESS YOU ALL...
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Paramedic
Noobie
Paramedic
16 Posts
20 Jun 2009, 11:48pm
Brute 44,

Yes, it can be so frustrating for us. Most of us don't have the technical knowledge, because we weren't trained in monitor repair (or similar electronics repair). So, we actually should feel especially proud for fixing something outside our area of expertise!

The ECS device you purchased is made exactly to specifications. However, we are trying to adapt it for our purposes. Thus, we can't blame the maker of the device, really, because we need it for a niche purpose on a very specific piece of hardware. Still, perhaps some instructions from the maker could have prepared us that we might need to switch the two connections (TX & RX). The maker of the device does not query each of us that order the part for its intended use. He simply makes the communication device without any knowledge of which electronics we will connect the ECS device.

To answer your other questions, yes, the extension wires made it possible for me to reach the back of the computer. I just needed a longer wire to make the connection easier for myself. In addition, I had to remove my monitor’s back cover, because the port connections were too far inside to make the connections. Despite the tiny port window on the side of the monitor, it was just easier to remove the cover. The extension wires kept almost the exact wiring, except for reversing the TX & RX connections.

I cannot help you with the "Run-As Administrator" issue. I am the only user on my XP machine, so I always use my single account, which already has "Administrator" privileges. Hopefully, one of the Windows XP gurus will help you out. I might venture a guess, but I don’t want to give you incorrect information. I am sure there is some web site that has the answer for you, especially Icrontic forums. Post your question in the “Operating Systems” section, and I am sure someone will help you. In the meantime, below is an answer from the forums at Microsoft. Pay particular attention to the “notes” and “troubleshooting” warning.

From Microsoft:

How to Use the RUN AS Command to Start a Program as an Administrator

As an administrator, you can use the run as command to start a program. To do so: Locate the program you want to start in Windows Explorer, the Microsoft Management Console (MMC), or Control Panel.
Press and hold down the SHIFT key while you right-click the program icon, and then click Run as.
Click Run the program as the following user, and then type the user name, password, and domain of the administrator account that you want to use.

NOTE: If you want to use the administrator account on your computer, type the name of the computer in the Domain box. If you want to use the domain administrator account, type the name of the domain in the Domain box. When the program is running, you can use Task Manager to check the process owner on the Processes tab of Task Manager. To start Task Manager, click Start, click Run, type taskmgr, and then press ENTER.
Locate the program you want to start in Windows Explorer, the Microsoft Management Console (MMC), or Control Panel.
Press and hold down the SHIFT key while you right-click the program icon, and then click Run as.
Click Run the program as the following user, and then type the user name, password, and domain of the administrator account that you want to use.

NOTE: If you want to use the administrator account on your computer, type the name of the computer in the Domain box. If you want to use the domain administrator account, type the name of the domain in the Domain box. When the program is running, you can use Task Manager to check the process owner on the Processes tab of Task Manager. To start Task Manager, click Start, click Run, type taskmgr, and then press ENTER.

Troubleshooting

WARNING: If you try to start a program, MMC console, or Control Panel item from a network location by using the run as command, the procedure may not work because the credentials that are used to connect to the network share are different from the credentials that are used to start the program. If you use the credentials that are used to run the program, you may not be able to gain access to the same network share.

Paramedic
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titus8413
New to the neighborhood
titus8413
1 Posts
15 Jul 2009, 1:45am
My P991 has the brightness issue, and I long ago purchased a DAS cable, however I no longer have a copy of the WinDAS software.

As stated by mrfixit, the Windas link in the FAQ is no longer valid. The .RAR file posted, as well as the FTP mirroring site he mentions also appear to have a damaged WinDAS installation file. Does anyone have a valid mirror available?
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pecos
New to the neighborhood
pecos
1 Posts
17 Jul 2009, 2:48pm
Quoting titus8413
My P991 has the brightness issue, and I long ago purchased a DAS cable, however I no longer have a copy of the WinDAS software.

As stated by mrfixit, the Windas link in the FAQ is no longer valid. The .RAR file posted, as well as the FTP mirroring site he mentions also appear to have a damaged WinDAS installation file. Does anyone have a valid mirror available?
http://rapidshare.com/files/242815664/windas.rar

this is the link i have used...

And, to everyone :
Hello and many thanks for this great topic !!!
I have built myself a rs232 to ttl cable (with a very simple two transistors converter which works fine : http://www.uchobby.com/index.php/200...tor-explained/)
And now... my formac proNitron 21/750 is working like a new one !!
i have fixed the G2 value from 179 to 158, and now the brightness is set to ~40, with superb colours and contrast, and a black level incredibly low !!

so, total success !!


(apologizes for my bad english !)
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sysdll
New to the neighborhood
sysdll
2 Posts
28 Jul 2009, 1:46am
I have a Dell P992 monitor and unless I’m missing something there is not a color return function on this monitor. Does anyone know of a way to restore factory defaults on this monitor?
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sysdll
New to the neighborhood
sysdll
2 Posts
29 Jul 2009, 11:46pm
Well, I’ll take the lack of replies to mean it is not possible on my monitor. I guess it’s time to get out the soldering gun.

I have found a temporary work around if you have an ATI video card. I used a a free utility called ATI Tray Tools (Not ATI Tool). By tweaking the gamma in the R G and B individually I was able to get the monitor close to normal. It works better than the other utilities I’ve tried including Adobe’s and so far I haven’t found a program that can override the settings.
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sysdll edited : 29 Jul 2009 at 11:58pm .
Paramedic
Noobie
Paramedic
16 Posts
30 Jul 2009, 2:10am
sysdll,

I waited for more experienced folks to respond, but alas no one has helped you. Have you tried http://support.dell.com/support/edoc.../index.htm.htm ? I have a P991, so it is a bit different than your P992. However, the Dell forums seem to have several threads on the P992. However, your fix using the ATI Tray Tools seems like a decent option.

Paramedic
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ingridseynhaeve
New to the neighborhood
ingridseynhaeve
2 Posts
2 Sep 2009, 7:18am
Hi slipkid,

Currently, the high brightness of the display is your problem and I think that you have to also faced the saturation problem to the display. To remove this problem, first remove your driver.
I know that you haven't any problem with it but this is necessary step. Make a restart and after restart again install the install the graphic driver.
Then, set your desktop properties by just making right click on your mouse.
In desktop properties, select the setting option and in this there is another option for setting the contrast, hue and saturation properties.
Set them to the appropriate value that you want.
Hope, this may be quite useful to you.
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dysv
New to the neighborhood
dysv
2 Posts
10 Oct 2009, 6:56am

where is the windas info?

This link no longer works:
http://www.geocities.com/gregua/windas/

Is that information still available somewhere else?
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James Newton
New to the neighborhood
James Newton
1 Posts
13 Oct 2009, 2:14am
Hi, I’d like to get some feedback on connector differences between different monitors. I make the RLC cable and the pinout I show there worked fine for my Sony monitor, and has worked for many others, but the diagram at http://www.myblog.bloggybloggy.com/h...ns-26-09-2007/ shows “RX” and “TX” reversed and some of the comments above make me worry that different monitors may have those lines in a different order.

Part of the problem is that RX and TX only make sense if you include the direction. E.g. data being sent from the monitor is being RX’d by the PC but is being TX’d from the monitor, so either label could be used and still not tell us the direction of flow.

My monitor talks if I send data to it from the PC on pin 4 (farthest from ground) and look for data back from the Monitor on pin 3. The diagram on your page shows data going from the monitor on pin 4 into the MAX232 (and so on to the PC) and out of the MAX232 and into the monitor on pin 3. At first glance, I would say that there must be a difference between the Dell P1110 monitor bloggybloggy was fixing and others, but then I notice that in the paragraph above the diagram, he also said
“You might need to switch around between the TX and RX…” which makes me wonder if that is what he had to do to get it working?

It would be very good to get some more experience from people telling us which direction of data flow worked for them while NOT using terms like RX and TX which are so easy to confuse.

On the RLC cables, we always use Yellow for data going from the monitor to the PC and Red for data going from the PC to the monitor. The cable comes with yellow on pin 3 (monitor to PC) and red on pin 4 (PC to monitor) because that seems to work for most of our customers, if anyone finds that the needed to reverse those two pins, PLEASE let me know and include the model of the monitor you were using?

Thanks!
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rice burner
Icrontic Convert
rice burner
17 Posts
13 Oct 2009, 4:25pm

Go back in time ......

Quoting dysv
This link no longer works:
http://www.geocities.com/gregua/windas/

Is that information still available somewhere else?
Try this .....

http://web.archive.org/web/200702230.../files/windas/

Dont tell ... promise !!!.
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G4689DB
Once in awhile
G4689DB
1 Posts
27 Oct 2009, 10:13pm
Quoting James Newton
Hi, I’d like to get some feedback on connector differences between different monitors. I make the RLC cable and the pinout I show there worked fine for my Sony monitor, and has worked for many others, but the diagram at http://www.myblog.bloggybloggy.com/h...ns-26-09-2007/ shows “RX” and “TX” reversed and some of the comments above make me worry that different monitors may have those lines in a different order.

Part of the problem is that RX and TX only make sense if you include the direction. E.g. data being sent from the monitor is being RX’d by the PC but is being TX’d from the monitor, so either label could be used and still not tell us the direction of flow.

My monitor talks if I send data to it from the PC on pin 4 (farthest from ground) and look for data back from the Monitor on pin 3. The diagram on your page shows data going from the monitor on pin 4 into the MAX232 (and so on to the PC) and out of the MAX232 and into the monitor on pin 3. At first glance, I would say that there must be a difference between the Dell P1110 monitor bloggybloggy was fixing and others, but then I notice that in the paragraph above the diagram, he also said
“You might need to switch around between the TX and RX…” which makes me wonder if that is what he had to do to get it working?

It would be very good to get some more experience from people telling us which direction of data flow worked for them while NOT using terms like RX and TX which are so easy to confuse.

On the RLC cables, we always use Yellow for data going from the monitor to the PC and Red for data going from the PC to the monitor. The cable comes with yellow on pin 3 (monitor to PC) and red on pin 4 (PC to monitor) because that seems to work for most of our customers, if anyone finds that the needed to reverse those two pins, PLEASE let me know and include the model of the monitor you were using?

Thanks!
James,

I recently bought one of your cables so I feel qualified to answer. I have a Dell P1110 monitor and when I tried your cable I had to switch the red and yellow wires to get it to work. So now I have the red going to the yellow and the yellow going to the red. I was frustrated for awhile until I figured it out. I just took a chance that it might be the problem since so many other people have mentioned that solution.
I hope that helps and thanks for helping me rescue a perfectly good monitor.

Doug
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dysv
New to the neighborhood
dysv
2 Posts
28 Oct 2009, 12:10pm
Quoting James Newton
PLEASE let me know and include the model of the monitor you were using?
I can tell you this: the label should leave the holes exposed, so we can switch pins. Better yet, tag the wires, not the connector, so the labeling is always correct no matter how the pins are switched.
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goldfish
New to the neighborhood
goldfish
1 Posts
30 Oct 2009, 5:01am
Been following this thread for a few years. I just wanted to pop in and say THANKS to everyone who contributed.

Sometime in 2003 I bought 12 Dell P1110's at a govn't surplus auction. Funny thing is, I thought my bid of $125 was for one, but it was for the whole pallet

Over the years I have been replacing defective monitors with another one from the stack. About a year ago I finally made it it to the last unused one and now this one has the overbright issue.

I finally found my old cable and laptop with DB9 and WinDas on it. I successfully restored 3 P1110's so far with success only changing the G2 value.

I use these p1110's in my workshop where it's cold/hot, dirty, dusty and sometimes humid. At night, 2 p1110's provide enough light for the shop. They are so bright that the flying insects love to fly into the screen. I smash them right on the glass and cleanup with a tissue. You can't do that with an LCD

Thanks again for helping an average guy out and saving me some $$$ over the years. Best of luck to all those who want to restore these old, but great monitors and appreciate them for what they are.
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Paramedic
Noobie
Paramedic
16 Posts
30 Oct 2009, 8:37am
Goldfish,

You win my vote as the most frugal and second most resourceful person in this thread. Obviously the most resourceful person in this thread was the original poster that helped so many of us! I second Goldfish's hearty thanks to all the "experts" helping us noobies!

Paramedic
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Nuwanda76
New to the neighborhood
Nuwanda76
1 Posts
3 Nov 2009, 3:09pm

IBM P260 is too bright

Hell Everybody! This is my first post. I read the whole discussion and I am very thankful for all the good advices. Now I need an advice for my own, as I have a problem with my good IBM P260 which is, ta-da, too brigth. I want to regulate the brightness with windas which I already have succesfully installed. Now I bought this cable: http://produkt.conrad.de/45973183/rs...erter-w232.htm

Is this the right one? It was quite expensive, so I need to kkno if it is the right one before I open the package. Otherwise I can`t return it to the shop anymore.

I am glad for any help.

Nuwanda
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Eiji
New to the neighborhood
Eiji
1 Posts
16 Nov 2009, 8:21pm
Hi,

I have a Dell P1130 with a manufactured date of December 2003, owned from new. It has had the brightness problem for some time now.

I'm not good with soldering so I will need to purchase a premade RS232 cable.

Is this the correct one?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...m=220508111096

If not, can someone link to the correct cable on eBay?

Thanks.
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spundt
Neophyte
spundt
1 Posts
19 Nov 2009, 8:47pm
I have a Sony PGM-100P1MD with a strong green hue. I have installed Windas, but I cannot locate this model number. I have tried a number of the chassis listed but have not been able to save the file without an error of some sort. Usually a ECS sytax error. Does anyone know what the chassis type for this model is or if there is another way to resolve this? Any help would be appreciated.
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