VK204-24-USB dead? Any ideas - what to look for?

[yez]

Got a lovely VK204-24-USB VFD here been using for a while. Other day it just died and I cant even get to display the matrix orbital boot screen. Funny thing is, I cant see ANY sign of shorting out or burn marks or anything. I can try to upload a pic of the back of it if need be but it literally looks in as new condition with nothing obvious that shows a sign of failure. What can I look for to check if I can repair this myself? I dont mind doing anything to make this work i.e. soldering etc, I just dont know what to look for. Are there any "pencil mods" I can perform like wiht graphics cards? I notice there is an area that has a component labelled "FUSE 1" on the front.
Like I say it has been working fine and I know that when I have applied JUST power to it in the past it has atleast displayed the matrix orbital boot logo, but now it is dead and does not even display this. I think it will be to do with when I was moving bits around in my case the other day and I may have shorted it out. But nothing smells of burning or any marks.

Please advise. I will do anything to get this working.

[yez]

Also a shot of where I have seen burn marks before when someones died but mine has none (on the v1.2 bit)

[Tom]

Hi yez,

Thank you for posting on the forum.

Do you have a multimeter? The fuse right next to the unmodified power connector may have blown, so you can check whether there is continuity there. It's a 0 ohm resistor to the right of the connector. It is small, but you'll be able to see it.

Please email me at support@matrixorbital.ca , so we can also discuss RMA options.

Best Regards,

[yez]

Hi there,

I have emailed that address Tom as requested. I will try to obtain a multimeter in the mean time to help with testing. is there any thing else I can do in the mean time and what exactly do i need to do with the multimeter when i get hold of one.

Regards

Yez

[yez]

Hi again,

I have emailed you Tom as regards this. The support generic address.

I have tested the transistor with a multimeter by placing the red probe of multimeter on resistor and black probe on ground of unmodified floppy connector terminal prong, and I get a readout of 5.09 volts. I dont get anything in the same way off of the "FUSE 1" on the front of the VFD.

What else can I try?

regards

Yez

[Tom]

I responded to your email.