[SOVLED] Screen fades out

[TimNikias]

Hi,

I've gotten my Gamebuinos a few days ago and have been playing with it, but want to eventually program stuff on it for LARP (Live Action RolePlaying) purposes - it has a nice retro feel.

I've noticed a small problem with my screen however, which shows up especially when the on-screen stuff doesn't change: It slowly fades out. This is most notable for me on the Loader and the list of hex-files. It seems to fade quicker when the screen is full of files, whereas the second part stays black longer. Interesting side-effect: Switching from first to second screen will somewhat "reset" the fade, but quickly degrades back into an almost white screen, this just seems to happen quicker when there are more black pixels on screen.

Any ideas what's causing this or how I can fix it? It only happens on one of the two Gamebuinos, and isn't that big of a problem when the screen refreshes frequently, but if you can't read the Loader-List of files, it's kinda difficult to choose the right file.

Regards,
Tim

[rodot]

Mmmh, did you try to check that the screen was not mis-aligned and to clean the rubberized contact on the back of the screen as explained in the getting started page?

[TimNikias]

Hadn't tried that yet, because I found it weird that it would be fine if the screen refreshes frequently, but not when it stays the same.

But per your suggestion, disassembled the Gamebuino to check the screen, and then actually took the entire screen apart (rubberized contact, screen, backlayer and metal cover) and wiped over everything with just my bare fingers, seems like there was quite a bit of dust on/in this one (felt like it). And now it's looking fine, thanks!

Maybe the "Getting started" page should get a couple of photos, to ease the anxiety of taking the Gamebuino apart. All those small components look kinda intimidating, don't want to actually break anything! Also wouldn't have expected a rubberized contact, you learn something new everyday!

Regards,
Tim

[rodot]

Cool, I'm glad it solved your problem
Yeah, I have to improve the documentation, add pictures, etc. I haven't even finished the reference yet.

[TimNikias]

Just a note that the problem showed up again today. Dug up some Isopropanol (my Dad used to be a chemist), took everything apart again and tried wiping everything off. Looks good now, hope it'll stick this time. Still finding it weird that it seems to only happen to the Loader, pausing other games with the C-Button doesn't lead to fading.

Also noticed that the other screen has way better contrast than the one with the issues, so it might be a problem with the screen/hardware, rather than anything on the Gamebuino. Will notify when things go sour again.