Select Series Backlight

timmeahh · Post by **timmeahh** » Mon Dec 23, 2013 4:25 am

Quick question- on a Select Series Voyager, should the backlight come on straight way or does it need to "warm up". If so, how long does this normally take?

Has anyone had issues with the backlight failing?

fyvewytches · Post by **fyvewytches** » Mon Dec 23, 2013 12:38 pm

timmeahh wrote:Quick question- on a Select Series Voyager, should the backlight come on straight way or does it need to "warm up". If so, how long does this normally take?

Although it's just about always on minimum, on my EB it comes on immediately.

timmeahh wrote:Has anyone had issues with the backlight failing?

They will all fail after a given time. IIRC they manual mentions 1000 hours of full use… or was that 10000 ?

timmeahh · Post by **timmeahh** » Mon Dec 23, 2013 9:25 pm

Thanks for your reply;

on my EB it comes on immediately.

That is what I would have expected.

I've just bought one (second hand) and by all accounts it is it perfect condition. Backlight was working when demo'd but since bringing it home they have stopped, during transit it was boxed and traveled smoothly. The seller did suggest they needed to warm up.

I am not missing some setting in the menu that may disable the backlight, am I? I can't find any reference in the manual about that.

Hopefully I am not looking at an expensive repair. Maybe a blown capacitor?

Any other advice appreciated

thealien666 · Post by **thealien666** » Tue Dec 24, 2013 9:46 am

The backlight system is completely independant of the rest of the synth.

The lamps used to light up the panel have a half-life of 4000 hours at full intensity. This means the lamp will be half as bright after approximately 400 hours of use if used at full intensity. The lamp can be conserved greatly by using the brightness control. By running the lamp at half intensity, the useful life of the lamps may easily extend beyond 10,000 hours or more.

They're not incandescent lamps, but electroluminescent plates, similar to Indiglo backlighting on Timex watches, driven by high voltage produce by an inverter circuit. This circuit might have become defective and take a while to produce the required high voltage maybe ? Or there might be some loose connectors or cables for the backlighting system ?

fyvewytches · Post by **fyvewytches** » Tue Dec 24, 2013 10:03 am

timmeahh, there is an on/off toggle switch inside. You may want to check that. You'll need to open the back panel, it's a big black plastic box on the left hand side (looking at the Voyager from the back).

But I'm not sure I understand your issue. Is you backlight no longer working at all or does it come on after a "warming up" period ?

thealien666 · Post by **thealien666** » Tue Dec 24, 2013 10:10 am

Fyvewytches, from what I understood of timmeahh, it seems to light up only after a "warming-up" period after powering up the synth...?

fyvewytches · Post by **fyvewytches** » Tue Dec 24, 2013 10:28 am

Alain,

Yes, that's what I had understood to begin with but then this

Backlight was working when demo'd but since bringing it home they have stopped

and this

I am not missing some setting in the menu that may disable the backlight, am I?

led me to understand that his backlight may not be coming on at all, which is why I mentioned the switch.

timmeahh · Post by **timmeahh** » Tue Dec 24, 2013 10:34 am

Thanks guys.

The backlight was on and working while it was demo'd before purchase. After bringing it home and turning it on the backlight didn't come back on (only the mod and pitch wheel).

The seller said that the backlight has always taken a while to warm up. So far after leaving it on for a while the lights have not come back on.

There is no visible gouging or damage on the faceplate, the whole unit looks very well looked after in fact. Would applying pressure on or around the backlit areas cause damage to the circuit?

Will look at the toggle switch when I can, possibly it switched off in transit although that may not account for the original owner having had experienced the backlight taking time to come on in the past- perhaps it was on its way to an electrical failure. Looking through this forum I haven't heard of this occurring.

Thanks again

thealien666 · Post by **thealien666** » Tue Dec 24, 2013 11:47 am

So you were right fyvewytches, it doesn't work at all now. I misunderstood.

Timmeahh, if it was working when you saw it, and has since stopped working, it's logical to assume that some wires or connectors might have come loose during transport.

There's also the strong possibility that the inverter circuit might have finally failed, since the seller mentioned that it needed some time to "warm up" before lighting up when he had it. A fully functional back light should light up instantly when powering the synth.

Fooger_;-) · Post by **Fooger_;-)** » Tue Dec 24, 2013 12:09 pm

I got a stupid question, I know: you consider the dimming knob on the right side of the keyboard? Turn it to about the middle position an look what happens. I'm sorry if you already did so, but sometimes the simplest things are overlooked.

timmeahh · Post by **timmeahh** » Tue Dec 24, 2013 10:00 pm

Thanks Fooger

wish it was as simple as that, but no

Moogy Synthmas ya'll.

MBlom · Post by **MBlom** » Tue Dec 24, 2013 11:20 pm

When I got my Electric Blue I scrolled through the menu like crazy before discovering that little pot.

timmeahh · Post by **timmeahh** » Sat Dec 28, 2013 9:50 pm

So would it be recommended not to switch the voyager on until it get looked at?
Could this cause other problems?
Cheers

timmeahh · Post by **timmeahh** » Wed Jan 22, 2014 10:19 am

Hi again,

I've finally had the chance to look into this some more and get some time playing!

Opened it up to look at the inverter and it was in the 'on' position. Noticed it was a three way switch with 'off' and 'flash' positions. None of the positions seem to keep the backlight on permantly,. Currently the lights only come on after being on for an hour and then they cut out randomly only to come back on randomly. I can see what the previous owner meant by "warming up".

From what I could see, it appears that the inverter gets current from a dc board right next to it, a grey cable appears to connect from the dimmer, and a pair of red and black/red cables come out which feed into what I assume are the backlights. Most of the cables have joiners inline and the backlight (CFL?) are sharing a common earth (I think).

I may need to get it looked at by a tech unless anyone has other suggestions

Apart from that, the voyager sounds super incredible.

thealien666 · Post by **thealien666** » Thu Jan 23, 2014 7:25 pm

The backlight, in Voyagers so equipped, is of the electroluminescent type panels(EL), and not CFL or LED. Hence the rather limited lifespan compared to other types. Maybe yours are nearing their end of useful life and thus lighting up only intermittently ?

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