Looking at a photo of the screen[1], it is a simple LCD dot matrix. I also read elsewhere that the problem is that the backlight tends to fade. So it seems like you have many options:
* Find an equivalent LCD matrix. This is probably not that hard. This display seems like a generic part and LCD matrix displays haven't changed much over time.
* Fix the backlight. That would mean taking the display apart and probably resoldering some LEDs, assuming that it's the LEDs and not, say, a capacitor that is causing the brightness to diminish.
Going beyond these options, you'd be getting into decoding the commands to the LCD driver chip and displaying those somehow, which will be custom hardware development.
Could you cheat and get a software patcher for the synths? I’ve done this in the past for an old Ob1 with similar screen issues
I did a backlight replacement on a S3000XL, a LCD replacement on S900, and found a cheap ($25?) LCD replacement for ASQ10 (same as MPC60/MPC3000).
Jazzcat + Ebay sell expensive replacements, but they are actually just cheap LCD displays with the driver circuit bypassed (since the MPC/sampler has a discreet IC) and an epoxy blob to prevent copycat work.
I need to dig up the wiring diagram, but the gist was from an EEVBlog forum post and only took an evening to reverse engineer.
This looks like the post I referenced -- https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/modifying-a-240x64-l...
I hate to suggest that "it's not worth it" but that is often the case. I think it's fun to try and do, and it's taught me a lot. But if the goal is to make music, then it's maybe not the strongest strategy.
Yes, they were professional equipment. Yes some have unique workflows or analog stages that make them interesting.
That said, having fixed a lot of audio equipment in my life, there are a lot of off-the shelf parts for things and a lot of close equivalents.
For instance, the display in the Roland XP10 keyboard uses a pretty standard, segmented LCD controller. All I had to do was figure out how to connect the ribbon cable to some specific pins on the controller, set a color (because the controller I added was now backlit, which is an upgrade).
And then you discover that the plastic on the keys has some deformation over the course of 40 years, so everything is sticky and you need to get a dremal and rework every key.
In any case, I found that with these kinds of long term projects, your are often better off "going back to school":
get an arduino and a couple of different controllers that seem similar to the one in the devices you're interested in,
build some displays that are similar in topology to those displays
find the schematics for devices-of-interest
build some similar displays until you understand how the displays are working in those devices.
After you've done a little work like that, you can start to look at schematics and datasheets and figure out what kinds of parts that you're needing to implement the display.
IME, that's a couple of hours a week for a couple of months, but after that you're in a place where you can do what you'd like as far as avoiding $250 drop-in replacements.
Unfortunately, with your s3000, it may be the case that there is a different issue- the memory is non-functional (about 20 years ago, I had an s2000 go wonky cause the diodes in the cheap simm I put in it blew up).
Anyhow, if you're a software guy, then you know how to learn stuff- you're gonna have to give yourself a little hardware school before you can do what you'd like to do.
I found it fun, but in retrospect my time would have maybe been better spent making music or making money so I could afford time to make music.
I don't have specific advice to give you. But a few of the videos on the Posy YouTube channel are highly relevant. He has fixed some vintage HiFi gear displays. Not in depth technical in the videos but maybe he has a community or something? EEVBlog forum would have knowledgeable people too.
I could only find a service manual for the MPC3000 (on archive.org), but the schematic in that one shows the LCD is controlled by an LC7981 display controller.
This interfaces with the CPU's bus and produces very low-level clock & data signals to the LCD panel (CL1/CL2/FLM/MB/D1) - basically a stream of pixels along with synchronization pulses.
Nowadays most "graphic LCD" modules will incorporate a similar chip on-board, so that they can present a simple 8-bit parallel interface.
Capturing + translating the signal would be tricky - it's not _terribly_ fast (240x64x60Hz) but there's no flow-control or error-correction, basically low-resolution video capture
AKAI S2000 S3000XL S3200XL EB16 IB-208P SERVICE MANUAL: https://elektrotanya.com/akai_s2000_s3000xl_s3200xl_eb16_ib-...
According to photos on the web, the display module has 3x LC7940 and 1x LC7942 on the backside.
ok thank you for the breakdown
A lot of times the solder joints have aged and broken in electronics of that age. Are you competent with a soldering iron? You might have a simple reflow job.
I don't know how to specifically do what you want with certainty, but years ago I've managed to fix the unreadable LCD on my Roland MC-505 by baking it's board in the oven at low temp for a period of time. Look it up, it's a thing apparently. I was sceptical but it worked perfectly.
I heard from some people that this works because the solder gets bad over time potentially losing contact somewhere. Melting and resolidifying it resolves that issue.
Then I heard from somewhere else that it's actually not true. There's a very common (most common?) type of capacitor that very slowly loses capacitance over time. But heating it up and cooling it down resets it so it's like new.
Either way, I really wonder how much e-waste out there is just due to old solder/capacitors that could have been easily repaired.
> Either way, I really wonder how much e-waste out there is just due to old solder/capacitors that could have been easily repaired.
Actually, both are true!
The solder stuff ("Soldergate") was around the time when the EU RoHS directive came into force - around the late '00s IIRC. The most affected product was everything with a NVIDIA GPU [1] (including Apple, who then cut all ties with NVIDIA as a result), but AMD (or rather, back then ATI) was also hit as they manufactured the Xbox 360 GPU with its RRoD ("red ring of death") issue [2]. In all cases, the issue at the core was an untested combination of no-lead solder elements that didn't handle frequent high-amplitude heat/cool cycles all too well, and a common fix was indeed to bake the PCBs in an oven to achieve all solder balls getting equally hot, basically low-temperature DIY annealing.
The capacitor issue cropped up around the same time - an engineer had stolen the electrolyte formulation from his prior employer, mis-copied it and eventually through his new team defecting (and stealing the broken formulation...) it spread around the industry [3]. All electrolytic caps age (particularly if used at the upper end of their rated temperature scale!), but the ones made with the broken formulation age muuuuuuch faster. Note that there is no fix for a dried-out elcap, the only fix is replacing it and in the case of an exploded one, cleaning the entire board of spilled electrolyte.
The problem is in both cases, these issues are hard to troubleshoot without expert knowledge and tools, in-place measurement can be very tricky (say because a capacitor is in parallel with an IC or resistor), and even if you have both the knowledge and the tools, it can be a wild wild goose chase to repair a broken Thing as for 99.99999% of equipment (outside of cameras and some phone models where for whatever reason everyone and their dog leaks component-level repair guides?!) you will not find information regarding component values, small SMD parts have no distinguishable parts marking at all any more, and manufacturers keep adjusting PCBs between revisions (to keep up with compliance requirements, fixing hardware errata or just because a part becomes unavailable) without that being apparent to the customers.
We desperately need laws specifying that all PCB design files have to be submitted to the government and that they be released to the general public after the manufacturer ceases support.
[1] https://www.overclock.net/threads/inq-nvidia-gpu-defects-exp...
This Reddit thread suggests that the backlight may be the problem, not the LCD display itself: https://www.reddit.com/r/akaiMPC/comments/15zdlac/need_sugge...
Can you tell if the pixels are correct and there’s just no light? If so, the LED backlight replacements mentioned would be the answer.
I also stumbled upon cases in which the backlight was the issue but OP wrote that "the screen while illuminated is entirely blank".
Ah, thank you, I had totally misread that as not illuminated and black. More caffeine required.
It's worth noting that the screens are terrible, so the upgrade is well worth it.. but I get that it's a lot of money.
Check eBay - I got mine for much cheaper than MPC Stuff from a UK seller
I got a replacement for an Akai S1100 for $90 but that might have been cheaper than 3000
There’s videos on YouTube with guides on using old iPhone screens to illuminate the old screens.
If you want to convert the display, a Raspbeery Pi SBC is most likely absolute overkill. A microcontroller will do for sure and will be a fraction of the cost.
As I understand it, you just want to be able to control the device. Maybe keep the display as is, intercept the signals and forward them (wirelessly) to an external device for display?
I mean, for one-off projects the RPi is plenty cheap. You’ve gotta have some scale for the cost difference to compensate for the convenience of working with a broad-based platform.
Especially if it’s like a RPi 2040
That‘s a microcontroller, like I suggested.
Buy one of the replacement displays. Figure out what off the shelf part they used and buy some of them from AliExpress. They are using an off the shelf part and marking it up based on their technical knowledge and selling into a market segment with less technical knowledge.
Give yourself time to learn electronics and how to repair instruments. Maybe it will be your new hobby and you will buy an oscilloscope. Maybe it won't. Good luck.
^ This
As noted, the expensive MPC60/3k replacements are just generic T6963C / RA6963 displays with the circuit bypassed (since sampler has the LC7981) and the correct pitch ribbon cable soldered.
This is hackerish but I think there are fairly specific forums for this kind of thing with experts and all the parts you need.
There are OLED displays available that have been adapted for a bunch of classic sampler/synths from that era to replace LCDs/VFDs.
Try Gearspace.
these samplers used to cost $3000-5000
if you are concerned about $200 for a replacement kit you should probably sell them to someone else
They absolutely do not cost that much. These are rackmount and cost between $200-400 depending.
I disagree with the way he made his point, but the facts look right. The S300XL apparently retailed for £1799.[1] that would have been ~$2800 USD at the time, or north of $5k in today’s dollars.
1: https://web.archive.org/web/20150406014725/http://www.soundo...
Yeah but you can pick one up for a fraction of that these days - here's one for €350[0] and given the typical difference between Europe and the US for used gear, you could probably pick one up for under $300 in the US.
They are cheap to find -- on Yahoo Auctions Japan I got an s3000xl for ~$80 since the 8-out works in the MPC2k/xl and go for as much as ~$400 alone.
But that doesn't mean anything about the cost to repair, upgrade, or in the case of LCD replacement, modernize. The memory, flash, effects, and expansion cards are highly sought after, and you're competing with bigger budget established producers.
I don't understand your point, to be honest.
My point was that it reasonable to be reluctant to spend $200 to $250 to replace a small component of a device that is only worth $300.
This was in response to someone who claimed the OP should just sell it if he didn't want to spend $200 to fix it - because it originally cost $3000-$5000.