Blank display on Futaba 9C - Solar flares?

I had my Giles 202 w .91 Supertigre up yesterday and feeling a little feisty I was putting it through it's paces. After what seemed about 7 minutes of pulse elevating low passes I decided to check my timer.

Much to my surprise the display was completely blank. Actually it was more like me screaming "Oh Sh*t!! Emergency LANDING!"

I fully expected the controls to disappear at any moment. After getting the plane on the ground I calmed down enough to realize that all the controls were there. I let the radio stay on long enough to hear my count down timer signal end of fuel then turned off the transmitter.

When I turned it on again the display was OK.

Any clues? Solar flares? P.O.M.? (Phase Of the Moon)

BTW, anybody else getting blue streaks in the display every now and then?

Cheers,

Roy

Reply to
Roy Myklebust
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One possibility = LCD screens should not be left exposed to the sun otherwise the figures will "disappear" to re-emerge after TX has been returned to a cool shady place for a while. Repeated exposure to direct bright light will reduce brightness of the LCD screen to a stage where the screen will get hard to read. Do not leave TX exposed to sunlight or heat in the boot of a car etc. Unusual for screen to fade during flight unless a beautiful sunny day with direct bright sun over you shoulder onto the screen etc. - possibly TX had also been exposed for sometime prior to the flight or heated in vehicle or a container.

regards Alan T.

Reply to
A.T.

Roy's 9C may have had its contrast adjustment set very low, making it easier for it to get into this state.

As for the blue streaks, I see them for about a second after turning my 9C off, so I've always assumed it's something that happens when the LCD panel is underpowered.

-tih

Reply to
Tom Ivar Helbekkmo

What you have is a FM radio.

You know, strange occurrences, strange healing?

F*cking Magic!

Reply to
Morgans

Hey Tom,

No, the display is good contrast and I always keep it in the aluminum carrying case when not in use. Yesterday was a cloudy day her on the west coast of Norway and the temperature was about 6 celsius, 43 farenheit.

I guess it was just one of those freaky things. I'll just have to monitor the situation. Btw, the display was totally blank, no residual image or other signs that the unit was on at all, besides the power and RF leds which I missed under the stress. Snakkes,

Roy

Reply to
Roy Myklebust

Dunno about streaks, but my friend has a fairly new 9CAP which suffers from the spontaneous screen blanking thing. It appears to have nothing to do with temperature, sunlight or shock, the radio will keep functioning fine, but the only way to restore the screen is to reboot the radio (we tested this the other week when the screen went blank by beating it good, but nothing worked).

This is a known problem with the 9CAP, but no solution has been presented so far, apart from flogging it off on Ebay and getting a JR :)

Russ.

Reply to
Russ

Roy:

You mentioned Norway. From a Canadian,... don't let an LCD display freeze either. It's not good for them at all ;-(

Cheers, (hoping this isn't what happened)

Reply to
S.Millington

Yea, my Olympus digital camera display started acting funny last winter in Finland. It was about -10C and if I had the camera outside my parka for more than a minute or so, the display got dark and had black bands through it. I guess the crystals couldn't twist when frozen!

Reply to
Paul McIntosh

It sounds like a bad connection from the LCD screen to the board, just like a cell phone. Turning the unit on and off is enough current to make the contact temporarily.

Brian

Reply to
I812

I've had my 9C for over a year and have never experienced that *known* problem... And as far as "flogging it off on e-Bay and getting a JR" is concerned, why would anybody want to settle for second best? ; )

Doug

Reply to
Doug

Typical, you come here on a warm day! Did the camera recover? I bought my first digital camera last spring (in England) so haven't subjected it to low temps yet. Can I use it for my winter flying shots, or will I need a new camera if I do?

Reply to
David Smith

Hey, it's a great radio, but the screen blanking problem has been experienced by a number of users around the world. Most seem to be pretty OK about it, as it doesn't affect the operation of the radio, but I'd like to see Futaba speak up about the issue (being a Futaba owner myself, but not a

9CAP - my display works just fine).

Russ.

Reply to
Russ

From memory, the LCD displays are rated at something like 0C-40C, whereas the rest of the electronics should do -25C to +75C....so the screen may die temporarily, but the camarea should still be capable of taking pictures.

Trick is to keep it in an inside pocket except when taking shots.

Also, if it gets cold, the optics will fog up when brought back indoors until the temp rises. Standard problem when carting photo gear around in the boot/trunk of the car in cold weather...

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

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