Advice on data projector laser-lamp replacement surgery

[Matt Feifarek]

Hi Sector!

My business uses four old Sony pro data projectors for some menu-kiosk data displays. They use a laser light source.

(info if you want it here:)

https://www.projector-database.com/pro/sonyvplfhz55-en.html

https://www.projectorcentral.com/sony-vpl-fhz55w.htm

They work great, but they are quite old and we are thinking of buying a spare one or a spare lamp for the likely eventuality that one of them has a lamp go bad. (Since it’s a laser light source, it does have exceptional longevity, but we still expect to meet the expected lifespan in a couple more years, perhaps sooner if we are unlucky.)

There are more used units online, AND I found a lamp/laser assembly for sale for super cheap ($49):

https://www.ebay.com/itm/135492754209

I found the service manual for this unit, which is here; (pdf; 27MB). See page 25 of the pdf for the exploded drawing. It looks like the physical replacement would be within my meager screwdriver skills, BUT it also says this: "When replacing the laser unit assembly LEO, perform the procedure after replacement. (Refer to Section 2-1-3.)” which leads to section 2-4, page 64 of the pdf, and:

Required Equipment

. OPHIR laser power sensor PD300R-UV

. OPHIR display NOVA II

. Φ7.0 mm aperture

. Bandpass filter (product code: #86-350) made by Edmund Optics or the equivalent

. Personal computer (PC)

. RS-232C cross cable

. Brightness Adjustment Tool software

. XL board (A-1970-760-A: SERVICE KIT ASSY)

. Tool harness (1-969-883-11)

I certainly don’t have this equipment. Then it goes on to describe a rather involved procedure for dialing in all kinds of stuff on the laser unit itself.

So here is my question: Do you think all of these procedures are likely necessary? Or could we expect to just swap it in and cross our fingers?

I’m thinking that there may be expertise in our midst to contextualize all of this information. Maybe the calibration is “suggested” but not “required” or maybe it’s suggested for a certified/warranty Sony service office so that the color reproduction is perfect, etc.

One could say “it’s just $50, just do it and hope for the best” and I would agree, but the thing is that the crisis requiring a swap might be a few years out from now, and at that point we may have trouble finding a plan-B. So we are trying to GUESS whether we are likely to be successful with a lamp backup instead of a whole projector backup. Or we might buy both. I’m just not confident at all that this repair would be within my ability.

What do you think?

Thank you in advance!

 

--

Matt Feifarek

+1.608.403.5432 phone / SMS / Signal / WhatsApp

mattfeifarek.com

[Alnisa Allgood]

This probably won’t be helpful. I had an Epson Projector, which also came with a book on how to replace the light 💡 and a couple other things.

I just purchased the new bulb, unscrewed the old, then placed the new one in its place. I did check if it worked before properly closing. But… it was fine. 

If yours isn’t fine, you can always go back, take the bulb out, then do all the stuff it said you should do. At least that was my philosophy! 

Alnisa 

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Sector67 Public" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to sector67+u...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sector67/CAM3Y2C%2BEvHEuYTbe31W%2BCBOpLrXJvTAwsbEMF-jkK_eC3ijL%2BQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[Marc Syvertsen]

Matt,

That replacement sounds pretty involved.  My only suggestion is to buy another used projector off of eBay, preferably one with high hours on the laser, or ideally find one where the laser has given out, and then try out the replacement now to figure out if you can do it and it works.  And if that fails, buy low-hours, used projectors to store for future use.

Marc

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sector67/CAKA7%2B615tMxr2_8%2BB0gkYEX9Cu_DFUW3wuZPXQa7tg3MZPfo-g%40mail.gmail.com.

[Matt Feifarek]

Thanks, Alnisa and Marc!