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DLP3010EVM-LC: Disable the LED in the EVM

Part Number: DLP3010EVM-LC
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: DLP3010

Hi Team,

A customer had recently purchased a DLP3010 EVM projector, and is trying to modify it to use a separate light source. On previous EVM models, it was possible to set some jumpers to disable the LEDs. Is this possible on this model?"

Regards,

Danilo

  • Hello Danilo,

    Welcome back to the forum!

    If the customer is planning on using the control and current provided to the EVM's LEDs on a custom optical engine, they might consider rewiring from pin header J2. Connecting a different LED device may serve your purpose, but I would caution that the client assure that the EVM current ratings are appropriate for the custom LED device.

    Alternatively, the LEDs can be disabled through the GUI.

    Is it necessary that the LEDs be disabled by a hardware trigger?

    Regards,

    Austin

  • Hello Austin,

    Danilo was kind enough to post that message on behalf, there was some issue with the forum that prevented me from posting questions directly, which seems to have been resolved.

    I am hoping to use the projector for neuroscience experiments, and I would replace the LEDs with a narrowband light source that is coupled to the optical engine via a liquid light guide. I've actually already done this a couple of times with prior TI EVM models with very good results. I would not being using the LED driver built into the EVM, I just need to be able to disable the LEDs so they can be unplugged without that registering as a fault. Is there a way to avoid the disconnected LEDs producing a fault?

    Thanks,

      Jim

  • I tried plugging the EVM back in to see if I could configure it via software, and the hardware appears to have failed. The LEDs show a very faint flicker about once every 4s but it will not boot.

    This is actually the second time I've had this model fail in this manner, after less than 60s. I've checked the power supply and it is working perfectly. It appears there is either a design problem or a systemic manufacturing problem that is causing the 3010EVMs to consistently fail. 

    This makes the prior question essentially moot, since I'm going to have to return this and go with a different system anyway.

  • Hello Jim,

    Have you disconnected or disabled the fan on the EVM?

    We commonly experience the LED flicker and failure if the system detects that it is over-heating.

    Regards,

    Austin

  • Everything is exactly as it came out of the box. 

    The issue is that the fuse (marked T) has blown. Either these fuses are faulty, or there is a design issue on the board that allows it to draw excess current. Not sure why you wouldn't see this on every board, maybe the ac/dc converter you're using has smaller output capacitors that prevents the board from drawing excess current?

  • Hi James,

    We have tried a few methods to replicate this issue in-house. If the hardware is handled, there can be a lot of room for error when disassembling or reassembling, which can have unintended consequences for other components in the system. I have forwarded details about this issue to others on the team for their input. 

    In the meantime, there are a few things we can do moving forward:

    1. Please check for shorts or damaged components near power supplies and near the optical engine. This may have caused the fuse to blow. 

    2. Please accept my friend request on E2E so that you can share more details about the steps you are taking when setting up your EVM for custom use. Please also share details on the code being written and extra systems being introduced to interface with the optical engine.  

    3. Once we find the issue causing overcurrent events, we recommend to replace the fuse on the board.

    Thank you,

    Chris

  • Thanks for looking into this further. In both cases, the units were out of the electrostatic bag for just a few minutes, and hadn't been manipulated in any way. I just plugged it in and turned it on. I don't see any damaged components. Unfortunately, I can't really dig into what's happening too much, because I need to return the unmodified unit.

    I accepted your friend request and I'm happy to share additional details. 

  • Hello James,

    I have one more request for you - kindly share your email ID linked to the myTI account. We will share a modified firmware with you, let us know if you are still seeing this issue on the modified firmware as well or not.

    Regards,

    Mayank

  • Hello James,

    Thank you for your information. Mayank will be in contact to deliver the firmware by granting access to the email provided to a secure folder.

    I have deleted the message with your email to protect your privacy.

    Regards,

    Austin

  • Austin Snyder said:

    Hello Danilo,

    Welcome back to the forum!

    If the customer is planning on using the control and current provided to the EVM's LEDs on a custom optical engine, they might consider rewiring from pin header J2. Connecting a different LED device may serve your purpose, but I would caution that the client assure that the EVM current ratings are appropriate for the custom LED device.

    Alternatively, the LEDs can be disabled through the GUI.

    Is it necessary that the LEDs be disabled by a hardware trigger?

    Regards,

    Austin

    Please let myself and Fizix take the action to review these questions. The Light Commander optical design was done quite a while ago, so we will have to research the information on the optical portion of the kit.

  • Hello Famous,

    We will be waiting for your findings.

    Meanwhile, I will share the firmware (with all LEDs disconnected.) with James.

    Regards,

    Mayank

  • Hello,

    Thanks for posting the modified firmware, which disables the LEDs.

    However, I still can't really use the EVM. The fuse on the input blows on power up within the first few uses. It functions normally prior to the fuse blowing. This is on completely unmodified hardware, just plugging it into a standard 19V ac/dc converter. I've checked the AC/DC converter and it is working perfectly. I've had this happen on two units, both of which had to be returned to the distributor as defective.

    I was hoping that you might be able to root cause this issue, but for the time being the 3010 just doesn't work in my hands, so I'm going to have to go in a different direction. But thanks for your efforts to resolve the issues.

  • James,

    Thanks for the update. It sounds like there may be a separate problem with your setup aside from the LEDs. If there are any developments from this point let us know.

    Regards,

    Philippe Dollo

  • My impression is there are some issues with the design of the 3010 EVM that make it prone to catastrophic failure. I've seen similar intermittent issues in my own board designs, which resulted from transient bad states that occurred during power up. These required board modifications to fix (pullup/pulldown resistors; staging component startup with shdn pin). The fact that the user manual specifies a specific order for plugging the device in and toggling on/off switches is pretty suggestive that there are some problems with the powerup sequence of the 3010 EVM. 

    Anyway, I've used probably 6 different DLP EVMs over the years, and all those were really great. I hope that you're able to track down the underlying issues in the last iterations. 

  • James.

    We are continuously using the EVM along with many other customers without facing any such issues. Not sure why such behavior is observed at your end only.

    Also, the specific order mentioned in the User Guide to turning the EVM on/off is given in order to ensure the reliability of the DMDs.

    Regards,

    Mayank