Today, I was using my calc (Ti 83 Plus) in the car. The car was about 60-70 Degrees Fahrenheit. I was playing a Tetris clone in pure basic. I noticed one column of pixels go out, so I immediately closed the game back to the basic / asm launcher I made and the whole screen was slightly broken. Random sets of pixels were missing, but the column that had disappeared was back. I thought it could be from the heat, so I cooled it down some. I also Archived everything, GarbageCollected, and cleared the RAM. Still broken.
When I got home I tried the power drain method. I took out all of the batteries, including the backup, and let it sit on its face for a while (A few hours). Put the main batteries in, and it was fixed!... For a whole five minutes.
I was dreading taking it apart, but reluctantly did anyway. I took the back off and moved the RF shield. Then I took a look at the ribbon cable. It looked OK like I expected it to. I then took a multimeter and checked the resistance from each side of the cable. It took a while because I could only access the pad on the screen side of the cable, so I needed to trace the trace to the nearest metal piece on the main-board side. And... all the resistances were 0. (Except for the two pads that are not connected to any traces.)
I snapped the bottom half of the calc back together so that the batteries could connect, put them in, and turned it on. I was greeted by a bunch of random pixels all over the screen, but only for a second. Then there was the standard "RAM Cleared" screen. The column was still missing. I opened the MEM menu, and the column came back. Pressed clear, and the column did not disappear. The screen is working 100% now. However, it is probably going to quit on me again.
Should probably mention this. A few years ago, the calc had the same problem. Garbled stuff on the screen, missing lines, missing pixels, etc. My Sister "Fixed" it by hitting it until it worked. I did not question it.
I guess I will try my best to explain what exactly the garbled mess it. I know nothing about LCDs or the core system of the TI 83, but I think the problem is the D/I pin. When I open the Mem Mgmt/Del menu, it all looks fine. When I start scrolling, the bottom line always looks fine. However, the other stuff falls apart. However, if a program name loses part of a character, and then I scroll, that specific part of the character remains gone. This makes me think that the screen is getting Picture input mixed up with command input, hence the D/I pin.
I am looking for any input on a fix. Thanks in advance, JustSomeDude
When I got home I tried the power drain method. I took out all of the batteries, including the backup, and let it sit on its face for a while (A few hours). Put the main batteries in, and it was fixed!... For a whole five minutes.
I was dreading taking it apart, but reluctantly did anyway. I took the back off and moved the RF shield. Then I took a look at the ribbon cable. It looked OK like I expected it to. I then took a multimeter and checked the resistance from each side of the cable. It took a while because I could only access the pad on the screen side of the cable, so I needed to trace the trace to the nearest metal piece on the main-board side. And... all the resistances were 0. (Except for the two pads that are not connected to any traces.)
I snapped the bottom half of the calc back together so that the batteries could connect, put them in, and turned it on. I was greeted by a bunch of random pixels all over the screen, but only for a second. Then there was the standard "RAM Cleared" screen. The column was still missing. I opened the MEM menu, and the column came back. Pressed clear, and the column did not disappear. The screen is working 100% now. However, it is probably going to quit on me again.
Should probably mention this. A few years ago, the calc had the same problem. Garbled stuff on the screen, missing lines, missing pixels, etc. My Sister "Fixed" it by hitting it until it worked. I did not question it.
I guess I will try my best to explain what exactly the garbled mess it. I know nothing about LCDs or the core system of the TI 83, but I think the problem is the D/I pin. When I open the Mem Mgmt/Del menu, it all looks fine. When I start scrolling, the bottom line always looks fine. However, the other stuff falls apart. However, if a program name loses part of a character, and then I scroll, that specific part of the character remains gone. This makes me think that the screen is getting Picture input mixed up with command input, hence the D/I pin.
I am looking for any input on a fix. Thanks in advance, JustSomeDude