Hi everyone,

It's been a long time since I posted here but...…

My TI Voyage 200 needs a repair person:

I don't have missing vertical lines but I do have very dark lines when I hit the Diamond key
and the + sign...…The display should grow incrementally darker but I notice hard dark lines as
the screen grows darker until the LCD display fully darkens.

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I also have another Voyage 200 where the pixels are forming a full vertical line of missing space.

If anyone here can help me, I'll recompense you

Thanks,
Stefos

I have a kind of similar problem with mine, though mine is too far gone for me to fix it. Here is a link to my thread where I asked for help, in case you could get any ideas from it:
https://www.cemetech.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16898
Mainly, try not to move the LCD ribbon off its tabs, because it would be very hard to put them back in the right spot.

I will be of absolutely no help to you whatsoever but let me share my story. I have recently tried to do the same my V200 I bought from eBay. I took the machine apart and cleaned everything perfectly, checked all the connections and bought new batteries (the whole calc was in mint condition). The problem with my 200 were several vertical and horizontal lines across the LCD.

I tried to apply a little bit of pressure just with my fingers onto the ribbon cable with no avail. Gently warmed up my iron and with a flat tip ran across the ribbon cable, no avail. I read someplace that you should use a little piece of rubber and heat it with the iron on top of the connector. I tried everything and nothing helped.

I tried the repair with the batteries in and even though I could see some positive changes on the LCD in real time....no matter what, things just went back to the way they were. Overall, great calculator with a terrible Achilles heel.

I ended up buying a new V200 in frustration.

Hi everyone,

Thanks for your input.

I need an actual repair technician.

Doesn't anyone on this site offer repair services?
It seems very odd.

Stefos

P.S. Intromatt, I own multiple Voyage 200's and they don't have the vertical line issue except the one and that has been fixed via a fix a found online....Not sure how long it'll last however.

I was able to pick up a brand new one super cheap just today.

Not sure how much screen repair would cost you, but if you find someone please let me know.

https://youtu.be/9DISnG9wLdg

Hi Intromatt,

Where?

Stefos

This one came from Germany. eBay, I paid 30 Euros total.

It was brand new and came with all the bits you saw in the video including docs and fresh batteries.

I still need an actual repair technician for my Voyage 200

stefos

We are a calculator enthusiast community full of volunteers. We do not solicit any calculator services for people of any kind. We are not here to fix your calculator for you.

MateoConLechunga,

I understand completely and apologize sir.

Thank you,
stefos

As TIny_Hacker pointed out, their own experience with these sorts of problems didn't find a solution and nobody's made any further progress since then. Nobody will offer to repair it because nobody can repair it.

I'd think an actual mechanical clip to apply consistent pressure on the cables might work, but have no ideas about what that design might actually look like (not in the least because I've never worked with a V200 at all).

I gotta tell you guys again. This type of repair is incredibly challenging and more luck than skill. It pains my heart to say this but...just buy another one and keep the current one for spare parts.

That's what I did, the anxiety just isn't worth it.

The TI Voyage 200 is the best of the older calculator's TI put out.

It's a shame it has such a design flaw.

As of now, they are selling for $130 for new or ones that are marketed as new.

I have to test them using the various Voyage 200 tests to ensure internally they're sound besides
the concern for the Vertical Line Syndrome.

Stefos

Well the calculator is almost 20 years old isn't it? I'm assuming this is well beyond their designed scope for life expectancy.

Just a shame there isn't a reliable way to repair them without specialised equipment.

Update...….The vertical line fix I found online does NOT work:
It is to darken the screen and turn the calculator on & off approx. 10/20 times

It doesn't work

Hi tr1p1lea,

Yes on both accounts.

I managed to get a new TI Voyage 200 and the fix seems to have worked for my other Voyage as well.

I'll be using the new calculator with great care and protectiveness.......for sure.

Stefos

Final Update: 10/24/20:

Hi all,

Well, my battery acid corrosion was cleaned off of my Voyage's circuit board...No issues
Cost =$75

The battery acid issue fixed a horizontal "Zebra" line of missing pixels.

The vertical Zebra line of missing pixels was fixed by a local used cellphone seller's shop
which does microsoldering.
The ribbon cable(s) were heated up and adhered more firmly to the circuit board by the repairer cost = $40
and now, FOR A SECOND TIME, back to the repair shop.....apparently the battery acid cleaning only cleaned the circuit board but did it some damage which has led my Voyage to have a permanently non-fixable vertical line per the repair shop.

So, The Voyage 200 can be repaired if you go to the right people AND your batteries don't leak in the battery bay in the back of the Voyage 200!

One final caveat: I will ask about the Voyage's ribbon cables being removed and being able to be soldered in their stead in the future........The cell phone repair shop tried to gouge me on fixing the ribbon cable first and then told me to "buy another Voyage instead." Apparently there are too many microconnections to be soldered.
Stefos


Uodate 10/9/20:

Hi again all,
So my batteries leaking acid seems to have caused corruption to the circuit board and the repair tech stopped doing further work.

He said the corrosion probably ate thru the connections making this Voyage on its way out, potentially.

The cost is $75 an hour so baby those Voyage 200's everyone...they're, so far, expensive to fix.

Stefos

Update 10/8/20:

Hi everyone,

So battery corrosion was found in the battery tray which cause a burnout on the contact point on the circuit board of my Voyage 200.
(Don't leave batteries in the unit if you don't use it over an extended period of time!!!!)

There are also 2 Ribbon cables on the TI Voyage 200: 1 for row display, 1 for column display.

The repair tech will let me know if it's fixable as long as battery acid didn't get into anywhere else.

Stefos

Update:
Hi everyone,

I managed to find a person who does repairs at the circuit board level.

I told him about the unpixelated vertical line(s) called Zebra lines and now a singular unpixelated horizontal line on my Voyage 200.

Monday, he will examine my Voyage to see if he can fix it.

He can run diagnostics to see what's up with the circuit board as well.

Stay tuned for another update.....

Hi everyone,

So.....After doing extensive research on this issue of mine,
it appears that the Ribbon cable is to blame which connects the LCD to the motherboard.
There might be a very low chance of a capacitor being out too but I doubt it as I have very, very few vertical lines or Zebra lines as they are called (so I found out.)

There is an electronics repair person near where I live who agreed to look at the Voyage 200.

I will report back here what I get for information.

Stefos[/b]

Sounds good! As I said earlier, the usual issued is where the ribbon cable connects to the motherboard, because the glue dries up and the cable becomes loose. Mine is totally disconnected, so I don't think it will be possible to fix, though if it weren't it would most likely be fixable.

Hi everyone,

Well.....bad news........The repair tech I found in 2020 didn't have the tools for the TI Voyage 200.

I sent my calculator to other places but no one could fix it.

Ultimately a TI Voyage 200 with missing lines or missing pixels can't be fixed except by a specialist who has the tools.

Stefos