Lynx II screen problems

[Jess Ragan]

Okay, I've asked in the Lynx forum and I've asked in the little Twitter-style notes on the main page, but I still don't have an answer and I'm getting desperate. I've got a Lynx II with a problem... the screen powers up, but has a thick green line down the center, obscuring a third of the playfield in games. I looked up the schematic for the system, and found that there were four metal rectangles, presumably chips, on the display, with three on the bottom and another one on the side. Each of these chips connects to some circuitry on the main board, including what I believe to be a cathode and a couple of resistors.

 

Do you think the problem is with the screen itself or the main board, and what can I do to fix it? I'd really rather not fork out the money for another Lynx if I could at all avoid it. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

[Video]

It's probably actually the connection between the board and the screen. They use ribbons held on by a rubbery thing that keeps the ribbon in good contact with the screen and lets the communication go through.

 

You can probably move it a bit and wedge a cardboard in there to keep good contact....though to be honest, I've only tried this with old Gameboys and I know they aren't exactly the same thing, but a lot of it works similarly otherwise..

 

Also where the ribbon contacts the board, you could make sure the solder is good there, or if it happens to be socketed, you could unplug it and replug it back in.

[Jess Ragan]

It's a good start. I've tried reseating the ribbon cable (yes, it does use one) without success... I'm still getting the same green stripe in the center of the screen. I carefully observed the screen, however, and it looks like there's some discoloration on the chip that controls the middle columns of pixels... it's almost like a shimmering rainbow effect. I'm reasonably certain at this point that this Lynx's screen is FUBARed. It's possible that the source of the problem lies on the main board, but my suspicion is that this chip is to blame.