microvision Milton Bradley Microvision LCD replacement displays

[Rik1138]

On 2/17/2021 at 7:16 AM, -^CrossBow^- said:

Oh and one more important thing that I didn't do because I literally didn't think they were there. Remember to remove the protective sheets that are on both sides of the LCD screen. I hadn't done this and I'm sure it played a large part in why I had issues with getting mine to work initially as well.

 

 

There's a protective sheet on the backlight itself too.  I almost forgot that one..

[+-^CrossBow^-]

6 hours ago, Rik1138 said:

There's a protective sheet on the backlight itself too.  I almost forgot that one..

I didn't know that because I didn't get the backlit version of the kit. I don't actually plan to use mine much as I only have blockout and Star Trek for it. I just wanted one that worked again for the collection. I might look into a backlit version later on if I should happen upon another one sometime. 

 

[yoras]

It's working...  IT'S WORKING!!!!   I finally got it working but was having problems getting the whole screen to display, it was just showing the outer sides.  After a few attempts of repositioning the zebra connector, I was still getting no image in the center of the display.  After rereading the instructions, I realized my tray was warped and, just like the instructions say, a couple extra short pieces of painters tape for the middle of the shelf that the zebra connector sits on did the trick. Here you go... Backlight and all!!  Thanks for all your efforts Mr. B!! 

[rwburbage@msn.com]

8 hours ago, yoras said:

It's working...  IT'S WORKING!!!!   I finally got it working but was having problems getting the whole screen to display, it was just showing the outer sides.  After a few attempts of repositioning the zebra connector, I was still getting no image in the center of the display.  After rereading the instructions, I realized my tray was warped and, just like the instructions say, a couple extra short pieces of painters tape for the middle of the shelf that the zebra connector sits on did the trick. Here you go... Backlight and all!!  Thanks for all your efforts Mr. B!! 

 

Awesome!  Thanks for sharing the efforts.  That info helps everyone.

[holygrailvideogames.com]

How long will the battery last with the backlight?  

[rwburbage@msn.com]

1 hour ago, holygrailvideogames.com said:

How long will the battery last with the backlight?  

The BL leds have a very low drain set with the supplied 680ohm current limiting resistor.  I generally tested it with all of the games at 20+ hrs on a fresh ray-o-vac 9V.   Connect 4 game drains faster at 4 times the rate.

Edited February 22, 2021 by rwburbage@msn.com

[rwburbage@msn.com]

03-02-21 DUE TO THE CHINESE NEW YEAR CELEBRATION, BACKLIT KIT PRODUCTION AND SHIPMENTS ARE DELAYED.  Both the 2nd and 3rd batches will be begin shipping out 04-05.

[Deteacher]

I'd like to take a moment to thank Mr. B for the amazing job he did, bringing my MV back from the dead (and I mean it was DEAD!)  For the record, I have followed both of the MV threads pretty much since the beginning, so I'm aware of the story behind this project.

 

I purchased a screen from the other MV replacement screen thread.  Seeing as this was pretty much a drop in replacement, I figured that I could certainly handle this, even with my limited experience in electronics repair.  After multiple attempts and many hours of fiddling with the zebra connector, checking traces, cleaning everything, I could not get a display at all.  After my own troubleshooting, combined with the help of the others in that thread, it was determined that there had to be something else wrong...something I would not be capable of repairing.  So, I came over to this thread.  I knew that, here, he offered to do the installs if you sent him your device.  I reached out, told him the situation and that I wanted to purchase the backlit LCD w/install from him.  He agreed without hesitation.

 

When he received my device, he confirmed my suspicion that the graphics chip was bad.  He charged me a small fee for the t-shooting and the replacement chip (which I happily agreed to) but he did so much more for that small fee.  In addition to the chip replacement, he:

 

 - touched up any sketchy solder joints on the mainboard.

 - disassembled, cleaned and lubricated the paddle potentiometer, reducing the paddle jitter to practically zero.

 - cleaned and polished the battery terminals

 - soldered the battery connectors to the mainboard.

 - straightened out a bent piece of metal that makes contact with the speaker, thus improving the sound quality greatly.

 

At my request, he also sent back the LCD screen I purchased from the other thread AND he threw in one of his pink zebra connectors, free of charge.  So, the next bad MV I get, I'll hopefully be able to revive it on my own.  But, if I can't, I know where I'm sending it. 

 

Thank you so much!  I HIGHLY RECOMMEND Mr. B for any of your Microvision T-shooting/repair/screen replacement needs.  He's knowledgeable, he's fair and he's super quick with his turnaround time.  I couldn't be more satisfied!

 

And now, I'm off to suck at Block Buster! 

Edited March 22, 2021 by Deteacher

[rwburbage@msn.com]

The New Microvision Backlit LCDs Kits have arrived. Shipments will begin 03-29

 

Any units that were sent in for the backlit kit install will be started that week. They will be installed and shipped out based on order date.

 

Install page is here.

https://voiceofthemummy.com/.../microvision-backlit-lcd.../

 

The standard replacement LCD and Backlit Kits can be purchased here.

https://voiceofthemummy.com/.../microvision-lcd-display/

 

Edited March 25, 2021 by rwburbage@msn.com

[Tombstone]

On 3/22/2021 at 2:34 PM, Deteacher said:

I'd like to take a moment to thank Mr. B for the amazing job he did, bringing my MV back from the dead (and I mean it was DEAD!)  For the record, I have followed both of the MV threads pretty much since the beginning, so I'm aware of the story behind this project.

 

I purchased a screen from the other MV replacement screen thread.  Seeing as this was pretty much a drop in replacement, I figured that I could certainly handle this, even with my limited experience in electronics repair.  After multiple attempts and many hours of fiddling with the zebra connector, checking traces, cleaning everything, I could not get a display at all.  After my own troubleshooting, combined with the help of the others in that thread, it was determined that there had to be something else wrong...something I would not be capable of repairing.  So, I came over to this thread.  I knew that, here, he offered to do the installs if you sent him your device.  I reached out, told him the situation and that I wanted to purchase the backlit LCD w/install from him.  He agreed without hesitation.

 

When he received my device, he confirmed my suspicion that the graphics chip was bad.  He charged me a small fee for the t-shooting and the replacement chip (which I happily agreed to) but he did so much more for that small fee.  In addition to the chip replacement, he:

 

 - touched up any sketchy solder joints on the mainboard.

 - disassembled, cleaned and lubricated the paddle potentiometer, reducing the paddle jitter to practically zero.

 - cleaned and polished the battery terminals

 - soldered the battery connectors to the mainboard.

 - straightened out a bent piece of metal that makes contact with the speaker, thus improving the sound quality greatly.

 

At my request, he also sent back the LCD screen I purchased from the other thread AND he threw in one of his pink zebra connectors, free of charge.  So, the next bad MV I get, I'll hopefully be able to revive it on my own.  But, if I can't, I know where I'm sending it. 

 

Thank you so much!  I HIGHLY RECOMMEND Mr. B for any of your Microvision T-shooting/repair/screen replacement needs.  He's knowledgeable, he's fair and he's super quick with his turnaround time.  I couldn't be more satisfied!

 

And now, I'm off to suck at Block Buster! 

I feel I need to follow-up on this post. Richard did the exact same thing MANY years ago on my non-working Voice of the Mummy board game. It is evident to me that he has a passion for restoration of these old games/systems and he went so far above and beyond in the repair of my game back then. I was VERY delighted when I saw him start to post on the other thread because I knew what would come of that. Also glad to see him take the high road when the predictable few that see themselves as overlords of this site began their typical bs. Thank you Richard for your passion and for what you've done here. So appreciated.

[Deteacher]

On 3/25/2021 at 10:00 PM, Tombstone said:

I feel I need to follow-up on this post. Richard did the exact same thing MANY years ago on my non-working Voice of the Mummy board game. It is evident to me that he has a passion for restoration of these old games/systems and he went so far above and beyond in the repair of my game back then. I was VERY delighted when I saw him start to post on the other thread because I knew what would come of that. Also glad to see him take the high road when the predictable few that see themselves as overlords of this site began their typical bs. Thank you Richard for your passion and for what you've done here. So appreciated.

Funny you mention VOTM.  In addition to my terrible retro video game addiction, I've lately gotten into the old board games.  I just picked up "Stop Thief". When telling my wife about my latest acquisition, she asked me if I'd heard of "Voice of the Mummy."  I started looking for one on Ebay and had no idea how much they go for...even with the broken record player.  Maybe one day, I'll splurge and try to get my hands on one.

 

But getting back on topic, I hope others see this thread and know that there's really decent and knowledgeable help available to them to get their MVs back in like-new working order.  

 

P.S.  I finally cleared one wall of bricks on Block Buster.  That game is crazy hard!

[rwburbage@msn.com]

2 hours ago, Deteacher said:

Funny you mention VOTM.  In addition to my terrible retro video game addiction, I've lately gotten into the old board games.  I just picked up "Stop Thief". When telling my wife about my latest acquisition, she asked me if I'd heard of "Voice of the Mummy."  I started looking for one on Ebay and had no idea how much they go for...even with the broken record player.  Maybe one day, I'll splurge and try to get my hands on one.

 

But getting back on topic, I hope others see this thread and know that there's really decent and knowledgeable help available to them to get their MVs back in like-new working order.  

 

P.S.  I finally cleared one wall of bricks on Blockbuster.  That game is crazy hard!

That stop thief is interesting.   You have to concentrate on the sounds to know where the thief is.  Takes a bit of time to get used to.   Have you picked up the sister game Parker Bros Lost Treasure?   It came out about the same time or before.  Same size box.  It's a little more interesting game play IMO.

 

The mummy is a cool game.  It has a real record player inside.  Complete with new turntable platter, belt, turntable motor and new speed controller to replace the cheap failing part to adjust the voice speed.   I like to turn it down an octave for a dark, slower spooky voice speed.   Then there is Seance right after it with the same vintage record concept.

 

Also supported is the king of the hill - 1981 Dark Tower.   These towers get completely restored with new caps, circuit updates, new brighter digit displays are available to replace the dim original displays. New battery contacts as these are always corroded from the old batteries.   New motors are installed that operate at the correct speed and torque.   The picture carousel alignment is set perfectly after the new motor are installed.

 

 

[Tombstone]

3 hours ago, Deteacher said:

Funny you mention VOTM.  In addition to my terrible retro video game addiction, I've lately gotten into the old board games.  I just picked up "Stop Thief". When telling my wife about my latest acquisition, she asked me if I'd heard of "Voice of the Mummy."  I started looking for one on Ebay and had no idea how much they go for...even with the broken record player.  Maybe one day, I'll splurge and try to get my hands on one.

 

But getting back on topic, I hope others see this thread and know that there's really decent and knowledgeable help available to them to get their MVs back in like-new working order.  

 

P.S.  I finally cleared one wall of bricks on Block Buster.  That game is crazy hard!

How funny....I also have Stop Thief as well as Lost Treasure. My family loves the old board games because they have so much character. I had Dark Tower for the longest time and I also remember when it came out new. That was THE game to have. Voice of the Mummy was huge back in the day and many people grew up with it. I did not know about it until a few years back and just loved Richard's site. I bought Seance, but we did not care for that one much, so I sold it off.

VOTM is definitely one to have, and Richard is your guy. I believe he hand made a needle for my record player! For the needles I think he personally flies to Africa, digs out diamonds from deep in the ground, hand carves them out of sheer will-power with a kitchen knife and then charges you like $5 for them.  

 

 

 

Sean

[rwburbage@msn.com]

2 hours ago, Tombstone said:

How funny....I also have Stop Thief as well as Lost Treasure. My family loves the old board games because they have so much character. I had Dark Tower for the longest time and I also remember when it came out new. That was THE game to have. Voice of the Mummy was huge back in the day and many people grew up with it. I did not know about it until a few years back and just loved Richard's site. I bought Seance, but we did not care for that one much, so I sold it off.

VOTM is definitely one to have, and Richard is your guy. I believe he hand made a needle for my record player! For the needles I think he personally flies to Africa, digs out diamonds from deep in the ground, hand carves them out of sheer will-power with a kitchen knife and then charges you like $5 for them.  

 

 

 

Sean

I agree the Seance wasn't as spooky.  It's really an auction game with funny messages on the record.

 

Digging those needles in Africa exactly like that!  Individually with a small baby spoon no less.  If they are too big, I throw them back. ??

 

Anyone picking up the new Egyptian game Ankh? 

 

Edited March 28, 2021 by rwburbage@msn.com

[yoras]

It's been quiet on the front line...  Now that the screens are in, how's everyone's mv doing?  pics please!!

 

[John W Thompson]

Just joining the party. This is rather incredible.

 

[rwburbage@msn.com]

On 4/25/2021 at 8:00 AM, John W Thompson said:

Just joining the party. This is rather incredible.

 

Did you get your screen yet?

[stfouill]

I just received and installed mine, result is just amazing ! I have to say it was quite easy even if I fought a bit to have all lines due to some dust. Thanks for taking this project to the end with such great value for our Microvision systems. It may be my favorite screen update because it really helps revive the console. Cheers from France !

 

Edited October 16, 2021 by stfouill

[rwburbage@msn.com]

7 hours ago, stfouill said:

I just received and installed mine, result is just amazing ! I have to say it was quite easy even if I fought a bit to have all lines due to some dust. Thanks for taking this project to the end with such great value for our Microvision systems. It may be my favorite screen update because it really helps revive the console. Cheers from France !

 

Nice work!

[yoras]

The backlight is so nice

[rwburbage@msn.com]

3 hours ago, yoras said:

The backlight is so nice

Did you install one?

[yoras]

19 hours ago, rwburbage@msn.com said:

Did you install one?

Yes, I ordered one when you first started making these screens available.  It took a bit getting the zebra connector to connect over the warped plastic but with some shims (as described in your installation instructions) I got it working.  I posted a pic some time ago.  It's still going strong and with the backlight, it really makes the screen pop.

[+jgkspsx]

I love my backlit Microvision. It is a night and day difference (pun intended) even when playing it in daylight. The original Connect Four overlay with the circles is unusable without it.

 

Richard installed mine and also recapped and cleaned up the paddle. It works remarkably well and I am posting YouTube videos of underdocumented games in action on the regular:

 

 

[holygrailvideogames.com]

I recommend the backlit Microvision and the install service.  Well worth every penny.

[CrashTestMonkey]

@rwburbage@msn.com I know this is an old thread but I'm posting just the same in the hope you might see this. I'm wondering if you're planning to produce any more of the backlit displays. If not I'll just order a couple of the remaining  standard LCDs you're still offering on ebay.

Thanks!