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Gear / Technical Help => Recording Gear => Topic started by: ts on July 01, 2024, 11:40:25 AM
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The left side of the screen is dim. Right side is fine. Some light leaks over, but still hard to see. Is this a simple user friendly bulb replacement or does the screen need to be replaced.
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I own two Sound Devices 702t recorders. Incredibly tough machines. Unfortunately, not user repair friendly unless you are an experienced technician. It’s likely the LED backlights for the LCD panel on that side have either failed or developed a bad connection. The LCD screen itself shouldn’t require replacement as long as all of the characters are evenly visible with the backlight off. If you don’t want to risk further unplanned malfunctions, I’d send it to a SD aware tech, or best yet send it back to the mothership for a going over (they will repair any issues and clean it thoroughly).
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Sound Devices' service is incredibly thorough, but be aware that it is very expensive for discontinued units. You would be looking at a flat labor rate of $795 plus parts (which are mercifully not expensive on their own). I went through this 6 months ago when I fried something in the power supply of my 788. At that price point, you could buy a used 744T for much less.
https://www.sounddevices.com/support/
I agree with commongrounder that these are not repair friendly, outside of drive replacement. I tried locating the damaged component on my unit before I sent it in, and I couldn't figure out how to safely take apart the internal modules.
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Just heard back from SD support. They will sell me the display for $62, but no instructions come with it. I'm on my own. I'm gonna pull the lid off and remove the drive and see what it looks like in there. Or forget about it and use a flashlight. :shrug:
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Just heard back from SD support. They will sell me the display for $62, but no instructions come with it. I'm on my own. I'm gonna pull the lid off and remove the drive and see what it looks like in there. Or forget about it and use a flashlight. :shrug:
Good luck! The top and bottom cover can be a bit fiddly. Check out this guide (https://www.sounddevices.com/replacing-the-internal-drive-in-the-788t/) on replacing the internal drive in the 788T to get you started. From there, you're in uncharted territory for most of us. I suspect you will have to remove a lot of stuff in order to get at the LCD. The only other advice I can offer is to be extremely careful with the ribbon connectors. They are the only thing about these recorders I would call "delicate".
While you're in there, you might as well replace the timecode/TOD battery (https://www.sounddevices.com/changing-the-tod-time-code-battery-for-a-7-series-recorder/).
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The lid screws are long and pass through from one side to the other. Pull them as straight out as possible to avoid contacting the back-up battery (AA nimh) which is right next to the power button (at least in my 702t units). It can hold a charge for a long time after external batteries/power are removed. I need to replace the switch contact membrane on one of mine, and for sure the front panel assembly is complex. I don’t have internal drive/electronics to deal with, either. Best of luck!
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Just did the battery over the weekend. That's when I noticed the dark left side of screen. I mainly just use it for transfers. So not having a fully lit screen is no big deal.
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i did a full tear down in 09/10.
i would take pictures and document each step as you perform a removal. i did not and that was a poor decision.
its not overly complicated, just small and tightly packed in.
you'll have to take the top board off to get to the connectors.
steady hands and a ESD mat to work on would both be highly recommend.
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Nice, but dammit. LOL. Showing pics like that make me feel like I can DIY. The tinkering devil inside me is strong...I love to take my gear apart and figure out ways to repair issues, especially if they're small fixes. My SD-788 has two really tiny issues that I know a tiny bit of solder will fix but when I took a look inside it looked too daunting of a disassembly to attempt.
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Nice, but dammit. LOL. Showing pics like that make me feel like I can DIY. The tinkering devil inside me is strong...I love to take my gear apart and figure out ways to repair issues, especially if they're small fixes. My SD-788 has two really tiny issues that I know a tiny bit of solder will fix but when I took a look inside it looked too daunting of a disassembly to attempt.
Yeah, I've built my own PCs since I was 15 and I was a PC/Laptop service tech for a while but I was similarly daunted by the internals of the 788.