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Report2Marty

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Greetings!

I've been playing the Atomiswave a lot and finally noticed a little wave that starts at the bottom and goes about 1/3 up the screen and repeats. I figured it was a power issue, so I looked to make sure I had everything hooked up correctly to my Powerbright VC500J step down converter. I was plugged into the 100v output side, but decided to flip the switch on the back that asks if your input voltage is 120v or 100v. To experiment a little I decided to flip the input switch to 100v. I turned on the Atomiswave and the wave went away, but the CPS2 fan struggled to turn and I wasn't getting any sound. Seems like I can't find a happy in between with my current knowledge and setup. If anybody has any suggestions, I would greatly appreciate it!

Thanks in advance for all your help!
 
What voltage is actually coming out of the 100v output on either setting?

Break out that multimeter and let's find out!
 
OMG.... my basic understanding of electricity has just gone out the window.... along with my sanity...

This makes no sense to me...

118V output from the 100v side with the 100v input selected. Sound, but wave present.

99.1V output from the 100v side with the 120v input selected. No Wave, but No sound

The photo below shows what I “believe” is the 100v input setting for the step down...

:S
 

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99.1V output from the 100v side with the 120v input selected.
This is what it should do. 120v in, 100v out. 0.9v isn't going to affect anything.

What're you getting for readings out of the Wei-ya PSU? And are they fluctuating, or steady?
 
Ah, right, I got which issue is on which setting mixed up.

Fan struggles because the Wei-Ya PSU was receiving 120v and they don't like that. At all. The power pulses (you can watch the LED's on the Wei-Ya PSU's pulse when plugged into 120v).

Any chance you can post pic/video of what the monitor is doing?
 
Sure thing! Also, it’s the damn “universal” wei-ya as well... ugh.

But, one thing is bothering me though. The guy I bought it from was convinced the monitor not working was an issue with the power supply. I say this because when I did the monitor swap I noticed that screws were missing from the PSU shielding. So, each time I would go to turn the cab on or off, I would get a little shock, same for when I would press the test or service button too. I decided to surround the edges of the shield with electrical tape to stop from getting shocked... any chance that had something to do with it too?
 
Sure thing! Also, it’s the damn “universal” wei-ya as well... ugh.

But, one thing is bothering me though. The guy I bought it from was convinced the monitor not working was an issue with the power supply. I say this because when I did the monitor swap I noticed that screws were missing from the PSU shielding. So, each time I would go to turn the cab on or off, I would get a little shock, same for when I would press the test or service button too. I decided to surround the edges of the shield with electrical tape to stop from getting shocked... any chance that had something to do with it too?
You're missing a grounding cable somewhere it sounds like.

That can cause video interference, and explains the shocking.
 
Ugh... I don’t even know where to begin finding what’s missing...
 
Here’s what I’m working with.

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Let me dig out my E3. They're 95% the same cabinet.

Can you post some pics of the monitor chassis mounting from the rear access panel?
 

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lol... could it be that I don’t have the earth ground “grounded?”
 
That is... Hard to follow.

Okay, so surprisingly all I have are:

- The power cable has been grounded to the base of the cabinet.

- From the rear, right side of the tube is a black cable that comes off of the tube, it should be attached to the neckboard of the chassis.

If the tube wire is connected my two guesses are...

- Maybe your PSU is shorting against the metal case after all?

- Or some of that monitor wiring is not so securely connected (looks like a good bit of electrical tape).

If the tube ground to chassis is good: You could remove the power supply PCB from the metal casing, lay it on a piece of wood set on the bottom of the cabinet and see if the issue persists. If it doesn't then look at the bottom of the PCB and see if any of the solder joints are particularly long (so long that they'd accidentally touch the casing).
 
Ok! I grounded the green earth ground wire to a screw on the cabinet, but I’m still getting a wave. It does seem a little less though. Also, the cable that’s detached is one of two ground wires coming from the monitor. I have one plugged into the neck board. Do I need to ground the other? Maybe splice it together with the other?
 
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