ME-RC50 Magnum display problem

LeoKa · Jul 9, 2019

I have the Magnum ME-RC remote control installed. It is connected to a Magnum inverter/charger and a ME-BMK. Everything works, except the LCD screen has fading lines. Of course, the line is missing on the lower half of the screen, so I cannot read the numbers.

Is there a replacement option for the LCD screen? I searched the web for days now, but I cannot find it anywhere.

I would hate to buy a new ME-RC just because of the screen.

Any suggestions? Thanks.

caltexflanc · Jul 9, 2019

What did Magnum say when you called them?

dhays · Jul 9, 2019

Silly question, but does the missing line make it so you can’t interpret the screen? If not, I’d just live with it.

LeoKa · Jul 10, 2019

dhays said:
Silly question, but does the missing line make it so you can’t interpret the screen? If not, I’d just live with it.

Yes. Since the photo, the bottom line is gone, too. Now I cannot see anything on the lower half.

boathealer · Jul 10, 2019

Looks like a fairly standard ASCII 16x2 character LCD display from "back in the day".

If you are the handy type, you can take it apart and see if it matches any of these either by markings on IC's (on the back of the display), exact dimensions, visually, number of contacts, operating voltage (measure yours), or all of the above - spec sheets on each is given in the table below:

https://www.digikey.com/products/en...063&quantity=&ColumnSort=0&page=1&pageSize=25

LeoKa · Jul 10, 2019

caltexflanc said:
What did Magnum say when you called them?

Hmmm

This:

Please wait, the next available agent will be with you shortly....

I gave up after 35 minutes waiting.

LeoKa · Jul 10, 2019

boathealer said:
Looks like a fairly standard ASCII 16x2 character LCD display from "back in the day".

If you are the handy type, you can take it apart and see if it matches any of these either by markings on IC's (on the back of the display), exact dimensions,/QUOTE]

Great idea. Thanks!
I had the same thinking, I just did not know, where to buy those.
You are correct. Screens like this, should not be sold anymore.....

dhays · Jul 10, 2019

LeoKa said:
Yes. Since the photo, the bottom line is gone, too. Now I cannot see anything on the lower half.

Ah, yeah. Sorry.

LeoKa · Jul 11, 2019

boathealer said:
Looks like a fairly standard ASCII 16x2 character LCD display from "back in the day".

I took it apart. See pictures.

Do I need to remove the display from its board, or those numbers are enough for searching? It has 16 pins, but soldered and the screen mounting has soldering, too. I wish there was a board like this available for easy replacement.

boathealer · Jul 11, 2019

No, no need to disassemble any further. The board is part of the display and comes as a unit.

The part number for the whole assembly appears to be: PCM1602K-FL-YBS-05

A search on this part number shows (surprise, surprise) an asian manufacturer.

The "1602" display seems to be very common in the hobby world (http://wiki.sunfounder.cc/index.php?title=LCD1602_Module), so I think you may be in luck.

It's going to be a bit of a crap shoot, however, because these asian display manufacturers switch controller IC's at the drop of a hat and they are not all compatible with commands over the parallel interface. A 3.3V version is here at Sparkfun: https://www.sparkfun.com/datasheets/LCD/ADM1602K-NSW-FBS-3.3v.pdf

You may need to buy up a few and just try them (You'll still come out ahead cost-wise even having several "misses"). One thing to find out is whether it is a 3.3V or 5V-powered display. They come in both "flavors":

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9053 and https://www.sparkfun.com/products/255

You can put a volt meter on the Vdd pin of the long row of pins (see spec sheet above for which pin in Vdd) when it is powered up and see what version yours is - I can't see it anywhere on the photos.

Good luck hunting, and let us know what you find out!!!!!

Best,
Ray

LeoKa · Jul 11, 2019

boathealer said:
No, no need to disassemble any further. The board is part of the display and comes as a unit.
You may need to buy up a few and just try them (You'll still come out ahead cost-wise even having several "misses"). One thing to find out is whether it is a 3.3V or 5V-powered display. They come in both "flavors":
Best,
Ray

Thanks Ray, this help is excellent!
I will measure the voltage tonight, when I get back to the boat.
The size of the module is 80x36 mm, which is the same to the one you have quoted.

LeoKa · Jul 12, 2019

Ray. The voltage is 4.95 so it runs on 5 Volts.
Are you saying that the ones you listed are identical? I searched for the exact part number. I could only find one on eBay.

boathealer · Jul 12, 2019

LeoKa said:
Ray. The voltage is 4.95 so it runs on 5 Volts.
Are you saying that the ones you listed are identical? I searched for the exact part number. I could only find one on eBay.

Unfortunately, no, I am not. That's the 'crap shoot' part.

Even if all the other specs are the same, you won't be able to determine beforehand whether the LCD controller is the right one mounted on the PC board. There's a high probability that it would be fine, but not guaranteed. There are a lot of Asian controllers out there and even within the same part number, some versions of the same are a little different.

If it were me, I'd buy 2-3 of the 5V ones with closest dimensions and other specs from different suppliers and try them out. Make sure, at least, that the connector pins are the same.

Sorry - I think that's the best there is. Unless you can get Magnum to sell you a part separately.

diphanotka · Jul 13, 2019

LeoKa,

If you have a few minutes, call Lauderdale Speedometer at 954-522-4885. They will work on all kinds of stuff and if they can’t help you directly, they might be able to help you source what you need.

Here is their other contact info:

300 West State Road 84
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33315
Monday – Friday
8:30AM – 5PM
www.lspeedo.com

LeoKa · Jul 15, 2019

boathealer said:
Good luck hunting, and let us know what you find out!!!!!
Ray

It is hard to find a panel with the pins strip already on it. I've found one and another, which also includes the pin strip. It has been shipped, so wish me luck.

boathealer · Jul 15, 2019

LeoKa said:
It is hard to find a panel with the pins strip already on it. I've found one and another, which also includes the pin strip. It has been shipped, so wish me luck.

If the pin naming is the same, it's pretty easy to put your own pins in. You can buy a double-sided row of pins just for that purpose. You just solder them to one side, then plug them in to the other.

LeoKa · Jul 15, 2019

diphanotka said:
LeoKa,
If you have a few minutes, call Lauderdale Speedometer at 954-522-4885.
www.lspeedo.com

Thanks. Looks like a great company.
I'll try to fix this myself for now. Electricians now charge 100-150/hr. In that case, I could just buy a new unit around $200.
Since everything is working on it, except the screen, I will give it a try.

LeoKa · Jul 15, 2019

boathealer said:
If the pin naming is the same, it's pretty easy to put your own pins in. You can buy a double-sided row of pins just for that purpose. You just solder them to one side, then plug them in to the other.

Yes, that was my thought, too. I can manage basic soldering. I'll report back.

LeoKa · Jul 22, 2019

boathealer said:
If the pin naming is the same, it's pretty easy to put your own pins in. You can buy a double-sided row of pins just for that purpose. You just solder them to one side, then plug them in to the other.

No luck so far. I received my first order and a pin strip. I did the soldering myself.
I installed the display and it lids up, but no characters show.
It could be my soldering is too bulky and not all pins seated properly. Or, the pin layout is very different. I cannot tell. The pins are not marked on the original. It could proprietary. I doubt Magnum will give it out to me.
I will redo the soldering and see if that helps.
I also have two more boards shipped. If they don't work, I need to try to contact Magnum again and see, if they sell this display alone?

sunchaser · Jul 22, 2019

LeoKa said:
, I could just buy a new unit around $200. .

Doesn’t the unit allow controlling the inverter? My two do. That being the case, to avoid impacting the inverter, $200 may be a bargain.

LeoKa · Jul 22, 2019

sunchaser said:
Doesn’t the unit allow controlling the inverter? My two do. That being the case, to avoid impacting the inverter, $200 may be a bargain.

Yes. I have bought a new inverter and battery monitor. Both are new from Magnum. That is why I am puzzled.

boathealer · Jul 22, 2019

LeoKa said:
No luck so far. I received my first order and a pin strip. I did the soldering myself.
I installed the display and it lids up, but no characters show.
It could be my soldering is too bulky and not all pins seated properly. Or, the pin layout is very different. I cannot tell. The pins are not marked on the original. It could proprietary. I doubt Magnum will give it out to me.
I will redo the soldering and see if that helps.
I also have two more boards shipped. If they don't work, I need to try to contact Magnum again and see, if they sell this display alone?

Sorry to hear. That's what I was talking about with the different controller chips on the PC boards. It is probably a different controller that doesn't speak the same language as the one Magnum used. Hopefully one of the others will work.

I wouldn't hesitate to press Magnum for info or a complete display assembly. Sometimes it just a matter of being the squeaky wheel and getting to the right person.

Fingers crossed.......

LeoKa · Jul 24, 2019

boathealer said:
I wouldn't hesitate to press Magnum for info or a complete display assembly. Sometimes it just a matter of being the squeaky wheel and getting to the right person.
Fingers crossed.......

You can release your fingers. Magnum cannot help me. They would sell the complete unit for me, but they do not offer display only replacement. Not only that, they will not give any part number, nor help, to locate a display specific to their Remote Control.
When I brought up that a display like that can be purchased for few bucks online and a new unit is between 150-250 dollars, he was not interested in helping me. Maybe he had a bad day, but he was not happy with my reasoning.
All this 1 minute conversation happened after 62 minutes waiting on the phone for my queue.
Very disappointed!

sunchaser · Jul 24, 2019

LeoKa said:
Yes. I have bought a new inverter and battery monitor. Both are new from Magnum. That is why I am puzzled.

Warranty still in effect? If so the dealer that sold it to you should arrange for replacement.

LeoKa · Jul 24, 2019

sunchaser said:
Warranty still in effect? If so the dealer that sold it to you should arrange for replacement.

No.
The Remote Control/ME-RC from Magnum is years old.
This is why I wanted to fix it myself. It is a shame that using a $10 display, the unit could be just as good as new. It is working fine, only the display is fading.
I will keep searching for the display. Maybe I will get lucky one day.

The inverter/charger and battery monitor are new. They are fine.

LeoKa · Jul 26, 2019

boathealer said:
Fingers crossed.......

Good news!

The latest LCD I received works. Not perfect, but good enough for me.

Here is the one:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/16-x-2-LCD...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

There is a slight problem with it. The LCD and the main board has plastic spacers in between. The LCD has 4 holes at the corners, where these plastic columns go into. It is a bit loose. The holes are too large. However, the main board holds it enough, so you can put the housing back on, which presses down the LCD. So, it is in place and working.

The display is blue. The characters are visible but the background is not perfect.

Either way I am satisfied.

It is possible that the other boards were fine, too, except my soldering skills are not good enough. This LCD came with the pin strip already on it and the soldering looks perfect. The pins are very close to each other, so it is tricky to work with it.

See photo.

boathealer · Jul 26, 2019

LeoKa said:
Good news!

The latest LCD I received works. Not perfect, but good enough for me.

Here is the one:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/16-x-2-LCD...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

There is a slight problem with it. The LCD and the main board has plastic spacers in between. The LCD has 4 holes at the corners, where these plastic columns go into. It is a bit loose. The holes are too large. However, the main board holds it enough, so you can put the housing back on, which presses down the LCD. So, it is in place and working.

The display is blue. The characters are visible but the background is not perfect.

Either way I am satisfied.

It is possible that the other boards were fine, too, except my soldering skills are not good enough. This LCD came with the pin strip already on it and the soldering looks perfect. The pins are very close to each other, so it is tricky to work with it.

See photo.

CONGRATULATIONS!!! Well done! - :dance:

A bit of perseverance paid off.

The readability looks like just a contrast setting to me - I think there is actually a menu item in the Magnum settings that you can adjust it with. Try that.

If you already have messed with the menu settings for contrast, then there's likely some resistor somewhere that sets the limits of it - probably a lot of work.

I will probably buy myself one of those to keep around as a spare for mine.

Again, well done!

UPDATE: Looks like you bought the last one from that seller! Searched on "OSEPP 16 x 2" and found another seller with three of them.

LeoKa · Jul 27, 2019

boathealer said:
The readability looks like just a contrast setting to me - I think there is actually a menu item in the Magnum settings that you can adjust it with. Try that. .

You are correct again. It was the contrast. 100%. I took it down to 20% and now it is normal. Thanks again.

boathealer · Jul 27, 2019

Good to hear!

LeoKa · Jul 30, 2019

boathealer said:
I will probably buy myself one of those to keep around as a spare for mine.
UPDATE: Looks like you bought the last one from that seller! Searched on "OSEPP 16 x 2" and found another seller with three of them.

The ebay person had several, but others might have ordered, as well, after my post. Here is a better source. They have few more left.

https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/375-LCD-01

Good luck.

ME-RC50 Magnum display problem

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