Aqua view ?

[blue_healer_guy]

I have an Aqua view z, don't know model/type, 4-5 years old. Shows only the top 1/2 of the screen but when plugged into my tv, full screen on tv. any hints on a possible problem, fuse is good as are connections. If I were to send it in, do I send monitor, lense or the whole thing. Thanks

[cold one sd]

If your tv works ok it means the camera is ok and they will probably have you send the monitor in.

[polarsusd81]

I had a similar probem with mine. The moniter would occasionally show up and sometimes not anything you could decipher (a.k.a. Really fuzzy/blurry), but when plugged into the tv it showed up fine. I ended up giving them a call and they told me because of the age, I had to either buy a new moniter ($75) or upgrade to the scout moniter ($100). By the way, I have the MC2X that is 5 or 6 years old and out of warranty as is yours. If you wish to fix it yourself, here is how to do it.

Be warned, using sharp utility knives is dangerous as is playing with open electrical components with the power connected. Please use the utmost caution if you attempt the following procedure. The CRT display for the monitor is running on an extremely high voltage system and a shock from the CRT will definately do some damage, though you should not have to touch the CRT parts at all, be very careful when working near it.

So, instead of buying a new one, I got out the X-acto kit and went to town on the moniter. It will take you a while and you have to be carefull, but if you run the blade along the back edge of the moniter long enough, you can get through and open it up, they are molded out of plastic to completely seal them. (cut in at a 45 - 60 degree angle to the back of the screen for quickest cut) Once you get it opened up, you will need to pull the circuit board out, there should be a plastic frame around the screen. The plastic frame is sealed with foam tape to the front of the cover and you will need to replace it or seal it up with silicone upon reassembly, but once that tape is free from the cover, you should be able to pull the entire assembly for the working parts of the moniter out. With the circuit and monitor out, flip it over and take a look. You will find plenty of dials in there that are called potentiometers or something along those lines, they look like a little white or gray box with a screw type adjuster on them and three small metal legs connecting them to the board. Find the ones labeled v-hold (vertical hold) and adjust them to get the screen back into shape they way it was before you experienced the problem (this requires power to be connected and should be done with the utmost caution). I ended up finding that one of the pots on my monitor was shot, for some reason you had to apply a lot of pressure on top of it for the screen to work and when pressure was released, the screen would go black. It was a 20K pot (checked with a meter) so I went online and found the ones I needed and ordered them up, just came in the other day and I am going to install the new one this weekend, will need to be soldered into place of course. When you are done and it is working correctly, all that is left is putting it back together and sealing it back up. Use either clear or black silicone and get the clear plastic sealed back in place and seal the back cover back on. It is a lot of work, but if you are comfortable with small electronics and take your time and work with caution and safety always in your mind, you can fix it yourself and save 75 bucks. Well maybe 65 because you will need some silicone to seal it back up and the pots are 15 cents a piece but shipping from Bangkok costs 5 bucks. I will take some photos and post em up on what is required and diagram the parts if you would like. When you live on a budget and love to tinker, you learn as you go. The best part about the fix is that if you have any problems in the future, it is a heck of a lot easier to cut out the silicone to get back in than it is to cut into the unit to open it up the first time. It wont be as pretty as a new one, but there is that satisfaction of doing it on your own.

Here is a picture of the potentiometer.

Hopefully this doesn't violate any forum rules by explaining the process on tearing apart and fixing a sponser product, but when customer service can't help you out, you might just have to take things into your own hands.

P.S. - I bought some extra pots in the event another one was shot or someone else had a similar problem.

[blue_healer_guy]

Thanks and i'll see how your repair went.

[polarsusd81]

I will post up a couple pics when I finish up on Saturday evening. Once you get the thing apart, it is pretty easy from there. Where are you located by the way? If you need one of the pots and are close enough, I should have one or two extras when I am done. It is a lot of work, and not easy, but like I said earlier, very rewarding when you fix it yourself. I will take photos in the stages of completion, from what you see when you first pull the back off, to pulling the monitor unit out, removing the circuit board, and a picture to locate all the pots, and of course a final photo of what it looks like once I have it all sealed back up. I think I am going to try for black silicone, might look a little better that way. I think that since I have it open, and it looks pretty rough around the edge where I had to cut into it, I will sand it back down to a smooth state before reassembly to help it close up easier.

[blue_healer_guy]

Southern mn, 25 minutes east of Mankato.

[polarsusd81]

Okay, so we got it figure out and it works as good as new now. After we installed a new potentiometer, it still was giving me a bit of trouble so I started following the circuits on the back of the board and ended up finding a solder joint on one of the pins sticking through the board that was broken. It was on the vertical circuit. After all was said and done, the potentiometer that was in there was probably okay, but we replaced it anyway and re-soldered the pin that was broken on the back of the board. I couldn't say for sure if the potentiometer we replaced was bad as we tossed it before we found the broken pin on the back of the board. Anyway, here are some pics of what you see when you open it up.

Open it up, you can see the slice.

Here is what you see when you pull the back off the unit.

If you don't find a broken solder joint and have to dig farther, this is what you see, front side of the circuit board and you will need to then replace the foam gasket or seal it up with silicone on the front.

Here is the circuit board when it is removed from the mounting bracket. If you look close, you can see the location of the pot I pulled off in the lower right quarter of the board (just south of the hole).

Now, if you do go ahead and open it up the first thing you see is the circuit board under a thin sheet of plastic. Pull that plastic out, (not hard to do at all) and closely look for a broken solder joint, if you locate one, rework it with a solder pencil and see if it works for you. If it is still not showing up right, then start adjusting the potentiometers. After performing the fix, mine looks better than new because I was able to adjust them for optimum performance. I haven't sealed it back up yet, but plan to do so tomorrow. If you are lucky enough to just have a busted solder pin, and have some x-actos, a solder pencil, and a tube of sealant handy, you could feasibly fix it in an hour and a half. It will take between 30 minutes and an hour just to get through the moniter. The cutting through is by far the hardest part. Let me know what way you decide to go. If I can help any more, I will do whatever I can.

I have pretty much nailed down the cause of the failure of that joint as well. I think the unit was dropped when I let my uncle use it. I hadn't had any problems before he used it, and when I got it back it didn't work. It may not have even been dropped, it could have just been bouncing around cause they were on mille lacs in the chop in the boat. But the main point is that it was fixable and I didn't pay 75 bucks plus shipping for the new monitor.