On Sat, 2 Apr 2016 14:47:35 -0700 (PDT), whit3rd
wrote:

On Saturday, April 2, 2016 at 12:03:51 PM UTC-7, bitrex wrote:
LCD display having issues:

http://tinyurl.com/jovnnra

Dead pixels, corroded/dirty ribbon cable contacts, or something else?

Doesn't look like dead pixels, more likely a logic corruption. The wrong letter, maybe just
a weak bit in whatever holds the program memory. Start looking at the power supply
(hey, it's a WEAK bit, could just be low battery).

I agree. Check the power supply voltage.

My guess(tm) is that the display has a COB (chip on board) that has a
broken wire bond and the display needs to be replaced. Just touching
the blob of epoxy is sometimes enough to trash a wirebond and missing
pixels cannot be produced by data errors between the synth and the
display.

1601 displays are quite common and cheap, but not with EL
backlighting. If you're going to replace it with an LED backlighting
version, you'll need to:
1. Check the thickness of the display as they do vary and may not
fit.
2. Disarm, disconnected, and possibly remove the EL high voltage
power supply.
3. Find a way to power the backlighting. Some run on 5.0V, some
bring out just the diodes and need a series resistor, and I ended up
with one that wants 4.4VDC.

I thought it was easy, but it took me several evenings to replace the
display:
http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/Korg_DSS-1/


--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558