NEW SCREEN UPDATE/INFO

Forum for JUNO-G
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DOM!
Posts: 48
Joined: 18:42, 17 March 2008

NEW SCREEN UPDATE/INFO

Post by DOM! »

I got my G back last night from Upscale Music (my local authorized repair center) and he showed me the old screen and told me it is an updated version.

I asked what the difference is and the ribbon cable that connects the screen to the main board was two pieces in the past. There was an intermediate connector on a seperate circuit board which was eliminated on the "new" version. So there is now an extra long cable with no intermediate board.

This leads me to the next question, is it really a screen issue or a ribbon cable connector issue? Are these connections sensitive and perhaps reseating them would fix the issue? I took pictures but they are not on this computer and will post them later.

It would be interesting to see if someone's screen is acting up and they reseated the 3 connectors would the issue clear up?

DOM!
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dbijoux
Posts: 1700
Joined: 22:49, 26 April 2009

Re: NEW SCREEN UPDATE/INFO

Post by dbijoux »

I don't think it would be something so simple as a loose cable, but an extra circuit board connection seems rather peculiar - it's the first I've heard of this. Why would Roland spend money if that was the problem? OTOH, why would they eliminate it if it's not?

Looking forward to those pics and thanks for sharing!
DOM!
Posts: 48
Joined: 18:42, 17 March 2008

Re: NEW SCREEN UPDATE/INFO

Post by DOM! »

I have had other synths do very strange things for this exact reason. Once i cleaned and reseated the connectors on my D-110 it worked perfect.
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jimdunlop
Posts: 12
Joined: 22:02, 7 July 2011

Re: NEW SCREEN UPDATE/INFO

Post by jimdunlop »

Well I've just had the back off my Juno G and slipped in and out the ribbon connectors a couple of times.
And guess what?

Yes, the screen came back on!

I dont know how long this will last, but there is definitely something in doing this.

BTW, for anyone who hasnt taken the back off theirs, there are 5 screws on thein a row on the base, sort of paralell to the actual keyboard. The are the only screws with washers on them. These do NOT have to be unscrewed to get the back off- it'll save you a little bit of time doing the job. (Didnt have to come out on mine anyway!)

But now I dont know whether its the connectors or the screen.

If anyone else does this would they post the results so we can get more of an idea of the problem.
Re-Member
Posts: 114
Joined: 02:11, 4 June 2007
Location: Portland, OR

Re: NEW SCREEN UPDATE/INFO

Post by Re-Member »

jimdunlop wrote:But now I dont know whether its the connectors or the screen.
Yet another mystery to solve with the Juno G screen problem...

This is now a five year old synthesizer, surely someone has to have figured out a definitive solution or answer to this problem by now.

I've been eyeballing the Juno G for almost two years now and keep hoping that this problem will be fixed. As of now, there's no other Roland synth this lightweight with a full set of keys that offers an onboard 16 track MIDI sequencer, sampling capabilities and synth engine that can be edited without software. I know they released the Juno Gi, but the audio recorder replacing the MIDI sequencer just doesn't work for me. Since recorded audio is set in stone, you can't manually tweak out and modulate backing sequences in real time, nor go back and shift around notes for future editing/remixing. I'm a former owner of the MC-808 and the Juno G seemed to be the ideal replacement, but the screen issue keeps holding me back.

So yeah, Juno G owners that have held on to their synth, please give us other forum users some insight. It will be much appreciated.
jimdunlop
Posts: 12
Joined: 22:02, 7 July 2011

Re: NEW SCREEN UPDATE/INFO

Post by jimdunlop »

Hi again,

Sadly, the screen has now reverted back to it's "FAULTY" state.
Sorry for getting anyone's hopes up about a simple fix.

I cannot understand how absolutely nobody (including Roland by the looks of things) seems to know what is the cause of this problem which reduces a great machine to a piece of rubbish.

What I mean by this is, is it the LCD display or an inherent product software/hardware issue.
Why have some peoples' screens gone faulty again after replacing them?

I am no expert, but I just dont think an LCD screen can develop a mind of its own and show crazy stuff, surely it either works or it doesnt? Isnt it just a monitor really? I dont know the answers!!

Did Roland have the screen specifically designed for the Juno G or is it in use in other products, working or not?

This is my second Roland keyboard to go south (Ok I admit my Jw50 was about 15yrs old and wasnt going to last forever), and I most definitely wont be parting with any hard earned cash on that brand again. But neither were ever gigged, just sparse home use.

I know Roland didnt do this on purpose, but surely they could make some genuine attempt to admit the problem and openly address the issue in the interests of customer loyalty, customer service and retention.
fictitious
Posts: 2
Joined: 19:39, 12 October 2011

Re: NEW SCREEN UPDATE/INFO

Post by fictitious »

Jim -

I agree with you - given the feature set of this board, we need to get to the bottom of this problem. There are some hints in these forums that I've found - but nothing definitive yet. I am a relatively new board owner ...and despite all of the display issues I still went with this model. I crawled through the specs of all of the current gen workstations ...and to get a good sampler with audio recording and expandability you're looking at spending 3x-4x the price of the Juno G. I want to make this my song composition tool ...but to invest the time in getting past the learning curve I want to know it'll be with me for awhile.

There's a thread for serial numbers, but after reading through it, it shows a lot of serial ranges and China/Japan versions all appear to be affected ...except maybe ZX? There just aren't enough data points. This thread seems to be a decent compilation of DIY fixes/attempts/speculations. Let's keep it going and get to the bottom of this.

From a diagnostics perspective, there's a lot of good information here ...and I'd argue encouraging data. Mainly, the fault typically appears as intermittent for awhile, and in some cases repairable with simply reseating the cable. Also, some folks have noted that the failure can go away at lower temperatures. In either case, we seem to be dealing with a mechanical type of problem rather than a true electrical failure. It does not seem that the LCD itself is having the issue ...and we now know that Roland actually did revise their design to simplify the wiring to the LCD from the board. One concern has been that even replaced/fixed LCDs will fail in time. Perhaps this was because the original repairs were done with the old LCD design ...and the new one never fails? Can anyone comment on this?

I'd say the most frustrating part is that Roland undoubtedly knows the root cause, and has not shared it. They are (at least in the US) admitting fault and covering the problem outside of warranty. Given this, I'd really like to know what they found. Are there any Roland employees that are members of this forum? If not, maybe we can get to root cause. Since there are people out there with the problem and willing to go inside their boards, this is what I'd propose. For a faulty or intermittent board, start poking around with freeze spray. See if we can identify the region/connector/IC responsible. Ideally we find a location that we can freeze and get the board temporarily working again. Once we locate it, we spend some time coming up with a reliable fix. My LCD is still fine otherwise I'd be on this path already....

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000Z9 ... PDKIKX0DER

Another thing to investigate, and maybe this really is the solution for everyone's problem, is this post from another thread. Can we get some other feedback from others on trying this fix? Thx sky5031 for sharing!

Roland made in china Juno G had a quality supplier problem, We have two of these keyboards at my church and both of them go out. The first one I replaced the display ($131.00) from Roland with there new revision "a"
replacement, worked,, displays fine. within about 5 weeks the second went out on the other keyboard..well
thought about ordering a second display from Roland,,still had the old display from the first one,,thought I'd
give it a try in the second one,,guess what it worked! I then looked at the cable on both of these displays and
found a quality issue with the cable..when the company in China pushes the cable in the socket next to the
display they are causing the contact fingers to become de-laminated from the ridged plastic backing
and peeling back when pushed into the connector,,what we see in the start of faded display or no display
in this case. I peeled back the contact on the second display and wiped a real small amount of super glue
under it and now it works just like it did before. I looked at the first display and it has the same problem
de-laminated contacts, If anyone out there is having this display problem look at the contact terminal on the
flex cable and see if they arent peeled back before you replace,,oh the first keyboard had the faded /half screen effect fyi-sky5031
staunch
Posts: 8
Joined: 20:34, 4 November 2009

Re: NEW SCREEN UPDATE/INFO

Post by staunch »

Hi! I have changed LCD for the new. Has passed 6 months. Synth was used seldom. Rotating limb, on the screen again hieroglyphs began to appear. A riddle...
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Still strange: in a mode "performance" the display part looks pale. In a mode "patch" - is more contrast. It is visible on a photo.
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Established back old LCD - all worked well! But then this muck has again returned. I have thrust directly in a socket new LCD - the same result!
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So that - NO! Changeover on new LCD with oblong cable hasn't helped :( Probably all is much more difficult...
P.S.: I'm sorry for grammar
staunch
Posts: 8
Joined: 20:34, 4 November 2009

Re: NEW SCREEN UPDATE/INFO

Post by staunch »

Hi again! One more strangeness: when the broken screen is visible, the pushed button "EXIT" leads to correction to normal image. At somebody also?
DOM!
Posts: 48
Joined: 18:42, 17 March 2008

Re: NEW SCREEN UPDATE/INFO

Post by DOM! »

Well Staunch's contrast issue seems strange. But I am still sticking to a connection issue for right now as I interpret the gibberish on the screen as a communication problem. The last of staunch's pictures says that to me, looks like only half the screen got updated.

Can you try to use a contact cleaner on all the connections? Preferably, a good one like Deoxit? (http://www.amazon.com/Hosa-D5S-6-Deoxit ... B00006LVEU) Spray it on and insert/ remove/ insert all connectors?

DOM!
staunch
Posts: 8
Joined: 20:34, 4 November 2009

Re: NEW SCREEN UPDATE/INFO

Post by staunch »

Hi! Procedure "insert/remove" is ineffectual. I tried it to do at working LCD. Contact cleaner I used but another. Without result too.
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