Promethean Board dimming

[Fatima]

I have a Promethean board that is working 100% correctly, but the image is dimming and the board can no longer be used with the lights turned on in the classroom. Other than the dimming problem there is nothing wrong with this board.

 

I called Promethean and was told that the lamp is good if it is showing the image on the board. They informed me that the bulb should retain its’ brightness and when it goes out it will just go out and will need to be replaced.

 

The projector in use is the Sanyo XE-40.

[FN-GM]

Its a projector problem, i would try a new bulb if not its broken. Do you have warranty?

 

Al ours are covered under a warranty so we send any back that develop problems.

[kearton]

We recently had a problem with a Sanyo XE31 being very hard to see. We replaced the lamp and this made no improvement. We were still under warranty (by 1 day!!) so we phoned Sanyo and were told that if a replacement lamp didn't fix it then it was likely to be a problem with dust INSIDE the projector on the lenses/mirrors and it would still cost us (about £150 from memory) to get it looked at! We opened it up ourselves and it was very easy to see why the projected image was faint!! Edited August 15, 2009 by kearton

[Sylv3r]

Are you cleaning the filters reguarly on the projector? You could replace the lamp on the projector now and you will probably get a better image but its a costly process.

[Fatima]

Are you cleaning the filters reguarly on the projector? You could replace the lamp on the projector now and you will probably get a better image but its a costly process.

 

I clean every filter on all the Sanyo and Promethean projectors on the first day of every month. I do it because it is a pain to reset the thermal switch. I have a new lamp on order and I might try that next week just to see what happens.

 

We have so many boards on campus that I even have an extra short throw projector for when one goes out. That way I don't have to hurry through the repair. Being able to take care of most repairs myself has far exceeded the cost of the extra projector.

Edited August 16, 2009 by Fatima

[Fatima]

We recently had a problem with a Sanyo XE31 being very hard to see. We replaced the lamp and this made no improvement. We were still under warranty (by 1 day!!) so we phoned Sanyo and were told that if a replacement lamp didn't fix it then it was likely to be a problem with dust INSIDE the projector on the lenses/mirrors and it would still cost us (about £150 from memory) to get it looked at! We opened it up ourselves and it was very easy to see why the projected image was faint!!

 

Thanks for this tip. The fact is that the board acting up is the oldest on campus. I was thinking it was the age of the board. I didn't even think about a dirty mirror!

[elsiegee40]

There are some suggestions here that you maight find useful:

 

http://www.edugeek.net/forums/hardware/34543-dim-projectors-design-flaw-fatigue.html

[witch]

We had exactly the same problem and a new bulb didn't make any difference. In the end I bit the bullet and ordered a new projector (got a filterless one whilst I was about it!!) and sure enough that fixed it.

I took the old projector apart and the whole thing had dust 'melted' onto just about every surface: mirror, lenses, the lot!

 

Oh, and welcome to Edugeek, by the way

[Fatima]

Cracked open the case today and I must say that it was the cleanest I have ever seen. I'm replacing the bulb tomorrow and if that does not work I'll replace the projector.

[witch]

Did it work?

[Fatima]

Did it work?

 

No

 

The projector is in its' thrid year and I think that when the bulb goes out I'll just replace it. Our goal is 47 white boards. That does not include the locations where we have projectors without white boards. It will get expensive if projectors fail that fast.