I have an Mk2a that the display will not stay on. I have read all the post regarding the broken fill nipple, a blown fuse, or a frayed display board cable, etc. but they all look fine.

It all started years ago when from time to time the display would randomly turn off and then back on. Later I realized that I could make the display come back to life by tapping the screen firmly. Now it is to the point where tapping does nothing. The only thing that will bring it back now for a few seconds is taking out the faceplate assembly and shaking it.

Any ideas on what the problem is and how to fix it?

Edit: removed the calendar entry. It was driving me nuts. -wfaulk

Quick wild guess, sounds like an intermittent solder joint somewhere on the display board. I'd say get support to look at it, or see if Stu at Eutronix can do something about it.

I would have said frayed display cable, but you said you already checked that.

I agree, grey solder joint somewhere.

Bad cable (possibly pinched). Replaced it, display now works.

EDIT: Ooops.. spoke too soon. Yes, the cable replacement was necessary, but the root problem turns out to have been that little cylindrical black coil on the back of the display board. The coil leads were soldered nicely to the circuit board, but the coil itself had poor connection to its leads. Fixed.

-ml

As a service item, I check this one (voltage collapse for VFD), and I run a bead of hot glue around it to give it mechanical support.