Alesis QS8 LCD

Sproge

New member
Hey everyone...

The LCD on my Alesis QS8 recently burnt out and I am wondering which LCD to get in order to replace it.

The burnt QS8 LCD chip, which holds the LCD, is 8 1/2 cm by 3 1/2 cm. The LCD, including the frame around it, are 7 cm x 3 cm long. There are 14 pins, 7 pins each on 2 rows, all the way on the right hand side which protrude upward at 1 cm from the bottom. The LCD screen itself is 7 cm x 2 1/2 cm long.

Any help in finding this LCD would be appreciated!

Thanks!

-Paul the musician
Looking for additional LCD resources? Check out our LCD blog for the latest developments in LCD technology.
 

Sproge

New member
I'm not sure who makes it, but there is a logo "SP" on the bottom left side of the LCD. The number you see on the top right hand side is 09D032 and the number on the top left hand side is 94V-0.

There are no numbers or characters on the back of the chip.
 

louis

New member
Hello -

I play an Alesis QS8 and have the same problem... LCD lights up, but displays nothing.

What was the result of this - is there something I can order?

Louis
 

Sproge

New member
It seems no one knew which LCD to buy.

But if you want to order another LCD, call up 401-658-5760. That's what I ended up doing.

CrystalFontz appearantly doesn't have the part.

-Paul
 

louis

New member
Wow - I'm glad I found you Paul... I called (I guess Alesis has this farmed out to Numark), ordered it, received it and installed it, all in less than 24 hours.

It took me over a year to figure out how to get it (no one in any of the repair shops I went to wanted to touch it), but once I found that out, doing it myself was easy.

I played the thing for over a year without being able to read the LCD!

It was $59 plus about $5 postage to NJ. Kind of expensive for a little LCD screen on a synth that I bought used for $1,100 several years ago... But I'm just glad to finally have the thing readable again.

Thanks for the info.

Louis
 

MattL

New member
Hey guys - I hope one of you can help me out. I need to know how these LCD's are supposed to be wired. Where did you get that information?

I've had my QS8 for quite a while (I think it's the original QS8.0), and the LCD hasn't been working for several years now. I opened up the case to try to fix something else (one of the weights in the keys came loose, I think because I had accidentally dropped in a paperclip and the key had been hitting it, so I superglued the weight back in), but the wires were so short that I had trouble getting the case open, so I had to disconnect a couple plugs, and something else might have gotten pulled loose that I wasn't aware of. I tried to put everything back the way it was before I closed it up, but afterwards the display would light up, but it didn't actually display any words or numbers, just a few blocks or dashes. I fiddled with the wires a little more, but couldn't improve the situation. It's hard for me to believe that I could have actually broken the LCD that way, so I figure it's probably just a wiring problem. The only repair shop I could find was going to charge me a $300 flat fee for the repair, no matter what the problem was! Does anyone have any advice for me?
 

lcd_steve

New member
Hi there,
I have exactly this LCD Display in my Alesis Quadraverb GT. It seems to give up in the near future because some lines of pixels are not working anymore.
I asked the part number from Alesis but they only told me that it is not built anymore and they don't have any spare parts anymore.
Where can I get one of this displays or a replacement typ (or at least the pin description)?
I didn't find any usefull information on the display itself.
thanks for any help
 

jbeale

New member
Alesis QS8 LCD pinouts

Regarding the Alesis QS8 LCD, here is some more info:
http://www.midiworld.com/quadrasynth/qs-forum/messages13/8316.html

that post lists the pinouts, but it seems to have been reformatted so the table of pin correspondences to the "standard" LCD is pretty hard to read. I have a QS8 that's been sitting in a box for some time, last I remember the LCD was fading out so I am looking into a replacement. Apparently this was a very common problem on this unit!
 

CF Tech

Administrator
Because things move around and disappear on the web over time (but the Alesis QS8 LCD problem seems to persist indefinitely) I made a print-to-pdf of the link in the post above and have attached it.

Follow the link in the midiworld.com forum if possible, but in case it moves or disappears, the PDF will be here.
 

Attachments

jawn

New member
LCD for Alesis QS8

I've recently come into working with an Alesis QS8 with a broken display also. I removed the display unit and was able to determine that the display is a Data Vision DV-16235 in the original unit. I've searched numerous sources for this part and it only seems to be available from people for an extreme price. Based on the fact that I've found tutorials for replacing other Alesis LCD screens with substitute Data Vision parts (because the original was unavailable), I believe it may be possible to use the DV-16236, which is available from PLC Center here for about $20 plus some shipping.

According to this specifications page from Data Vision, the DV-16235 and DV-16236 are almost identical with a slight difference in size. However, the Alesis QS8 chassis holds on to the PCB board for sizing and security of the part and because the physical dimensions of the part appear to be the same (the difference is in the size of the bezel around the LCD), I believe this part may be a viable and cheaper substitute. I plan to purchase this part and put it in my QS8 to see if this will work, so I will report my findings.
 

CF Tech

Administrator
Long Live the Alesis QS8 (and its not-so-long-lived LCD)

It appears that the CFAH1602C-YYH-JT may be used as a replacement LCD display for the Alesis QS8 / QS6.

THE FOLLOWING POSTS CONTAIN HACKS -- USE AT OUR OWN RISK !

The information is from here:

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/1alesis_qs_series/conversations/topics/1694

There are two interesting posts:

Jeff Gilbertson
Message 3 of 8 , Mar 9, 2006
View Source
I replaced mine in my QS8 a couple weeks ago, after more than two
years of playing it without a working LCD! Once I found some
instructions I thought I'd give it a shot. The instructions were okay
but not great (no part number, other things, see below) so I've been
meaning to type up some myself. I'd better do it now before I
completely forget what I did!


I'm assuming the QS6 has the same display. This is what I bought:

http://www.crystalfontz.com/products/1602c-wt/index.html#CFAH1602CYYHJP
Part number CFAH1602CYYHJP
$12 + $9 shipping = $21

This is a standard Hitachi 44780 compatible LCD display, but the
Alesis OEM part is not. What this means is you have to do a little
tricky wiring. The posts I've read over here
http://www.midiworld.com/quadrasynth/qs-forum/
all talk about swapping pins 3 and 4, 5 and 6, etc. up to 14 but I've
found what might be an easier way using the original QS connector
cable. Look at the back view picture on the crystalfontz picture and
you'll see the original cable could potentially fit. It does, but the
crystalfontz part does not come with a connector--you'll have solder
one on. What I did was buy a 16 pin IC wire wrap socket, break it in
half and thread it through the holes from the opposite side. After I
soldered the stakes in I ended up having to break off the black
plastic portion cause it interfered with mounting the LCD in the
keyboard (the dimensions are correct BTW, it fits in fine). A better
approach might be to get some Y stakes, thread them through the pin
holes and use the Alesis cable to keep them steady while you solder
them on. Or use the stakes from the connector on the old LCD.

If you do it this way, pins 4-14 end up matching correctly, and you
just have to fix the other ones. To do this, don't solder in stakes
for pins 1, 2, 3, 15, and 16 on the crystalfontz LCD. You'll need to
wire them differently as follows:

Pin 1 to 16
Pin 2 to 15
Pin 1, 2, and 3 to a potentiometer; I used a 10K. Pin 3 gets the
middle pin. Make sure you have access to the pot when the cable is
attached. I was able to make mine accessible without using any wires,
just the pot leads.

You'll also need two wire leads, one connected to pin 1 and one to pin
2. When you attach the QS connector to the LCD, pins 1 and 2 need to
be swapped, so that's why you can't use stakes. I just used tinned
wirewrap wire and it is sticking well (it hasn't fallen out yet).
Make sure you plug in the cable the right way--the red wire goes
farthest away from the keys on the QS, and matches up with pin 1 and 2
on the LCD. The QS connector is only 14 pins so pins 15 and 16 on the
LCD won't be covered at all (but you wired them to pins 2 and 1 earlier).

Then you turn on the keyboard and adjust the pot until the display has
the right contrast.

Ahh.. maybe this isn't exactly easier but you don't have to destroy
your old cable or make a new one. And if you salvage the connector
from your old LCD the only extra stuff you need to buy is a pot and
some wire (and soldering equipment if you don't have any--in that case
you might want to have a friend do this for you!)
And:

From
http://forum.cakewalk.com/tm.asp?m=256797&mpage=2&key=
I found this

================================================================
Hi all,

I'm from Brazil and I found that link reading your coments...
I solve my problem just changing the LCD display.

There are a lot of options to change these display but the main point
of that tutorial is the wiring and sizing of display.
The LCD AMPIRE 162C-1 work fine to me...

If You choose not use the original Display from Alesis...

You must follow this wiring.

Main board Display

1(Ground) ==> 1
2(5v) ==> 2

3 ==> 4
4 ==> 3

5 ==> 6
6 ==> 5

7 ==> 8
8 ==> 7

9 ==> 10
10 ==> 9

11 ==> 12
12 ==> 11

13 ==> 14
14 ==> 13

15 Not used
16 Not Used

Pin 1, 2 are for powering the display. ALL THE OTHER WIRE MUST BE PUT
CROSSING...
When I read this tutorial I think... crazy.... but Really works

I did this procedure with my qs-6 and spend about $6
The display is working very well...

Well...
Sorry for my POOR English... but i wish you understand me..


Botboy
Rio de Janeiro - Brazil
===========================================================


It looks like any generic LCD that has a module width of 36mm should
fit inside the QS.
The original Alesis display uses a module with a length of 85mm
but an 80mm module should work also.

I think if I did go this route, I would destroy the old cable
and solder it directly to the new LCD.

thanks again

David
 
Top