Stuart91 Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 I've got a Sanyo PLC-XP100L projector at a show just now. We've been caught out by the filter reaching the end of its life unexpectedly. The filter warning light has been on since the start of the day but in the last while the lamp has been powering off automatically. I've tried resetting the filter hours, and have taken the filter cartridge out and wound it back, but to no avail - it still turns itself off after around 3 mins. After the lamp has cooled, it powers back up again without complaint so it won't be a lamp problem. The projector is a vital part of a show that is happening tomorrow. It doesn't last for long, maybe 3hrs running time maximum. At this point, getting a replacement filter won't happen and even sourcing a sub hire could be difficult. (We would have to match the other projectors on the show). What I'm looking for is a way of conning the projector into think that everything is fine and continuing with the show. I don't care if this halves my bulb life, as long as the machine makes it through the ~3hrs. Does anyone know what needs to be done to con the projector into continuing without powering down? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonny_av Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Hi Stuart We had the exact same issue with our 100L in the middle of our production of Les Mis, are all lights blinking on the projector? We had to hire in a replacement immediately and the projector has gone off to be serviced - there isn't really a way to con the projector into thinking the filter is new unfortunately! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart91 Posted December 20, 2013 Author Share Posted December 20, 2013 No lights blinking but the yellow "replace filter" is on solid. I've reset both filter counters (sheets and timer) to no apparent success. From what I can read in the manual it seems that the projector detects airflow, so I've ramped up the fan speed. As a last resort I'd consider punching holes in the filter, even if it costs me a service of the machine later on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbuckley Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Does it have a high altitude setting? That increases airflow, which may be enough... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart91 Posted December 20, 2013 Author Share Posted December 20, 2013 I've put the fan on maximum, which seems to be helping so far... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHYoung Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 As far as im aware the way the auto filter works is by testing the air pressure inside the casing with a sensor and if the pressure is low, the unit assumes that the filter is clogged and winds it on. Its not unknown for the calibration on the senser to be off, so the filter winds when it needn't. If the filter fails to wind on either because the things jammed, the drive cogs not engaged or is fully would so cant wind on further it shuts down and gives the filter warning. Its unlikely its anything to do with the lack of flow through the filter itself, and if it was simply cleaning the thing would be enough. Id suggest taking the filter out, winding it to the centre as theres every chance that you've fully wound rather than rewound it, reseat it carefully and make sure its fully engaged and make sure that the filter cover is closed and if you want belt and braces apply a strip of gaffa to ensure its properly closed, if it still doesn't work, it needs a proper sorting as something that you cant fix is broken. changing the fan speed or altitude setting will actually make it worse as more sucking means lower pressure inside, and id also doubt if punching holes in a clean filter would help.... we have several of these that have performed sterling service, but id not use them on anything critical these days as they have their curious faults ,mostly filter related, that mean you cant trust them to "just work" but at least they are common enough that you should be able to get your hands on one fairly easily Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerry Faurie Posted December 23, 2013 Share Posted December 23, 2013 Check your Scrool time - normally should be 9 - goes to 0 then the projector goes into alarm mode ( basically needs new filter) - I don't think its air flow calibration problem , never had one fail for this yet - I am aware on the christie 15k /Sanyo 1500 they had major issues with the calibration of air when the filters were changed between normal and heavy duty studio (oil) type many filters were not calibrated (in service Mode) and the projectors powered down after a hour or so - after many Hours dealing with Sanyo Germany they suggested Filter calibration between different filters and this has cured this problem The XP100 filter is fairly cheap at about 68 quid (trade) - I would recommend having a few spare if these are used for a major show - a lot of companies turn the filter counter off - but basically its a major part of air flow within the projector - another common problem here is when the filter becomes blocked it causes the Lcd panels to overheat which can cause failure of the main Lcd or Pol filters within the Prism Block I dont have any stock left at the moment of the XP100 Filters - but if you cannot get any - give me an email and I will order from Panasonic - normally looking now 1 st week of Jan These are Good Robust units with a bit of TLC should be fine Major problems with these is :1) Filter cartridge - 2) The open lcd Prism Assembly ( Dirt/Dust on Optics) - would recommend the projector is put in a plastic Bag within the Flight case ( stops objects and dirt getting into the unit when in transport mode - you be surprised how many I have serviced for screws inside the projector, causing one of the major fans from rotating - these screws are mainly the bracket screws that have come away and just float around with in the Flight case all the best Gerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart91 Posted December 23, 2013 Author Share Posted December 23, 2013 Thanks for all the replies - especially the two very helpful ones above. I managed to get the projector through the show, by turning off the auto filter management and resetting the various timers. It looks like the scroll time had been set too low, so the machine had rattled through the filters and the alarm was going because it had reached the end of the scroll and was trying to move on to another filter that wasn't there. I wound it manually back to the cleanest looking set before continuing. I think part of the problem is that there is a button on the remote that advances the scroll, and given the tendencies of inexperienced customers to mash at random buttons, it wouldn't surprise me if the average filter life has been a lot lower than even the most conservative recommendations. Anyway, I was pleased to make it through the weekend and will spend a bit of time tidying the machines up and fitting new filters once things quieten down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHYoung Posted December 23, 2013 Share Posted December 23, 2013 Theres the "what does that button do" on the remote. and to quote one customer "I keep pressing it and nothing happens, - whats it For? " followed quickly with "this projectors broken". Basically theres this cryptically labelled button that does nothing but advance the filter - press it 10 times and you don't have a scrolling filter anymore, so once its blocked and tries to wind on - shutdown. Ive more than a little experience with these machines and if you rewind the filters in a machine, theres generally allways several clean portions. Its slightly odd that it didn't work when you rewound the filter, which id quess suggests that rather than rewinding it, it was fully wound instead. Often these things get so messed with that the Scrolls remaining counter and the actual filter bear no relation to each other. as far as im aware, the filter scrolling cant be fully turned off as it will happen when the airflow drops irrespective of any timed auto setting, and ive had 2 separate sanyos with a sensor calibration problem so it may be rare, but it does happen. Its fairly telling that the current "Panyo" projectors don't have a scrolling filter, but go for a large long live corragrated one instead which suggests that the scrolling filter was a good theory, but perhalps something else in practice... If the thing gets you through the shows, id suggest that the filter gets replaced and the timers reset so at least from that point on you know where you stand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the kid Posted December 23, 2013 Share Posted December 23, 2013 If it is the projector I think (with the remote I think - this one (or similar) http://cdn.cnet.com.au/story_media/339296970/Sanyo-PLC-XU355_2.jpg) they have a basic remote and a "normal" the basic locks half the buttons or more to stop fiddling from people who simply LOVE to press buttons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHYoung Posted December 23, 2013 Share Posted December 23, 2013 im afraid the sanyo xp100 doesn't have a simple mode like some units, and that isn't a xp100 remote, but is similar.... If you run a hire co its good practice to factory default everything before sending it out, and remove any limits on operation as if you hire something, you want access to every function so you just accept that the stuff gets a good fiddeling and sort it out the next time it gets prepped. You also learn that many of the problems with the sanyos are either filter related or as Gerry points out the fact that if you chuck loose bolts is the case for the bracket, they end up inside the unit on a tediously regular basis... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart91 Posted December 24, 2013 Author Share Posted December 24, 2013 We have a mix of customers, some trade/professional, and many complete amateurs, so the skill level and confidence varies drastically. We did have one customer who was struggling to get the projector mirrored, and in their random button-mashing managed to change the language of the on-screen menus. We were able to talk them through resetting it, but I can see the attractiveness of locking up some controls. (Tip: on many machines the language menu item will have a picture of a globe beside it...) There was another customer who phoned up angry that there wasn't a slot on the projector for them to insert a VHS tape. ("But when I asked if it was a video projector you said it was!") There are some you just can't win... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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