PaperJam

I see two issues with this picture. The zebra strip to the left side of the image is the connector for the horizontal lines on the LCD. In this image the strip is not centered and will be missing rows of pixels. See the arrows for the optimum position. Confirm the zebra strip is lined up along side the plastic stance. The second issue is the green foam pad backing is far to thin and deteriorated. This pad is intended to push the LCD up against the other zebra strip for the vertical column lines (Circled). You should find some material and replace it. Try something soft like cotton or another foam pad. This stuff is common packing material for electronics. You may have some inside a box somewhere. Whatever you do, don’t let anything get between the zebra strips and the board or LCD. We want the electricity to flow unimpeded thru these connections.

This Replacement LCD is pure perfection. Thank you @5-11under for making this possible. I am enjoying this game more now then when I was a kid. I have some rather interesting news for you Block Buster fans. This LCD is completely up to the task of presenting the game correctly. In fact it may be better then the original LCD. i have not only broke the 999 barrier, but I also discovered a repeatable brick pattern to score much higher. It’s just too bad the score rolls to zero instead of presenting 4 digits. Maybe that’s a good thing. Now I won’t obsess with scoring 10K. Here is a video demonstration of the repeatable brick pattern. It always starts and ends with the same brick.

Can you post a pic?

Here are a few troubleshooting tips for those who are looking to resolve a blank display. Without a visible display you can confirm the Block Buster game cart is working by listening for the tones. If the game is playing the tones correctly then assume the game is working and focus on the LCD contacts. If you don’t hear the tones, work on the cart connector first confirming the compression connector is doing it’s job. When you first power on the system with Block Buster installed and do nothing you should hear 3 short tones after 10 seconds and again every 30 seconds after. If you press the GO button three times you will release the first ball followed by a “raspberry”. Pressing GO twice again will release yet another ball until you run out of the default 7 balls at game end which sounds like a. Raspberry and a long tone. There are many videos on YouTube about fixing LCD issues on Fluke multimeters. It’s all about cleaning the surface pads on the motherboard. These contacts oxidize over time. This oxidation prevents the flow of current to the LCD. Some people seem to get away with using alcohol alone to clean the pads on the motherboard. Our machines have been oxidizing for much longer so acetone may be necessary to clean up our boards. You can see in the photo that the contact pads are deeply pitted. I will try tinning these pads with a solder iron. The point is, that these pads are the point of failure, not the soft zebra strips. Lastly, when inserting the metal screws, turn them counter clockwise lightly until you feel the click that indicates the screw has seated into the plastic threads. Failure to complete this step will cut a new set of threads and the screw may never stop turning. All four small screws on the LCD cover and the two large screws on the cart cover are critical to the electrical connection being made.

Super glue and baking soda. Look for “easy plastic reconstruction and repair” by a YouTuber named Tech Tangents. or just use a rubber band or a cool wrist band.

Okay, so I managed to piece together one “very nice” unit from two units I own. It works great. Everything from both units is functional, it just that most of the parts don’t play well with each other. The unit I played as a kid is very well worn. You can see in both pics how much time I spent spinning the knob. I applied a little plumbers grease to the plate and knob. I hope it will last longer if periodically clean and lubricate this area. I ran into the missing pixels and blank screens a couple of times during the build, the same symptoms as Deteacher. I was pulling the unit apart so many times that I started limiting the number screws I was using. This short cut turned out to be my issue, the screws on the back of the unit near the cartridge slot are critical. This weekend I will work to put the “salvage” unit back together. I imagine it will be quite the fight. I hope everybody has good luck and manages to get a working unit out of this.

While I patiently wait for my screen to arrive... I visit here 10,000 times a day to watch everybody else enjoy repairing their systems. I still have my original Microvision with 6 games. It’s been 40 years since I last enjoyed playing. Leaving it in the attic with my other childhood memories destroyed the LCD. I wonder if I will be as good at Block Buster as I remember.

I will purchase 2 LCD Displays I still have my original system from when I was young. It would mean the world to me to be able to play and share it with my kid.