From: Jay Hall <Jayhall5397@msn.com>
To: Teacher2Teacher Public Discussion
Date: 2011112508:11:53
Subject: TI83 Plus Black Screen

Had black screen. Tried all solutions: batteries, init., software,
etc. Tore apart. Noticed flat ribbon cable from main board to screen
not installed straight. It was slightly left, with screen ribbon cable
contacts left of main board contacts. Those cables are not
soldered...they are held on by tape.This is just the normal
cheap-Chinese methodology of just slapping stuff together as cheaply
and quickly as possible, with no regard for quality. (Makes it easier
for them to surpass us when they sell us junk. It breaks down, they
sell us more! We go broke.) Anyway, I ripped that flat cable off of
both ends. I CAREFULLY and slowly cleaned the sticky residue from all
contacts. I had to scrape a bit, but BE CAREFUL! After cleaning, it
left nice solder pads. I cut small-gauge multi-strand insulated ribbob
cable down to about 1/2" sections, and separated the individual
insulated wires, and stripped each end about 1/16". I then removed all
but one strand of wire from each. (That will make it more flexible in
its insulation to bend back over, and give it space for everything to
fit Soldered, first, to the main board. Trimmed everything even,
soldered to the corresponding connections of the display board.
Reassembled the calculator, installed batteries, turned it on. It
worked. If you've tried EVERYTHING else, look at that cheezoid ribbon
cable. It could be installed in the normal "we don't care about
quality, let's rip off Americans" sloppy Chinese-way, or it could just
be that the adhesive is coming loose, breaking contact. WHY do we buy
poor-quality garbage from China!? Has it not occured to anyone that
the weaker we get, the stronger they get? 

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