Sony EV-BS3000 video HI8 - replacement display

[jonnybravo]

Hi!
Recently, I purchased this machine. It is a Japanese machine in NTSC standard.
It had a fluorescent display marked as "NEC FIP13BMW6". Part number, according to manual, is 1-519-507-31.
The display is dead.
It has a side glass dint which is broken.

[Attachment 72569 - Click to enlarge]
I cannot find anything while searching after codes listed above.
This is the display. Same display is used in Sony EV-S1000E, and likely in other machines.

[Attachment 72570 - Click to enlarge]
Do you have any idea where can i find this display?
Thank you in advance.

[johnmeyer]

The only solution I know of is to find an identical unit that is being sold for parts. Buy that, remove its display, and plug that in.

I am currently also looking for a VFD (Vacuum Fluorescent Display) replacement for an old clock radio. Unlike discrete 7-segment LED displays and other similar, but simpler displays, these VFDs were all custom units, with no ability to replace with a generic unit. I have looked and have not found any source for such displays.

If you can get some of the same information via the machine's on-screen display, perhaps you can still use it, even with a dead VFD.

[themaster1]

Possible solutions Here or Here

[johnmeyer]

Both of those videos involve a unit that had power supply/broken lead issues. The display itself, in both cases, was intact. It sure doesn't hurt to check power supply voltages, but the OP's photo shows a display that is physically broken, so it seems like the power supply will not be the issue.

The display on my clock radio is really dim. For dim displays there are some videos about "rejuvenating" them via a brief (4-5 second) overvoltage. I am dubious, and don't plan to try that.

[jonnybravo]

Clips posted by themaster1 are very instructive in debugging electrical problems. In my case, the machine works well, electrically and mechanically, only problem is that the display itself is physically broken. From my understanding, there is no vacuum in the display, something that prevents it from working. I don't know if that dint was mechanically broken by someone or if something else was the cause of its breaking.
I wonder if is there a list or something with machines that uses the same display.
johnmeyer, I found this clip - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASAAsW_G30M which describe how VFD works. Nice.

[johnmeyer]

Thanks for that link. His tutorial was extremely informative but of absolutely no practical value in fixing anything.

There are other videos which show how you can sometimes rejuvenate an older display by slightly increasing the drive voltage.

However, as I said in my last post, the real problem is that this technology was (and I guess still is) used to create customized displays, so almost no two are alike and spare parts are non-existent.