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HMT LED Ring Repair

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  • HMT LED Ring Repair

    I am sharing my experience repairing my HMT. The performance of my unit diminished over time. It slowly transitioned from four-dot readings to one-dot readings to mostly no reads. Google searches of the issue redirect to this forum and anecdotal reports of issues with the LED rings around the HMT cameras. Close inspection of my LED rings indicated that some of the individual LEDs around the upper camera had failed. Initially, every third LED went out. Then, every other LED stopped working, and finally just four of the LEDs worked. The drop in performance of the HMT was noticeable even when only 1/3 of the LEDs had failed.

    After chatting with Foresight support, I ended up shipping them my HMT for a repair. Several weeks and hundreds of dollars later, they returned my unit and it worked well with all of the LEDs functioning. Fast forward a few months, and the LEDs around the lower camera began to fail. Not wanting to wait several more weeks for another repair, I removed the front plate of the HMT and inspected the LED component. It is about the size of a stick of gum and it is only attached by a few screws and a ribbon cable. Confident that I could swap out the component if I had a replacement, I emailed Foresight support and asked them for a replacement component. The name "HMT Illuminator Board" is printed on the front of the component, so I asked for that. The Foresight rep knew exactly what I was asking for and quoted me a price on the spot: $75. He had it shipped out the door in two days.

    Installing the new component took less than 5 minutes and my HMT is back to working order with two sets of full LED rings. The advantage to replacing the HMT Illuminator Board myself is I didn't have to ship my HMT to Foresight. I didn't have to risk it being damaged. I didn't have to wait in their repair queue for weeks. I didn't have to pay for someone to remove a few screws and a ribbon cable.

    If someone can find a way to get Wintress Engineering Corporation to sell the HMT Illuminator Boards directly instead of going through Foresight, the part might end up being much cheaper than what Foresight charged me. I reached out to them, but they directed me to Foresight.

  • #2
    That’s awesome that foresight would sell you just the board and let you install it. I’m surprised they would sell it for only $75. Compared to most of their repair costs, that’s a steal.

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    • #3
      Agree $75 is cheaper than a gc2 flash.

      Comment


      • #4
        I just bought a used gc2 and I am having trouble getting aftermarket stickers to capture my impact location. Found your post above and think I may have a failing led?
        could you tell me if the bottom camera should be as bright as top at impact? Mine seems to be less bright so wondering if I need to replace my led?

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        • #5
          They look about the same brightness to me. I tried to get a picture at impact in the dark, but it’s difficult. If anything, my lower LED is a fraction more bright.

          When my LEDs failed, I never noticed that they were visibly less bright. It was just that less of the LEDs that form the circle lit up at all.

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          • #6
            Thanks for checking and the info on less leds. I think that is my issue. I am going to reach out to foresight to see if I can get replacement led.
            did yours come with instructions on how to swap it out?

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            • #7
              No, but I didn’t ask. I had already taken off the front cover of my unit before contacting Foresight, so I had a good idea of what I needed to do to swap out the board.

              I think it went like this. Proceed at your own risk.

              Remove the front rubber cover. It just peels off.
              Remove the screws holding on the front metal cover.
              Remove the metal cover.
              Remove the three screws holding on Illuminator board you want to swap. One of the screws holds a cover for the LED ring. Set the cover aside.
              Disconnect the ribbon cable from the board. Be gentle. Watch a YouTube video about ribbon cables if you’re unsure.
              Connect the ribbon cable to your replacement board.
              Install the three screws that hold the Illuminator board in place. Be sure to put the LED ring cover back in place.
              Put the metal plate back on.
              Screw the metal plate back on.
              Put the rubber cover back on.

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              • #8
                Hey I just got the replacement boards and I’m trying to replace these, but I can’t get the ribbon off. I viewed a few you tube videos but this ribbon is very tiny. I don’t want to break it. How do I unlock the clip so I can pull the ribbon out? Any suggestions?
                Last edited by Tmar23; 08-11-2022, 02:44 AM.

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                • #9
                  In case anyone tries this, the ribbon pulls straight out, no clip at all. Ymmv.

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Tmar23 View Post
                    In case anyone tries this, the ribbon pulls straight out, no clip at all. Ymmv.
                    Is your HMT working well again after installing the new boards?

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                    • #11
                      Yes, it works perfectly now. So glad I came across your post. Thanks for sharing, it really helped me out.

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                      • #12
                        Does anyone know if both LED arrays should be on when the GC2 and HMT are locked onto a ball? The top one on mine is on but weak and the bottom one is not on at all. It only flickers slightly once a ball is detected.

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                        • #13
                          I think just the top is on initially. The bottom ring fires at impact. You can take a slo mo video with phone to capture it.


                          Originally posted by simmb View Post
                          Does anyone know if both LED arrays should be on when the GC2 and HMT are locked onto a ball? The top one on mine is on but weak and the bottom one is not on at all. It only flickers slightly once a ball is detected.

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                          • #14
                            Resurrecting this thread as it looks like I have the same problem.
                            Below is the pic of my HMT at impact.
                            I too have seen a gradual decline in it's ability to give 4 dot data. Started out just occasionally giving only one dot. Then I was only getting it half the time.
                            Now it's maybe one in 10 shots that I get all the club data.

                            Unfortunately I was one of the folks that was impacted by all the tech layoffs. So I have a bit more time on my hands between job searching to actually use my sim.
                            Now it looks like I'll be down at least long enough to get the board on order and replace it.

                            Are the LED boards identical for top and bottom. Seems like a good idea to get 2. Reaching out to Foresight today.

                            Comment


                            • tlrcash
                              tlrcash commented
                              Editing a comment
                              They are identical.

                          • #15
                            Still waiting to hear back from Foresight. Put in a support ticket on Feb 22nd and still have not heard back. Reached out to a couple different folks.
                            Hopefully someone will get back next week. Frustrating.

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