Challenge 305 CRT (1997) trouble

Hello All,

I have a 1997 Challenge 305 CRT. I am having a few issues with it. We lost power last week for about 12 hours. But the cutter wasn't in use at the time of power loss, so I don't know if that could have caused the issues. I have shut it completely down and turned it back on, it did not solve the problems.

Problem 1: The screen seems completely normal, but when I go to the job list, it shows up as a jumbled mess. (Photos included.)

Problem 2: The back gauge moves slow for the majority of send mode going forward. For example; the back gauge is at 28.00in and I want to go to 5.00in. I type 5 and hit send. It moves fast from 28.0in to about 21.7in, then goes slow from 21.7in all the way to 5.0in. If I go reverse, so I'm at 5.0in and want to go to 27.0in. I type 27 and hit send. It goes fast from 5.0in to 28.0in, then goes slowly from 28.0in to 27.0in. If I use the the forward or reverse keys it will move fast in both directions and slow in both directions when I use the slow key.

Does anyone have any ideas...

Yours looks similar to ours. I don't know if it will fix it, but if you pull down the front panel where the CRT is and reseat all the molex connectors you might have some success.

Hey - WATCH OUT FOR THE HIGH VOLTAGE ON THE CRT !!!!!
Be really careful. Touch the wrong wire and it could kill you.
Not kidding.

chriscozi said:

Hey - WATCH OUT FOR THE HIGH VOLTAGE ON THE CRT !!!!!
Be really careful. Touch the wrong wire and it could kill you.
Not kidding.

Click to expand...

Thank you for the warning. If I cut power from the wall, will it be ok? Either way I will have my husband work on it. He works on high voltage power for a living.

HillviewDPM said:

Thank you for the warning. If I cut power from the wall, will it be ok? Either way I will have my husband work on it. He works on high voltage power for a living.

Click to expand...

It will not be sufficient. Not by a long shot. Look at how to properly ground a CRT before you even remotely think of looking closer than sideways at it. The capacitor can hold enough of a charge to kill you before you even realize it’s still got any charge built up in it. There are ways to safely discharge the residual charge in the device but trust me, if you don’t have experience in it, I wouldn’t suggest even opening up the case.

Hi sir:
I believe that you must test the following:

1) Fuses of power supplier

1a) Reset the CPU in the mainboard. attached how to do it , with my technics, remember the Vcc must be in tolerance 0.7% up or down. and CLOCK, with the o.k MHZ.

2) EPROM, the pins, you must clean fro oxide, and dirty, and look carefully any pin Bent.

3) EPROM, can be faulty, measure the Vcc voltage if there are in tolerance from Regulated power supply must be 0.7% up or down, otherwise you must replace the EPROM, since there are software or programs for the machine, you must contact to the company Challenge, for to buy the equal version of Softare.

3a) Test the High Voltage for CRT, and look in the Neck of CRT, if there are some electronic components, burns, or dry or colder joint solder very important.......!! Carefully!!!!!

4) Look for any connectors, lose, or corroded, or loose wires too..........................and clean it. very important.

Let me know, sincerely

Blessing
[email protected]
Mobile+WhatsApp<:+505 8861 1441
Managua, Nicaragua.