Dust Blob AE500

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I think I've got a dust blob. It shows up as a blue circular smudge about the size of a small football on a black screen.

As I can focus it down to a tennis ball size I guess it's dust, right ?

Thing is after opening up and giving the panels some serious cleaning (especially the blue) it still hasn't gone ?

If I can't remove it I guess I'm gonna have to send it back.

On another note I noticed a small mark on my case. At first it looked like a scratch and it sits inbetween the buttons and the warning sticker on top. After looking at a few other AE500's I notice that they had this as well. It seems like the mould these cases were made in are probably leaving this mark. Any others have this on there case ?
 
Thanks harrisuk.

I notice you got yours from Komplett, maybe cos it's not UK that it doesn't have the mark on your case ? It's only a very slight cosmetic thing but I've seen about 4 UK ones now and they all have it.

Anyhow spoke to my dealer and I can pick up a new one on Saturday. Just hope it don't have any dead pixels or VB issues on the new one !
 
Thats a result that they will change it for you. Was that Panasonic or the shop you got it from ?

Must admit the prospect of dust is not an appealing one. How long had you had it ? The ae500 from komplett seem to be UK spec anyway. Come with a UK plug instruction manual etc.
 
i have had to clean dust blobs from my a300 4 times in only 250 hours use which is a pain as its ceiling mounted, i only cleaned the panels on my old a100 twice in 2 years (3400 hrs), i cant understand why the 300 is worse for dust blobs than the 100 as the filter looks the same. I think the key to avoiding dust blobs is to be very careful when removing the filter for cleaning, what i do is clean round the filter before i remove it using the vacuum cleaner hose and i keep it switched on while i remove the filter to catch any loose dust.
 
Official Panasonic Dealer, yes very good service.

Only have 20 hrs on it, but I reckon the dust was there right from the start, as I only began to notice it on black screens just recently.

Cannot shift it at all, and I have used nearly half a can on it. May not be dust in that case ?

I had my AE100 for 2 years and it never got any dust whatsoever, also my set up is in generally a dust free environment and the PJ is table mounted. I think from the design of the case of the AE500 it will probably be more prone to dust being ceiling mounted.
 
My ae 500 will be going on a Nobo stand. I really didnt fancy ceiling mounting in case I want to move it.

Its going in my loft conversion which is going s to be my CInema / Gaming room. Its rife with dust at the moment at you would expect !

But once sealed cleaned up and decorated. It should be pretty clean. Until then it is safely sealed in its original box in my Wardrobe.

Cross the dust problem if and when it happens :rolleyes:
 
has anyone done any pics/diagrams of the best way of taking apart and cleaning any of the Panasonic units? I have a small dust blob too. Is it quite easy to do, or do i need to send it back to get cleaned?

Cheers,
Dan.
 
It is easy to take the lid off. once open it is best to prise out the ribbon cables for each of the lcd panels. you can do this by releasing the small catches either side. this will then give you far greater access to blow air into the lcd panels and remove any dust with ease. if you leave the ribbons in then getting rid of the blobs is a bit more of a hit and miss affair.
 
I really must do this myself,I noticed a green dustblob 2 days after purchase and then 2 blues about 2 weeks later :( only visible on a black background and then only if your looking.

As I've noticed them I really need to get rid of them before they send me insane :p

Wij
 
I've had a number of projectors over the years and never had dust problems in my dedicated theatre at all. With my new AE500 I got dust blobs within 20 hours of viewing. I haven't bothered to clean them yet (there are 2 fairly large ones) and will only do so once they really start bugging me...
 
Actually seems pointless having the filter on the AE500 for dust purposes.

Reason being behind the aluminium front strip the case is vented anway without any filters. If you turn the machine upside down or when you open it you will see what I mean. The machine is actually drawing in more air through this area than through the filter !

I believe this is where the dust is getting in so regularly. If you have the PJ mounted upside down I reckon it will exacerbate the problem further.

It maybe worth lining some very thin gauze across this area to help with this matter.
 
It maybe worth lining some very thin gauze across this area to help with this matter.

Its a top tip. I must admit I dont feel up to messing with my ae500 whilst it is in warranty unless I get a bad dust problem.

My pj is in hiding anyway whilst the building work is going on. Safely sealed in its box. Wall to wall dust in my house at the moment.
 
You may not feel like messing with it cos it's under warranty but it is a fairly routine procedure that you should at least be familiar with.

The problem otherwise is you wiill be forever sending your unit back and forth if and ever you get this as a re-occuring problem. Which in all honesty you probably will as this is not a sealed optic unit.

I will investigate the gauze later, it needs to be fine enough to catch dust particles but not dense enough as to hinder good airflow. Should not be difficult to source something I think ?
 

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