MOTU Ultralite MK1 display repair

Last year i bought a MOTU Ultralite Firewire audio/MIDI interface to upgrade my studio,
and bought it really cheap..
Well, there was a catch : the seller failed to mention that the display was dim, and the characters barely seen..
I searched the web and found out that this is a very common problem with these MOTU audio interfaces..

Anyway, the card is excellent soundwise, but i decided to fix this annoying problem.
I searched the web and found many replacements, and the motunation.com forum helped me alot to gain some knowledge about the subject matter.

After months of thinking what route should i take (replace the faulty backlight or the whole display module), i found a Chinese manufacturer (NOT a reseller like digikey or mouser.) that was manufacturing LCD modules. I looked at their site and found what i was looking for! And the stuff was really cheap!
Well, i have been always reluctant to order from China, because of the not so reliable transactions, customs cost and time wasting etc. But , what the heck, i said to have a go with this.

So, after i checked the pin outs at the datasheets, to make sure that it is a direct replacement, i ordered 2 modules :

1)  3V/5V 16x2 Character LCD Module Display w/HD44780 Controller White on Black
https://www.buydisplay.com/default/3v-5v-16x2-character-lcd-module-hd44780-controller-white-on-black
and
2)  3V/5V 16x2 Character LCD Module Display w/HD44780 Controller Black on White
https://www.buydisplay.com/default/16x2-character-lcd-module-display-w-hd44780-controller-black-on-white

Both have the option of 3.3V or 5V power supply.


(Please note that i am in no way affiliated with the company or am i trying to advertise, i just give the above links to help other users that have the same problem with me.)


When the modules arrived, i saw a very good proffessional packaging, and the modules where inside antistatic bags .

Some photos of the display module:

Today i installed the module with the black background and white characters, and i supplied the display with 5Volts from a 5V empty pin from the MOTU mainboard.

The following link shows how to do this :
-->  how to repair a MOTU display

This was poste at the motunation forum:
--> http://www.motunation.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=19812&p=560587#p560587


Well, anyone with the same dim MOTU display would already have found the above links, but i posted them anyway..


So,..... the end result :

The photo shows blue background, but it is not correct, the background is actually black. It's my phone's camera that cannot show this correctly......



The only difference with the original Tianma display is the total thickness, but this is no problem at all. You just have to install the new module BEHIND the display PCB of the MOTU, that's all !  It fits like a glove!


For me, this worked extra fine, and i am so happy now that the MOTU display is restored. Actually, it seems that it is the brightest in the whole studio !!