Internal or External Screen of Apex Console goes dark

Symptoms/Issue

One internal or external screen of an Apex console suddenly goes dark during regular usage. The backlight of the screen may remain on, but nothing appears on the screen. The screen may remain dark until the console is power-cycled, or it may go blank for a few seconds, then recover.

Description/Explanation of Issue

There have been occasional reports of this issue in Apex consoles. Known causes include:

Interference from 2-way Radios (Using a Radio (Walkie-Talkie) Near My ETC Equipment Causes it to Behave Strangely)
Static ESD discharge, as when plugging in a USB cable or thumbdrive
Moving the screen (causing an internal connection to flex or become loose)
Firmware issues on the monitor transition cards (consoles manufactured prior to January 2024)

Fix/Solution

If the screen returns to normal operation after a few seconds, it has recovered from the interruption and should continue to operate normally. No further action is needed.

If the screen does not return to normal operation after 60 seconds, proceed with these troubleshooting steps:

Record the following information:

Date/Time the screen goes out
- Press [Displays]+[Record] to put a "pin" in the logs if running the Eos application
What (if anything) was happening around that time (such as use of 2-way radios, plugging in USB thumbdrives, moving the monitors, etc)
Which screen is dark/off
- If the screen is External, which DisplayPort connection is it plugged into
- If the screen is External, are adapters being used
Whether the backlight appears on or not
Whether the mouse can appear on the dark screen
If touching the dark screen selects things / moves the pointer to the touched location - that is, if touch input is still working properly
- This test can be performed any time prior to rebooting the console to avoid accidental input on Magic Sheets, Direct Selects, etc

Once it is safe to exit out of Eos software:

Exit to the Welcome Screen and verify if the monitor works
Navigate to Settings > General > Monitor Arrangement > Identify to see if a big white letter appears on that screen
Navigate to the Touch Screen Test in Shell > Settings > Maintenance to see if it displays properly (blue screen with white popup)
Once it is possible, reboot the console to see if the monitor immediately works again.

If, after that testing, the issue is persistent, please email eos@etcconnect.com or call Technical Services to determine if replacement monitor transition card is necessary. ETC Technical Services will ask for the serial number of the console and any other notes you have taken on this issue.

Symptoms/Issue

Description/Explanation of Issue

Fix/Solution

Record the following information:

Once it is safe to exit out of Eos software:

Related Links/References