21" Trinitron tube too bright!

[dmworking247]

Sorry for the duplicate post... I posted this in the bad ebay experience thread but I figure this topic needs a thread of its own for anyone considering 21" monitors for their cabs..........

 

I got screwed today ... First I missed a 21" black trinitron IBM monitor that went for $53... then I got an old one from work with a faulty PSU (that due to the hassle with getting spare parts and the safety issues I decided not to bother)...

 

Now I buy a 21" Dell P1110 (Flat screen Trinitron Tube)... which is not only $20 more than the one I missed, and white... but I get it home and its too damn bright!

 

Its like setting the brightness on your TV to 100. The guy wasnt home when I picked it up (his g/f answered the door) and it wasnt plugged in when I picked it up which I put down to it being ready for collection.

 

Anyway, a quick search on Google has revealed this is a common problem for Trinitron tubes in monitors... particularly common in the Dell P1110. There is a whole thread about it here: http://www.short-media.com/forum/showthread.php?t=19549 but the short of it is there are two ways to fix this problem:

 

Get some special servicing software that requires a custom built serial to monitor-service-port cable (>US$20) and play around with all types of not-user-friendly software to configure the eprom.

or

Open the beast up, and perform a hack by replacing a resistor on the board. Sounds easy but as with all montiors, dangerous... not to mention a big pain in the arse considering I have so many other things I'd rather worry about with this mame cabinet project.

 

So this post is more of a rant than a warning as I doubt this small audience will have had run-ins with this problem.. and I wont flame the seller until I give him a chance to respond... chances are I'm going to end up re-selling the monitor to someone who wants to bother with the fix (only I will be honest thus getting less money for it).

[lien_Zed]

if your putting it in a cabinet, put some tinted perspex in front of the monitor.

i did this on my lowboy and it looks awesome.

use the lightest tint perspex you can get, mind you it is still fairly dark.

 

should work

[Crafty]

Sounds like a good idea Dezrae.

 

I would personally try this before ridding yourself of the monitor.

[dmworking247]

if your putting it in a cabinet, put some tinted perspex in front of the monitor.

i did this on my lowboy and it looks awesome.

use the lightest tint perspex you can get, mind you it is still fairly dark.

 

should work

 

I've already ordered some grey tinted glass which will be here in another 5 days.. and while it would probably improve the picture somewhat, think about your TV on maximum brightness (better yet, try it)... the colours look washed out (faded)/contrast is lower etc... not to mention the fact that a monitor is constantly on 'high beam' will cause burn-out /shorten its life... which is not something I need in an arcade cabinet which will the harness & bezel will be cut to fit the monitor.

 

The seller is being suprisingly accomodating despite claiming he had no problems with it... we'll see what my options are but keeping it 'as is' is currently my last resort.

[lien_Zed]

out of interest. have you removed the covers of the monitor and inspected the monitor driver board yourself.

as a general rulb of humb, there will be "pots" on the board that adjust the voltage too the guns and you can vary the intensity of the screen.

i see you went hunting the net and others ahev said there is a resistor you can change, but i would take it with a grain of salt till i removed the covers and investigated it myself.

 

make sure the power plug is unplugged from the wall first..

[xygt]

The resistor trick does work on the models that have the relevant resistor.

Best to adjust the settings with the software though.

[dmworking247]

Crap picture

 

Take a look at these!

 

http://www.grumpysangels.com/cab/badmonitor_1.jpg

 

http://www.grumpysangels.com/cab/badmonitor_2.jpg

 

http://www.grumpysangels.com/cab/badmonitor_3.jpg

 

The guy has offered my money back, though it'll cost me $15 of petrol to drive back where I got it from... and he wants me to show him the fault which is fair enough I guess... surely its not just me who thinks this is unacceptable picture (note: brightness = 0, contrast = 50).

[Brumaz]

at least you can get bubble bobble to work!

stupid mamewah ...:x

[NickD]

Take a look at these!

 

http://www.grumpysangels.com/cab/badmonitor_1.jpg

 

http://www.grumpysangels.com/cab/badmonitor_2.jpg

 

http://www.grumpysangels.com/cab/badmonitor_3.jpg

 

The guy has offered my money back, though it'll cost me $15 of petrol to drive back where I got it from... and he wants me to show him the fault which is fair enough I guess... surely its not just me who thinks this is unacceptable picture (note: brightness = 0, contrast = 50).

 

It doesn't look THAT bad but i guess it would bug you after awhile, But the bottom line is you payed for a good monitor and thats whould you should get

[xygt]

What city are you in Mame Man?

[NickD]

What city are you in Mame Man?

 

That was random Port Macqaurie why?

[xygt]

If you were closer, I could have come over to help you fix the brightness issue. Bit too far from me.

Sorry mate.

 

Regards,

Xygt