can a Monitor be repaired at home?
Discussion
Hi
unfortunatly i'm looking to replace my current monitor, as it wont display the colours of purple, yellow or green, an it wont allow adjustment to its GG an GB settings, [unless thats normal for it], tho theyre marked as 'FIX' by its onscreen display window for some reason, rather than the 2 digit numbers re its BB an RG etc settings.
this window-panel also states 'USER 6500k 9300k' on it when i goto adjust the colour, but i dont know what those numbers are meant to mean, only that selecting USER allows any colour adjustment to it!
I went to the makers website to query this but found absolute nothing!
so i wondered if any here had some useful advice to aid me repairing it, [if possible], or a link or 2, for as all crt monitors have a generic design, so maybe theres a basic fix a novice can do from home, as i own a pc technicians tool kit worth £300 [$450], an factories must use similar when they do 're-conditioning' work on superceded models.
[or is it still beyond my means]
for the record its a 17" svga CRT - Fujitsu Siemens farb monitor, MCM17E, model - E17CL, [48.3 KHz, 60Hz NN]
thanx for any advice folks
rsvp.
unfortunatly i'm looking to replace my current monitor, as it wont display the colours of purple, yellow or green, an it wont allow adjustment to its GG an GB settings, [unless thats normal for it], tho theyre marked as 'FIX' by its onscreen display window for some reason, rather than the 2 digit numbers re its BB an RG etc settings.
this window-panel also states 'USER 6500k 9300k' on it when i goto adjust the colour, but i dont know what those numbers are meant to mean, only that selecting USER allows any colour adjustment to it!
I went to the makers website to query this but found absolute nothing!
so i wondered if any here had some useful advice to aid me repairing it, [if possible], or a link or 2, for as all crt monitors have a generic design, so maybe theres a basic fix a novice can do from home, as i own a pc technicians tool kit worth £300 [$450], an factories must use similar when they do 're-conditioning' work on superceded models.
[or is it still beyond my means]
for the record its a 17" svga CRT - Fujitsu Siemens farb monitor, MCM17E, model - E17CL, [48.3 KHz, 60Hz NN]
thanx for any advice folks
rsvp.
I used to know several PC builders / repairers and they wouldn't even consider opening up a CRT monitor due to the high risk of death if you don't know what you're doing. 
They tended to call in a special bloke who did know what he was doing, and only then if the monitor is actually worth something.
These days they'd probably bin it and replace it woth either another CRT or more probably an LCD.
They tended to call in a special bloke who did know what he was doing, and only then if the monitor is actually worth something.
These days they'd probably bin it and replace it woth either another CRT or more probably an LCD.
Good grief, I can't believe you lot. Do you work for the HSE or something? Monitors aren't lethal unless you work with them switched on or have a weak heart. They do store charge, but all you have to do is leave them unplugged for an hour or so before opening the case for the charge to dissipate.
The schematic for an E17CL is here: http://pigeon.dyndns.org/stuff/e17cl_tda4856.png
I'm guessing that it's either Q406 (KSP92) or Q403 (KSP42) which has popped. Equivalent parts (MPSA92, MPSA42) are available from www.grandata.co.uk/ - the MPSA92 is 20p + VAT, the MPSA42 is 15p + VAT, P&P is a quid.
If you live near Bedford and you really don't want to do it yourself I'd charge no more than 20 quid to do the job, assuming I'm right about what's popped.
Throw away a monitor for the sake of a part that costs half a Mars bar? Gordon Bennett.
The schematic for an E17CL is here: http://pigeon.dyndns.org/stuff/e17cl_tda4856.png
I'm guessing that it's either Q406 (KSP92) or Q403 (KSP42) which has popped. Equivalent parts (MPSA92, MPSA42) are available from www.grandata.co.uk/ - the MPSA92 is 20p + VAT, the MPSA42 is 15p + VAT, P&P is a quid.
If you live near Bedford and you really don't want to do it yourself I'd charge no more than 20 quid to do the job, assuming I'm right about what's popped.
Throw away a monitor for the sake of a part that costs half a Mars bar? Gordon Bennett.
Good on ya pigeon! Save another monitor from adding to a landfill because of our disposable society.
From August this year (I think) monitors will be classed as hazardous waste & thus can't be chucked in the bin. I'll bet that will change some peoples attitudes to fixing/binning them (as it will cost money to dispose of them)
From August this year (I think) monitors will be classed as hazardous waste & thus can't be chucked in the bin. I'll bet that will change some peoples attitudes to fixing/binning them (as it will cost money to dispose of them)
Thanks
The other part which is a likely suspect is IC403 (LM2437). I can't find this exact part at the moment but Grandata stock the LM2407 (£4 + VAT) which is a close equivalent of marginally higher quality and with a wee bit of jiggery-pokery (bend up pins 2 and 4, connect to pin 7, bend pins 3 and 1 such that the 9 non-bent-up pins match the LM2437 pinout) would be a perfectly good replacement.
The other part which is a likely suspect is IC403 (LM2437). I can't find this exact part at the moment but Grandata stock the LM2407 (£4 + VAT) which is a close equivalent of marginally higher quality and with a wee bit of jiggery-pokery (bend up pins 2 and 4, connect to pin 7, bend pins 3 and 1 such that the 9 non-bent-up pins match the LM2437 pinout) would be a perfectly good replacement.
Just a quick thought - is it definitely the montior and not the graphics card (i.e. have you tried either the card on another monitor or the monitor on another PC?)... just thought it may be worth checking before shelling out on a new monitor and getting the same problem!
Caveat: I have no knowledge of monitors and the like - just plenty of "bollox, it was that all along" experience!
Caveat: I have no knowledge of monitors and the like - just plenty of "bollox, it was that all along" experience!
Monitors do hold a charge when switched of - for how long I wouldn't like to say.
On the high tension rail of a coulour set the voltage is about 25,000 Volts.
It may not kill you, but then again it might (feeling lucky?).
I got a very nasty crack off one when I was training as a TV Engineer in the 80's.
If you don't know your way around inside one, then I'd leave well alone personally.
>> Edited by bobfrance on Friday 28th January 13:24
>> Edited by bobfrance on Tuesday 1st February 13:33
On the high tension rail of a coulour set the voltage is about 25,000 Volts.
It may not kill you, but then again it might (feeling lucky?).
I got a very nasty crack off one when I was training as a TV Engineer in the 80's.
If you don't know your way around inside one, then I'd leave well alone personally.
>> Edited by bobfrance on Friday 28th January 13:24
>> Edited by bobfrance on Tuesday 1st February 13:33
have fixed many TVs and monitors in the past that people are chucking away as uneconomical to repair.
most of them have never cost more that £5 to fix (in parts).
the LM2437 could be sourced from national Direct for about $3 or try digikey, if the uk outlet has not got it the US one will
most of them have never cost more that £5 to fix (in parts).
the LM2437 could be sourced from national Direct for about $3 or try digikey, if the uk outlet has not got it the US one will
just thought i'd update everyone on what i happened.
i read all above, but the repair job was beyond me, for i can do pc base-units ok but the monitor internals are alien to me, especially as i dont know how to diagnose faults surrounding CRT assembly, whereas i was looking for a visible burnout or dislodgement that i could address - but at least tried.
an i was also put off by guys on a pc forum who said they retain massive shock-charges awhile after use.
anyway, the guy who sold me it gave me an exchange
An now for a cautionary Ebay lesson, for those who dont know...
1. when my 10yr old svga 14" monitor kicked the bucket this year, i went to replace it with a 2nd hand one to save money, an after finding that ebay had the biggest choice, i joined up to buy one, an this became my first intro to that sites business.
2. now in bidding for what i wanted, i always lost out as 14" ones tho cheap are now too rare, so i had to bid for a larger screen one, tho which still wasnt too expensive compared to a new one.
3. so a week later i got this newish 17 incher for £20 - but it didnt work, so i got a full refund, an looked for another there.
4. so days later i bought another, tho for £40, as thats the cheapest there, an it took THREE weeks to show up! - but smoke came from its top an didnt work either!
5. so the seller sent me a replacement, an 2 weeks later it appeared, tho after 1 week its colouration went wrong, [hence this topics starting post].
6. so he said if i came to his home, 10 miles away, he'd gimme a replacement, an so me an pal went there after pre-phoning him, but after our 3 hour drive there, he wasnt home but 200 miles away playing rugby!
7. so we went there again the next day, an got it, an to this day its worked fine, several months later
the whole business took a month to sort out, an finished with me using my pals renault-MPV to carry FOUR monitors at the local municpal dump.
NB- 1 good point is that the big screen i ended up with makes video gameing more immersive than ever before, its like i'm in the damn game now - not that ive got time these days as i havent played a game for 2 yrs now
i read all above, but the repair job was beyond me, for i can do pc base-units ok but the monitor internals are alien to me, especially as i dont know how to diagnose faults surrounding CRT assembly, whereas i was looking for a visible burnout or dislodgement that i could address - but at least tried.
an i was also put off by guys on a pc forum who said they retain massive shock-charges awhile after use.
anyway, the guy who sold me it gave me an exchange
An now for a cautionary Ebay lesson, for those who dont know...
1. when my 10yr old svga 14" monitor kicked the bucket this year, i went to replace it with a 2nd hand one to save money, an after finding that ebay had the biggest choice, i joined up to buy one, an this became my first intro to that sites business.
2. now in bidding for what i wanted, i always lost out as 14" ones tho cheap are now too rare, so i had to bid for a larger screen one, tho which still wasnt too expensive compared to a new one.
3. so a week later i got this newish 17 incher for £20 - but it didnt work, so i got a full refund, an looked for another there.
4. so days later i bought another, tho for £40, as thats the cheapest there, an it took THREE weeks to show up! - but smoke came from its top an didnt work either!
5. so the seller sent me a replacement, an 2 weeks later it appeared, tho after 1 week its colouration went wrong, [hence this topics starting post].
6. so he said if i came to his home, 10 miles away, he'd gimme a replacement, an so me an pal went there after pre-phoning him, but after our 3 hour drive there, he wasnt home but 200 miles away playing rugby!
7. so we went there again the next day, an got it, an to this day its worked fine, several months later
the whole business took a month to sort out, an finished with me using my pals renault-MPV to carry FOUR monitors at the local municpal dump.
NB- 1 good point is that the big screen i ended up with makes video gameing more immersive than ever before
, its like i'm in the damn game now - not that ive got time these days as i havent played a game for 2 yrs now Just a quickie as noones mentioned it yet, USER 6500k 9300k referes to the white point of the monitor. At 9300 whites will look cooler and blue-ish, 6500 will look warmer and yellow-ish. User is just an opportunity to bugger it up, unless you get some calibration charts and do it properly. I'd do a 'load factory defaults' in the menus if poss. Also try another monitor on that PC, as you can sometimes bugger the colour settings up in the display properties on some graphics cards.
Ps: If you've not yet checked for bent pins in the connector, or otherwise generally wiggled it or replaced it then give that a quick go.
HTH
Neil
Edit: That'l teach me not to check dates, d'oh!
>> Edited by aldi on Saturday 12th November 10:58
Ps: If you've not yet checked for bent pins in the connector, or otherwise generally wiggled it or replaced it then give that a quick go.
HTH
Neil
Edit: That'l teach me not to check dates, d'oh!
>> Edited by aldi on Saturday 12th November 10:58
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