Current U.S.A. CRT Arcade Monitor Availability

[Jack Burton]

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=46420.40 has some info

I think it should be fine.  Listen to the monitor closely and see if your hear any high pitched squealing or whistling.

720 lines is well within it's range and the 1280 across shouldn't make a difference. 

[Gray_Area]

I remember about 6 months ago on a houston craigslist ad a guy had a picture of his pickup filled with xm29's....about a dozen.  He wanted $50 each.  I wanted so bad to grab one, but an 18 hour drive kills the motivation.

The shipping would have been so worth it.

[Jack Burton]

Those look like cctv monitors.
I do cctv work and I would just say be cautious when buying them used because they run 24 hours a day with primarily the same image on the screen so screen burn is very much possible.

Going off this and another post on the previous page, I'll share my experiences.

I've had these

Mitsubishi XC3717C- beat up, flickered and popped occasionally, dark image at times.  Paid $150 off craigslist.  Looked like it had taken a hard bump at some point in it's life.  Screen was scratch and burn-in free.  When it worked right it was flawless.

Mitsubishi Diamondscan 20m- Got free from a pc repair shop just for asking.  Was near mint.  Perfect condition, perfect monitor.  I kick myself so hard for ever selling it.  

Sony PVM-1251Q- Found for free in an old barn from a junk seller.  Had to search through about 20 other monitors to find this one.  Was covered in mud, and manure.  Once cleaned up it performed perfectly.  Maybe the nicest arcade image I've ever seen since it has it's own smoked glass covering.

20" Sony PVM from auction- $20 at auction.  Very poor condition, the case was halfway cracked open and the screen had severe gaussing issues.  After deeming it a lost cost and fire hazard I threw it away.

20" Sony from a different auction- $20 again.  This one exhibited partial horizontal collapse.  I monkied about in the service menu and screwed it up.  My ego probably got the best of me in this time.  The image was otherwise flawless on it.  If you could live with the horizontonal collapse it would have made a good monitor.  Worth $20 in my opinion.  I threw it away to make space for others though.  

Mitsubishi AM-3501R- Paid about $15 for it at auction.  Big, heavy thing.  It's my main monitor and is excellent.  The blue gun on it is a bit weak, but you can really only tell that on color test menus.  Games look great on it.  No burn-in or scratches.  Had to take the cover off and turn up the SCREEN setting to make it look really good, before it was a tad dark.

NEC XM-29- Free from an auction.  Turned on for five seconds and turned itself off.  I looked in the manual and determined it was a cooling fan issue.  I blew out the interior with compressed air and it worked.  Screen had severe burn in from hospital use, but looked fantastic otherwise.  The fan makes a lot of noise.

So there's a lot of variety in the condition and price of this stuff.  It's a hobby of it's own.  And it's really random.  I would as much expect a truckload of NIB XM's as a load of beat up airport monitors.   

[teetu]

This thread certainly was informative!  My WG K7400 was recently destroyed by my cat (he got in there and broke the neck right off) and I'm looking to replace the monitor to use with my arcade vga (I'm only interested in older games).

I don't want to spend a ton of money but I want something authentic, so my options are

- $365 Makvision 24.8" Tri Mode (I can drive to happ and save on shipping)
- $50 Sony KV-25XBR (local craigslist)

Are both of these going to be suitable replacements for my wells gardner?  Can the sony XBR do the same resolutions as the WG K7400?  I won't have any problems making a cable for the sony but I don't quite understand the pinout (do I need the H sync and V Sync from the arcade vga, or is it just a composite sync?)

Thanks!

[Jack Burton]

Here's the manual:
http://fileshare.eshop.bg/downloadsm/34378/sony_kv-25xbr.html

And a pinout:

http://www.hardwarebook.info/Sony_RGB_Multi_Input

It's just a standard res monitor just like the K7400 so it can only do the 15khz games natively.  24 and 31khz would have to be interlaced.  

I think the KV could be made to work, it's a matter of:

-figuring out the pinout, and making an adapter.  

-making it fit into your cabinet.  If it can just slide in and sit on a shelf then you're good to go.  

I would not try to decase it.  If it won't fit without extensively modding the cab or decasing the monitor then I'd go ahead and just spring for the Makvision.  

The picture on the either monitor would be very good.  If the Sony monitor is in good shape it will have superior color.  However, it is an aperature grille monitor, and I suggest you read up about that technology before making a decision.  

The makvision will have easier to access H and V size controls.  The Sony will usually center games pretty well, but sometimes a few pixels will get cut off by the surrounding bezel.  It's a result of the overscan that was prevalent in tv shows of that era.  It's just something you have to live with with these kinds of monitors.  

[MPH]

Follow-up note here.

The 1024x768 MakVision is no longer available at Happ or X-Gaming. (see this thread regarding one member's experience with Happ sending the wrong monitor... also note this monitor has since been removed from Happ's website:  http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=100534.0)

Looks like possibly MakVision is weaning off the CRT's (I'll be shocked if they are not), so word to the wise again if you want a CRT arcade monitor you should seriously consider buying one now... at least if you want it big with a high resolution... before they are gone (if the new ones are still being produced... hard to tell these days).

[clutch]

Anybody have experience with this monitor?  They have them in stock.  They are all out of the rounded ones.
http://www.betson.com/products/parts/IMP-44-4070-DF


Tried to cut and paste specs:

CRT Size
   

29" (27V) Flat

Dot Pitch
   

0.79mm

Video Input
   

Analog 0.7VPP (75Ω)/TTL 2.5-5.0VPP (2KΩ)

Sync Input
   

TTL Level Positive/Negative/Separate or Composite

H-Frequency
   

15/24/31KHz

V-Frequency
   

47-70Hz

Bandwidth
   

65MHz

Resolution
   

640 x 480 max

Power Supply
   

100-240VAC 50/60Hz

Power Consumption
   

120W

Signal Connector
   

15-pin D-sub male connector

Weight
   

103 lbs

Approvals
   

TUV, S-Mark & UL

[MPH]

Clutch,

That's a VGA. IMHO, for the $ you are better off trying to get one of the SVGA models. TwistedQuarter's website still lists the 27" SVGA, but I have not reached out to them (yet) to inquire as to its availability.

[clutch]

Will the SVGA do the 15kHZ resolutions?

[MPH]

No, sorry I missed that you were looking at a tri-sync!  My bad.

I don't know of any Tri-syncs that will do SVGA (at least not which you can buy new).

[MonMotha]

I think that Betson part number is their part number for the KT-2914DF (the "round" version, which was barely round, is the IMP-44-4070-RT and I'm sure is out of stock as it hasn't been made in about 3-5 years).  If that is indeed a KT-2914DF, the specs are wrong.  It WILL, in fact, do 800x600 SVGA, AND it will also go all the way down to 15kHz standard res CGA.  It will also do 120Hz refresh rates, which can be handy for some visual tricks.

I thought Betson was out of these, though.  I had heard they ran out about 8-12 months ago.  I'm pretty sure Kortek hasn't made the monitor for at least a year.  It's possible that they're re-using the part number for a totally different monitor.

[clutch]

 I just noticed that in the email with the specs, there was a makvision logo above them!?  I'll bug the guy some more.  MonMotha, do you know what the picture looks like in 15khz?  I know that the Makvision has some pretty bad scanlines at that low res.

[clutch]

Mystery solved:

it is makvsion , cost is $435.00 and we we have about 30 in stock

[penguinpc]

Not to get too far off topic, but it looks like going with a 16:10 pc monitor may be better than going with a 16:9 TV.  As the picture shows here: http://www.displaywars.com/27-inch-16x10-vs-27-inch-16x9 they are a bit taller and would have slightly less of a black border in games.  I believe though that 16:10 monitors are being phased in favor of 16:9.     I just ordered a 26 inch 16:10 pc monitor, new for only $169.00 shipped but I have fears that it is not going to look very big after I see it with those black bars.

Yohan, what kind of monitor, and where did you order it from?

[MPH]

FYI, I emailed with Andy at Twisted Quarter. He says they are getting in a shipment of the SVGA/XGA MakVision 27/29" monitors this Wednesday (price approx. $500+ship). I'm a bit concerned that they might not actually be the SVGA/XGA and might be the VGA/SVGA versions (800x600 max. res), since they seem to be the only people who seem to have the SVGA/XGA monitor, and I've read on this board about another member who ordered the SVGA/XGA monitor from Happ and they sent him the lower res monitor instead (and btw the high res has been recently removed from Happ's website).

We'll see. If anyone orders one, please consider posting here and confirming which model you receive.

[rcub3]

Fantastic thread as I still debate on which monitor to get. I wonder though, does anyone know which monitors are in the NorthCoast and Magnum Arcade cabs?

[MPH]

Fantastic thread as I still debate on which monitor to get. I wonder though, does anyone know which monitors are in the NorthCoast and Magnum Arcade cabs?

Last time that I spoke with someone at NorthCoast (about 6 months ago), they were using the MakVision 29/27" SVGA. I presume they still are since that monitor seems to still be available (though that point continues to be debated since X-Gaming does not offer the SVGA model anymore, and it is suspect whether other vendors are actually selling it or not... some people in this business are better informed than others; i.e. know what they are talking about, and some do not).