My free 27" NEC rocks!

[1UP]

I just picked up a 27" professional VGA monitor free!  Thanks to Pixelhugger for the heads up, as it was headed for the dumpster before I got there!    (BTW, he's a really nice guy, and has a kickass control panel with a sweet rounded bevel around the trackball.  Really professional looking.)

  The model is NEC 4PG.  Let me say that the picture quality is great.   Not as sharp as a PC monitor, it is just fuzzy enough to look like a really good arcade monitor with no scanlines, but plenty sharp enough to easily read text.  I have tested it fully with MAME32, and it seems to do any of the resolutions below 800x600, even oddball resolutions like 512x384, 400x300 etc that my PC monitor won't do.  Vector games look great at 800x600.  It will also do interlaced NTSC resolutions.  The picture is fully adjustable for size, position, pincusion, brightness, contrast, tint etc via a really big remote control.  Seriously, I feel like a kid holding this thing!  

The monitor, which has a built-in cooling fan and speakers, automatically switches on when a video signal is detected, so the problem of rigging a remote power switch is avoided.  It also accepts multiple video sources (each with a passthru) in case I want to add consoles etc to my cab in the future.

All in all, it's perfect for my needs.  I'm in heaven!    The only problem is that the built in enclosure is about 1/16" too wide for my cab.  1/16"!!  I should be able to fit it easily by removing the case, but how easy that is remains to be seen...

[paigeoliver]

Is your cab plywood or MDF? If it is plywood then it should have a bit of flex so that you could still squeeze it in there.

Although the tube would have to be centered in the case for you do do that.

[rdagger]

Free monitor, $25 T2 guns...  you find the sweet deals.

I guess one could probably find a 4PG cheap on eBay, but the shipping would probably be near cab rates.  What does it weigh about 120lbs?

[RandyT]

The only problem is that the built in enclosure is about 1/16" too wide for my cab.  1/16"!!

Now all you need to do is find a free belt sander with a 40grit belt.  

RandyT

[Lilwolf]

Or some major fine routing....  A little track to put it in...

1/32 on each side?

[1UP]

It's HEAVY.  I don't think I can just stuff it in, my cab is melamine.  Maybe it has a nice metal chassis underneath that case...  It's going to be a tricky install anyway I go about it.

[J_K_M_A_N]

Congrats! I have 2 3pg's and I love them. Watch a DVD through s-video and notice how nice it looks. It has 600 lines of resolution. It will do 1024x768 also (At least mine will). You just have to tell the computer it is an NEC 3D monitor. Then it should do 1024x768 just fine. Have fun with it. Make sure you take good care of that remote though! They are near impossible to find. I sent Snaack a programmable remote to replace his.

J_K_M_A_N

[CitznFish]

sweet! I was supposed tog et one of those too, but he never contacted me back. I assume co-workers took the other 2.

[hyiu]

that's it !!!!....

when monitor does NOT fit the cab... there is only 1 solution !!!!

BUILD A NEW CAB !!!!!!!  

yeah !!!.....  

[SNAAAKE]

I'm in heaven!    

 
So am I.I paid $150 for mine...Free would have been better.I think I got the exact some one.I get to use all my consoles on s-video and the computer and dremcast on vga.
How exactly was it free again ?
Someone jus thought, "okay I will just throw the monitor out"

 

[Pixelhugger]

How exactly was it free again ?

Think of it as an entertainment industry garage sale.


We were clearing house of some unneccessary bulky items. It wasn't worth company time/money to try to sell them on ebay/find someone to pack them securely and cover shipping charges that would have been enormous. So it was easier to share the wealth and offer them to company employees that would take them away. I took one, another co-worker took one, and I IM'd local BYOACers (1UP & CF) to notify them of 2 remaining..one of which went to 1UP and the other was to go to CitznFish...(and it would have too if it hadn't been for those meddling kids - er - bosses.) If any more become available I'll post, tho CitznFish is first in line.

1UP - Glad to hear you're enjoying the post production trickle down effect!

Snaaake- I'd say $150 is  an insanely good deal, since these were like $3000 new, tho that was a *few* years back

[SNAAAKE]

Snaaake- I'd say $150 is  an insanely good deal, since these were like $3000 new, tho that was a *few* years back

TELL ME ABOUT IT !  
Sometimes I pet the monitor because consoles look great on s-video(better then tv s-video,more lines I guess).
Good monitor ! *pets the monitor*
Now I never have to bother anyone with the living room tv.

[1UP]

I guess this model is actually about 10 years old (manufactured in 1994) so it wouldn't fetch top dollar now, but it does look good!

DOH!  I just realized that there's not enough clearance thru the front or back of my cab for the height of the monitor.  Also, the case was really difficult to remove, and I can't see any way to remove the front bezel section without removing support for the tube.  Looks like a little disassembly/remodeling of my cab is in order...I'll have to at least remove the top/back angled panel.  I really wish I hadn't used urethane glue AND screws to hold it on...gonna be a beeyotch to remove!  

But it will be worth it if I can get that sucker in there!  (Actually, while I'm at it, I can probably widen the top of the cab slightly once the top panel is off...hmmm...)

[shmokes]

It should be illegal to say beeyotch.  

[SNAAAKE]

It should be illegal to say beeyotch.  

WTF

[1UP]

It should be illegal to say beeyotch.  

I could probably say *****, but beeyotch more fully expresses just what a royal pain it's going to be to chisel out the glued 1x1s that hold up my speaker shelf...  

<edit>Nope, it got censored, another reason to use beeyotch...  

[Sasquatch!]

I'll have to at least remove the top/back angled panel.  I really wish I hadn't used urethane glue AND screws to hold it on...gonna be a beeyotch to remove!

I'm assembling my current cab in the same fashion, so I'd like to hear how in the heck you're going to pull this off.  Looking at my cabinet, I don't see how I could disassemble it without destroying it.

(Edit: Fixed the "quote" tag.)

[1UP]

I'll have to at least remove the top/back angled panel.  I really wish I hadn't used urethane glue AND screws to hold it on...gonna be a beeyotch to remove!

I'm assembling my current cab in the same fashion, so I'd like to hear how in the heck you're going to pull this off.  Looking at my cabinet, I don't see how I could disassemble it without destroying it.

(Edit: Fixed the "quote" tag.)

Well...I think I can get away with just removing the speaker shelf.  I've just finished breaking--er uninstalling--the shelf as I type this.  After removing the screws, it took me about 30 minutes of pounding underneath the glued seam between the 1x1 and the shelf with a rubber mallet and a putty knife to loosen about 90% of the joint, then I pried the rest off by brute force (my 220 lbs against the 2 inches of glue remaining.)

I did end up ripping off a small corner of the melamine laminate on the inside top of the shelf, which is no biggie as that's not a piece you see from the outside.  But I also ripped off a 1" square of black Formica from a visible area of the cab!    The lesson here is not to go too crazy with the glue.  That stuff is STRONG and it expands to fill gaps, so just apply a strip along the 1x1 where you're going to screw it.  I actually put tons of it not only on the 1x1s, but along the raw edge of the shelf for extra strength.  Obviuosly there was an air bubble in the Formica, and that's where it ripped off with the shelf.

In the end, the Formica chunk was easily re-glued with a coat of rubber cement on each surface, and you can barely make out the edges of the tear on close inspection.  A little grease pencil should help blend the seam to obscurity.

If you're considering adding a larger monitor in the future, you might just want to attach the speaker shelf with screws only.  If the rest of the cab is glued and screwed, it should already be sturdy enough.  If you're planning to use an arcade monitor without a plastic casing, you might not even need to worry, but I'm going to have to mount the monitor with the enclosure intact, which makes it much bulkier.  I'm actually crossing my fingers that the thing will fit at this point, otherwise, I'll have to loosen even more panels...  

[1UP]

Woohoo!  I finally got the monitor squeezed into my cab!  That sucker is heavy, definitely need 2 people to get it in, but it fits!  (Just barely...)  Since it is 1/16" too wide for the cab, it did crack some of the glue that was holding the monitor shelf to the side walls (overkill, again, as the shelf was supported by 1x1s, and also glued and screwed into the 1x1s).  Once I get some bezel artwork printed, and get the speaker shelf and marquee reinstalled it should look real purdy.  I'll get some pics up soon.

BTW, I played a few games to break it in, and a 27" monitor is really immersive at that close range.  You feel like you're actually "in" Battlezone, even without the scope!    Now to get my new speakers mounted...the bass on the Creative Inspire T2900 absolutely thumps.  Best $30 I've ever spent...heheh...

This cab is really starting to be fun again!  Thanks Pixelhugger!  I'll never sell my cab now!  

[SNAAAKE]

Felt like posting a pic of the monitor for everyone !
Its like that after like 10 years...
(was expecting a POS anyway)