Second best way to get a Nintendo Vs. red tent (w/2 bad monitors) up & running?

[Lukenatme]

Of course the best way is to fix both monitors, but I've been told by the repair shop the yokes on both are bad.  Maybe that's the case, maybe not, but for the moment I'm ok with putting a couple of 4:3 LCD monitors in it to at least have it playable.  Not looking to hack it up in case I fix the originals, but what's the best way to get it up & running?  All original wiring is present and the boards work fine...so for this, would two "Mike's Color Inverter and sound amp boards" + 2 of these be what I need?  Any other cables?

http://www.paradisearcadeshop.com/gonbes-video-converters/23-cga-vga-hd-video-converter-33587171788.html

My other thought was to do that on just one side, needing only one of each of those boards, then go with a currently unused PC + miniPac or something.  I always end up staring at the Ultimarc page not sure what the difference is between all of their little boards.  I'm not looking to spend a ton of money on this since it's hopefully just temporary until I get the original monitors fixed. 

A third option I thought about was just a Pandora or Elf board instead of the PC...problem is, I want the Vs. games somewhere in all of this.  Beyond that, horizontal 2 button games.  I also have a spare 60-in-1 board, but vertical mounting the monitor just doesn't look right in the red tent.  Suggestions?

[pbj]

Yokes don't go bad.  Maybe the problem is your Jupiter rings?

[Lukenatme]

Yokes don't go bad.  Maybe the problem is your Jupiter rings?

I kinda thought they were BS'ing.  Oh well.  Either way, I'll probably send them to Arcadecup or someone who specializes in arcade monitor repair.  In the meantime...

[paigeoliver]

Yokes don't go bad.  Maybe the problem is your Jupiter rings?

Yokes normally don't go bad but red tent yokes totally do go bad.

Your best option is to sell the machine to some other dreamer and buy one that doesn't have that problem. Red tents combine flavor of the month, with unavailable parts with an average buyer that is super concerned about authenticity. They are money pits at a peak price. Just sell the thing and buy something else.

[yotsuya]

Yokes don't go bad.  Maybe the problem is your Jupiter rings?

Yokes normally don't go bad but red tent yokes totally do go bad.

Your best option is to sell the machine to some other dreamer and buy one that doesn't have that problem. Red tents combine flavor of the month, with unavailable parts with an average buyer that is super concerned about authenticity. They are money pits at a peak price. Just sell the thing and buy something else.

Paige is right about Red Tents being a flavor of the month and at peak price right now. If you're anywhere near Calgary, I know a dude buying them left and right...

[matsadona]

I get serious allergic reactions every time someone suggest putting a LCD in an old arcade cabinet...  but that is me.
Have you considered sourcing other 19" CRT's - if the existing ones are beyond repair?

Anyway, this document might help troubleshoot the ones you have:
Removed the link since it was for the wrong model.

In case you don't have it already... :
http://arcarc.xmission.com/PDF_Arcade_Nintendo/VS_Table_Type_Operation_Manual_%28MDS-TBL%29.pdf

[yotsuya]

I think red tents use an 18 inch monitor, which makes them really hard to replace.

[paigeoliver]

I think red tents use an 18 inch monitor, which makes them really hard to replace.

They not only use an 18" instead of a 19" it is an 18" that is unique to the application and nothing else will fit. Not that you need to worry that much about finding an 18" that doesn't fit since I do believe the red tents were the only thing ever imported to America that used an 18" tube.

[ChanceKJ]

.

[yotsuya]

What size LCDs would fit in there?

[paigeoliver]

What size LCDs would fit in there?

Wild guess is that nothing but a 4:3 18" lcd is going to match up to the opening.

I actually have a spare red tent monitor but it doesn't have a yoke (stole it to fix one with a bad yoke) and I remember it having something else wrong with it too.

Sell your red tent and put the money into something else instead.

[ChanceKJ]

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[jtslade]

Fix those CRTs!!!!!


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[baritonomarchetto]

Is there a specific reason those yokes go bad? Is it because the mounting location (i.e. not enought ventilated) or bad engineering?

[ChanceKJ]

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[matsadona]

I think red tents use an 18 inch monitor, which makes them really hard to replace.

Yeah, my bad.  Missed that little detail...
You can always put a smaller screen in it (and a fresnel magnifier). I know there are 16" since I have one in a cocktail cabinet - but they are probably as rare as the 18".

[paigeoliver]

Are you sure you have a 16" arcade monitor? If you search google for "16 inch arcade monitor" there is literally not a single hit and I have never heard of a 16" tube being used in an arcade application.

I think red tents use an 18 inch monitor, which makes them really hard to replace.

Yeah, my bad.  Missed that little detail...
You can always put a smaller screen in it (and a fresnel magnifier). I know there are 16" since I have one in a cocktail cabinet - but they are probably as rare as the 18".

[matsadona]

I assumed 16". What I do know is that it is larger than 14" and smaller than 19". I'll measure it tonight and see.

[matsadona]

Are you sure you have a 16" arcade monitor? If you search google for "16 inch arcade monitor" there is literally not a single hit and I have never heard of a 16" tube being used in an arcade application.

Well, 16" confirmed. It is a Hantarex branded Philips A42-592X1620 tube.
This document confirms it was a standard model in the MTC 9000 series : http://www.manualslib.com/manual/745571/Hantarex-Mtc-9000.html

The diagonal is 42 centimeters which is more or less 16 inches. Compared to 37 centimeters for the 14 inch tube.

[dmckean]

Another option might be decasing a CRT PC monitor using a scanline generator. 19" PC monitors had 17.5" or 18" tubes.

[Draco_Elessar]

  I'm curious. Why are people so against changing a Nintendo Red Tent?

[vwalbridge]

I'm curious. Why are people so against changing a Nintendo Red Tent?

For the same reason people don't want to change any classic arcade machine....Keep the machine original.

At least as much as logically possible.

For me, I think the most important items to keep original are the ones your interface with. ie: control panel, buttons, joysticks, monitors. Basically anything the player directly interacts with. The monitor is the probably the best example of this, so it a big part of the "original" look and feel of the machine.

Now if you want to switch out a sketchy power supply for a switching power supply? Go nuts. But an original monitor is worth making a good solid effort to keep.

[dmckean]

There are more Red Tents than there are working monitors and that situation will only get worse. At some point they'll need to be retrofitted with something.

[vwalbridge]

There are more Red Tents than there are working monitors and that situation will only get worse. At some point they'll need to be retrofitted with something.

Really?  Man, I guess it's raining Red Tents but I can't get wet.

[yotsuya]

There are more Red Tents than there are working monitors and that situation will only get worse. At some point they'll need to be retrofitted with something.

Really?  Man, I guess it's raining Red Tents but I can't get wet.

I've been offered them before. Keep looking.

[2600]

Moisture.

This is the first time, I've heard someone say they fail due to moisture.  What led you to believe that they fail due to moisture?

[paigeoliver]

Are you sure you have a 16" arcade monitor? If you search google for "16 inch arcade monitor" there is literally not a single hit and I have never heard of a 16" tube being used in an arcade application.

Well, 16" confirmed. It is a Hantarex branded Philips A42-592X1620 tube.
This document confirms it was a standard model in the MTC 9000 series : http://www.manualslib.com/manual/745571/Hantarex-Mtc-9000.html

The diagonal is 42 centimeters which is more or less 16 inches. Compared to 37 centimeters for the 14 inch tube.

Man, that is rare, that is a 15" by American measuring standards but still, you almost never saw those.

[matsadona]

Are you sure you have a 16" arcade monitor? If you search google for "16 inch arcade monitor" there is literally not a single hit and I have never heard of a 16" tube being used in an arcade application.

Well, 16" confirmed. It is a Hantarex branded Philips A42-592X1620 tube.
This document confirms it was a standard model in the MTC 9000 series : http://www.manualslib.com/manual/745571/Hantarex-Mtc-9000.html


The diagonal is 42 centimeters which is more or less 16 inches. Compared to 37 centimeters for the 14 inch tube.

Man, that is rare, that is a 15" by American measuring standards but still, you almost never saw those.

Yes, it is pretty rare here in Europe as well. When I first bought it I was convinced it was a 14" (13 if you are in the US part of the world), and I was about to replace it since it has some severe burns from the fruit game. I was very surprised when I realized that my replacement tube was to small.

[matsadona]

Another option might be decasing a CRT PC monitor using a scanline generator. 19" PC monitors had 17.5" or 18" tubes.

A scanline generator for a CRT tube? Really?

[dmckean]

Another option might be decasing a CRT PC monitor using a scanline generator. 19" PC monitors had 17.5" or 18" tubes.

A scanline generator for a CRT tube? Really?

Yes. I've been around a long time and the software scanline support in MAME and NES emulators was added for high resolution CRTs. LCDs were still years away from being practical then.

The other problem though with using computer CRTs is they don't bloom nicely like arcade monitors and TVs.

[jennifer]

    Although I have never tried it, But couldn't one do the math and simply rewind the yokes?

[paigeoliver]

Another option might be decasing a CRT PC monitor using a scanline generator. 19" PC monitors had 17.5" or 18" tubes.

A scanline generator for a CRT tube? Really?

I use a scanline generator with a 60 in 1 board on a 21" CRT computer monitor. It is the only way to make the thing look good in vga mode.

[matsadona]

OK, got it. Does anyone have any pics of running a scanline generator on a (hires) PC CRT monitor?
It just seemed odd to emulate something that is there by nature. I assume that it has to be a good combination of resolutions (like 320*200 to 640*400) to get a proper result, or what is your experience?

[dmckean]

OK, got it. Does anyone have any pics of running a scanline generator on a (hires) PC CRT monitor?
It just seemed odd to emulate something that is there by nature. I assume that it has to be a good combination of resolutions (like 320*200 to 640*400) to get a proper result, or what is your experience?

Native scanlines on PC CRTs are "ugly" and leave really large black gaps. I use Groovymame with mine and use "super" resolutions (which use a very high horizontal resolution like 2048 and a vertical resolution exactly double that of the original game) with software scanlines applied. It ends up looking fairly nice.

[paigeoliver]

OK, got it. Does anyone have any pics of running a scanline generator on a (hires) PC CRT monitor?
It just seemed odd to emulate something that is there by nature. I assume that it has to be a good combination of resolutions (like 320*200 to 640*400) to get a proper result, or what is your experience?

The reason you want to run a scanline generator with classic era multiboards on a VGA res monitor is not because you need to see the scanline so much as it is because it does a really good job of rounding off the edges of things so everything doesn't look so blocky.

[Lukenatme]

What size LCDs would fit in there?

De-cased, early 2000's era 17" 4:3 LCD's.  I had an old Gateway LCD that had a big, ugly gray bezel.  Took it down to just the screen and metal casing and it fits nicely to the metal bracket.  I used some heavy duty super glue so it's capable of holding it for temporary use, but can be carefully undone when I fix the monitors.  I haven't put it all together or anything else so far, but I tested the selected monitor with a 60 in 1 board I had laying around and it didn't look "OMG MY EYES ARE BLEEDING" levels of bad that some suggest, especially when I put the tinted plexiglass in front of it to get an idea of how it would look in the tent.  I'm not going to mount it vertically though, it was mainly just to see approximately how a 19 in 1 horizontal games board would look.  Same idea, different games.