Main > Monitor/Video Forum
Help me I.D. and degauss this 29" flatscreen
IntruderAlert:
will this procedure cause me to become radioactive and/or destroy my reproductive abilities ? :o
... could i build my own degaussing coil around the tube so that i can press a button to degauss when necessary?
MonitorGuru:
>"Will I become radioactive"
No. A degaussing coil is essentially 1 side of a transformer, just missing the iron core and the opposing winding.
It creates a localized strong magnetic field, so you wouldn't want to place it around your head and wear it around the house, nor of course, seriously, use it if you have an electronic medical device implanted in you (like pacemaker or insulin pump, or metal plate in your head, etc...)
There is no chance of radiation, just an alternating magnetic field.
The chassis problably already has a deguassing coil connection.. Just steal a coil/pair of coils from another TV/monitor and use them. However the power on degaussing is not as effective as doing a thorough degauss yourself with an external loop. The power on one is intended to remove small imperfections each time it's turned on. If it's really bad it may take a lot of applications to get it to clear it, versus using an external loop.
IntruderAlert:
ok.. thanks
so i should just build one of these then?
http://www.oscarcontrols.com/degauss/index.shtml
or do you know a better way?
and since you're the MonitorGuru and all.. i've always wondered why CRTs whine while they are warming up and some of them seem to continue to whine even after they warm up
MonitorGuru:
I would do Oscar's hack, however to make it easier, just steal the loop from the insides of a dead computer monitor or TV set. That saves you most of the time. You still need to put an AC wire, light bulb socket, light bulb and switch on it of course, but that's the easier part.
Alternately you can try to just use a ~150 watt gun shaped dual post soldering iron. They produce a pretty strong alternating magnetic field (but in a smaller area) . They're $5.99 on sale at Harbor Frieght a lot of the time. .. just don't accidentially touch the hot tip to any of your cabinet or yourself while you use it!
As far as whining... common problems are:
- Old monitor
- Drying out capacitors, especially the large filter capacitor
- A transformer that has the outer sheild broken from the core (though more of a buzzing sound but can be whiney on the high frequency switch-mode style ones)
- An anode cap that isn't fully on or attached to a very dirty tube..this however normally produces arcing (blue light) and crackling and shrinks the picture each time it does.
- A crack in the flyback transformer housing and/or the iron core has broken free from the housing and is vibrating.
Take your pick... you have to narrow down the location of the problem to know more specifically which one of the above it could be.
IntruderAlert:
hey.. i've got one of those bulk video erasers lying around
can i use that?
..and I ALWAYS hear CRTs whine.. every last one of them