Just placed an order...and yet tragedy strikes...

[severdhed]

well, i got my wife to give the big OK to me spending alot of money for new control panel stuff, i got a quote from divemaster and was already to go...but as luck would have it...my monitor is dying.  i have a 19" LCD monitor in my cabinet that i have been using for about 2 years now.. occasionally it would not power on properly, and i would unplug it and all would be good.  maybe every few months this would happen.  well, over the last week, every day i go to use my cabinet, this happens, and to make things worse, it seems to only come back after sitting unplugged for 20 minutes or so.  it will sometimes come on but only display gray lines down the screen...which really isnt any better than not coming on at all.  i talked to my wife, trying to decide what to do...do i order the controls that i have been wanting for a long time?  or do i get a monitor and hold off on the controls, or do i get the monitor and buy cheaper controls and make a frenkenpanel.

well, she suggested that i order the parts that i want, because it will take me a little time for the stuff to come and for me to build a new panel, and during that time, i can save for the monitor...so that's what i did..

about 5 minutes ago, i placed an order with divemaster for the following:

-two ultrastick 360, black oval tops, with the wire harnesses, restrictor kits, long shafts, medium springs.
-18 happ pushbuttons of various colors
-trackball mounting plate
-30ft of T molding

so i am quite excited...i can finally ditch the xarcade components that i am using now, get rid of the crappy dedicated 4way stick that i have, and install my 3" trackball.

i got a circular saw and trim router for Christmas, so i am hoping that they will make the job a little easier this time around. (for the first panel i had only a jigsaw, drill, and dremel)

now i just need to get a 1 1/8th forstnet bit, flush trim router bit, and a 1/16th" slot cutter.  (the slot cutter seems to be difficult to find locally)

i was looking at newegg, i can get a 19" LCD (4:3 aspect ratio) monitor shipped for around $150, so it shouldnt take too long till i can get it.

i am very excited an just had to share in my joy (and my sorrow)

i'll be sure to post pics of the new panel when it's done

[Jack Burton]

Well, if you decide you want to spend less than $150 on a monitor you could always just put a 19" CRT in it.  If you wanted to look around you might get lucky and even find a monitor that can do arcade resolutions that will fit your cab.

You know, I really need to get around to writing that article about 15khz capable PC and studio monitors that I've been thinking about.  I think a little knowledge about them would help a lot of people on this site.

[SirPeale]

Crack your monitor open.  I'll bet that you find that the caps in the power supply are swollen.  Replace them all and it'll likely be fine.

[severdhed]

i dont think there is room in my cabinet for a 19" CRT monitor.   that is what it came with, but i changed the position of the monitor from where it used to be...i don't think that the cabinet is deep enough, since a 17" CRT barely fit in there during the testing phase.

i'll look into tearing it apart and checking it out...it is worth a shot