Before buying a Wells-Gardner monitor, read about their problems

[Ummon]

I should add that when my D9400 came in, the frame was bent.  But I took some photos, sent it in, and they mailed a replacement immediately.

I probably would've just taken a hammer to it myself rather than wait, but that's good customer service.

[retrometro]

I should add that when my D9400 came in, the frame was bent.  But I took some photos, sent it in, and they mailed a replacement immediately.

I probably would've just taken a hammer to it myself rather than wait, but that's good customer service.

We felt pretty wimpy about it.  We tried to bend it back with pliers but no luck.  It was pretty heavy dutie.  Mind you this is the piece of metal that's holding the very heavy monitor in place at just two contact points.

I think most of the problems folks complain about with WD are related to their choice of shifting manufacturing to questionable overseas shops.  The stateside service has been very nice.

[Ummon]

Pliers?! Essentially, that frame piece is thinner grade angle iron. Ain't gonna happen. Best is probably a hammer and anvil, though a vice and hammer would also do.

[Spaced Ace]

I am thinking about the Billabs BL27C90T ( http://www.billabs.com/bl27c90t.htm ) for a new monitor.  Just need something for a MAME cab, anyone think this is a BAD idea or should I go with it?

[Ummon]

I don't recall seeing anyone disatisifed with its basic operation.....although, there have been some good reports on the WG D9400, which might be worth considering.

[Spaced Ace]

Thanks Ummon.  Im a little lost when it comes to monitors, all the comments help....

[Pete Rittwage]

I just bought an old cab with a WG 33K3001 VGA monitor in it (from 1998).  It is a nice bright, beautiful display.  The only problem is that it's slightly rotated (need to find the adjustment for this, although it doesn't bother me enough to move the beast).

Also, I have to set the video card to 61Hz, which helps with MAME skipping anyway.  At 59.xxx or whatever Windows XP calls 60Hz, it won't sync properly when it warms up.

[wpthomas]

Parts for the D9400 are also hard to get. I am looking for some S1D2500 ans S1D2147 I2C chips from Samsung which are used on the D9400 monitor to repair a couple of monitors I currently have in my shop.

Any suggestions where I might find them at a reasonable price.

Thanks

Bill

[Ken Layton]

And you tried Wells-Gardner parts department?

[SirPeale]

And you tried Wells-Gardner parts department?

A lot of times when you go with the original manufacturer they rape you on price.  Judging by his post he's looking for a better price.

[Todd H]

So has anyone out there been brave enough to try the WG 9800?

[november]

I must ask.

I see lots of comments about digital monitors.

What of the K7400 series, it's analog?

I'm possibly in the market for a new monitor if I cannot fix mine and was going to go with the 7424 until I was told about this topic.

[Ken Layton]

The k7400 has been found to be reliable.

[Larry]

For Neiman Displays west of the Mississippi, drop me a line.

Larry Rosenthal, President
Rosenthal Enterprises, Inc.
7000 W Firebird Dr
Glendale, AZ 85308-9424
Home: 623-561-2332
Cell: 602-228-7333
LRosent345@aol.com

[AndyWarne]

I have never really understood why arcade monitor manufacturers produce tri-sync monitors. Its lucky for us that they do, because they are great for Mame, when fed with a source which uses all the range of frequencies, such as an ArcadeVGA. But for the real intended market, ie coin-op cabinets, what is the need for a multi-sync monitor when the game only ever uses one resolution?
Multi-sync monitors are much more complex than fixed frequency and designing a horizontal output stage which will work from 15 to 31 or even 38 Khz is a real challenge especially on large screens and inevitably stresses components to the limit. Why do the coin-ops not stick with a simple, reliable, fixed-frequency monitor?

[SirPeale]

I have never really understood why arcade monitor manufacturers produce tri-sync monitors. Its lucky for us that they do, because they are great for Mame, when fed with a source which uses all the range of frequencies, such as an ArcadeVGA. But for the real intended market, ie coin-op cabinets, what is the need for a multi-sync monitor when the game only ever uses one resolution?
Multi-sync monitors are much more complex than fixed frequency and designing a horizontal output stage which will work from 15 to 31 or even 38 Khz is a real challenge especially on large screens and inevitably stresses components to the limit. Why do the coin-ops not stick with a simple, reliable, fixed-frequency monitor?

They do stick with them.  But for ease of being able to swap the monitor from one cab to another easily (say if one breaks on route) it does makes things easier - at least in theory.

[Zebidee]

One operator I was talking to was enthusing about multisyncs because they (or at least the chassis) were relatively cheap, not that much more expensive than their CGA-only counterparts.  However, I've never really known that particular operator to be the wisest guy, so I'm not sure that he has factored in long-term considerations. 

[Ken Layton]

Multi-syncs relatively cheap? He's full of ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---.

[lettuce]

May sound stupid Ken, but that is the case over here in the UK, Fix Sync monitor are more or less the same price if not MORE than a mulitsync 

[Ken Layton]

Over here in the USA single resolution monitors are reasonably priced whereas multi-syncs are expensive.

[Ummon]

I have never really understood why arcade monitor manufacturers produce tri-sync monitors. Its lucky for us that they do, because they are great for Mame, when fed with a source which uses all the range of frequencies, such as an ArcadeVGA. But for the real intended market, ie coin-op cabinets, what is the need for a multi-sync monitor when the game only ever uses one resolution?
Multi-sync monitors are much more complex than fixed frequency and designing a horizontal output stage which will work from 15 to 31 or even 38 Khz is a real challenge especially on large screens and inevitably stresses components to the limit. Why do the coin-ops not stick with a simple, reliable, fixed-frequency monitor?

They do stick with them.  But for ease of being able to swap the monitor from one cab to another easily (say if one breaks on route) it does makes things easier - at least in theory.

Yeah, this is what I guessed, if there are some EGA and 90s CGA games (vertical shooters, in particular) still around.

[combobreaker]

Avoid Billabs, I paid 540 dollars for a used piece of S##t!!!!

[dreamakuma]

Does anyone have anything to say about the WG D9800? I'm about to drop 350 on this sucker and want to know if it's worth my time and money.

[retrometro]

Does anyone have anything to say about the WG D9800? I'm about to drop 350 on this sucker and want to know if it's worth my time and money.

There was a short discussion about it.  The thread isn't that useful but you may want to ping the folks that had opinions about it.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=87655.msg920835#msg920835

[BlazzingFlippers]

Anyone using the D9800?  I just got my cabinet built and am now looking to buy the monitor.  I'm seeing the D9800 online for around $375.  Would really like to know what you all think and if anyone has used one before.  Thanks in advance!   

[Ummon]

Avoid Billabs, I paid 540 dollars for a used piece of S##t!!!!

Which model?

Anyone using the D9800?  I just got my cabinet built and am now looking to buy the monitor.  I'm seeing the D9800 online for around $375.  Would really like to know what you all think and if anyone has used one before.  Thanks in advance!  

Look in the D9400 thread - or do a search.

[isucamper]

Anyone using the D9800?  I just got my cabinet built and am now looking to buy the monitor.  I'm seeing the D9800 online for around $375.  Would really like to know what you all think and if anyone has used one before.  Thanks in advance!   

I've had the D9800 in my MAME cabinet for a few months now.  Running it with Soft15-Khz and it looks great.  Geometry is not perfect on all resolutions and it seems like I'm constantly tweaking the picture settings, but I'm still just getting things set up.  I'm hoping once I've had everything running for awhile, I won't be tweaking the picture as much. 

One thing I have been wondering... am I killing this monitor by constantly switching resolutions on it?  I've got my front end running at 640x480, and most of the games running at their native 15Khz resolutions, so over the course of an evening, there's a heck of a lot of switching going on.  Would it be better to run the front end at 640x480i at 15Khz?

Now that I've gone native, I dont' think I could ever go back, but I don't want to have to buy a new one of these monitors every year because I'm stressing it too much.

[isucamper]

Well, I went the the WG website, and I found someone in Technical Support to email and ask about the resolution switching.  I specifically asked about switching from VGA to CGA and back again 15-30 times a night.  Here's his reply.

Hello Noah.

   Talking to the Engineering Staff about this switching, if it would cause premature breakdown, they said it should not have any effect on the longevity of this monitor.

I actually find this hard to believe, but at this point, I've got no reason to think I'm going to kill my monitor by doing this. 

[Ummon]

You may've missed the particularly recent discussion on this?

[atomikbohm]

Please forgive me if I'm missing something but, I'm a noob and looking for a decent monitor to put in my 1st cab build ever and am a little confused by a number of things.   

By and large everyone agrees :
Digital Wells monitors = bad? (except for maybe D9800s?)
Analog Wells Monitors = good?
Other brands posted by Ken = Good
frequent Rez switching = bad?

Right?

How long can I expect my investment in 25" or larger arcade monitor to last before I have to break out the multi meter and soldering iron? (and pray that the HV shock monkey's don't get me  )

and on another total noob note ... can anyone give me some good advise on where to find a good deal on a good vga or better monitor.  I'm in St. Paul MN.  I'd really rather not spend top dollar if I can avoid it and really don't want to buy a really expensive door stop. 

Thanks

[Ummon]

Ebay. For any kind of monitor. Look for a presentation monitor - they're multi-syncs.

[atomikbohm]

I have a line on a Kortex KTA-915 that I'm going to pick up this weekend ... now if I can figure out how to fix it  while hiding from the HV shock monkeys 

thanks for the suggestion

[Ken Layton]

So now it looks like Wells-Gardner doesn't want anything to do with CRT monitors.

They'd rather sell way OVERPRICED LCD monitors now.

[Ummon]

Really?  These are still listed on their site:

D9400

D9800 (though the 08s is listed as unavailable)


I don't really need one....but I'm inclined to get one.

[ssndk]

Really?  These are still listed on their site:

D9400

D9800 (though the 08s is listed as unavailable)


I don't really need one....but I'm inclined to get one.

Me too, and I would really like to see a review of this monitor! since I live in Denmark I'd have to fork out 700$ for this one... but it's really the only digital quad sync available in europe (through xarcade).

Would be great if someone who owns a D9800 would run Nokia Monitor Test on it and send a few pics

[Ummon]

At least one person here has one.....isucamper, maybe?  Also want to mention people on ebay are selling at least the D9800 for the same as WG, but possibly less shipping, so look for those.

[pmowry]

Would be great if someone who owns a D9800 would run Nokia Monitor Test on it and send a few pics

I have a D9800 sitting in a box waiting to finish my cabinet build.  But the only thing I have to drive it is a windows XP laptop right now.  I'll download the Nokia Monitor Test software and try and snap a few pictures at different resolutions this weekend.

Any prefernce on picture sizes?

[ssndk]

Would be great if someone who owns a D9800 would run Nokia Monitor Test on it and send a few pics

I have a D9800 sitting in a box waiting to finish my cabinet build.  But the only thing I have to drive it is a windows XP laptop right now.  I'll download the Nokia Monitor Test software and try and snap a few pictures at different resolutions this weekend.

Any prefernce on picture sizes?

Hi, Thanks! I actually bought one yesterday.. if everything goes well I'll post a review too. I'd still like to see your pictures though, they can be compared.

I don't have any preferences on picture size, as long as they are clear.

[pmowry]

ok, 1st thing  learned is I need to learn how to use my camera.  But after setting the shutter speed to 1/40 of a second pictures came out much better.
2nd thing is I need to learn how to adjust the monitor.  I added some pics to photobucket at:

http://s680.photobucket.com/albums/vv164/pmowry911/Monitor%20Test/

They resized the images down to 1024x768.  But you can still see some of the artifacts.  My monitor is a WGZ2798-U0FS08S.  The top portion of the screen is skewed to the right a little bit.  I only noticed it on the top right corner, but in the pictures I can see it a little on the left side as well.  I think it can be adjusted, but I'm not sure what one of the many options I should use.

Overall though I an happy with the monitor.  Just a few minor settings to tweak =)

[ssndk]

Looks nice! I already have a cab up and running, so I'll do some of the low res tests too