Betson 27" Multi-Sync Monitor--no longer fills screen horizontally

[jasonbar]

Howdy-

I have a Betson 27" multisync monitor. I believe that it is this product: http://www.betson.com/products/IMP-44-4070-RT, but I bought it maybe 7-8 years ago, so I'm not sure if mine is an older rev than what is shown on that page.

I can no longer adjust it to completely fill the screen horizontally. I have the Horizontal Size setting maxed out (100/100), but the image still shows about 1" black vertical strips on the far left & right sides. The Vertical Size setting is only at about 35/100 or so, for reference. I have also tried adjusting the Zoom setting, but that is also already at 100/100.

I am running the monitor on a Dell PC running Windows XP at 800x600.

Does this symptom sound like something that could be cured by replacing a certain capacitor or resistor that is going bad?

Thank you very much,
-Jason

[MonMotha]

First question, is the picture still rectangular-ish, or are the sides doing weird stuff?  Is the pincushion setting still working?

If yes and yes, as a first guess, the original caps on it are all junk.  I'm not normally one to suggest it, but you should probably just "shotgun" them all and go from there.

There is also a service mode (hold down the up button on the remote while plugging it in) that will potentially provide more adjustment range, but if this has drifted over time this much, you probably have a real hardware fault.  Note that you can screw things up in the service mode, so be careful and write down all the initial settings.  It may blow away your user settings, so be ready to tweak them all back up.

[jasonbar]

MonMotha-

Thanks tons for the reply.

To answer your questions, all monitor menu settings respond normally, except for Rotation, H Moire, & V Moire, which all appear to do nothing, as far as I can see.

In the meantime, I also got some helpful info from Betson & also took a peek into my MAME cab to find out the exact model, as Betson said that many different products were sold under that same Betson catalog item: "Kortek, Neotec, wells-Gardner, Makvision, etc."

Mine is a Kortek KT-2914F. I searched on that & found the manual (attached here again for handy reference).

Thanks tons for pointing me to the "hold up while powering monitor" superuser menu. That's also mentioned in the manual. I got into that menu & kicked up the "HV" setting to grow the entire screen. From there, I was able to dial the vertical down a little, adjust the pincushion & top/bottom curvature, reposition H & V, & I'm good to go.

Do you know if there's any short-term or long-term danger of upping the HV beyond what was available to me in the "normal" menu?

Thanks!!
-Jason

PS--also found this good resource--mentions what components to change for "poor to no width" http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=157123

PPS--get well kit: http://home.comcast.net/~mtpacifico/_kenskorner/files/Zanen%20Capkit%20Catalog_2011.pdf

PPPS--another thread on horizontal repair of a KT-2914F http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=115755.0

[MonMotha]

Be careful with the high voltage setting... Going too high can cause x-ray generation.  The monitor SHOULD shut down before that becomes a substantial danger...

The rotation control not working on that model is normal.  Betson ordered them without that circuitry or coil, much to the chagrin of anyone who has one that's in need of minor rotation tweaks.

The moire settings do something, but it's a bit subtle.  It will cause the display to start "jumping" a little bit.  You may have to crank it up pretty far to notice the effect.  If you don't notice objectionable moire issues, just keep them at the minimum/off setting.

[jasonbar]

Thanks for the scoop. You seem to know these monitors well. The HV setting is now up to about 163 to get the screen to fill horizontally (when V Size & Zoom are both at Max in the "normal" menu). I don't recall if HV was set to a default of 100 before I upped it.

I run this machine only a few hours a week--it gets light use. I'll keep an eye on it.

If & when it does go kablooey, do you offer monitor repair services?


Thanks,
-Jason