Billabs BL25C90T color issues

[Databobio]

Hello all, I'm an arcade noob that recently purchased a used Global VR - Global Arcade Classics system to start my home arcade. Once I got it home and had a few days to play on it, I've noticed that the monitor is not displaying all colors. Primarily it appears that it is not displaying red. When comparing game title screens, like 720 and Dragon's Lair, red appears to be the obvious color that's missing. I've attached a few screen shots for reference.

I'm wondering if this is something that can be fixed, if the monitor is just going bad or if it could be something else like the video card. The monitor input plugs directly into the VGA port on the PC.

Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

[obcd]

Connect your video output to a standard pc screen and see if you have red on that. If it's the case, your video output is fine and the problem is in your monitor. Check your vga plug. It wouldn't be the first time I see one with a pin bent over or broken off. Those 15 pin 3 row sub d connectors have rather thin pin's, and the red signal is one of the outer pin's.
Try to find a color test patteren screen in one of the games. It will be much easier in that to see if red is totally gone, or just partially.

[Databobio]

Thanks for the quick reply OBCD. Your recommendation makes perfect sense. I get all wrapped up in the fact it's an arcade machine, but really it's a PC with wiring to make the joysticks and buttons work. So, as you pointed out, standard PC troubleshooting applies.

It's definitely the monitor. I moved the VGA cable from the existing monitor directly to a 22" wide screen and the image is perfect. The colors are vibrant and clear as shown in the pics below. I'm guessing monitor replacement is in my near future or by some miracle can this be fixed by smacking the monitor really hard on the side? 

Seems arcade monitors aren't cheap and there are several different choices. Ultimately, I'm not a very handy guy, so altering the cabinet to fit a different monitor may not be an option for me. I'm open to any suggestions. Maybe more work than a rookie can handle?

Thanks again for your help! It is greatly appreciated.

[obcd]

I will not give any monitor repair hints if you have no experience. A monitor chassis uses high voltages that can give you a very shocking experience. You could try to find a television repair technician to have a look at your monitor chassis. The technology is very identical to a crt television set. Basically, the picture tube uses 3 colors, red green and blue to form it's picture. The video card has 3 separate outputs for those 3 colors as well. You have the same circuit 3 times, once for every color. Sometimes an integrated circuit is used that is capable of handling all 3 colors. On most chassis, the color drivers are on the crt neckboard. That's the smaller board that plugs on the end of the picture tube. Sometimes, one of the driver transistors becomes bad. It's a cheap component and easy to replace. (And you have one for every color, so you can switch them to see if it makes the fault appear on another color.) But again, if you have no idea, don't touch it. Sometimes, a bad picture tube can also be the cause of a missing color. There usually is no easy fix for that.

[Databobio]

Completely understood. I appreciate your honest feedback. Better safe, than sorry for sure!

Any opinion on whether the "Global Arcade Classics" system is worth putting the time and effort into for someone with a very limited arcade background? My objective was to simply pick up a multi-game arcade for our game room that didn't require a ton of work. This one had a broken joystick that just needed a new microswitch and some general cabinet cleanup. However, now that the monitor needs repair or replaced, I'm wondering if it's more work/money than I'm capable of putting into it.

Additionally, it doesn't have all the games on it that we'd like to have. My wife would love Ms Pacman and I'd like to have Donkey Kong and Galaga. So, I'm starting to wonder if this is the right system for us. Aside from gutting it and starting from scratch with the cabinet, maybe I should see if someone is interested in this one and then invest in building my own.

I'm quickly turning from a monitor/video conversation to something completely different that probably belongs in another forum. 

Thanks again obcd! I really do appreciate your expertise and input.

[obcd]

Considering time and effort. Even if you intend to resell the cabinet, it's value will be higher if it has a working monitor. In that case, you can sell it as a working cabinet. In the other case, it's one that needs repair.
Considering the games, you mention Ms Pacman, Donkey Kong and Galaga. I could be wrong, but I think all those were originally "vertical games". This means that the picture tube was rotated so that the longest end went from top to bottom. Your Global Arcade Classics is basically using a vga style monitor and a pc as driving motor. This is pretty much also what you will find in most Mame cabinets. The only difference might be in the interface board that connects the buttons and joystick contacts. It has an usb connection to the PC. I have no idea what software the Global Arcade Classics is running. (It might be a linux derivate with Mame on top of it.), but it shouldn't be that hard to make a Mame system out of it, with all the games you desire. (Obvious racing games don't make much sense if you need to control them with a Joystick.) It will take some of your time to get things right, but it shouldn't impact much on your budget. You could start with simply a harddisk so that you can leave the original intact. The advantage of this is that you can fast revert to it's original state, if you like to play a game instead of messing with the system. Maybe your time is way to valueble, and you just want a quick way to play some older arcade games. This is not something I have an answer 4. Note that mame is capable of emulating vertical games, but you loose some of the picture tube surface on those. Those who trully want the original look and feel use different cabinets for vertical and horizontal games.
No matter what you decide to do, don't trash the monitor. 4:3 CRT monitors become a rarity on the market, as it's all 9:5 or 10:5 and LCD nowadays. I am sure someone will be willing to take it over from you. Only issue is their weight. You need someone from the neiborhood that can come pick it up. Shipping isn't recommended.