Need advice, buying a used arcade monitor

[durak]

Where I live arcades are nowhere to be found these days, and getting parts for my cab is quite difficult. I couldn't find a monitor from the city I live in, I have to drive around 100km (and another hundred back) to a shop that is supposed to have monitors (they were quite vague about it on the phone and the line was bad, I'm going to call them again next week before driving there).
They quoted me a 100e for a 19" monitor, which I understand is quite high, but it's not like I have any choices.
I asked if they have burned in images in the tubes, he replied with something like "some have, some maybe not"..

Any tips on what should I look for; manufacturers, signs that might show the monitor is not going to last very long etc are very welcome. I don't want to drive all the way there and back just to get some piece of crap I need to return right away.  

Also, please check out this other thread I made and have not received any answers
http://www.arcadecontrols.org/yabbse/index.php?board=4;action=display;threadid=22502

Thanks,
durak

[MonitorGuru]

Just build one yourself out of a new inexpensive or used (nearly free) TV and a new arcade chassis.  $65 US + cost of donor tube.

But if you buy one, MAKE them connect it up to a game, and look to see if there are any things that just don't look right.  It should look crisp, clear, solid colors (not tinted one way or another), no huge "bloom" around letters, no pulsing of the screen as it switches from dark to light (does the screen graphics enlarge the more white there is on the screen). A tiny amount is okay, most monitors to that, but not huge amounts. Is it in focus...   things like that.

Do all the controls work and properly adjust the screen. Is there any "jailbars" (grey lines over picture) or vertical foldover (top of screen is printed in mirror image over itself) or vertical scrunch (top 1" of screen is printed in about 1 milimeter of screen space).

Those are just some of many things. Look for hugely dirty boards/tubes meaning they wern't cleaned and tested before selling usually.  Look for wires hacked and taped with electrical tape or *shudder* masking tape.

[mattv]

Just build one yourself out of a new inexpensive or used (nearly free) TV and a new arcade chassis.  $65 US + cost of donor tube.

Got some more info on that for us monitorguru? A link or something maybe?

Sorry for the thread hijack,

These are  things I always look out for when buying secind hand arcade monitor/tubes, and i've bought a few now since no-one in my stinking country sells them new for under about a thousand bucks.

Please bear in mind that I'm no expert, these are just the things that have caught me out in the past.

The main thing to remember is that if it's second hand and 19" it could be up to 20 years old. 20 years is a long time for a peice of electrical equipment like that.
There are two parts, the "monitor board" - this is the PCB with a bunch of electronic components soldered on, and the tube, this is the big glass screen.
Most arcade vendors treat them as seperate items. If you ask for a "monitor" they will be expecting to sell you the monitor board with no tube.

things to look for
1) make sure the whole unit (tube and monitor board) actually works - check that they are willing to show you it working before you leave home. Also check that they have a game to hook it up to. If the answer is No then he probably wants you to cart his trash away for free. you are wasting your time.

2) when you get there make sure it powers on and displays the image OK, Gererally the monitor boards last ages and can be repaired. Tubes have a finite lifetime and once they are worn out they are worn out for good. So once you have confirmed that the whole unit works OK most of your attention should be focused on the tube.
If the geometry is off, or the verticle hold is had it, or the picture is doing the "hula" wobbly at the sides, ask to see a different one.

3) check to make sure that the picture is not too dark. As the tube ages the phospor coting on the inside wears out and the image becomes less bright. You can tweak up the brightness to compensate but eventually it will be dark even at maximum brightness and it's all over. Generally you won't be running the thing 24x7 like they do in the arcades so if it needs a bit of brightness tweaking that's not the end of the world. THis is a second hand tube after all

4) check that all the colors are being displayed, if everything is too red then it's likley the blue gun is gone, same with too blue etc. Could also be a problem with the connection between the monitor board and the tube for that color, or a busted IC or something, but if a color is missing it's time to look at another unit.

5) screen burn. Most old screens will have a bit of this. it is most visable when the tube is off so look for it then. It's not the end of the world unless it's noticable while the screen is on. You can hide screen burn using tinted/smoked glass over the top in your cabinet but if tube is already a little dim this will make it even more dim.

By the sounds of what you said I think (and this is just one mans opinion) that this guy just has a bunch of old dross sitting around that he's keen to palm off to some sucker. Unless its working perfectly when you come to see it it's very likley he thinks you are that sucker.

Have you thought about buying a complete cabinet second hand? If you just want the tube/monitor you can strip the rest of it and sell the unwanted parts on ebay. you might even turn a profit.

Also: the neck of the tube is VERY fragile, if you knock it you will almost certainly smash it off and need a new tube.

[durak]

Thanks for both of you!

"Buy a complete cab second hand?"
That's what I should have done. I thought they would be much higher priced here than I ended up being quoted, and had already gotten myself a stripped cab for free.
I can't have another cab around, plus the first one (which is a small cabaret style cab) was already a pain in the back to get inside, a bigger one with the monitor attached.. I don't think it's possible.

Building a monitor sounds too much for me.. I guess I'll call the guy, ask him to be honest and tell if any of the monitors is any good. If I end up driving there and get a working monitor, then I'll place an order on the arcadevga card, otherwise it's the pc monitor route for me.

[MonitorGuru]

> "Got some more info on that for us monitorguru? A link or something maybe?"

Umm.. yeah... this is talked about all the time on this forum.  Search for "8liners" in the Monitor/Video forum (this one) and you'll find numerous posts about it.  I'll post links later for the lazy