Help with Phillips Monitor

[XtraSmiley]

OK, here is the model number off of the tube:

Phillips W22X

MVA63AFW22X

And off of a metal plate that holds the monitor PCB:

Model # 25K7197

This is from a Dedicated Mortal Kombat II machine that I have MAMED with:

Windows XP Pro SP2
MAME32 an MAME32 More
ArcadVGA 9200 version with recent drivers
JPAC

Here are the problems and questions I have:

1.  Pot used to move screen up and down is maxed at up, yet there is still a visible black area at the top of the screen.  Anyway to reset the pot?

2.  Some games work great, but others like Smash TV and Pacman look like they are folding in on themselves at the bottom of the screen.  If I adjust the stretch differently so it's not folded over, every other game and windows is way to letter boxed looking and there are huge blackbars at the top and bottom of the screen.

3.  Smash TV has a black box around it, but other games do not.

4.  On the back of the monitor are two dials, one marked focus (I get this one) and one marked screen.  What does screen do?  I'm to chicken to test it out.

5.  What should the settings be in MAME32?  Under the Advanced tab, what should be checked?  How about under direct 3d?

Thanks in advance for answer these questions.  Does anyone know if I should get a cap kit for the screen folding problem?  

[MonitorGuru]

Philips doesn't make monitors, only picture tubes.  That appears to be a Wells Gardner 25" model K7197 monitor chassis.

A:
1/2/3 - Your monitor may need a cap kit to refresh the dried out electrolytic capacitors (look like little cans covered in plastic). That MAY extend the range of scan.  However, realize that you are driving the monitor with a computer signal that doesn't exactly match original arcade games. It is close with the ArcadeVGA card, but not exact.  ALso realize that unlike the arcade, you are not running one specific game that you can optimize the monitor for, but tons, and each one has a different scan rate, pixel size, etc..  Therefore you can only do so much on the monitor to set an "average" setting. The rest of your adjustments will need to be done with whatever driver software goes with your video card.  That's why a lot of people go with AdvanceMame that lets you configure dot size, scan rate, etc.. for each and every game/mode driven by mame, and run it through a plain old 4 meg PCI video card. That way the monitor looks correct for each and every game.    I have never tried ArcadeVGA so I don't know what range it allows you to adjust things, but you will want to look there first.

4 - Focus and Screen are two "grids" that lie in the neck of the tube between the electron guns at the back and the front of the screen.  Adjusting Focus changes the amount of voltage to the focus grid which in turn controls how tight or wide the electrons are when hitting the front of the tube, thus "focus'.  Screen is very similar, and basically is the grid that has a large amount of voltage that helps "propel" the electrons towards the front of the tube.  Therefore, screen basically could be considered a brightness control. The more electrons, the brighter the picture.  You should adjust the normal brightness control first if it has one, but if the tube is old OR you are using a computer instead of game board that outputs only .7 volts instead of 5 volts, adjusting the Screen can get you that extra "boost" without having to buy an amplifier.  However adjusting screen too high results in showing the retrace line (diagonal scan lines as the screen draws), so you won't want it make it too high.  Stop when pure black starts turning grey.

5 - All the settings in Mame don't control anything regarding actual drawing rates to the screen, well, directly at least.  Chosing different options can affect sizes and refresh rates Mame chooses, but they're more meant for computer monitors and not arcade monitors.  You have to tweak each game to make it look the best for you and your card and monitor.

[XtraSmiley]

Thanks for the answers Guru!  I have to disagree with your last one though, those settings directly affect the way the games look when using the AVGA.  There is a certain way to set things and I've seen it posted before.  Once I find out again, I'll post here in the hopes of helping others.  Thanks a million for all your answers though, this forum really is great!