Author Topic: Billabs BL27CB0P Died (Fixed Now) (Read 5842 times)

MikeQ · « **on:** March 06, 2006, 06:57:59 pm »

Well, my month old monitor died sometime in the last 24 hours. It was working last night but when I came home today it was dead. It has been powered up for the most part since I got it. It is making a high pitched squeal for a second and then a very faint snap, then the squeal starts again followed by the snap.

I'll report on how BilLabs resolves the issue.

Mike

squirrellydw · « **Reply #1 on:** March 06, 2006, 07:52:21 pm »

wow, that sucks, I hope they fix it

Ken Layton · « **Reply #2 on:** March 07, 2006, 12:34:37 am »

You mean your monitor has been on 24/7? If so I can see why it died.

Major Rock Hardy · « **Reply #3 on:** March 07, 2006, 12:52:25 am »

why is that? It seems like some arcades are open 24/7...

what kind of duty cycle should they be able to handle? 50%? 75%? Computer monitors (and isn't this a lot like a computer monitor?) can stay on 24/7...

sorry, Ken - please don't take this as an attack on your comment - I'm just surprised as hell to hear about a nice expensive monitor failing so soon.

I was just about to order one of these too...

Mike, what resolution was it displaying 24/7? Did you have it in 1024x768?

damn. Maybe they'll actually have to write a specs sheet now! Kristin? You reading this?

Ken Layton · « **Reply #4 on:** March 07, 2006, 01:03:48 am »

Large monitors generate lots of component killing heat.

If this is to be left on then the cabinet must have lots of ventilation slots and possibly a fan installed.

Regardless of make or model, the bigger the tube the sooner the monitor will fail.

Atomiswave · « **Reply #5 on:** March 07, 2006, 07:46:36 am »

You should definately make a warranty claim! Regardless it's size and its Taiwanese orgin/quality it should last MUCH longer. Sure it is not NANAO, but it should last a few years and 24/7 a week with good ventilation is not to much to ask since monitors are designed for operating use.

MikeQ · « **Reply #6 on:** March 07, 2006, 08:42:05 am »

Quote from: Ken Layton on March 07, 2006, 12:34:37 am

You mean your monitor has been on 24/7? If so I can see why it died.

2 weeks is all it should last? I don't think so.

MikeQ · « **Reply #7 on:** March 07, 2006, 08:43:37 am »

Quote from: Ken Layton on March 07, 2006, 01:03:48 am

Large monitors generate lots of component killing heat.

If this is to be left on then the cabinet must have lots of ventilation slots and possibly a fan installed.

Regardless of make or model, the bigger the tube the sooner the monitor will fail.

Actually this monitor didn't generate much heat at all. The back of the cabinet is open anyway so even if it did, the heat had a place to go.

MikeQ · « **Reply #8 on:** March 07, 2006, 08:44:39 am »

Quote from: Atomiswave on March 07, 2006, 07:46:36 am

You should definately make a warranty claim! Regardless it's size and its Taiwanese orgin/quality it should last MUCH longer. Sure it is not NANAO, but it should last a few years and 24/7 a week with good ventilation is not to much to ask since monitors are designed for operating use.

I've already contacted BilLabs. No response yet but I sent an email late last night. It's still early

Ken Layton · « **Reply #9 on:** March 07, 2006, 10:18:28 am »

Is it possible your monitor had a hairline crack in the pc board from some hidden shipping damage?

MikeQ · « **Reply #10 on:** March 07, 2006, 10:50:16 am »

Quote from: Ken Layton on March 07, 2006, 10:18:28 am

Is it possible your monitor had a hairline crack in the pc board from some hidden shipping damage?

I'm sure anything is possible but it was packed very well. I'm sure more likely that some electronic component failed. It is making a noise that sounds like something is energizing and then discharging. It is a very faint noise and is coming from the lower circuit board.

Major Rock Hardy · « **Reply #11 on:** March 07, 2006, 10:52:17 am »

BilLabs is going to find out exactly how many more of these monitors they are going to sell to our community based on how they deal w/ this issue.

I hope they actually report what failed. That will be interesting to keep track of. I hope they don't just exchange it and zip their lips.

MikeQ · « **Reply #12 on:** March 07, 2006, 01:27:48 pm »

Quote from: Major Rock Hardy on March 07, 2006, 10:52:17 am

BilLabs is going to find out exactly how many more of these monitors they are going to sell to our community based on how they deal w/ this issue.

I hope they actually report what failed. That will be interesting to keep track of. I hope they don't just exchange it and zip their lips.

I have a lot of low voltage lighting in my house and the transformers that drive the lighting go bad frequently. It seems like I've replaced 2 or 3 but they always fail within the first month or so of me getting them and I get them replaced under warranty. I've yet to have one fail after several months. The onese that haven't failed probably will last many many years. A lot of devices are like this. If they are going to fail, they fail early. This is exactly why I left the monitor on for 2 weeks.

If they do simply exchange it without letting me know what went wrong, I guess I'm okay with that as long as the new one doesn't fail too in the same way. They may not even do an autopsy. They will probably swap out the board and be done with it or they probably will return the bad board to Wei-Ya and they will recondition it.

The monitor is a great looking monitor. The tube is a good quality tube. The overall design and build of the unit is top notch. They put a lot into the small details like gluing down the IC's so they don't pop out of their sockets. Gluing almost every component on the board so they can't get knocked off. Very sturdy mounting system, etc.. The only area that concerns me a little is the VGA connector.

BilLabs customer service has be top notch as well. It took some time for them to get the monitors in but they were very up front that they didn't have them in stock. They didn't sell me the monitor and then try to make excuses. They told me it would take about a month to get them and it did. I can't complain in the least so far. I have no reason to expect they won't handle this problem to my satisfaction.

Major Rock Hardy · « **Reply #13 on:** March 07, 2006, 04:21:50 pm »

Quote from: MikeQ on March 07, 2006, 01:27:48 pm

They put a lot into the small details like gluing down the IC's so they don't pop out of their sockets.

I find this funny... why bother with the extra expense of IC sockets if you're going to glue them to the sockets anyway...?

MikeQ, I am glad you hold BilLabs/Wei-Ya in such high regard... I hope that continues as well because your experience is playing a major factor in my purchase decision.

Rock

MikeQ · « **Reply #14 on:** March 07, 2006, 04:41:59 pm »

Quote from: Major Rock Hardy on March 07, 2006, 04:21:50 pm

Quote from: MikeQ on March 07, 2006, 01:27:48 pm
They put a lot into the small details like gluing down the IC's so they don't pop out of their sockets.

I find this funny... why bother with the extra expense of IC sockets if you're going to glue them to the sockets anyway...?

MikeQ, I am glad you hold BilLabs/Wei-Ya in such high regard... I hope that continues as well because your experience is playing a major factor in my purchase decision.

Rock

It is just a dab of hot glue on each end of the IC. You could get it out if you had to. They just aren't going to fall out from transit.

Kristin got back to me and said they could send me a chasis if I knew how to replace it. I've never done so before but think I could handle it.

StephenH · « **Reply #15 on:** March 08, 2006, 12:42:00 am »

I have a lot of low voltage lighting in my house and the transformers that drive the lighting go bad frequently. It seems like I've replaced 2 or 3 but they always fail within the first month or so of me getting them and I get them replaced under warranty. I've yet to have one fail after several months.

Based on this, I wonder if you have an electrical problem in your own homes wiring. Bad power can damage electrical and electronic devices. Incandesent lights are more tolerant of bad power, but can still fail. You may want to have an electrician verify that your home is wired OK, and that there is not a failure somewhere in your house wiring. Some things such as a ground fault, or an improperly wired outlet can cause trouble with electronic devices. The same is true if the line voltage is incorrect. Correct voltage should be between 110 and 123 for the USA, 210 to 240V in Europe, and in the 100V range for Japan. Additionally, you may want to pick up an outlet tester and see if the red problem light comes on.

When you get your new chassis, I suggest you considering installing a surge protector, or even consider installing a UPS system on it. You may also want to try installing an Isolation Transformer on that monitor. These steps may help reduce the potential for bad power to the monitor.

squirrellydw · « **Reply #16 on:** March 08, 2006, 09:59:57 am »

I have two questions......If you replace it yourself, that won't void the warranty will it?

Quote

When you get your new chassis, I suggest you considering installing a surge protector, or even consider installing a UPS system on it. You may also want to try installing an Isolation Transformer on that monitor. These steps may help reduce the potential for bad power to the monitor.

Also will a UPS work? I didn't know you could use them on a monitor that size, what size UPS what you need?

MikeQ · « **Reply #17 on:** March 08, 2006, 12:51:18 pm »

Quote from: StephenH on March 08, 2006, 12:42:00 am

I have a lot of low voltage lighting in my house and the transformers that drive the lighting go bad frequently. It seems like I've replaced 2 or 3 but they always fail within the first month or so of me getting them and I get them replaced under warranty. I've yet to have one fail after several months.

Based on this, I wonder if you have an electrical problem in your own homes wiring. Bad power can damage electrical and electronic devices. Incandesent lights are more tolerant of bad power, but can still fail. You may want to have an electrician verify that your home is wired OK, and that there is not a failure somewhere in your house wiring. Some things such as a ground fault, or an improperly wired outlet can cause trouble with electronic devices. The same is true if the line voltage is incorrect. Correct voltage should be between 110 and 123 for the USA, 210 to 240V in Europe, and in the 100V range for Japan. Additionally, you may want to pick up an outlet tester and see if the red problem light comes on.

When you get your new chassis, I suggest you considering installing a surge protector, or even consider installing a UPS system on it. You may also want to try installing an Isolation Transformer on that monitor. These steps may help reduce the potential for bad power to the monitor.

I think I'm okay with the house. Apparently the low voltage transforms that are used for interior lighting are crap. They are not a magnetic transformer. The ones I have replaced haven't gone bad since being replaced. Also, none of my other many electronic devices seem to have an issue. The home inspector checked out the house when we bought it and all the outlets were correctly wired. The Monitor was on a surge protector too. They are an absolute must in Florida. My plasma TV goes through 2 surge protectors.

Major Rock Hardy · « **Reply #18 on:** March 10, 2006, 01:27:44 pm »

Mike,

any updates as far as what resolution you were running when it went?

also, is your new chassis en-route?

Thanks,
Rock

MikeQ · « **Reply #19 on:** March 10, 2006, 01:37:26 pm »

I was running 800x600 32bpp.

Chassis should be going out soon. Hopefully today.

edge · « **Reply #20 on:** March 13, 2006, 11:04:55 am »

MikeQ,
Any update on your situation?

I was just about to purchase one of these monitors, but am holding off to understand what went wrong with yours and how will Billabs respond.

Thanks for sharing.
Edge

MikeQ · « **Reply #21 on:** March 14, 2006, 12:16:08 am »

Waiting on the chassis. I doubt I'll find out what went wrong.

MikeQ · « **Reply #22 on:** March 16, 2006, 06:58:23 pm »

I received my replacement chassis today. Swapped it out and reinstalled the monitor in about 20 minutes. The monitor and I both survived. As a bonus, the small issues I had with the original monitor appear to be gone. The image at the edges in much sharper and in focus than the original. I also noticed on vector games (or any game with a mostly black background) that a noticeable line and greenish hue were present on one side of the monitor. This is also gone.

BilLabs (Kristin) did a great job getting this to me quickly.

We will see how the IMR is with this monitor now that I have the new one.

squirrellydw · « **Reply #23 on:** March 16, 2006, 08:16:04 pm »

Glad to hear it, please keep us posted. I want this monitor

Major Rock Hardy · « **Reply #24 on:** March 17, 2006, 10:25:54 am »

Quote from: MikeQ on March 16, 2006, 06:58:23 pm

I received my replacement chassis today. Swapped it out and reinstalled the monitor in about 20 minutes. The monitor and I both survived. As a bonus, the small issues I had with the original monitor appear to be gone. The image at the edges in much sharper and in focus than the original. I also noticed on vector games (or any game with a mostly black background) that a noticeable line and greenish hue were present on one side of the monitor. This is also gone.

that is just super. Thanks for the update Mike.

Quote

We will see how the IMR is with this monitor now that I have the new one.

IMR? Whatchoo talkin' bout, Willis?

MikeQ · « **Reply #25 on:** March 18, 2006, 09:17:14 pm »

Quote

Quote
We will see how the IMR is with this monitor now that I have the new one.
IMR? Whatchoo talkin' bout, Willis?

Infant Mortality Rate.

It is a common belief in the electronics industry that the chances of sudden hardware failure drop off exponentially with a machine's time since first use (that is, until the relatively distant time at which enough mechanical wear in I/O devices and thermal-cycling stress in components has accumulated for the machine to start going senile). Up to half of all chip and wire failures happen within a new system's first few weeks; such failures are often referred to as "infant mortality" problems (or, occasionally, as "sudden infant death syndrome").

Comp1demon · « **Reply #26 on:** March 18, 2006, 10:39:31 pm »

I am using a JVC 27" TV wioth COmponent imput, was thinking of upgrading to the BILLABS Monitor. IS it worth it? I read the reviews seems like agood monitor .. how do you feel it perfoms.

Thanks,
C1D

MikeQ · « **Reply #27 on:** March 20, 2006, 12:43:40 pm »

Quote from: Comp1demon on March 18, 2006, 10:39:31 pm

I am using a JVC 27" TV wioth COmponent imput, was thinking of upgrading to the BILLABS Monitor. IS it worth it? I read the reviews seems like agood monitor .. how do you feel it perfoms.

Thanks,
C1D

I love the monitor and the picture it produces. I can't say how it would compare to what you have. I've never run a configuration like yours. Comparing it to a standard computer monitor, it looks good. In games it looks very good compared to a computer monitor. The place where it is just good is when running regular applications with text. The text is not as crisp as a computer monitor but that is expected since the dot pitch is larger.

edge · « **Reply #28 on:** March 20, 2006, 09:27:35 pm »

MikeQ - I am so, so close to pulling the trigger on this monitor based on your experience.

One question - how do PC games look at 800x600 or 1024x768? I know text will be a bit harder to read, but how are the graphics?

Thanks.

MikeQ · « **Reply #29 on:** March 20, 2006, 10:53:17 pm »

Absolutely awesome. I play Star Wars Starfighter on it frequently and it rocks. It looks better than the real game in the arcade. This is where the monitor really shines.

In this thread I took some pictures of Star Wars Starfighter. Taking pictures of a monitor is always a little hard to gauge but I think the pictures here when viewed at full res give a good example of the picture quality.

edge · « **Reply #30 on:** March 23, 2006, 04:44:22 pm »

Quote from: MikeQ on March 20, 2006, 10:53:17 pm

Absolutely awesome. I play Star Wars Starfighter on it frequently and it rocks. It looks better than the real game in the arcade. This is where the monitor really shines.

Are you using an AVGA card?

Quote from: MikeQ on March 20, 2006, 10:53:17 pm

In this thread I took some pictures of Star Wars Starfighter. Taking pictures of a monitor is always a little hard to gauge but I think the pictures here when viewed at full res give a good example of the picture quality.

Hmmm. I missed the pics. You attached them in this thread?

MikeQ · « **Reply #31 on:** March 23, 2006, 10:07:44 pm »

No AVGA - ATI Radeon 9800xt.

No, the other Billabs Thread:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=46420.0

Circo · « **Reply #32 on:** March 24, 2006, 08:11:25 am »

I have this monitor connected to an AVA card and the results are spectacular. The fact that it supports 1024x768 means that I can still run most vertical games without hardware stretch finally is amazing. I have owned the WG 9200 and the Betson before this and I have to say that the billabs has been my favorite arcade monitor so far.

squirrellydw · « **Reply #33 on:** March 24, 2006, 08:38:26 am »

So what would you say are the pros and cons of not using the AVGA?

I am going to get this monitor and I was going to use the AVGA but not sure now. I want to play the classics like donkey kong and ms pacman along with mortal kombat and others. I would also like to play some PC games like Tiger Woods Golf. What do you think my best option is?

MikeQ · « **Reply #34 on:** March 24, 2006, 10:38:25 pm »

The main issue I have with AVGA is that it is based on older technology. I usually have a higher end card in my arcade machine for playing the latest PC games. I'm upgrading my system soon and will need a PCI-E card in it.

johnvv · « **Reply #35 on:** March 24, 2006, 10:47:01 pm »

MikeQ;

Thanks for all the info on the BillLabs. I'm strongly considering ordering one in the next few weeks, despite the horrid shipping rates the West Coast...

Question for you:

You mention upgrading your graphics card to, essentially, support the latest PC games and graphics performance issues. Are you satisfied with only being able to run those games at only 1024x768? I've asked the question in the past an never gotten a response. Not being critical, just trying to understand why some folks like to run the latest PC games on such a restricted monitor. I certainly understand issues of space and the cost of having multiple PCs.

squirrellydw · « **Reply #36 on:** March 25, 2006, 09:49:20 am »

Can you run PC games at 1024x768 using the AVGA? I don't understand what Utimarc means by this?

Quote

Virtual-desktop mode supported in XP and 2000, so you can run a desktop of 1024 X 768 and auto-pan.

Sorry to get of the subject

MikeQ · « **Reply #37 on:** March 25, 2006, 11:05:17 pm »

I don't know what the max resolution is but what they are saying is that you can run your desktop at 1024x760 even though the AVGA is displayling at say 640x480. You can't see the whole desktop all at once, you have to pan around to see it. So when your mouse hits the edge of the screen, the desktop scrolls over in that direction.

It sounds like the AVGA doesn't go to 1024x768 though.

squirrellydw · « **Reply #38 on:** March 26, 2006, 09:27:07 am »

Can you post some pics of Ms pac man or donkey kong? I would like to see what they look like on the monitor with your video card. I want to be able to play the games as close to original but also play some PC games.

Circo · « **Reply #39 on:** March 28, 2006, 03:10:17 am »

The AVGA9200 runs 1024x76 no problem with the billabs monitor.


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