Wells Gardner D9200 VGA focus problem (attn. Ken Layton)

[motorfish]

I have a Wells Gardner D9200 monitor which was running perfectly for about a year, but has now recently developed a strange "focus" problem.

 - The monitor is connected via VGA cable to a PC running MAME32

 - Desktop on the PC is currently set to 640 x 480

 - Video card is ArcadeVGA

The issue:

After booting up the PC and WindowsXP, the monitor picture quality will appear in sharp focus. Immediately afterwards, the monitor picture will gradually and progressively, slowly start to go out of focus, becoming worse and worse as time elapses.
After about 2 to 3 minutes, the monitor picture will "snap" back to clear focus, and then the whole process will repeat itself again, over and over.

This issue happens on the desktop, and also in-game, no matter what native resolution I'm using.

Is anybody familiar with this issue? Is it fixable?

At this time, I've ruled out problems with the PC, the monitor VGA cable, and I'm led back to the monitor itself. I have a feeling that it may have been caused by people playing games which were "out of video range" and perhaps that the internal switch which changes resolutions was somehow possibly damaged?

Ken! Help!!

- Dan

[SirPeale]

The 9200 is *plagued* with all kinds of problems. 

Despite it's age, I'd wager it's capacitor related.

Also, here's a new one I hadn't seen before two days ago:

We have an Artic Thunder I thought was having computer issues, until we hooked it up to another 9200 and it had perfect picture.

Turns out the little input board had massive cracked solder joints all over it, due to the resistors heating up the board.  Resoldering those joints fixed this board.

I don't envy you on this; 9200's are a PITA.  But that's where I'd start: caps and cracked solder, particularly around the flyback.

[motorfish]

Looks like the neck board is loose (really loose). That's seems to be a likely candidate for the problem here.

[grantspain]

sounds like either you have a bad/dry joint on the focus line to the neck card or the flyback is on its way out