Hantarex Polo quality ?

[Level42]

Think I've read some bad things about reliability of Hantarex Polo monitors. Is that true ? I can get a couple for a reasonable price... (20").

[Ken Layton]

In my opinion ALL Hantarex monitors suck.  I don't like their design and they are finnicky about how the sync is hooked up. Oh yes, they EAT capacitors, vertical output I.C.'s, and flybacks.

In the USA parts availability is difficult since they closed the Hantarex USA office ten years ago.

Did I say I don't like them? 

[grantspain]

at the other end of the scale,i think the polo are a good quality monitor.
o.k they need caps changed in the psu circuit once every 10 years and yes they can use frame i/c's if you don't replace all the faulty components on a frame collapse.i have only ever replaced one flyback on a polo and of course they have a technical head office in london who are very helpful,also their parts are available from suzo and brent
i like em 

[candyman]

 I have to say that most of what Ken says about  the problem areas are true, but I personally have less problems and costs getting the polos back up and running than alot of the Well Gardners (currently fighting a U5000 and a 33K8000 ). I personally have not had much of a problem getting parts ,or syn problems, but I also don't have a fraction of Ken's experience . If you want to talk about bad design lets go after a W.G. U5000, if you want to talk about eating flybacks, I'll send you pics of all the Wells gardners19K7000 series monitors on my shelf that need flybacks.
Happy Gaming
Aaron

[flashdog]

If you can workaround the problems, you can't beat  Hantarex for picture quality, sharp, bright, crisp colors!!!

[Level42]

Yeah, I bet that's because of the Philips (Videocolor) CRT's. It's really not that it's a Dutch company or anything, but I've always prefered the Philips CRT's. In fact, all my TV's have been by them...and the monitor in my Mamecab has a tube by them as well, love it

[modessitt]

Only dealt with one Polo and it was not new.  A 25" med-res in a Blitz '99...

Had a blown flyback.  The first thing I noticed was how amateurish the soldering looked.  Might just be because it was older.  Replaced the flyback and capped it at the same time.  Monitor fired up and worked fine.  A month later I get a call that it's down again.  Flyback and caps are good.  Voltages seem to be present.  As it was the first Polo I'd ever seen, I sent it to my distributor's monitor tech dept.  They couldn't find out why it wouldn't work, and sent it on to a Hantarex repair place (outside the US?).  Finally get word back that they can't fix it.  So now I have a tube sitting around without a chassis.  Wonderful.....

Got an old Hanterex 19" in the other day that had gone down in a Ms. Pac cab and convinced the owner to put a new Vision Pro in it instead.  Maybe someday I'll get around to fixing it for my own uses as my boss will never use it.  He shares Ken's opinion.