Betson Driving me nuts!

[XtraSmiley]

My new Betson tri-sync 26" arcade monitor is giving me trouble.  I'm using the PCIe AVGA2 card with it.

First problem I hope you can help me fix is that on the right side, about 1 inch from the right the screen looks like it moves to fast and drops off the screen to fast.  It's as if the whole inch on the side is a quicker moving waterfall or something.  I'm not sure I am describing this correctly.  On games like Gauntlet or Alien Syndrome where the whole screen moves it's very visible b/c it's as if that side is scrunched up.  Different resolutions cause this to either look worse or not as bad.

Second is a dang convergence issue in the lower left side that is the blue color is off.  I recall reading that convergence can only be fixed by doing something difficult, but even so, would this fix just the corner?

Last is a color issue due to being moved I think.  I got a degaussing coil and fixed it about 98% but can't seem to get the last corner no matter what I try.  Any tips?

I bought this last year and due to the military I just am having time shortages getting set up.  Now that I'm closer, I realize all the problems with my monitor.

[MonMotha]

While these are actually pretty nice monitors, they always seem to get shipped with absolutely terrible settings.  Grab the service manual (it's on retroblast, or at least was) and perform the alignment procedure.  Pay attention to the horiztonal linearity setting.  This can fix the "squished" right side.  Sometimes it won't adjust out, in which case I'd suggest complaining to Betson.  If the convergence issue in the corner is slight, then tweaking everything up may make it acceptably close.

If the convergence is still off, it can be adjusted by playing with the rings on the back.  This is a delicate process and can take a while to get right.  Make sure you mark the original positions (if they aren't already) so you can at least get back to where you started.

The degauss is sadly known to absolutely suck on these things.  However, a degauss coil should take things like you describe out when used properly.  If you can't get rid of the rainbow effect, you may just need to re-orient or relocate the monitor slightly.

[XtraSmiley]

OK I forgot about the "secret" menu you get by holding up before you turn on the monitor.  When I go into the menu, the effect I'm trying to change is called "H Linearity".  It seems to only fix the left side of the screen.  The right side still has that problem of looking too squished.  Do I have a bad monitor?  If so, I'm screwed b/c it is like 7 months old now and a second set so I doubt Betson would refund me again!

The magnetized section, I'm not worried about.  I can mess with the degauss later.

The convergence is bugging me a little.  How do I go about breaking the glue that is in place to move it around?  Also, should I do this while it is on?  Can anyone post a link to a picture tutorial online?  Thanks.

EDIT:  Also to be clear the convergence is PERFECT, except for a small corner.  Since it is good everywhere but the corner, will trying to adjust it at the neck even work?  I mean, if the blue gun (it's the blue lines) currently line up perfect with the other colors except in the corner, will that corner be able to be corrected?

[ahofle]

The squishing is a common problem with their (latest batch of?) 27" multisyncs (I'm not sure if that's what you have though as you said it was 'tri' sync and 26").  I have not found anyway to eliminate it, nor have any of the others around here with the issue that I've seen.  The review on retroblast mentions nothing about this problem (their on screen calibration screenshots looks perfect), so it seems to be a recent problem.

[Ummon]

The arcadeVGA is designed to address the market at large, but as it's a PnP option and isn't adjustable, it's conceivable that there will be some quirky results depending on the monitor used.

[ahofle]

What makes you think it has anything to do with the AVGA?

[jrmitch]

I've got the same squishing problem on my 27' Betson's right side. 

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to fix it on mine either.  I've just decided to live with it. 

[XtraSmiley]

I've got the same squishing problem on my 27' Betson's right side. 

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to fix it on mine either.  I've just decided to live with it. 

Argh, anyone know of a fix?  Even if it includes electronics work, I'd rather fix this than leave it as is.

[grantspain]

this sounds like a common production fault,you need to get together and contact betson regarding this

[RetroACTIVE]

Linearity on Betsons ( at least running 15kHz) lower res... is crap... I've learned to live with it because unfortunately there is no fix. 

[brandon]

Mine does the exact same thing.. well.. its squished on both sides.. Here's my theory.. Maybe they used the same yoke coil for both flat CRTs and curved CRTs..  or if not the coil then some other components.. since the edges dont curve around on  a flat CRT it probably wouldnt have this problem.. Just a guess...    All I know is it sucks!  I literally get dizzy playing side scrolling games like Ghouls and Ghosts.  If mine hadnt been sitting in the box for a year I'd be bitching at Betson but my warranty is LONG gone

[ahofle]

Just curious, have you tried using Soft15khz with your Betson instead of the AVGA yet?  I just fired Soft15khz up for the first time last night and it actually seems to improve the squishing.  I definitely need to do some more testing on this before I make that claim, but I'm wondering if anyone else noticed a difference.  I should have taken some before and after pics. I'll check into it more tonight.

[brandon]

The squishing problem is a monitor issue and from search the threads its a pretty big one.  I actually dont have a AVGA but I've tried 3 different video cards with the Betson.  Overall I'm pretty disappointed with the geometry, focus, and convergence of this monitor.  Hopefully I can replace it eventually... maybe with a Wei-Ya

[MrMikeZH]

did you guys contact betson about this and what did they say, because i got 4 of those monitors and paid 3500$ with shipping to europe. they are USELESSS. i got them after buying the best panasonic flat tv (non 100hz), and that had the same problem. i never thought that a arcade (industrie) monitor which is curved would give me sam result like best flat tv. btw this kills the flat theory from brandon. crt betson and panasonic tv flat both gave me a picture which looks something like going around a barrel.

[brandon]

I just sold the whole machine...  I'm going to build another one and I'm either going to use a TV or an LCD monitor..  Sure its not arcade "authentic" but its really not worth the headaches and definitely not worth the $500-$600 you spend per monitor! Hell, for that price I'd rather have a 32" 1080p LCD that would look bad ass for movies, console and PC games.  I'd much rather have a stable picture.  Now the problem with LCD is that most of the one you find are 16:9.  That doesn't work out so well for arcade games.  oh well, can't win 'em all

[iamnaeth]

Digging up and old thread here.

I'm having similar issues to those posted above and through tinkering with the settings AND the service menu settings I believe I've made my situation worse.  So my question is:

Could someone please be kind enough to post your default values for your betson so that I can manually reset my monitor.  Thanks so much for any help you guys can provide.

[iamnaeth]

Been a week or so, thought i'd give this a bump and see if anyone wouldn't mind helping me out.  Thank you!

[ahofle]

http://retroblast.arcadecontrols.com/files/KT-XX14X-SM.pdf

"4-1-2 TURN ON THE FACTORY OSD MANUAL METHOD
1) press on the "UP" key.
2) connect the AC line cord from the power source.
3) At this time OSD menu changed factory mode."

[MonMotha]

I have a card somewhere with the original settings from mine in service mode written down, but the "proper" settings will differ from unit to unit.  They will especially differ if you have a different tube.  Mine's a KT-2914F (slightly curved tube), while the newer ones are all the KT-2914DF (completely flat "dynaflat" tube).  The geometry on the latter ones seems worse, probably because the monitor wasn't really designed for that kind of a tube.

[iamnaeth]

Hey guys, thanks for the responses.

@ahofle

I was aware of how to turn on the additional / hidden factory settings, however, when you change these values, the reset button doesn't change them.  I'm dumb and changed them without writing them down.  Also, the pdf link for me seem blank, am I doing something wrong?

@ MonMotha

Unfortunately, i'm on the road Monday - Thursday so i don't have access to my Monitor right now, but mine has a slight curve, so we may have the same monitor.  Even if we have different monitors, i'd love to see your settings, if possible, just to see if mine are just way off now..  Thank you!