How do you find a power return t.v. to use as a monitor for your arcade machine?

[RikaKazak]

Sorry for the newb question, but I tried searching like mad and can't find it on google or wiki or here.

I was reading on http://www.tmsoft.com/article-arcade.htm that you REALLY need to get a tv/monitor with power return because once your arcade is all put together, it's a pain to find/reach the power button.

Any good links to a place that sells t.v.'s with power return? 

[protokatie]

Im a newb here as far as arcade stuff goes, but I just tested one of my monitors, and as long as the "on/off" button was "On" when I unplugged the thing, it turned right back on when I plugged it back in. Ive noticed this with all of the monitors I have had that had the pushbutton on/off, that they will all seem to turn back on if they were unplugged when they were on. There was a thread from a few days ago that brought this up as well. TV's on the other hand, dont use the same type of button and will go into standby mode as soon as they are plugged back in. Just try this with your current monitor, make sure it is on, then unplug it for a few minutes and plug it back in: it SHOULD turn back on. Maybe someone here has a link to the convo about this, since the switch does seem to have two discrete positions, even tho it may just seem to be a simple pushbutton.

[AtomSmasher]

The TV I used did not automatically turn back on when the power comes back on, so I took a couple toothpicks and jammed them into the side of the power button in order to stick the power button to always be in the "on" position.  Now the tv does automatically turn back on 

[RikaKazak]

The TV I used did not automatically turn back on when the power comes back on, so I took a couple toothpicks and jammed them into the side of the power button in order to stick the power button to always be in the "on" position.  Now the tv does automatically turn back on 

WOW...that's awesome advice, thanks.

[daywane]

I just use the remote.

I should have added.... My TV will NOT power up to Svid. 
so I have to use my remote

[fixedpigs]

i just made a button on the top of my cabinet that i dual-wired to the television and the pc...

splicing into the pc's power switch was super easy...& soldering directly to the power switch of the television made me overcome my hesitation with a solder gun...now i solder pretty much anything that could use it...!

[anewcomb]

i just made a button on the top of my cabinet that i dual-wired to the television and the pc...

I am thinking of doing this too since if I hold down the power button on my TV it powers up when the power comes on, but then powers down after about 10 seconds. Is there any concerns about dual-wiring the TV power button and the PC power button to the same switch though??

[nickynooch]

I have been researching for a while, it seems like it's pretty tough to find a power return with certainty!  I am currently scavenging pawn shows and tv repair shops for some people on this board have recommended.  I'd prefer to buy new, but it's hard to find out if they have power return on the new ones.

[fa001]

I believe that there are only two ways to be sure the TV will return ON. One is to try it on the actual set and the other is to look at the schematic for that set. If the set will return ON after power loss you are in luck. If you can hold down the power switch when plugging it in and it comes on, you can jam the switch down. However it seems that newer TVs are microprocessor controlled. Meaning that the power switch sends a pulse to a microprocessor in the TV to turn it on. You can not just hold the switch down.
With the help of a fellow board member here I was able to build a transistor based one shot switch to pulse the microprocessor on a TV that I had. I also soldered a short on the chassis to keep the set in VideoIn mode. If you want I can send you circuit design and more details.
 - Fred

[SavannahLion]

With the help of a fellow board member here I was able to build a transistor based one shot switch to pulse the microprocessor on a TV that I had.

If I recall, aren't most modern TV's equipped with a simple mom switch? A small cap to simulate pressing the power button for a short time should be just as sufficent.

I also soldered a short on the chassis to keep the set in VideoIn mode. If you want I can send you circuit design and more details.

I'd be interested to know what it was you shorted to force the set into Video In. As far as I can figure from one of my sets, there really isn't any method to force the input to any one particular way except for the type of video ie, s-video vs composite.

[fa001]

Not sure about using a cap. Did not try that. I built a circuit to simulate the button press.

To get videoIn mode there is an output from the microprocessor (47C432AN) that controls a transistor switch to give input to the logic control IC (TCP4053BP) pin to switch to videoIn mode. I shorted the base of that transistor to ground. I had a Sams photofact for the TV to find all this.

[SavannahLion]

Not sure about using a cap. Did not try that. I built a circuit to simulate the button press.

I go the idea from an old article on wiring up a PC to a powerstrip when the PC didn't have a power on power fail feature in the BIOS. Yank the mom switch and replace with an appropriately sized cap in series. The idea being that as the cap "fills" it appears to be a closed switched. Once it is "full" the cap appears to be an opened switch. I don't think you get a perfect "switched" signal, but the power switch isn't that perfect to begin with anyways.

I tried it out a few times, but I never really felt comfortable cutting power like that on such old equipment. Of course that's coming from someone who regularly uses shorted PC PSU's without the PC. Go figure.

To get videoIn mode there is an output from the microprocessor (47C432AN) that controls a transistor switch to give input to the logic control IC (TCP4053BP) pin to switch to videoIn mode. I shorted the base of that transistor to ground. I had a Sams photofact for the TV to find all this.

That's interesting I'll need to look up the 4053. Does that TV only have one Video In? All of my TV's have a minimum of two Video In, ie Video1 and Video2.

Sam's Photofact looks really interesting. I can't really justify the $44+ a month and a six month contract for just what... all of four TV's I have that might need repair? Do they allow you to purchase individual schematics? Come to think of it, I would've been hard pressed to pay for schematics a few years ago. But with tubes on the decline, I might be more amiable to the idea. We'll see I guess.

[nickynooch]

After weeks of looking I finally found a power return monitor!  If it helps, I have found that the later (if not all) Toshiba models have power return.  I ended up getting mine at a pawn shop just so I could try it out first.  Worked like a champ in the store!

The model number is 27A41.  It's a 27" Toshiba.  I'm so stoked to finally start the process of building my cabinet now!

[fa001]

Sams photofacts are now available online, http://www.samswebsite.com/photofact/order.html .
And appear to be about $20.00 each. But if you are lucky someone on here may have the one you need or you might try your local TV repair place. All you need is a look to see how things like power and videoIn are done and where on the board.

It might be interesting to start a list of which model work and how.