Is this the perfect 19/20" monitor?

[raqman]

First, let me say this is a fantastic website with great forums as I have learnt so much from all the users!!

Reading through the monitor section, most users seem to talk about 25" 27" monitors, so having a Silverline Cabinet, mine is a 20" and I think I have found the perfect one, unless someone tells me differently:

http://www.billabs.com/bl19c91t.htm

Also, anyone know if this can be found in the UK?

19" 15~31 kHz Curved Autosync™

CGA/EGA/VGA Tri-Resolution
V-Freq. 47~75 Hz
Adjustment Controls: Brightness, Contrast, V-Pos., V-Size,V-Hold, H-Hold, H-Position, Pincushion, H-Size, Trapezoid, Rotation, RGB Adj., Impedance Select Switch

Sync: 15-pin D-sub male connector and/or 6-pin(R, G, B, GND, H+V, V) connector

100~240 VAC, 50/60 Hz no isolation transformer needed

Available in Horizontal Mounting frame only

Suggested usage in tested machines <VGA games>
<Cadillac Jack games>

[Todd H]

It's not digital so it won't remember the settings for each frequency. So if you're switching between CGA, EGA, and VGA games, you'll have to readjust the geometry settings each time.

[raqman]

arghhhh, thanks Todd!!

Tis a hard life being into Mame Cabs in the UK

[Jimbo]

Hey raqman!

I gave up finding a digital multi-sync available in the UK ages ago...

What games do you play on your cab?  Do you actually need the multisync?  I have all sorts of emulators running on my 15khz-only monitor with an ArcadeVGA card (c64, amiga, mame, snes, etc). I even have some running 640x480 in interlaced mode, such as ScummVM, which look fine, and I don't notice any flicker.  I guess its only if you want the latest consoles and/or some PC games on your cab that you'll need the higher resolutions.

The other option is to get a TV and use scart (I think this was suggested before).

 

[raqman]

Hey Jimbo!

I exclusively play Mame on that cabinet, it is just that I am aware some of the games run at 25 and 31 kHz, and for £295+vat that Hanatrex is asking for a 21" for a 15KHz model, I was hoping that for that kinda money I could get a multisync one.

But if you did not find one and I saw your fantastic Mame project, I guess I hope my one at Eurocoin at the moment can be repaired in the meantime

[Jack Burton]

I have one of these in my cabinet.

http://www.monitorworld.com/Monitors/mitsubishi/diamondscan20mhc3925atk.html

It's a computer monitor and it works great for MAME.  It has digital screen adjustment settings and remembers resolutions.

Plus it was extremely cheap.  I found it at my local computer repair shop.  They can usually be found around the US on ebay or craigslist for under $20.  Even with shipping to Europe that's still dirt cheap.

There are actually several computer monitors that support 15-31khz.  Most of them have a "remote" port that you could plug a wired controller into to change settings on the monitor without having go into the back of the monitor and mess with settings.

The only difference image wise between these and an arcade monitor and that sometimes the dot pitch of the monitor is finer than an arcade monitor.  My diamondscan has a dot pitch of .31mm so it is over twice as fine as an arcade monitor.  That means the pixels are much sharper and more pixelated looking.  But I actually like the razor sharp pixel look, so it's perfect for me. 

My big megaview monitor has a dot pitch of .60mm so it is practically identical to an arcade monitor.  You might get lucky and find a 19" version with this.

My little trinitron has an aperture grill, so it doesn't have a dot pitch per say, but I can say that the colors on it pop better than any monitor I have EVER seen, especially with it's little tinted glass covering.

Decasing one of these might be a little bit of a hassle, since you would probably need to discharge it, unattach the neck board, attach the tube to the new chassis, drill holes for the motherboard on the chassis, and finally reassemble it all back together.  It would be at least a couple of hours of work. 

But it's worth looking into I think.