Taking out my monitor.

[Nemss316]

Back in November, I posted on here that my monitor in my MAME cab had bit the dust.

I've been looking at replacing it, and a buddy of mine gave me his 19" LCD Monitor that he recently replaced with an HDTV monitor.

So now, I want to pull the arcade monitor out, and mount the new LCD in, so my question is: My monitor has been idle now for a couple months, but I'm nervous about removing the monitor, since I've heard the horror stories of making mistakes. How much would a repairman charge to have it discharged?

[LyonsArcade]

You should be able to remove it without a problem if you're careful.  The monitor is in a frame, correct?  Most frames have handles on the sides, as long as you keep your hands away from the components on the top and bottom of the main board, you won't have any issues.

The tube itself won't shock you, and the frame won't shock you, it's just things having to do with the high voltage circuitry, the flyback, the anode on the back of the tube, these types of things can be dangerous, but touching the frame to remove it won't be any problem at all.

Also, there's a high likelihood (although it's not guaranteed!) that the tube has disharged itself over two months and doesn't even have a charge in it. 

PERSONALLY, I wouldn't even discharge it if you're getting rid of it or storing it.  I only discharge them when i'm going to be removing the board. 

[Nemss316]

Well, I've been hesitant about working on the monitor itself. If I can get the monitor repaired, I'd rather have that installed than the LCD. But I have zero idea when it comes to the monitor itself.

I haven't replaced the isolation transformer or anything like that, would you suggest trying that first? Or a cap kit?

[LyonsArcade]

If it's completely dead, I doubt it's the isolation transformer or anything that a capkit can fix, but then again it may be.  If you dont' feel comfortable working on it, you need to get somebody to swing by that knows about working on them... it could be anything from a fuse in the cabinet, to a loose connection, to bad components on the monitor board.  Everybody says a capkit fixes all kinds of issues but I've rarely seen a capkit fix a dead monitor.  It's possible i'm sure, but I've not seen it much... usually a capkit (In my experience) will just make a picture look better. 

[srarcade]

If anything, a chassis replacement costs probably a little more than twice a flyback replacement and you're getting all new parts. (given that you can identify its not the yoke causing the problem). It is much easier to replace than a cap kit or flyback replcaement because it does not require soldering knowledge, you simply need to discharge the monitor which should ALWAYS be still done by all means, and i would still do it 3 or 4 times to be double safe and then from there its just removing the old chassis board and neck card and putting on the new one. There is lots of youtube videos that cover this, that is where I learned and my first one was a breeze. You will spend the most time finding out the correct replacement part!

If you just want to remove the monitor, rule of thumb is to just keep the tube front facing you at all times and never grab past the top frame and you should be safe. Also make sure you wear some work gloves to save your hands from sharp edges, I learned that lesson the hard way!

Hope that helps!

[Nemss316]

Thanks a lot on the input guys, I really appreciate it.

I think I'm just going to remove the monitor, and install the LCD. I may work on the monitor in my spare time, and see if I can get it working again. Plus, it's good practice.

Again, thanks for the tips, I'll be sure to discharge before I remove it, I would rather be safe than sorry!