CRT issue

[Bio]

I'm not sure where to post this and it may have already been covered elsewhere. If it is posted somewhere else, please help a brother out

I have a 17 inch CRT that did something unusual. It went dim, but came back after some one smacked it a couple of times and then leaned on it. We've checked wire and board connections- all is well (we have not opened the monitor case, my wife isn't ready to raise the kids alone). Any idea might be going on? CRT going dead? I've read that CRT's usually dim a little at a time and haven't heard of them spontaneously coming back. Ghosts?

Cheers!

[redwudz]

Just a guess, but maybe the high voltage supply is dying. And NO, you don't want to mess with that.
And the cost of possible repair would likely outweigh the cost of a new (Or used) LCD display.
You can find used LCDs on places like Ebay or at a local Goodwill or similar store.

But other members may have some ideas. And welcome to our forums.

[pandy]

It can be many sources - electrolytic caps dying, some stress on Horizontal deflection side (usually tightly coupled with High Voltage) or just your CRT tube is dying (normal for electron gun) - rarely this is due of dust inside. Not sure if it worth to repair if you can find LCD sometimes for free (17 - 19 inch LCD's are frequently placed side to garbage bin or they cost like 10$ on garage sale).

[Bernix]

Most probably not this case, but don't forget, that crt is still used some professionals in graphic industry. Of course nowadays LCDs but more expensive are at same level, but crt has its advantages.
So advice to get LCD seems to be best solution. Less power consumption etc.


Bernix

[JVRaines]

CRT dark picture troubleshooting

[johnmeyer]

The connections are the first thing to check, but you probably already did that. Disconnect the VGA or DVI cable at both ends and then reconnect. Try using another cable, if you have one.

I assume you've had this for awhile. Another somewhat remote possibility is dust. It might bleed enough energy from the high voltage to cause something like what you describe. The best solution to that is to open it up and carefully vacuum it (be very careful not to move anything around the neck of the tube or around the wire coming from the HV supply to the tube). Then once most of the dust is off, use compressed air to finish the process.

[JVRaines]

Do be careful if you go poking around with the case off. Even unplugged, the picture tube stores enough charge to give a painful ZAP if touched in the wrong place. You may also get cuts when your arm involuntarily jerks back.

[mazinz]

Its also possible it can be something very simple like the Vert chip going (vchip). Its common in analog sets and what you described fits that issue. If indeed it is the vchip, eventually you may have a thin horizontal picture going across your screen or no picture at all but still get sound. Most tv repair shops can still fix this issue since the parts for that problem are easy to get