Tips on finding RGB monitors in the D/FW area?

[FamiDriveDuo]

I need some advice on finding RGB monitors like the NEC XM29 & the various Sony PVM & BVM monitors. I been looking through Craigslist for a while, but nothing ever turned up. Ebay has a decent selection, but they're more expensive than I though, especially with all of them being sold as is. I really don't know else of where to look. I'm pretty close to giving up an getting a low lag flat panel as I mostly emulate anyway, but I really badly want to get my hands on a CRT, as I'm really curious about GroovyMAME. Should I really spend the dosh for a eBay unit? Where can I get custom BNC to RGB cables? The only "retro" system I own is PS2 & Dreamcast.

[Ed Oscuro]

NEC XM29

Don't worry too much about that one. They seem to be a pain to use anyway. They're certainly worth keeping an eye out for, but also don't forget other excellent monitors by other manufacturers, like the Mitsubishi MegaView Pro and related monitors. JVC, Ikegami, and other makers made very good monitors recently, in smaller sizes.

& the various Sony PVM & BVM monitors.

BVMs might be found at colleges, broadcasting facilities, or any place that did film or television work. But even in the Dallas FW area these probably are rare to find, if any still exist.

PVMs are much more common due to their lower price points, especially in the 20" size. Hospitals and medical research tend to have these - or at least they did; you can look for surplus equipment vendors reselling them. In my region (Midwest US) this is how a lot of us found ours. Unfortunately, the desireable 29" size seems to be rare and the 27" size seems to be rare and also too old.

Your best bet for any of these is to look up surplus auctions. Do a web search: Auctions, Government Surplus, whatever, there's sites and I think I might have even seen some stuff in the Dallas area. I found somebody a BVM in driving distance via surplus auction last year.

Finally, if you are just doing regular classic gaming, don't discount excellent late 480i sets. Some of them are a bit funky (flat screens with slightly bad geometry are common, and some have weird video processing which the PVMs and BVMs don't, which can add slight lag or make lightguns not work) but if you are lucky you can find a good 480i set with component inputs at a thrift store, and in a wider range of sizes than 20" (like 27" or possibly 36"). A cheap RGB to YPbPr component transcoder - like the CSY clone boxes on eBay - gets good reviews all around for this purpose. The results should be very close to what you'd get from an RGB monitor and better than an XRGB on a VGA PC monitor.

[mvsfan]

yeah and whatever you do dont have one shipped ups or fedex.

I have a 20" one right now with a broken A board because they probably dropped it a few times on the way here.

It still hasnt gotten fixed.

I still havent gotten my money back.

the paperwork was sent in months ago.

and another pvm potentially bites the dust.

and shortly after all this, one came up on ebay for less money that was within driving distance for me.

[tacoguy64]

If you only own a PS2 and a DC then it might be best to forgo these RGB monitors and go with good LCD/Plasma displays that can accept the hook ups you need for those systems. I know both systems will output at 480p and most modern TV's shouldnt have that big of a problem when it comes to scaling at that resolution. But if you are planning on getting those older games then be prepare to wait a while before you can find one.

It took me around 2-3 months of constant searching *2-3 times a day* before I could find my RGB monitors. And even then I found 2/3 of them out of state *JVC monitor was in my city*. I do know that there is a heavy concentration of them in the SoCal area if you ever do travel in those parts you can easily find what you need.

The only one that I had shipped was the NEC XP37 and that one was freight shipped. After hearing about the horrors of UPS and FED EX, I played it safe and paid for a pick up and packaging fee and a shipping fee. The BVM, I had someone hold it for me until I can go and get it. And the JVC I picked it up locally myself.

[mickcris]

i missed some cheap 29" sony pvms a couple months ago on craigslist by a day. Stuff does come up, but not that often.

I ended up finding a nice bvm local on ebay. It came from a small studio in downtown Dallas that makes commercials. When I went to pick it up, they plugged it in and tested it. I think the others were going to get donated if they did not sell so they probably dont have any more for sale. I had bad luck trying to get one shipped.

[Einzelherz]

I'm afraid you're probably going to have to drive like I did (5 hours round trip).

This is further, but just an example: http://www.publicsurplus.com/sms/auctio ... uc=1338336

[SNK-NEO-GEO]

the RGB cables from wookieewin and retro_console_accessories on ebay... The NEC XM29 is an amazing monitor take your time on finding one. Every retrogamer should have one. Keep cheking until one pops up in your area; "NEVER GIVE UP" Alterest Beast

I need some advice on finding RGB monitors like the NEC XM29 & the various Sony PVM & BVM monitors. I been looking through Craigslist for a while, but nothing ever turned up. Ebay has a decent selection, but they're more expensive than I though, especially with all of them being sold as is. I really don't know else of where to look. I'm pretty close to giving up an getting a low lag flat panel as I mostly emulate anyway, but I really badly want to get my hands on a CRT, as I'm really curious about GroovyMAME. Should I really spend the dosh for a eBay unit? Where can I get custom BNC to RGB cables? The only "retro" system I own is PS2 & Dreamcast.

[Ed Oscuro]

The NEC XM29 is an amazing monitor take your time on finding one. Every retrogamer should have one.

Nah, everybody should have a Mitsu Megaview Pro.

[Zets13]

I got lucky-ish and found an apparently nearly new XP29+ on the DFW cl about a year ago. The seller was in OK but given their travel we were able to meet not too far from me. I never expected to find something like that, but if you keep checking all the time you might get lucky. After seeing an XM go for like $900 on ebay or something ridiculous like that, you'll probably need even more luck to get one for a reasonable price, sadly. Good luck!

[Mishrak109]

There is an electronics recycler in Houston that (as of a month ago) had a palette of PVM 20L2MDs which I bought one of. I'd almost be willing to bet that he still has them. I've looked in the DFW area (as well as Austin / San Antonio) off and on since then but I haven't seen much in the way of Craislist.

[thegardentool]

I got lucky-ish and found an apparently nearly new XP29+ on the DFW cl about a year ago. The seller was in OK but given their travel we were able to meet not too far from me. I never expected to find something like that, but if you keep checking all the time you might get lucky. After seeing an XM go for like $900 on ebay or something ridiculous like that, you'll probably need even more luck to get one for a reasonable price, sadly. Good luck!

I remember seeing this one I think. If memory serves me right it was around Lawton I think and he was asking something like $400-500? I kind of regret now not inquiring further but I really didn't have the room for it. =\ I still don't have the room to keep one setup all the time yet, but I would much rather have had an XP29 sitting out in the garage waiting to use than an old 30" HD CRT, that isn't even a great model so not sure I'll keep it around much longer.

As far as the OP...I do remember seeing some 14L2s on the Dallas Craigslist within the past couple of days, but I think he was asking a lot for a 14". $125 each or $600 for 6 IIRC. Not worth my time to go from OKC to Metroplex to pick up a second PVM. They just seem to be somewhat uncommon in this part of the country especially compared to California or even parts of the East Coast.

[mvsfan]

check this out. http://www.publicsurplus.com/sms/auctio ... uc=1347729




I dont live anywhere near this.

[Mishrak109]

That's probably about 45 minutes or so from where I work. I sure wish they had more pictures. I can't even tell what those are.

[edit]

I've messaged the seller to see what's there. Hopefully they get back to me. Also, there's really weird pickup hours on that thing. Good 'ole city auction hours I guess.


There's also http://www.publicsurplus.com/sms/all,tx ... uc=1347181 in Lubbock, TX. (I just noticed this was mentioned earlier in the thread, so sorry about that. Does look like it's been re-listed though).

That looks like 2x PVM 20L2MDs which is what I currently have. Still a 5 hour 1-way drive from Dallas no matter how you look at it. If you could get someone to test them beforehand it might be worth the trip. As a side note, I'd be willing to bet my guy in Houston still has some of these as well.

[mvsfan]

it looks like some of them have burn-in though. I can clearly see burn-in on that monitor on the right.

I also see what looks like a Pvm-2030 or 2530 on top. dont know what the rest are.

[Mishrak109]

So the guy never actually responded to my question, but he did post some additional pictures. http://www.publicsurplus.com/sms/all,tx ... uc=1347737

Looks like those monitors are made by Richardson Electronics Model No. CM-29.

Those look like BNC adapters but I can't find any other details. A google search for CM-29s made by Richardson Electronics comes up with basically nothing. Anyone else have some insight into this?

[mickcris]

So the guy never actually responded to my question, but he did post some additional pictures. http://www.publicsurplus.com/sms/all,tx ... uc=1347737

Looks like those monitors are made by Richardson Electronics Model No. CM-29.

Those look like BNC adapters but I can't find any other details. A google search for CM-29s made by Richardson Electronics comes up with basically nothing. Anyone else have some insight into this?

I looked up the company, but not much info on their monitors:
http://www.rell.com/products/CRTs.html

you could maybe email them and ask. not sure they would respond though.

[Mishrak109]

Yeah that was all I could find as well.

[Ed Oscuro]

I don't see RGBs inputs: R, G-Sync, B, H/H+V, V or Y?, and VGA input in the bottom.

Looks like a PC monitor that additionally takes sync-on-green, either for Sony component (isn't labeled right for that) or something else, like an obsolete Sun computer format, and composite video.

Might be high resolution, might not. Might be fun if you're interested in applications needing a VGA port, or composite, but otherwise doesn't look promising.

[Mishrak109]

Thanks for taking a look at that Ed. I wasn't sure what those were. Perhaps if it wasn't a huge pile of the things, I'd consider checking it out. But even if I were to buy the auction for $10, there's just no way I could move or store the rest of those monitors.