North Americans, make your own low-res RGB monitor for $100

[antron]

I did this a few times. Find a broken 25" TV and connect this arcade chassis to it:
http://www.8liners.com/datatech/monitor.html

I had geometry problems with 27" so stick to 25". Also, I've heard that the 19" chassis he sells is not so great.

You can get these tubes for almost nothing at a repair shop. I once took one from a curb that worked great.

Also, the chassis accepts a C-Sync that has been comprised of simply twisting together the H and V Sync from a video card. So it is very easy to connect an ArcadeVGA card or other card running low-res software.

You can put the tube in a cab, or leave it in its case and mount the chassis where the old one was. But only go this route if you simply cannot find a used RGB production/medical monitor (like a PVM) on craigslist in your area.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

So would say like an Tenika 13" CRT TV make for good arcade CRT monitor? I did noticed that it was able to lock on the odd-synced SP1 Viper Phase 1 U.S.A. shmup title (but I was using a supergun setup that output RGB to S-Video, take the S-Video signal and use a S-Video to composite video adapter, feed said composite singal into an RF convertor and finally feed the RF signal directly into the Tenika's TV RF input -- it doesn't have any other inputs other than the single RF input). So I'd have to say that it could probably be converted into an arcade monitor with some mods done to it. Plus it has a really nice boxy outer shell perfect for tate purposes as well. It also has a few pots to adjust the contrast, sharpness, color level, etc. on the front of the TV as well.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[antron]

Not using this chassis (it would behave completly different afterwards), and I only recommend a 25".

That being said, just about any TV can be converted into an RGB monitor by finding where to inject the RGB signals on the chassis or directly on the neck, but that is a completly different approach that I have never attempted.

[Zeron]

Wow this is amazing especially since what I have heard Philips CRTs are really good for this and here I can just go to some random dumpster room and pick one up, heard though that Trinitron based displays are not compatible or am I perhaps mixing things up?


is there a video of this type of conversions anywhere? I want to check out the scanlines

[StarCreator]

If I still owned any PCBs that would actually be really tempting... I have two functioning mono RF-only TVs that could probably serve a higher purpose if anyone wants to take them off my hands.

[antron]

is there a video of this type of conversions anywhere? I want to check out the scanlines

I was very happy with the results. I put them in some old woodies I found on a doc and placed them in bars. They ran for years. When I moved I gave them to friends and they still run to this day.

I ran AdvancedMAME on standard video cards. The controlls were wired to the parallel port using diodes (back when MAME supported that). Cheepest MAME cabs ever.

[Zeron]

is there a video of this type of conversions anywhere? I want to check out the scanlines

I was very happy with the results. I put them in some old woodies I found on a doc and placed them in bars. They ran for years. When I moved I gave them to friends and they still run to this day.

Amazing so there is no preference of tubes whatsoever I could have sworn I read something similiar to this on Arcade Otaku where they said Trinitrons(WEGA) are not compatible.


Is there something like a sheet to what size of the monitors are in a TV for example
How big monitor do I usually end up finding in a TV sold under 32"

[cools]

You can throw a trinitron in a wood cab - they're no good for candies due to bezel and body shapes.

[Zeron]

You can throw a trinitron in a wood cab - they're no good for candies due to bezel and body shapes.

Oh I see so Philips and TOSHIBA gets all the candy love. I'm very sad that I found out about this so late due to work closing in, I could have actually been productive this summer.

[robivy64]

Medical PVMs are so cheap. I just picked up a Sony 20M2MDU for a song.

[StarCreator]

Medical PVMs are so cheap. I just picked up a Sony 20M2MDU for a song.

Does it have an EKG flatline burned into it? That would certainly give your games added character.

[antron]

Amazing so there is no preference of tubes whatsoever I could have sworn I read something similiar to this on Arcade Otaku where they said Trinitrons(WEGA) are not compatible.

I would not try any flat tube. It almost surely will not work. Also I've heard of newer Trinitrons having funky masks.

Medical PVMs are so cheap. I just picked up a Sony 20M2MDU for a song.

right, but if you have to have it shipped it's a different story.

try to find a TV that died early in its life. it will look brilliant with a new chassis.

[MKL]

Does the 25-27" chassis have a remote board for picture adjustments?

The 13-19" chassis doesn't seem to have one:

[antron]

yes, the ones I bought did. they had color/brightness/geometry. a regular US power plug too. but that was a while back, so ask Victor at 8liners to be sure. he is a helpful guy.

[robivy64]

Medical PVMs are so cheap. I just picked up a Sony 20M2MDU for a song.

Does it have an EKG flatline burned into it? That would certainly give your games added character.

It was an endoscopy monitor, so it has an asshole burned in.

[GaijinPunch]

Amazing so there is no preference of tubes whatsoever I could have sworn I read something similiar to this on Arcade Otaku where they said Trinitrons(WEGA) are not compatible.

That would be extremely odd since Japanese Wegas are capable of RGB out of the box in Japan.

[antron]

Amazing so there is no preference of tubes whatsoever I could have sworn I read something similiar to this on Arcade Otaku where they said Trinitrons(WEGA) are not compatible.

That would be extremely odd since Japanese Wegas are capable of RGB out of the box in Japan.

I think the question is whether that tube can be connected to this chassis.

[KBZ]

This is interesting. In theory you could keep everything in the original casing as well with a bit of work

[viletim]

I did this a few times. Find a broken 25" TV and connect this arcade chassis to it:
http://www.8liners.com/datatech/monitor.html

I had geometry problems with 27" so stick to 25". Also, I've heard that the 19" chassis he sells is not so great.

For a video monitor to work well, the deflection yoke must be matched to the picture tube and the chassis must be matched to the deflection yoke. By matched I mean that it needs to be designed around the characteristics and manufacturing tolerances of that particular one.

What I believe he does is sell you one of a variety of different 'generic' chassis that he stocks based on the information given (yoke resistance measurements, etc). I would assume the best type of television to take the tube and yoke from would be an equally generic, no-name brand type. Nothing fancy - flat screen, Trinitron, widescreen. Nothing European. Just a generic Japanese/Chinese TV with a dual-in-line shadow mask.

The results of mating a monitor chassis with a foreign deflection yoke will be variable in any case...

[Zapf]

Is this any better than later crt tvs that support component input.

[antron]

Is this any better than later crt tvs that support component input.

good point. I use a $50 SCART/RGB to component transcoder on a standard definition 20" Sony Wega. The pixels are very clear and stable but the scanlines seem to be lost in TV's processing (or fancy mask?).

anyone have a good CRT TV that shows scanlines well over component?

most seem to support 480p which may dash your hope of getting that authentic low-res look.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

I've got an Sony Trinitron Wega 20" that accepts component video but if the DVD player or Blu-Ray player is set to 480p mode, the screen gets scrambled. It'll only display in 480i at best if using component video input. It's the NTSC Sony Wega model no. KV-20FS100 variant with flat screen 4:3 CRT display. I understand that Sony did, eventually, release their newer Wega TV monitors with built-in support for 480p (at least with their CRT-based TV monitors).

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[antron]

right, mine is 480i/240p only. but even with a PS2 running in 240p over component it looks like a map of evenly spaced pixels (no distinct lines)

[Zapf]

I can definitely notice the difference between 240p and 480i on my old used sony trinitron sd tv, at least when flipping back and forth on the ps2 mc freeboot options menu or when using an emulator on my wii.

[antron]

I completely agree Zapf. In 240p the flicker is gone. But, are the scanlines distinct? Does the picture make you feel like you are looking at arcade game?

[Zapf]

I was referring to the lines, yes. I can't really compare them to an arcade monitor (i havent seen one in a while!) but they were distinct. I'll go back sometime and look at 240p mode on my wii emulators though.

[antron]

If that's the case then a converter like this is your easiest route to using RGB signals:
http://www.amazon.com/SCART-Component-V ... B004XSSDPO

And personally mine is defiantly not so bad that I would replace it with a homemade RGB monitor. But, primarily because of the work involved.

Also, and this in important, I don't know if this chassis plays well with console RGB signals. It could require an external amp or circuit like viletim's SCART to JAMMA adapter.

[Zapf]

I know, I was just asking if/how using this chassis differed. I've done things with that converter before.