What should I adjust on my PVM 2530? Questions and pics.

[Calikitz]

http://imgur.com/a/d5EQ5

Above is a album link, under each picture is a description of the problem the pic is showcasing.

I just got this monitor, it was said to be re-capped. I know I will need to go into the pots physically on the 2530 to adjust some of this.

I kind of wanted to see if these issues are normal and that my monitor is in more or less good shape at least. It was said to have been re-capped recently and the exterior is near perfect so I doubt it got much use.

I mainly want to get rid of the bowing, but the discoloration on some of the edges wouldn't hurt either.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, I am a total n00b to monitors.

[Zeromemory]

Yo!

I had similar issue on my 2130QM. I had to concentrate on following pots: PIN PHASE and PIN AMP. And also i had to do a little bit of horizontal adjustment regarding width and position of the screen.

If you have that 240 test suite, it will help you a lot during adjusting. I also used scart when i was testing various consoles.

I didn't have that test suite, so i had to rely of several screenshots of the games I have, so I was double checking that screenshots with my screen.

An isolated screwdriver for pot adjustment would be good. At least that it's not magnetized.

--

Regarding discolorations, I'm not sure if you can fix perfectly them without oscilloscope. I you manage to fix it somehow without using it, please tell me how.

Of course, a service manual is a must.

[nem]

I couldn't get all the imgur pics to show, but the edge discolouration in the second pic is just poor convergence. If you can get a grid on the screen (from the 240p suite for instance) you can see it better.

[Calikitz]

Yo!

I had similar issue on my 2130QM. I had to concentrate on following pots: PIN PHASE and PIN AMP. And also i had to do a little bit of horizontal adjustment regarding width and position of the screen.

If you have that 240 test suite, it will help you a lot during adjusting. I also used scart when i was testing various consoles.

I didn't have that test suite, so i had to rely of several screenshots of the games I have, so I was double checking that screenshots with my screen.

An isolated screwdriver for pot adjustment would be good. At least that it's not magnetized.

--

Regarding discolorations, I'm not sure if you can fix perfectly them without oscilloscope. I you manage to fix it somehow without using it, please tell me how.

Of course, a service manual is a must.

Thanks for the tips. All I have is a plastic handled screwdriver that is metal. Would this be dangerous at all to use? I'm a bit unerved doing this as this would be my first foray into this sort of thing and I don't know squat about electronic repair safety. I read a lot about how dangerous CRT can be. It seems the pots on this monitor are all on a circuit board on the back right which are easily accessible so as long as I am touching those no danger right?

[Calikitz]

I couldn't get all the imgur pics to show, but the edge discolouration in the second pic is just poor convergence. If you can get a grid on the screen (from the 240p suite for instance) you can see it better.

Is convergence something that can be fixed or should I just try to stretch the h and v size to hide these lines? I read the only thing I can do to fix convergence is to put metal strips of some sort on the tube and honestly I don't want to get into it that deep.

[Calikitz]

PS if anyone is in an hour driving distance from Sacramento I would bring the monitor to you and pay you to do this for me. Otherwise I'm going to have to man up and do it sometime this week.

[Zeromemory]

Nah, the only reason for the isolated screwdriver is that you get good result while adjusting the pots. Sometimes a little bit of magnetism can make you believe that you adjusted them right, but the is still a bit room for improvement.

Just don't touch any circuits with your bare hands, be careful near the power parts and that's it.
I would recommend that you clean it good from dust if the is any.

Thanks for the tips. All I have is a plastic handled screwdriver that is metal. Would this be dangerous at all to use? I'm a bit unerved doing this as this would be my first foray into this sort of thing and I don't know squat about electronic repair safety. I read a lot about how dangerous CRT can be. It seems the pots on this monitor are all on a circuit board on the back right which are easily accessible so as long as I am touching those no danger right?

[nem]

Is convergence something that can be fixed or should I just try to stretch the h and v size to hide these lines? I read the only thing I can do to fix convergence is to put metal strips of some sort on the tube and honestly I don't want to get into it that deep.

It can be fixed, but like you already said, it involves permalloy strips and possibly magnets. Just stretch the screen so the edges are slightly over.

The bowing can be fixed with pincushion and trapezoid adjustments.

[Calikitz]

Well, I may just be giving this away now. I'm incredibly sad. After buying tons of cables, an adapter etc. I finally got to adjusting this thing. I was using a metal screwdriver and I'm not sure if I either shorted something out or if I broke the solder on one of the pots but, there is one that adjusts the picture at the top to the left and the bottom to the right; just to the bottom left of "H Center"; this particular pot isn't labeled like the rest. Anyway, when I was doing the last and final adjustment for perfect geometry(I literally made it all a perfect square almost) the pot broke as I turned it the final time and the screen went completely diagonal as if I had turned the pot all the way and is now distorted to an unplayable degree. The pot now does not work when I turn it. Is this something a repair person can fix, or is this any sort of easy fix? Otherwise I will count my losses and move on... And only purchase a PVM with an OSD going forward. This is the pits.

[that1crzywhtguy]

Well, I may just be giving this away now. I'm incredibly sad. After buying tons of cables, an adapter etc. I finally got to adjusting this thing. I was using a metal screwdriver and I'm not sure if I either shorted something out or if I broke the solder on one of the pots but, there is one that adjusts the picture at the top to the left and the bottom to the right; just to the bottom left of "H Center"; this particular pot isn't labeled like the rest. Anyway, when I was doing the last and final adjustment for perfect geometry(I literally made it all a perfect square almost) the pot broke as I turned it the final time and the screen went completely diagonal as if I had turned the pot all the way and is now distorted to an unplayable degree. The pot now does not work when I turn it. Is this something a repair person can fix, or is this any sort of easy fix? Otherwise I will count my losses and move on... And only purchase a PVM with an OSD going forward. This is the pits.

Hey man, don't give up! I'm a fellow owner of a PVM-2530 and this monitor is really beautiful when dialed in. I've still gotta replace all my caps, but I'm loving it anyway; pardon me, I digress.

I also acquired the service manual for this monitor and Bob over at RetroRGB offered to host it: http://retrorgb.com/servicemanuals.html

I suspect you can find the part on that list if that pot needs to be replaced. It is equally likely that a contact point got broken. Next step I would say is to carefully detach that board from the rest of the monitor, and take a photo of the pot that is the issue (my guess is you can't photograph it without doing this, right?). If it is indeed busted and needs replacement, let's figure out what part you need and get it replaced! Do you have any experience soldering? If it just needs a point or two soldered, this is child's play if you have some experience. If not, I actually live in the east bay and would be happy to help you out.

While you are wise to be careful with the electronic danger in working on a crt, lifting this board out shouldn't be too dangerous if you take appropriate precaution. First off, unplug. Secondly, you can be super cautious and wear a long sleeve shirt and rubber gloves. Then, unhook the cables attatched to the board and unscrew it. Then just lift it off.

Let me know how it goes!

[Calikitz]

Well, I may just be giving this away now. I'm incredibly sad. After buying tons of cables, an adapter etc. I finally got to adjusting this thing. I was using a metal screwdriver and I'm not sure if I either shorted something out or if I broke the solder on one of the pots but, there is one that adjusts the picture at the top to the left and the bottom to the right; just to the bottom left of "H Center"; this particular pot isn't labeled like the rest. Anyway, when I was doing the last and final adjustment for perfect geometry(I literally made it all a perfect square almost) the pot broke as I turned it the final time and the screen went completely diagonal as if I had turned the pot all the way and is now distorted to an unplayable degree. The pot now does not work when I turn it. Is this something a repair person can fix, or is this any sort of easy fix? Otherwise I will count my losses and move on... And only purchase a PVM with an OSD going forward. This is the pits.

Hey man, don't give up! I'm a fellow owner of a PVM-2530 and this monitor is really beautiful when dialed in. I've still gotta replace all my caps, but I'm loving it anyway; pardon me, I digress.

I also acquired the service manual for this monitor and Bob over at RetroRGB offered to host it: http://retrorgb.com/servicemanuals.html

I suspect you can find the part on that list if that pot needs to be replaced. It is equally likely that a contact point got broken. Next step I would say is to carefully detach that board from the rest of the monitor, and take a photo of the pot that is the issue (my guess is you can't photograph it without doing this, right?). If it is indeed busted and needs replacement, let's figure out what part you need and get it replaced! Do you have any experience soldering? If it just needs a point or two soldered, this is child's play if you have some experience. If not, I actually live in the east bay and would be happy to help you out.

While you are wise to be careful with the electronic danger in working on a crt, lifting this board out shouldn't be too dangerous if you take appropriate precaution. First off, unplug. Secondly, you can be super cautious and wear a long sleeve shirt and rubber gloves. Then, unhook the cables attatched to the board and unscrew it. Then just lift it off.

Let me know how it goes!

That's really nice of you. Honestly, as lame as it sounds it was even an ordeal opening up this thing and adjusting the pots. I am not really that technical at all.

If it's cool with you, maybe I can take a trip down to your neck of the woods soon and we can see what can be done. I am not comfortable working around in this thing.

There is actually two pots not working, one I broke and another was broken from the jump which was labeled DIST. Sounds the same as this newly broken one when I turn it and both are much looser feeling than the other pots.

I live in Sacramento but wouldn't mind dropping opening it up with you. I am assuming its some solder issue or something. I mean when I shine a light on the front I see the pot there, it turns, it just does nothing when turned anymore.

When I first turned it, it adjusted as normal.

When I turned it later, after breaking, it still adjusted but big leaps, not small ones as before.

When I turned it again, it stopped adjusting at all and is stuck at a horrible spot.

Not sure if this helps diagnosing what happened.

[Zeromemory]

Well, I may just be giving this away now. I'm incredibly sad. After buying tons of cables, an adapter etc. I finally got to adjusting this thing. I was using a metal screwdriver and I'm not sure if I either shorted something out or if I broke the solder on one of the pots but, there is one that adjusts the picture at the top to the left and the bottom to the right; just to the bottom left of "H Center"; this particular pot isn't labeled like the rest. Anyway, when I was doing the last and final adjustment for perfect geometry(I literally made it all a perfect square almost) the pot broke as I turned it the final time and the screen went completely diagonal as if I had turned the pot all the way and is now distorted to an unplayable degree. The pot now does not work when I turn it. Is this something a repair person can fix, or is this any sort of easy fix? Otherwise I will count my losses and move on... And only purchase a PVM with an OSD going forward. This is the pits.

Don't give it away. The problem can surely be fixed! As that1crzywhtguy said, it's possible that you just need to replace the pot. If the pot broke, the board just bypassed the value of the pot, and that is why you get that diagonal screen issue.

[that1crzywhtguy]

Are these the affected pots?

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-QiX ... 2FwSF9mbDQ

If so, I'll see if I can track down suitable replacement parts. This may be tricky, so no promises.

[Calikitz]

I talked to the seller who is also my friend, he has a bunch of spare monitors. We may work something out to trade this back and pick up one of his BVM monitors but not sure yet.

Still though, it would be cool to know if replacement parts are available.

Here is the crucial pot that needs fixing: RV509 or C530, its the pot between these two, not labeled with a word but basically adjusts slant in the picture.
http://imgur.com/X8qMwaa

Here is a pot that was already broken when I went in there, so not sure what it does: C1538 I think pic is blurry need to open again to snap another possibly. Its between 1506 and RV505.
http://imgur.com/SbE327w

[Calikitz]

Are these the affected pots?

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-QiX ... 2FwSF9mbDQ

If so, I'll see if I can track down suitable replacement parts. This may be tricky, so no promises.

The bottom one circled needs replacing but not sure what it does as it's the one that was broken all along.

The top one circled works fine.

The other pot that crucially needs replacing is linked above in my post, I believe its rv509 but I am not sure of the correct way to read a circuit board as there are many numbers by it.

[Calikitz]

I can tell you the pot still spins, i can feel it, just loosely. Can the pot itself actually break if it is still in tact? Excuse my ignorance!

I was assuming I just broke something off that was soldered etc.

[that1crzywhtguy]

I talked to the seller who is also my friend, he has a bunch of spare monitors.

A bunch of spares? Maybe he want's to sell one to me too??? I could use another, particularly one that does 480p.

Here is the crucial pot that needs fixing: RV509 or C530, its the pot between these two, not labeled with a word but basically adjusts slant in the picture.
http://imgur.com/X8qMwaa

It's RV509. Those letters designate what kind of part it is. RV means resistor variable (AKA a pot). C means capacitor, so not that one.

Here is a pot that was already broken when I went in there, so not sure what it does: C1538 I think pic is blurry need to open again to snap another possibly. Its between 1506 and RV505.
http://imgur.com/SbE327w

This one is actually RV505


Now as far as replacement parts for those, It's a little bit tricky. For RV509, I don't actually see that on my part list or in the map. Very odd. Is it definitely a 2530 and not a 2540 or something like that?

Can the pot itself actually break if it is still in tact? Excuse my ignorance!

For these pots, yes. I know because I actually had it happen. If my memory serves, the way these are designed, is there is a plastic casing with a metal spinning component that adjust resistance within that, then on top of/within that metal piece there is a plastic part that goes inside that to help it with spinning and a place for the screwdriver. If this plastic part get's popped out, the use of the pot is problematic. It is possible (as was the case for me) that you just need to pop that piece back into place. Of course to get at it, the board needs to be removed and you need to assure that it doesn't get lost somewhere.

This pot value could be basically anything if we don't know what the actual part is in the service manual. It's really odd, it goes up to rv508, but no rv509. Unfortunately, the view from the back of the circuit board doesn't tell me much. A sharp photo of the actual component itself may help tell us if the pot can be repaired, or if it's in a condition that would at least allow us to take some readings with a multimeter and determine it's operating range.