Re: Monitor Meltdown - did I kill my expensive monitor?

[Philip Stortz]

most likely, there isn't a thing wrong with the monitor.  given the "checkerboard"
pattern, i'd suspect the vram on the video card, try pulling it, cleaning the contacts
(with a clean pencil eraser, then blow off the crumbs) and try again.  you might also 
pull
the vid card and clean it's fingers the same way.  it could possibly be the connector 
on
the video card, they do tend to take a lot of strain and can crack connections but i 
doubt
it.  if at all possible, try the monitor on another machine or with a different card, 
and
ideally a different cable.  you said you know the cable's not the problem, but how?  if
you wish, contact me off list or repost the details of the model of mac, vid card, and
monitor, i know a lot about monitors and may be able to help.  in any case, try the 
above
first, and i really, really doubt the monitor has a problem, it's unusual to lose all 3
colors, there's no monitor problem that would produce the checkerboard pattern 
(imho...),
and you have a raster (i.e. the faint rectangle and scan lines where they should be) so
the deflection is working (and the deflection circuitry is one of the things that 
tends to
fail on monitors).  obviously, also check the brightness and contrast again, i've 
missed
the obvious before myself.  also, i assume this monitor was known to be working 
before? 
how about the video card and mac?  trying the vid card and mac with another monitor if
possible would also be illuminating.  finally, as a few people have mentioned, some
monitors and vid cards are wired oddly in a nonstandard way, which rarely causes damage
(most video cards/monitors are pretty robust as far as wrong signals go) though 
obviously
it can prevent proper operation.  it is odd that the symptom changed, but if it was a 
vram
problem it makes some sense.


> From: "Greg Shafritz" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: Re: Monitor Meltdown - did I kill my expensive monitor?
> Date: Tue, 16 Dec 2003 18:57:52 -0500
> Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> 
> To all who've replied so far, thank you very, very
> much for your suggestions.  I love this community!
> 
> The problem is still not resolved, unfortunately.
> Here's what I've found out so far:
--
> 


-- 
Vintage Macs is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and...

 Small Dog Electronicshttp://www.smalldog.com   | Enter To Win A |
 -- Canon PowerShot Digital Cameras start at $299   |  Free iBook!   |

  Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html>

Vintage Macs list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/vintagemacs.shtml>
  --> AOL users, remove "mailto:";
Send list messages to:  <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To unsubscribe, email:  <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/vintage.macs%40mail.maclaunch.com/>

Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com

Re: Monitor Meltdown - did I kill my expensive monitor?

[Bill Judson]

I see things like it (sometimes in color), oftentimes just as soon as a
monitor starts up, just before you see the picture the computer is
supposed to be sending, usually at startup. Even when the resolution was
the right 1.

It seems to be more a function of the video card/built-in video than the
monitor. I had an ixMicro card that would often flash something like a
grating pattern at startup, & an ATI Mach64 card that would get horizontal
lines forming progressively over the raster, even after the Happy Mac
appeared, when used with a 2ary monitor on my beige G3, until some driver
or something loaded, & everything was fine (usually). (This is a known
problem with some ATI cards used with a G3. Eventually I got tired of
that, even tho' it was harmless, & sold it.)

Anyway, to answer your question about a PRAM battery, I've never heard of
a monitor that had one. Sometimes the more high-end 1s have a flash EPROM,
or non-volitile RAM.

If the raster is apparent, even if only "black," then the guns are firing.
The only reason I can imagine that there would be no picture with several
different output sources, is that maybe a pin on the connector was bent or
something. Or maybe a cold solder joint on the mainboard, that just
happened to manifest itself then & there, perhaps under presure of an
intense overdriving of the CRT? Apparently the signal is just not there.

--
Over,

Jutso

http://pages.ripco.net/~jutso/

> And does anybody know what that BIZARRE plaid monochrome
> pattern that took over my screen might have been?  It looked
> like some kind of test pattern... like something you'd use to align
> the monitor's settings, perhaps... maybe it was located in the monitor's
> firmware?
>
> Lastly, does anybody know if these monitors (Radius Intellicolor 20e)
> have some type of internal lithium battery that keeps alive the
> settings information?  If so, then perhaps that battery's gone dead!
> Where would I find the battery (if there even is one)?
>
> Again, thanks so much in advance for your help.
> I eagerly await your replies.
> I'm in Digest mode, so I only get to see your postings once a day.
>
> Cheers,
> Greg Shafritz


-- 
Vintage Macs is sponsored by  and...

 Small Dog Electronicshttp://www.smalldog.com   | Enter To Win A |
 -- Canon PowerShot Digital Cameras start at $299   |  Free iBook!   |

  Support Low End Mac 

Vintage Macs list info: 
  --> AOL users, remove "mailto:";
Send list messages to:  
To unsubscribe, email:  
For digest mode, email: 
Subscription questions: 
Archive: 

Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com

Re: Monitor Meltdown - did I kill my expensive monitor?

[Greg Shafritz]

To all who've replied so far, thank you very, very
much for your suggestions.  I love this community!

The problem is still not resolved, unfortunately.
Here's what I've found out so far:

Pressing the recessed "Reset" button on the front panel
has not restored an image to the monitor.
I have also tried some variations of this (i.e.: holding the
Reset button in while doing a power cycle on the monitor,
or holding in the Reset button and keeping it pressed for
30 seconds, etc.).
I've also ruled out any problems with the video cable.

Here is some useful info from my troubleshooting:

1.  The monitor can definitely still sense the presence of a
 video signal.  When the computer is powering up, after the
 boot-time RAM test finishes, the yellow "standby" light goes
 out and the green "ready" light comes on.  The green light stays
 on indefinitely then, until I power down or restart the computer.

2.  Occasionally, I get the following VERY encouraging sign:
 The CRT will sometimes display a very, very dim luminence that is
 obviously a raster pattern (because I can see the horizontal
 scan lines).  You know how, on a properly-working monitor,
 you can see a faint luminescent "border" around the image
 (i.e. in the "dead space" between the edges of the CRT and the place
 where the picture actually starts)?  And if you turn up your
 brightness control to "maximum", that black border around your
 image starts to look more like "dark gray" instead of black?
 Well... that's what my WHOLE screen looks like.  So there is
 SOME kind of activity going on... in other words, the CRT
 itself is obviously not dead.

Can anybody, based on these further observations,
suggest what might be going on?

And does anybody know what that BIZARRE plaid monochrome
pattern that took over my screen might have been?  It looked
like some kind of test pattern... like something you'd use to align
the monitor's settings, perhaps... maybe it was located in the monitor's
firmware?

Lastly, does anybody know if these monitors (Radius Intellicolor 20e)
have some type of internal lithium battery that keeps alive the
settings information?  If so, then perhaps that battery's gone dead!
Where would I find the battery (if there even is one)?

Again, thanks so much in advance for your help.
I eagerly await your replies.
I'm in Digest mode, so I only get to see your postings once a day.

Cheers,
Greg Shafritz

-- 
Vintage Macs is sponsored by  and...

 Small Dog Electronicshttp://www.smalldog.com   | Enter To Win A |
 -- Canon PowerShot Digital Cameras start at $299   |  Free iBook!   |

  Support Low End Mac 

Vintage Macs list info: 
  --> AOL users, remove "mailto:";
Send list messages to:  
To unsubscribe, email:  
For digest mode, email: 
Subscription questions: 
Archive: 

Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com

Re: Monitor Meltdown - did I kill my expensive monitor?

[Jeff Walther]

Date: Sun, 14 Dec 2003 16:50:10 -0600 (CST)
From: Bill Judson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

Does the light on the front still light up when you power on? If so, there
still may be hope...maybe the card you were trying to start it up with
didn't do the resolution the monitor supports, & now its "PRAM", so to
speak, is all fouled up. Is there some way of resetting it? Some button?
Some expensive monitors have flash RAM, & if you start them up in a
certain way, with a certain combination of buttons pushed, they revert to
factory settings.
The Intellicolor 20e has a little recessed "reset" button on the left 
end of the row of buttons on front.  The original poster could try 
that button.

Jeff Walther

--
Vintage Macs is sponsored by  and...
Small Dog Electronicshttp://www.smalldog.com   | Enter To Win A |
-- Canon PowerShot Digital Cameras start at $299   |  Free iBook!   |
 Support Low End Mac 

Vintage Macs list info: 
 --> AOL users, remove "mailto:";
Send list messages to:  
To unsubscribe, email:  
For digest mode, email: 
Subscription questions: 
Archive: 
Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com

Re: Monitor Meltdown - did I kill my expensive monitor?

[Gregg Eshelman]

What you need to find is an ex NAVY communications
and electronics engineer who's retired and repairs
stuff as a hobby for the cost of parts plus a little
for labor. ;) I found one of those. With his pension
for spending 20 years in the NAVY plus Social
Security he's well off so the electronics and computer
stuff is a hobby for him to pass the time with.

He fixed a nice 21" monitor I got for free, it would
turn on then turn itself off. The fix wasn't difficult
and he only charged me $10. It's currently connected
via 5 BNC plugs to my Radius 81/110 for video
editing on the Media 100 system.

Even if you have to pay $100 to fix it, that's
cheap compared to replacing a monitor like that.

=
"You never have to repair or replace what you leave out of the design."
William "Bill" Powell Lear, inventor of the 8-Track tape and the Lear Jet.

__
Do you Yahoo!?
New Yahoo! Photos - easier uploading and sharing.
http://photos.yahoo.com/

-- 
Vintage Macs is sponsored by  and...

 Small Dog Electronicshttp://www.smalldog.com   | Enter To Win A |
 -- Canon PowerShot Digital Cameras start at $299   |  Free iBook!   |

  Support Low End Mac 

Vintage Macs list info: 
  --> AOL users, remove "mailto:";
Send list messages to:  
To unsubscribe, email:  
For digest mode, email: 
Subscription questions: 
Archive: 

Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com

Re: Monitor Meltdown - did I kill my expensive monitor?

[Jeff Walther]

From: "Greg Shafritz" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Sun, 14 Dec 2003 08:37:30 -0500

Now, no matter WHAT I do, I can't get an image to appear on this monitor
anymore.
I've tried connecting it to different video cards, different computers
(IIci, Quadra 840av, WGS 9150 etc.)... but NOTHING seems to be able to
produce an image on this monitor.
Has anybody seen behavior like this before?
What can I do about it?
I wouldn't be so upset if this was a little 12 or 13 inch monitor,
but this is my "brand-new" 20-inch Radius Intellicolor 20e
flat screen Trinitron monitor that I paid a LOT of money for.
I have a couple of those.   They're nice, but I don't think any of 
them still qualify as brand new.

Anyway, the monitor cable on these puppies is a little weird.   It is 
detachable and has a Mac (DB15) plug at one end and a VGA (HD15) plug 
at the other end.  The monitor has two input ports (only one usable 
at a time), one of which is a Mac and the other is a VGA port.

Try turning the cable around so that the Mac end is plugged into the 
monitor and the VGA end is available for connection to your computer. 
Then use a Mac to VGA adapter to connect the cable to your video card.

As I say, this is a long shot, but I've never heard of a monitor 
problem causing a plaid design.  That sure sounds like a computer or 
video card problem.  I know you tried it with other cards and 
everything else is fine, but switching the cable around is easy, so 
it's worth a try, assuming you have a Mac-VGA adapter on hand.

It is possible that the monitor is just dead.   These puppies are 
*old*.  Like at least six years old unless someone else picked up the 
Radius monitor line after Radius folded.   Anyone know?  I have a 
vague memory of KD something or other picking up either the Radius or 
the Supermac monitors, but it's vague.

Jeff Walther

--
Vintage Macs is sponsored by  and...
Small Dog Electronicshttp://www.smalldog.com   | Enter To Win A |
-- Canon PowerShot Digital Cameras start at $299   |  Free iBook!   |
 Support Low End Mac 

Vintage Macs list info: 
 --> AOL users, remove "mailto:";
Send list messages to:  
To unsubscribe, email:  
For digest mode, email: 
Subscription questions: 
Archive: 
Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com

Re: Monitor Meltdown - did I kill my expensive monitor?

[Bill Judson]

> Help, please, if you can!
> TIA!
>
> All the best,
> Greg

Does the light on the front still light up when you power on? If so, there
still may be hope...maybe the card you were trying to start it up with
didn't do the resolution the monitor supports, & now its "PRAM", so to
speak, is all fouled up. Is there some way of resetting it? Some button?
Some expensive monitors have flash RAM, & if you start them up in a
certain way, with a certain combination of buttons pushed, they revert to
factory settings.

--
Over,

Jutso

http://pages.ripco.net/~jutso/

-- 
Vintage Macs is sponsored by  and...

 Small Dog Electronicshttp://www.smalldog.com   | Enter To Win A |
 -- Canon PowerShot Digital Cameras start at $299   |  Free iBook!   |

  Support Low End Mac 

Vintage Macs list info: 
  --> AOL users, remove "mailto:";
Send list messages to:  
To unsubscribe, email:  
For digest mode, email: 
Subscription questions: 
Archive: 

Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com

Monitor Meltdown - did I kill my expensive monitor?

[Greg Shafritz]

Good Morning Everyone,

Okay... so I was waiting for my new Mac IIfx boot up
today, for the very first time, and I was really excited...

And then, suddenly, the most horrific thing happened:

On the monitor (Raduis Intellicolor 20e) the initial gray blank
raster apppeared, then the video card manufacturer's logo (Radius)
showed up in the lower left corner of the screen...
..and then, instead of a Happy Mac icon appearing,
the whole screen became covered with a black-and-white
criss-cross pattern, which looked like a wierd plaid design!
This pattern displayed for about two seconds, and then rapidly
"melted" to the left (!!) and disappeared from the screen.
The display remained completely black after that.

Now, no matter WHAT I do, I can't get an image to appear on this monitor
anymore.
I've tried connecting it to different video cards, different computers
(IIci, Quadra 840av, WGS 9150 etc.)... but NOTHING seems to be able to
produce an image on this monitor.

Has anybody seen behavior like this before?
What can I do about it?

I wouldn't be so upset if this was a little 12 or 13 inch monitor,
but this is my "brand-new" 20-inch Radius Intellicolor 20e
flat screen Trinitron monitor that I paid a LOT of money for.

The video card is a Radius Thunder IV GX 1600 that I have confirmed still
works fine.

Help, please, if you can!
TIA!

All the best,
Greg


-- 
Vintage Macs is sponsored by  and...

 Small Dog Electronicshttp://www.smalldog.com   | Enter To Win A |
 -- Canon PowerShot Digital Cameras start at $299   |  Free iBook!   |

  Support Low End Mac 

Vintage Macs list info: 
  --> AOL users, remove "mailto:";
Send list messages to:  
To unsubscribe, email:  
For digest mode, email: 
Subscription questions: 
Archive: 

Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com