Monitor Problem, Is It Fixable?

[¥ KOMI ¥]

Hello,

I've recently purchased a brand spanking new computer, the only thing I need to purchase is a new monitor. However, I remembered that I have a 19" monitor sitting in my basement that I discarded when it started having this problem:

The monitor would have, what I call, "random brightning attacks". As in, I could sit there and watch the display constantly go bright and fuzzy.... Then dim.... Bright and fuzzy..... Then dim.... Bright and fuzzy..... etc etc etc...

Sometimes it wouldn't do it for a few hours, but then it would just kick in and start doing it all day. So, I placed it in my basement and used one my friend gave me.

Now, I wish to know if it would be worth it to take it in for repair. I mean, IS it repairable? What could the cause be? I would love to have it simply repaired and save myself the money rather than going out and purchasing a new one.

Any advice would be great, what do you all think the problem could be so I can tell the repair guy what to look for?

Thanks!

[tony_j15]

The cost of repair could be more than a new monitor, keep that in mind.

[davidamarkley]

lol, I have a 15" that does that. tony_j15 can attest to this: It would flicker, have "brightening attacks" as you said, and act the same as yours. The way I "fixed" it was to whack it a couple times on the top of the monitor case, and then that would normally stabilize the picture/brightness until I hit it again, or turned it off. Pretty simple really: Whack on, Whack off...

Considering that you could buy a used, but in new condition 19" monitor for around $100 from http://www.azatek.com and http://www.merkortech.com it would probably be more expensive to repair the old monitor. YMMV, but normally in the tech world replace > repair.

I've dealt with both companies, and have had great purchases from both.

HTH,

David

[Peter M]

"Brightening attacks" indicate that the voltage regulation for the CR tube itself is on its way out. That's a case for the dumpster, usually, given the prices you pay for new CRT monitors, compared with how long it takes an experienced and skilled technician to even track down the problem, let alone fix it.