24" Widescreen CRT (FW900) From Ebay arrived,Comments.

Rock&Roll said:
The monitor is designed to do 1920x1200 @ 85hz. I suggest you not try to run it beyond it's specifications. What's wrong with 85? Sure beats the hell out of 60hz
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Whats wrong is that at 1600x1200 the monitor is normal brightness and at least readable in focus, but at 1920x1200 its very dim and poorly focused and trying to make it brighter (brightness or contrast) worsens the focus.
 
Shadowex3 said:
Whats wrong is that at 1600x1200 the monitor is normal brightness and at least readable in focus, but at 1920x1200 its very dim and poorly focused and trying to make it brighter (brightness or contrast) worsens the focus.
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What does the OSD look like if you pop it up while viewing 1920x1200@85? Sharp and defined or also poorly focused? What does 1920x1200@60Hz look like? Better or the same? You may have maxed out the bandwidth of whatever cable assembly you're using, or you have a bandwidth problem inside the monitor. (or any number of other possibilities).
 
Except for the brightness the OSD looks the same at all resolutions and refresh rates, which is to say it's sharp but the pixels are extremely jittery. As far as bandwidth goes unless you're using damaged or extroardinarily poor quality cables nothing will change from a $10 dvi->vga cable to a $250 dvi-vga cable and if it ever did then james randi would owe somebody a lot of money.

And how can a monitor possibly not have enough bandwidth "inside" it? From what I know of electronics that's like saying that your car needs more headlight fluid and that's why your headlights are dim.
 
Shadowex3 said:
Except for the brightness the OSD looks the same at all resolutions and refresh rates, which is to say it's sharp but the pixels are extremely jittery. As far as bandwidth goes unless you're using damaged or extroardinarily poor quality cables nothing will change from a $10 dvi->vga cable to a $250 dvi-vga cable and if it ever did then james randi would owe somebody a lot of money.

And how can a monitor possibly not have enough bandwidth "inside" it? From what I know of electronics that's like saying that your car needs more headlight fluid and that's why your headlights are dim.
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I have a dvi to VGA adapter on my Videocard. There is quite a bit of difference between the BNC connectors and the VGA input on the monitor. I also see a lot of color and contrast difference between cheap cables especially VGA. It drove me nuts and I had to dig into my cable box to find suitable cables.

Les
 
Has anyone here removed the anti glare coating? How reflective is it supposed to be?

I have a Sony Trinitron SDTV that is mirror-like. It's much, much more reflective than my FW900. When I display a black image on my FW900 or sit in front of it with the screen turned off I can barely see my reflection. The only thing I really see is a very faint, blurry reflection. Though if I angle my head to get my window in view the screen I can see my desk clearly. On my SDTV I can see a mirror-like reflection no matter the angle I view it from.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c221/zerohaste/Image036.jpg

I'm guessing it still has the anti glare coating on it, but when I got it from AccurateIT there was a little piece of film like plastic sticking out from under the casing in the upper left hand corner of the screen, so I'm not completely sure. I don't have a good camera handy so I can't take a good picture of it.
 
that looks like the anti glare coating was removed. It would be more fuzzy if there was still a anti glare layer.
 
Easiest way to tell if it's still on is to pick a corner you'll never look at and all the way up right against the plastic just lightly drag a screwdriver's edge across the screen. The anti glare coating will scratch easily (as in not applying ANY pressure easily) but the glass itself should let the screwdriver slide right across. The other easy method I know of is rubbing the back of your fingernails on the monitor, to me the anti-glare feels pretty funky compared to smooth glass.
 
Rock&Roll said:
The monitor is designed to do 1920x1200 @ 85hz. I suggest you not try to run it beyond it's specifications. What's wrong with 85? Sure beats the hell out of 60hz
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seconded.

one way to jack your monitor good is to run it out of spec.
 
Where in the specs does it say 1920x1200@85hz? All I could find was 48-160Hz, without being bound to any resolution. So I guess it's okay to set it as high as possible as long as it displays a picture.
 
Pretty much every modern CRT will just refuse to run at a refresh/resolution combo that will hurt it, it'll just display an "out of range" error on the OSD and eventually snap back.
 
Preacher0815 said:
Where in the specs does it say 1920x1200@85hz? All I could find was 48-160Hz, without being bound to any resolution. So I guess it's okay to set it as high as possible as long as it displays a picture.
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There is also the horizontal scan range of 30-121kHz. Which means you should theoretically be able to do 1920x1200 @95Hz (horizontal 120.36kHz according to the nvidia control panel) and still stay in spec.
 
Preacher0815 said:
Where in the specs does it say 1920x1200@85hz? All I could find was 48-160Hz, without being bound to any resolution. So I guess it's okay to set it as high as possible as long as it displays a picture.
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Download the manual on the first page of this thread. In there you will find a timing specification page which details timings that are designed for this monitor. That's not to say that other non-specified timings won't work. If you can find one that looks nice using Powerstrip or another utility, so be it.
 
So I took a peek into the Service Manual (not the User Manual), and found that according to those specs this screen can do no more than 85Hz. At 640x480 it would even only be 60Hz. This is something even my ancient 19" CRT can do better. Are you certain these values in the Service Manual aren't to be understood as some kind of 'default'?


@Rock&Roll
It won't make much difference, granted that. However, I give to think if small steps would not have mattered, we'd (= the human race) would still be sitting in caves. It's all about exploring the possibilities and either achieving the biggest effect for the lowest effort, or achieving the biggest effect for any kind of effort. It usually is the first of the two.

@Bo_Fox
Sorry for the long delay, but I wasn't home much the last couple of days and wrote the postings from work.
Anyway, in case you haven't figured it out by now, for Nvidia cards refresh rates can be set using the 'Manage custom resolutions' in the Nvidia Control Panel, where you enter the desired resolution, color depth and refresh rate and click on 'Test' to see if it works.

Ati has something similar. Don't have one of those anymore, so I can't be precise about it, but I managed to force custom refresh rates using one of the two options that had a CRT as icon. I quickly switched over to driver only & Ati Tray Tool, which allowed to simply key in your desired refresh rate in the refresh rate drop down menu in the properties for the CRT screen.
 
Preacher0815 said:
So I took a peek into the Service Manual (not the User Manual), and found that according to those specs this screen can do no more than 85Hz. At 640x480 it would even only be 60Hz. This is something even my ancient 19" CRT can do better. Are you certain these values in the Service Manual aren't to be understood as some kind of 'default'?
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They are just presets and the ones in the Service manual are only a select 9 (in detail) of the total 26 presets. If you don't use one of the presets then it will tell you the horizontal and vertical frequencies instead of the resolution when you enter the menu.
GDM-FW900 User manual (Page 129) said:
If the input signal does not match one of the factory preset modes above, the Generalized Timing Formula feature of this monitor will automatically provide an optimal image for the screen as long as the signal is GTF compliant.
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I just wanted to let everyone know that i just sucessfully removed the anti-coating off my monitor. It was'nt a thin film that would tear as i thought. it was a think hard plastic like material that came off pretty easy. Its about as think as a peice of paper and has a sticky back that holds it on. Just begin by pealing up a corner and pull it off. its on there pretty good. You may want to pre heat the adheasive with a blow dryer before so it will come off easier.

I now have a perfect screen! And the glare isint bad at all and i have an above light fixture.. All you have to do is re adjust the britness and contrast and your good to go.

DSC07476.JPG


DSC07479.JPG


DSC07480.JPG


EDIT: Added pics.. Note the second pic. The only place that you have to worry about getting killed touching by taking the back side off is that area i marked in the second pic. Thats the area that one would touch with a tool to drain the power from the caps. If you touch that you'll most likely have a large hole blown through your heart! hehe. As long as you dont touch that area and dont take anything else off the back and expose the insides you should be fine. If i'm wrong then i hope someone corrects me.
 
What's bad about having the anti glare coating on there? And do I need to open the case?
 
I know it's been posted in here but where is the guide to changing the focus of the monitor? Can I use WinDAS or do I need to open it up? My problem is that I can't seem to get the words in focus, when I look closely they look slightly smeared, a lot less sharp than my old monitor.
 
I got three of these monitors for 10 dollars each from a friend of my dad who collects old electrical stuff. :) Great deals.
 
MJBoa said:
I know it's been posted in here but where is the guide to changing the focus of the monitor? Can I use WinDAS or do I need to open it up? My problem is that I can't seem to get the words in focus, when I look closely they look slightly smeared, a lot less sharp than my old monitor.
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First off download the nokia monitor test (google, it's easy to find). From there get to the convergence area and check on the colored grids to make sure the smearing isn't bad convergence which can be fixed from the OSD.

If it isn't convergence and is really and truly a focus issue like I have then things are either really easy or still pretty easy. If you've got the HP monitor just get a screwdriver that can fit through the back and use a flashlight to find the tuning pots (make sure you tear the glue holding them in place by giving them a good solid twist) and then just very subtly adjust them until you get the monitor focus to your liking. If you've got the sony version you'll need to take the back plastic off and then do the same thing.

If it's actually focus then chances are you're going to need to decide whether you want the center really sharp or the edges to be in decent focus because you probably wont be able to have both.
 
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carajean206 said:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Sony-24-Trinitr...yZ116350QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Is this the same model as the FW900?? Its cheap and local for me would this be a good buy??
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I tried to contact that guy 2 times in 3 days. This was around X-Mas time. I never got a resonse from him and i 2 am local. He had 9 back then as well.. Could be a scam or there all trash.. as in he wants you to buy and pay for them over paypal first before answering any questions or let you see the monitors before.
 
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MJBoa said:
What's bad about having the anti glare coating on there? And do I need to open the case?
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There is nothing wrong with having the anti-glare on the monitor.. Its just if your is scratched or have many scratches on the anti-glare coating you can remove it and have your perfect screen back. I have about 9 scratches dead center of the screen and i really only could see them on a white background. But it bugged me enough.

Yes you have to take the monitor apart as you need to take the front bezel off to get to the edge of the Anti-glare coating.

Follow the directions someone posted back a page or 2. Theres about 8 screws and you have to pry the sides off as they snap in.
 
MJBoa said:
What's bad about having the anti glare coating on there? And do I need to open the case?
Click to expand...

nothing at all. i prefer it on. there is no picture degradation on the monitor from it.

NO do not open the case unless you like the get the crap shocked out of you:D
 
carajean206 said:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Sony-24-Trinitr...yZ116350QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Is this the same model as the FW900?? Its cheap and local for me would this be a good buy??
Click to expand...

I bought mine in early Summer '06 from the Rad Recycling lady in Macomb for $200 and picked it up. Squeezed it into the front seat of my wife's '95 Nissan Maxima and drove it up to Midland. Great monitor. A lot of us actually have the HP version like this. If I had the room I'd grab a second one for dual-monitor goodness and as a backup in case mine dies - but not enough room.

I have one small scratch in the anti-glare coating but I only notice it on white screen once in a while. Not a big deal. I run mine at 1920x1200 85hz. The convergence is a tiny bit off in the upper left / lower right corner and I couldn't make it perfect, but not off enough to worry about.
 
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I just wanted to let everyone know that i just sucessfully removed the anti-coating off my monitor. It was'nt a thin film that would tear as i thought. it was a think hard plastic like material that came off pretty easy. Its about as think as a peice of paper and has a sticky back that holds it on. Just begin by pealing up a corner and pull it off. its on there pretty good. You may want to pre heat the adheasive with a blow dryer before so it will come off easier.

I now have a perfect screen! And the glare isint bad at all and i have an above light fixture.. All you have to do is re adjust the britness and contrast and your good to go.

DSC07476.JPG


DSC07479.JPG


DSC07480.JPG


EDIT: Added pics.. Note the second pic. The only place that you have to worry about getting killed touching by taking the back side off is that area i marked in the second pic. Thats the area that one would touch with a tool to drain the power from the caps. If you touch that you'll most likely have a large hole blown through your heart! hehe. As long as you dont touch that area and dont take anything else off the back and expose the insides you should be fine. If i'm wrong then i hope someone corrects me.
 
When you say the plastic it's just the dark grey plastic, not the metal or anything right?
 
MJBoa said:
When you say the plastic it's just the dark grey plastic, not the metal or anything right?
Click to expand...

Yeah just the plastic.. You only want to remove that if theres scratches to the anti-glare surface that bother you.
 
geo1317 said:
I need help with my fw900.

I purchased it about 6 months ago and it has been working very well for me and any issues I had with it this thread helped me fix them.

However last night the monitor would not turn on. The power would come on, but I did not hear the tube turn on and it would go into sleep mode. I tried different computers with the same result, I also did the self diagnosis and nothing as well which told me it was the tube.

I left it over night and this morning it started right back up like normal.

Is there something I can do to prevent this from happening again or is the monitor on its way out?

Thanks for any help
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i have been able to keep the PC running non stop for a while, buy i had to turn it off for five minutes and when i turned it back on the monitor wouldn't come back on.

Is there anything i can do about this?
 
Did taking off the anti-glare coating adversely effect the monitors picture at all? Is the black level still as black as it was before?

Just wondering cause i might do this with my G520 since it has a few annoying scratches and knicks on the coating.
 
Toompra said:
Did taking off the anti-glare coating adversely effect the monitors picture at all? Is the black level still as black as it was before?

Just wondering cause i might do this with my G520 since it has a few annoying scratches and knicks on the coating.
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Nope! Obviously without re adjusting the brightness it will look a tad brighter as the anti-glare coating made it a hair or 2 darker. Just adjust and it will be as good as before.
 
eclypse said:
DSC07476.JPG
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Maybe it's just me, but don't these things look dead sexy without the cheezy plastic bezel?

Maybe some smart modding company will introduce a thin black carbon fiber bezel with a microprint sticker that reads: Look, but don't play with my anode.
 
Well i just took the coating off my G520, it was a bit difficult but only took me about 5 minutes. Just be warned when you do this: the edges of the coating strip are quite sharp, i cut my finger pretty deep on it.

EDIT: oops i forgot to say thanks to eclipse for figuring this out and posting the pics. Very helpful. I just wish i had done this earlier cause i endured a long time with the marked up coating. And of course i just bought a pair of P1130's that both have perfect screens so i likely won't be using the G520 anymore. Oh well, if i ever do need it again its nice to know the screen is fixed.
 
Good job Toompra ;) Sorry to hear about your finger.. I personally didnt notice the sharp edge.
 
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