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24" Widescreen CRT (FW900) From Ebay arrived,Comments.
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LAGRUNAUER
Gawd
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These are called "damper wires", a feature of all Trinitron and DiamondTron tubes. Please check out http://computer.howstuffworks.com/question406.htm and some of my olders posts on this forum regarding these wires.
Hopes this helps...
Sincerely,
Unkle Vito!
As others have said, the two lines are normal and it's great that the green tinge is fixed.
Regarding this "distortion" in the corners. . . do you mean geometric distortion? Or color distortion?
If color, adjust the "landing" controls for color purity.
If geometric distortion (it's skewed in one or both corners), I have to say that all three of the FW900s I've owned had some geometric distortion in one of the top corners. It just sorta "curves out" a little at the very top. After a while, though, I just stopped noticing it.
Unkle Vito, thanks for your information and help.
To you or anyone who's used WinDAS/WinCAT — is it possible to adjust the geometric distortion in the corners (especially top left and top right) using these programs? Both FW900s I have owned have had this (and my GDM-F500 doesn't), but the amount depends on what display mode the monitor is in.
Regarding damper wires, I think they are thinner on my GDM-F500. If that monitor is hit lightly, you can see the aperture grille shimmer. The same gentle hit on the side of my FW900 doesn't result in any noticeable shimmer.
To you or anyone who's used WinDAS/WinCAT — is it possible to adjust the geometric distortion in the corners (especially top left and top right) using these programs? Both FW900s I have owned have had this (and my GDM-F500 doesn't), but the amount depends on what display mode the monitor is in.
Regarding damper wires, I think they are thinner on my GDM-F500. If that monitor is hit lightly, you can see the aperture grille shimmer. The same gentle hit on the side of my FW900 doesn't result in any noticeable shimmer.
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Thank you, Unkle Vito. Your help is appreciated.
It seems that you have not yet used your monitors for nearly as long as I have used mine. CRT phosphors on the tube usually wear out after 10-20,000 hours of use. This is a very well known issue with CRT projectors and monitors (just look at old TV's and see how many of them are severely discolored, unlike mine which still looks great). When I use Nokia to display red screen, the red color is not as deep as it used to be..
Perhaps my red gun is faulty in not achieving as much depth/brightness as green or blue. Is replacing the gun possible, if not much more cumbersome than replacing the red transistor?
Hey, is there a guide on turning the two screws in the back of the monitor for sharpening the image without taking the case off? Does anybody have a link to it?
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LAGRUNAUER
Gawd
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You are very welcomed! In WinDAS you can adjust, among others, the geometry and convergence of the unit. But the program is not user friendly, and in order to perform the adjustments accurately, you must have some instrumentation and equipment such as a video generator for patterns at the required dot clock and bandwidth, and a good colorimeter (to perform white point balance).
Hope this helps...
Sincerely,
Unkle Vito!
LAGRUNAUER
Gawd
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You are very welcomed! In the pass, In the past, I've had at the shop some Sony GDMs with over 20,000 of continuos use that were brought to me for calibration/adjustments, and the picture tube looked good and the units calibrated without any issues. If a color is not displaying "as it used to be", one thing you can do is to adjust the color purity. To do that, you have to open the unit, and locate the color purity poles at the CRT's neck assembly. Refer to the maintenance manual before making any adjustments to make sure that the color purity poles are the ones you touch. The other poles are for convergence. Also, you will need a video generator to display Red, Blue and Green backgrounds.
If that does not work, then we need to look at the guns and the tube's emission, and check them all out. If everything checks out OK, then perform a white point balance. If after all these, the CRT still does not "look good", then it is time to rebuild the tube, replace the tube, or discard the tube. A CRT electron gun cannot be replaced because it is an integral part of the CRT itself. Replacing the RGB transistors from the A board's video amp is an easy fix, but before you replace them, check them out first, because it may be another issue.
Hope this helps...
Unkle Vito!
I did not realize there were color purity adjustments. Isn't maximum purity of a particular color channel (for the purpose of tests) achieved by setting BIAS of the other two color channels to minimum (0%) — temporarily, just for the purpose of displaying a screen full of pure color? This is what I did when I took amateur spectral readings of my CRT's phosphors using a digital camera, long lens and a diffraction grating. It appeared to work quite well.
What do the color purity poles actually change when adjusted? What does the change look like on-screen?
I've never fully understood how the three electron guns can manage to hit phosphors only of the matching color. Is this accomplished by angled baffles on the aperture grille / shadow mask that point towards the matching electron gun but block the line of site from the other two?
What do the color purity poles actually change when adjusted? What does the change look like on-screen?
I've never fully understood how the three electron guns can manage to hit phosphors only of the matching color. Is this accomplished by angled baffles on the aperture grille / shadow mask that point towards the matching electron gun but block the line of site from the other two?
thanks for everyones replyes. the corners had both color and geometric distortion. i fixed the color with the landing correction but its still little distorted geometrically from up left and right corner. i cant seem to get the picture as geometric as i thought it should be, atleast compared to my older crt monitors. maybe i just dont know how to set it properly but trying for hours now and still isnt perfect. but its good if i could get the fuzzines to sharpen out in the 1920x1200 resolution. is my monitor uncalibrated or just a resolution problem because with 800x600 and 1680x1050 resolutions the image is crystal clear and very sharp?
LAGRUNAUER
Gawd
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I strongly suggest you download the GDM-FW900 Maintenance Manual, then you can read all about the various adjustments that can be made on the unit. The purity pole description is in page 4-2. You need to display a solid primary color background, and then make the adjustment. You must see how the color on the screen looks, how rich it is and how deep it is while moving the purity pole.
Hope this helps...
Sincerely,
Unkle Vito!
LAGRUNAUER
Gawd
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Dynamic convergence (DC) adjustments on the GDM-FW900 are performed via WinDAS at prime (1920x1200@85Hz) and at low (640x480@60Hz). For what you are describing, it appears that the unit may need DC adjustment at prime. That may fix the problem. I say may because w/o seeing the monitor, I would do a "touch-up" adjustment via WinDAS which will include key and pin cushion, among others.
Hope this helps...
Sincerely,
Unkle Vito!
i msut sound a lazy bum or a total noob, but still , how can i do that? i read the instructions for the windas in the first reply of this thread and i dont have another computer etc on my disposal unfortunately. is it any good to use the screws in the back for sharpness adjustment since the monitor is really sharp with other resolutions? also should i leave some black borders to the viewing area by unstreching the image? like 4mm to sides and to/bottom?
do you perform the full calibration of the monitor via windas or can it be done by hand just by opening up the monitor?
Edit: i have now adjusted the picture to fill the hole viewing area, and must say it looks pretty darn good. i managed to get the picture pretty sharp but not as sharp as with 1650x1080 resolution. is this the time to try those adjustment screws? also i cant get the geometric distortion away from the top left corner(the image is coming down about 3mm and 13cm wide in really low angle) its not that disturbing and as some1 said that he has had this with all monitors, im jsut wondering if this is normal or somethig that could suggest ,with the unsharpness, that something is off the calibration. i really dont have any equipment, not even a color calibrator, so is it impossible for me to fully calibrate this or jsut elave the left top corner alone and try to adjust with those two sharpness screws?
2nd edit: if im not mistaken, then the image is sharperr in the middle of the screen ( you could say its as sharp as it gets with crt) but its only a 20cm circle in the middle, bottom corners and the top left are the most unsharp. this is the main problem now.
and i made some measurements to be sure. the left side of the image is distorted geometrically, few mm in the top and bottom, they are like squeezing together in the left side. i cant find any adjustment for expanding just the other side so is there any way to adjust just the other side?
ps. i have tried convergence for the corners "fuzzines" , wich doesnt help. its not color/convergence style unsharpness, its just little out of focus or something.
Edit: i have now adjusted the picture to fill the hole viewing area, and must say it looks pretty darn good. i managed to get the picture pretty sharp but not as sharp as with 1650x1080 resolution. is this the time to try those adjustment screws? also i cant get the geometric distortion away from the top left corner(the image is coming down about 3mm and 13cm wide in really low angle) its not that disturbing and as some1 said that he has had this with all monitors, im jsut wondering if this is normal or somethig that could suggest ,with the unsharpness, that something is off the calibration. i really dont have any equipment, not even a color calibrator, so is it impossible for me to fully calibrate this or jsut elave the left top corner alone and try to adjust with those two sharpness screws?
2nd edit: if im not mistaken, then the image is sharperr in the middle of the screen ( you could say its as sharp as it gets with crt) but its only a 20cm circle in the middle, bottom corners and the top left are the most unsharp. this is the main problem now.
and i made some measurements to be sure. the left side of the image is distorted geometrically, few mm in the top and bottom, they are like squeezing together in the left side. i cant find any adjustment for expanding just the other side so is there any way to adjust just the other side?
ps. i have tried convergence for the corners "fuzzines" , wich doesnt help. its not color/convergence style unsharpness, its just little out of focus or something.
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I'm pretty sure that's normal; it's been that way on both of my FW900s. I think the slight loss of focus towards the left and right edges is the whole reason the FW900 has a larger aperture grille pitch in those areas; a constant grille pitch would have diminished benefit (though nevertheless I think it would help).
However it sounds like maybe in your case the fuzziness is excessive...
EDIT: The loss of focus towards the edges on my FW900 is very very slight. If you were seeing merely the normal amount of fuzziness I don't think you'd be complaining; it's only noticeable at super-high resolutions such as 2736×1710, and even then it's subtle; at 1920×1200 I can't even see it. The FW900 is very sharp.
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hmm im starting to get little worried. every time i restart my monitor, the green tinge is coming back somewhat.. i can get rid of it by lowering my brightness thought or image adjustment. now i set the G= to 0 in expert and colors seem alright and i can push my brightness back up without compromising the blacks. does this mean that my monitor ha faulty gun or something? should i jsut stick with my tft monitors or try to repair this thing? i will call a local shop that repairs crt-monitors and see if they have the knowledge for this type of things but i doupt it so i would apreciate any thoughts in this matter.
LAGRUNAUER
Gawd
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Fuzziness on the corners and/or any other type of fuzziness on the screen is pretty evident when a MEME pattern is displayed, and that is an indication of a FBT issue and convergence adjustment issue.
The large aperture grill of the GDM-FW900 (.23-.27) is due to the convexing of the tube towards the sides and corners. If you carefully take a close look at the tube, the way Sony flattened these tubes is by adding a large amout of glass to the front part of the tube to make them flat, but in reality the tube is convex. The effect is a slight distorsion on the cormers, but not a fuzziness.
Hope this helps...
Sincerely,
Unkle Vito!
LAGRUNAUER
Gawd
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There are not that many CRT engineers left in the trade. I happen to be one of the very few.
The green tint that you have is due to either a faulty gun(s), faulty RGB transistor, and/or a white point balance that is way overdue in your monitor, or ALL OF ABOVE.
It is easy to check for the faulty gun (it is done with a Sencore CR-7000 beam builder -we have one in our shop), and a good CRT repair shop will have one available as well. If the gun(s) checks out OK, then the three RGB transistors must be checked, and if they all pass, then a white point balance via WinDAS/WinCAT will do.
Everything is fixable. If the gun(s) is faulty, there is nothing that can be done as the gun(s) is an integral part of the picture tube. For the GDM-FW900, A BRAND NEW picture tube assembly which includes the CRT, the deflection yoke, poles and neck assembly will cost $1,500.00 plus the installation/calibration and setup. Replacing the transistors and performing a WinDAS/WinCAT calibration, Sony and/or a service center will do it. How much valuable and how much are you willing to spend to save your unit, are both.... a question, and a decision for you to make.
Hope this helps...
Sincerely,
Unkle Vito!
I thought I saw a tiny bit of convexing in the aperture grille... however it's only a tiny, tiny amount and I guess I assumed I was imagining it. Thanks for confirming this! But why make it convex at all, if it's by such a tiny amount? Is the thickness of the glass varied to make the edges appear to be closer (and less convex) due to refraction? If true, this would also cause a slight lensing effect, shrinking the apparent width of the grille stripes... how thick is the glass?
When I took 1.043:1 macro photos of the grille in order to measure it, I made sure that the grille was in edge-to-edge focus so that the measurements would not be distorted by foreshortening. The camera focal plane was parallel to the glass when photographing the center, and visibly tilted relative to the glass when photographing the edge. For some reason I didn't think about it much at the time.
The measurements I got were 0.2382 mm at the center and 0.277 mm at the left edge. (There is less precision in the edge measurement because the grille pitch varies rapidly in that area.) But if I kept the camera parallel to the glass I'd probably get a slightly smaller measurement for the edge, perhaps 0.276 mm.
The physical measurements of the grille may differ without glass in front of it... but what is important to the user of the monitor is of course how thick the grille stripes are optically, not physically.
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I can get a sony fw900 for 75 bucks in my local city here. Is this a good price? Also Will I see a diffrence in pc gaming compared to what I use now? Now I use a Black NEC Super Bright Diamondtron Multisync FE2111sb. Its a 21 inch i think.
Also if i run a 4:3 resolution like 1600x1200 will the fw900 display the black borders if so does the fw900 have option to fill entire screen? Thanks
Also if i run a 4:3 resolution like 1600x1200 will the fw900 display the black borders if so does the fw900 have option to fill entire screen? Thanks
needmorecarnitine
Supreme [H]ardness
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Considering possibly buying one of these
Is there a post that lists what to look for when buying one? Maybe what software I should bring with me on a laptop or what kinds common faults to look out for? I suppose that this has already been asked but this is a GIANT thread! Thanks.
Is there a post that lists what to look for when buying one? Maybe what software I should bring with me on a laptop or what kinds common faults to look out for? I suppose that this has already been asked but this is a GIANT thread! Thanks.
Can't speak for the price. But the main advantages of the FW900 over a good LCD are very deep blacks, no motion smear, no off-angle color shift whatsoever, and the ability to do any resolution you want at a large range of refresh rates.
The monitor may detect 1600x1200 if it's a standard mode, and will give you black borders by default. But you can decide whether you want black borders and square pixels, or an edge-to-edge picture, anything in-between. The geometry/size/centering controls give you lots of precision.
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That's practically free man.
I'm toying with the idea of a 7 hour drive to pick a second one up for more than twice that.
paste this into notepad and save as a .REG file. This is what I was talking about. has no adverse effects if the game won't benefit from it's use:
Code:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\DirectDraw]
"ForceRefreshRate"=dword:00000055You need to edit this entry to match whatever refresh rate you're aiming fore. By default, this entry will make your default 3D refresh 85HZ (85 DECIMAL = 55 HEX ). So you need to convert any refresh you want to HEX and then edit the value in the registry. Then Reboot. LIke I said, only works for some games.
Thanks Rock&Roll. I will try it. One other thing that bugs me..
Maybe someone here could give me some advice. I have the Dell P1110. Its a great monitor but the blacks are now red tinted. I have the color temperature raised to around 9800K but the blacks are still red. If I try to tweak the individual color settings I loose most of my contrast for some reason but I might be doing it incorrectly. Also when I run the color return, is it supposed to show every color? Mine just shows red in ever increasing intensities. Any suggestions?
Maybe someone here could give me some advice. I have the Dell P1110. Its a great monitor but the blacks are now red tinted. I have the color temperature raised to around 9800K but the blacks are still red. If I try to tweak the individual color settings I loose most of my contrast for some reason but I might be doing it incorrectly. Also when I run the color return, is it supposed to show every color? Mine just shows red in ever increasing intensities. Any suggestions?
Ok I just picked up a fw900 on craig list for 60 bucks, and he was asking 75. Now I hooked it up running windows 7 64bit with a geforce gtx 260 card and windows 7 right away ran it at the highest reslution this monitor is capable of. Then jsut for now I switch it to 1024X768 and about 1 minute later the whole screen gets out of focus like fuzzy? Anyone know whats going on? All of a sudden it gets back into focus normal? Thanks
DragonDude
n00b
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I do believe that these FW900's have a common problem when the Flyback Transformer tends to go bad. When it happens, many people here report the popping-fuzzy-then-all-clear act the monitor goes through.
I think the part number is "NX-4504" or something along those lines. Not sure exactly where to get them though. Maybe Unkle Vito has some of these parts for sale?
I do believe that these FW900's have a common problem when the Flyback Transformer tends to go bad. When it happens, many people here report the popping-fuzzy-then-all-clear act the monitor goes through.
I think the part number is "NX-4504" or something along those lines. Not sure exactly where to get them though. Maybe Unkle Vito has some of these parts for sale?
I'm new to this monitor jsut today bought it for 60 bucks. So who's this unkle Vito?
LAGRUNAUER
Gawd
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We have parts. Just email me directly to [email protected] and we'll provide you assistance.
Sincerely,
Unkle Vito!
LAGRUNAUER
Gawd
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I do believe that these FW900's have a common problem when the Flyback Transformer tends to go bad. When it happens, many people here report the popping-fuzzy-then-all-clear act the monitor goes through.
I think the part number is "NX-4504" or something along those lines. Not sure exactly where to get them though. Maybe Unkle Vito has some of these parts for sale?
Sony Part # 1-453-348-11, TRANSFORMER ASSY, FLYBACK (NX-4504//J1D4). It does not comes with the leads. Only the transformer. You need to detach the leads from the old FBT.
Hope this helps...
Sincerely,
Unkle Vito!
LAGRUNAUER
Gawd
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Most likely you have a faulty flyback transformer (FBT). Sony part #: 1-453-348-11 TRANSFORMER ASSY, FLYBACK (NX-4504//J1D4). We have GDM-FW900 parts.
Hope this helps...
Sincerely,
Unkle Vito!
Ok thanks I'll keep you in mind, how, where do I get ahold of you to get the part? I ahve the service manual does it show how to replace it? And is it hard or easy procedure? Thanks thomas
LAGRUNAUER
Gawd
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The service manual shows how to unmount and mount all the boards and main components, and the FBT is on the D board. However, the manual does not give you specific instructions on how to remove/install the FTB. If you have knowledge of electronics, if you are able to read and understand schematics, and have above average soldering skills, the FBT should be a routine job. But if you do not have the knowledge and some experience working inside a CRT, DON'T TRY IT! The FBT is part of the High Voltage block, and these components can discharge high voltage that can kill.
You best bet is to get the part(s) to avoid getting overcharged, and then take the unit to a CRT repair center for removal/installation of the FBT and the leads (focus and anode).
Hope this helps...
Sincerely,
Unkle Vito!
Ok I do know basics electronics and I know how to soldier etc. Why do you have to understand schematics? Does the FBT have leads or legs like a capacitor that insert into holes through the circuit board I guess its called the D board, and its a matter of unsoldiering and soldering the new one? I would like to fix it myself because I fix alot of electronics, gaming consoles, even computers as myself have my own computer onsite/mobile tech bussiness. Heck I even work on things in my home, like plumbing, vehicles, etc hehe.
I'm more spooked about the danger part your talking about insider the monitor, is it a matter of not touching other components inside or what? Like not touching something inside with your hands, arm, soldering iron tool, etc?
Thanks Thomas
I now have this fw900 and I have always ran my windows desktop resolution at 1024X768 no matter what size the monitor was crt or lcd. I just find it easier on my eyes so I dont strain them when looking at the small text and icons. What you guys say about this? Or what do you guys do when running those high resolutions to make things easier to see?
Also by running at 1024X768 as you know the black borders are at the left and right of screen, so whats the negative if theres any in sizing the screen with this <----> menu setting to fill the sides up? Thanks Thomas
Is 1280x800 a 16:10 widescren resolution? If so I think I tried that but it didnt fill the screen from left to right, like it had the same black borders, is it a matter of stretching the size settings with <-----> ? Thanks
Also by running at 1024X768 as you know the black borders are at the left and right of screen, so whats the negative if theres any in sizing the screen with this <----> menu setting to fill the sides up? Thanks Thomas
Is 1280x800 a 16:10 widescren resolution? If so I think I tried that but it didnt fill the screen from left to right, like it had the same black borders, is it a matter of stretching the size settings with <-----> ? Thanks
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If you stretch the screen so there are no black borders @ 1024x768, everything will be out of whack..people will look very 'fat'. If you want easy to read but still to use your entire monitor, use 1280x800 - that's a widescreen res that will be easy for you to read, but will still use the entire monitor while keeping squares square and circles circular. I play cs: course @ 1280x800x130hz on my fw900. Easier to land distant headshots, and a nice high refresh rate for snap aiming.