Replacing the vga cable on my monitor

M

Mr. Bill

Limp Gawd
Joined
Mar 13, 2003
Messages
274
After numerous LANs, the end of my cable has finally been fouled enough that I need to duct tape it to my case in order for it to display correct colors. I can get yellow, blue, deep blue, and purple. Its just lovely.

I plan on taking off the shell of the monitor and unhooking (un soldering?) the wires. Then I'm going to the county's school tech building, stealing a monitor from the dumpster, and taking the wires from that. Will I have any issues? Am I a big retard? I dont plan on spending 250 bucks for another cheap monitor. Oh, its a 19 inch NEC "multi sync 95 (i think), not flat screen. Shadow mask, not crappy aperature grille (I hate those damn lines)
 
The wiring inside of the monitor may be different from brand to brand, so you could end up ruining the monitor. If you were crazy enough to lug around a CRT to a LAN party, then you should have been ready to accept the risk of it being damaged. Your best bet is to buy a new monitor.
 
replacing a defective monitor cable is pretty easy. Find yourself a good replacement first. Then, take the shell off the monitor, and BEFORE you cut/disconnect the wires on the original cable, do a continuity test and write down what pins went where. The D-Sub connector is a standard pinout, but like djnes said..the inside wiring is likely different.

once you've got what pins where connected to the corresponding solder pads/holes, then de-solder the old cable and solder the new one in place.

might take you about an hour if you're not real fast or not real slow. If you're experienced at it, I'd say it would take about 30 minutes or less.

good luck. with it!
 
So, I whip out my multimeter, and measure which wire is which, and just check the connections. Do you think if I got an NEC monitor they would be the same??

And, djnes the reason most of us in our little LAN group play with CRTs is because they like 34343 times better than LCDs. I hate blurrs, set resolutions, and espically, the fact that a nail or heavy object can destroy them. My crt has lasted 3 years, and after this, many more:)
 
Mr. Bill said:
And, djnes the reason most of us in our little LAN group play with CRTs is because they like 34343 times better than LCDs. I hate blurrs, set resolutions, and espically, the fact that a nail or heavy object can destroy them. My crt has lasted 3 years, and after this, many more:)
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Don't tell me you actually believe that crap! That may have been true two years ago, but it certainly isn't anymore. I replaced a 21" Dell Trinitron CRT with my 1800FP and haven't seen any artifacts or problems whatsoever. FPS games are crystal clear. FarCry looks magnificent. You guys (some of you) really need to learn that times change, and technology improves.
 
Mr. Bill said:
So, I whip out my multimeter, and measure which wire is which, and just check the connections. Do you think if I got an NEC monitor they would be the same??

And, djnes the reason most of us in our little LAN group play with CRTs is because they like 34343 times better than LCDs. I hate blurrs, set resolutions, and espically, the fact that a nail or heavy object can destroy them. My crt has lasted 3 years, and after this, many more:)
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chances are if it's the same brand, it will be the same pinouts...if it's the same model series (IE, 19"). However, on the inside of the monitor there is no D-Sub connector to mess with. It's basically wires from the cable soldered to the solder pads on the circuit board. You'll see when you crack the case open.

honestly though...it's a very easy process. just be warned though...leave the monitor off for about 1 week to be sure that the tube and caps are completely discharged. I was zapped by that once and it's something you don't easily forget :O You shouldn't be working in that area on the back/top of the tube, so it shouldn't be a big concern.

:EDIT: just my $.02, but I like CRT's better for gaming, and LCD's for everything else. You will still see motion blur in an LCD. I don't care what LCD it is or the ms rating, there will be motion blur if the movement is fast enough (racing games are one that I can think of). But I do have to agree though...the newer LCD's do an awsome job and look really kickass in most all games. If my monitor goes out, I'll probably be getting something like an 1800fp also :)
 
Bah, I don't know where you guys are getting your info or what kind of monitors you've got, but the monitor I've got cracked open in the garage has a header-style connector for the VGA cable. So it's just a swap-out of the plugs. Easy, altho YMMV
 
Vertigo Acid said:
Bah, I don't know where you guys are getting your info or what kind of monitors you've got, but the monitor I've got cracked open in the garage has a header-style connector for the VGA cable. So it's just a swap-out of the plugs. Easy, altho YMMV
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what type of monitor is it? It was stated in at least two posts that the monitor in question is an NEC 19". Not all monitors may have the "convenience" that yours (and mine actually)does. Mine has a D-Sub connection on the back of the monitor, so the case doesn't have to be opened to replace the cable. Most newer Nokia's and NEC's have the same setup.

Regardless what type of connection he has on the inside, chances are he'll still have to splice the wires at least if he doesn't purchase an overpriced replacement cable from a parts dealer for NEC.

Besides, what fun would it be if you don't even get the soldering iron warm???
 
Am I the only one wondering how you can foul a vga plug so bad it won't plug in anymore and you must replace it? Probably if you break a pin off, but if it displays correctly after being duct taped to the case it sounds like the shield is loose, have you tried bending it (just slightly) with a needle-nose pliers until it fits snugly again? and what about the screw hold downs those should hold the plug in place even if it is loose.
 
PicoFaradPJF said:
Am I the only one wondering how you can foul a vga plug so bad it won't plug in anymore and you must replace it?
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My luck has been that it's the cable, rather than the connectors, that goes south.

This isn't an impossible job, but you may be in for some internal modding. You'll find the red, green, and blue signals typically are moved on teeny little co-axial cables, with the rest of the sideband signals typically being single conductors. If you are good with a VOM, can solder, and keep your fingers FAR away from the high voltage tripler and filter caps....you can probably pull it off.

If you have any doubts, or have no respect for what a few random KV's can do to you.....let someone else do this for you. :cool:

Good Luck - B.B.S.
 
Just a little reminder (yes, you know this and have heard it a minimum of a thousand times,) but, just to be on the safe side so it absolutely can't be forgotten, when playing around with the insides of a CRT, be DARNED careful as those capacitors can store enough power to melt screwdrivers from what I've heard (well, maybe that person lied, though I haven't known them to lie like that before, but even if so it's enough power to do a lot of damage.) Anyway, just wanted to say it so we don't hear from you a year later saying you were in a hospital all this time. ^_^ That said, your issue definitely sounds like it's on the end of the cable, probably a loose wire inside the shielded part. If so, you can just cut off that end of it, test which wire each pin goes to, and connect them appropriately to a new part.

Oh, and I've seen what a modern LCD as well as an older LCD both look like. Trust me, they aren't lying, it's just beautiful what they look like now. They are cleaner and less distorted than a CRT for one. Even the newer "flat" CRTs that attempt to distort the picture less still aren't quite perfect. As for the fixed resolution thing, well, that's on the monitor itself, so it's not like you can't use different resolutions with your video card. And all newer LCDs have a resize built in. Finally, there's the fact that you can plug them into the digital output of a video card instead of analog, bypassing some of the weakest points

Oh, and for how you can damage it enough to have to replace the cable, I've had several monitors in the past where wires came loose on the inside of the monitor. It sucked because you had to jiggle the cable just right and pray it never shifts. Your guess as to how that happened is as good as mine. Of course, his problem probably lies in the other end since that's the end that gets taped to fix it. (BTW, instead of tape, try bending the cable in a U shape and putting a rubber band on there. Arrange it just right and sometimes it can fix it. It isn't easy to get it exactly right thought.)
 
For one, all you retards out there, I have seen many a nice LCDs, and the blur still sucks. When im knifing someone in counterstrike, and that knife blurs as i take him to 35 HP, I get pissed off... really pissed off. On my CRT, I knife and there is no blur, and I kill the person with happyness. I dont care what that little number is, LCDs still suck. They suck for watching tv, they suck for games. When i get my crappy desk job, and Im kissing ass to the boss with a nice pretty spreadsheet, then ill get myself an LCD... Till then, long live the CRT.

Oh, and its not actually the little connector, its where the little... cylinder is right before the connector.
 
Mr. Bill said:
For one, all you retards out there....
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...a friendly reminder of the first rule::

(1) Absolutely NO FLAMING OR NAME CALLING. Mutual respect and civilized conversation is the required norm.

...please read and follow the rules, OK....?

Thank you - B.B.S.
 
Hrm, probably a cheap LCD. My dad blew a ton of money on getting expensive ones and believe me, FPS games like Unreal Tournament 2004 just look beautiful on there. The FPS is just fine with no blurring or anything. Are you sure you aren't thinking about a long time ago? Also, was it plugged into DVI? Converting back and forth with analog and digital can't be good for the signal.

Seriously though. If you find a good one and try it out, you may not have to run out and buy one, but you'll at least understand why we love them so much. They can just be so much clearer and everything. I have, however, seen what a bad LCD looks like, so I understand your dislike of them. My P75 laptop blurs the moment FPS goes over 13 or so (yeah, that low.) Ideally you need a bare minimum of around 23 FPS according to the motion picture studies.
 
PicoFaradPJF said:
Am I the only one wondering how you can foul a vga plug so bad it won't plug in anymore and you must replace it? Probably if you break a pin off, but if it displays correctly after being duct taped to the case it sounds like the shield is loose, have you tried bending it (just slightly) with a needle-nose pliers until it fits snugly again? and what about the screw hold downs those should hold the plug in place even if it is loose.
Click to expand...
my old 15" has the same problem, and as to how it happened... after a lan a friend put the monitor in the car for me and sat the foot on the cable, that killed some of the connections since since then 1 color channel has been missing...
 
Nazo said:
Hrm, probably a cheap LCD. My dad blew a ton of money on getting expensive ones and believe me, FPS games like Unreal Tournament 2004 just look beautiful on there. The FPS is just fine with no blurring or anything. Are you sure you aren't thinking about a long time ago? Also, was it plugged into DVI? Converting back and forth with analog and digital can't be good for the signal.

Seriously though. If you find a good one and try it out, you may not have to run out and buy one, but you'll at least understand why we love them so much. They can just be so much clearer and everything. I have, however, seen what a bad LCD looks like, so I understand your dislike of them. My P75 laptop blurs the moment FPS goes over 13 or so (yeah, that low.) Ideally you need a bare minimum of around 23 FPS according to the motion picture studies.
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I've got a brand new Dell laptop at work w/ATI radeon 9600 graphics in it and a 15" LCD. The picture is very sharp, clear, and I just love it. But there is still motion blur on it. Even when dragging windows across the screen there is blur, where as on my NEC crt, there isn't.
I'm not saying that Dell put the best LCD in there and it's still crap...b/c Dell puts in whatever happens to be cheapest for them that the customer won't complain about. But what I am saying is that no matter what LCD you have, there will always be a motion blur. Maybe not as bad as it used to be, but there will always be one due to the physical characteristics of the LCD Pixel (at least this is what I was told...enlighten me further please).

besides, I'm not at all against LCD's or hate them....in fact, I'd prefer to have one....as long as it's the same size as my Nokia 445pro, and can display higher resolutions than 1280x1024, and won't cost me one of my kidneys.
 
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