The Death of the CRT and Classic Arcade Machines

[fjmccloud]

Back in my youngling days, I could tell if someone left their TV on just by being able to hear the noise from TV.

Also, I avoid CRT Scanlines like the plague, as much as I play those games as nostalgia, scanlines makes it look like the Panel is broken, I much prefer the cleaner look of solid images.

On the topic of the refresh rates problem, is that possible to solve using VRR?

1. You're hearing the 15.75 KHz scan rate.
2. Variable-rate refresh? Depends on what kinds of refresh ranges they support in the first place.

Which also leads me to:
Problem #7: what connectors?
Why is the S-video connector (the best most folks can get on an SNES or N64 without resorting to RGB) already gone from all new TVs?
Why is the VGA connector (used by some newer arcade games) also gone on PC monitors?
Most arcade games output analog RGB plus composite sync. (Some have negative sync.)
And there is no standard connector for this at all. You literally make your own.
The JAMMA harnesses I buy have some weird connector I cut off and replace with a hand-crimped one for my Wells Gardner K7500.

Some older computers (like Silicon Graphics) output sync-on-green, even over a standard VGA port (you'll see this on an SGI O2 workstation), and if your monitor supports this at all it often results in a strange greenish tint if they don't support it right.

The real reason VGA was dropped from the PC space was because of cost. The analog macros on a microchip cannot shrink anymore, but digital logic for DisplayPort can. Even before this you can see alot of video cards with really bad quality slim-line "low profile" connectors, which force all 15 wires closer together for worse signal quality. But that's no excuse to drop it from monitors.

In theory you can go to monoprice and buy an S-video to HDMI converter (I have), but it doesn't support 240p properly either. It loses sound entirely on an SNES and adds lag.
So the only option becomes something like the much-vaunted X-RGB mini. And you won't get DisplayPort on that either.

But hey, these modern TVs support composite input and sometimes even component video, so why can't they just support everything natively and do it right?
And let us have a generic, easy-to-find-connectors-for analog RGBsync connector.

Problem #8: no light gun games without CRT.
Revolution X is one of the few arcade games you could play with an LCD, because its guns have no opto-electronics at all.
But reality is everything from the NES Zapper to the SNES SuperScope rely on exact timing from a CRT to work.
Any lag will make the game absolutely unplayable.

SuperScope, in particular, is actually watching the raster scan of the CRT (instead of looking for black-and-white images like the Zapper does).
It's so sensitive that it does not even see the color red at all (by design-- red phosphors stay lit too long and it throws off timing).

These light gun games are so lag-sensitive that even those NES clones (like the Retron 3) won't even work with my CRT! Hogans Alley works fine on a real NES, but not on the Retron 3! Fascinating! Why? Unknown, but I'd guess latch array timing inside the NES-on-a-chip is off.


As for eating electricity like it's going out of style, that's just not true.
My house has several modern LCD and plasma TVs which all take more power than my 27-inch CRT.
300W on the plasma. That's more than a pinball game at full blast with all motors and coils going, let alone a whole video arcade cabinet.

Problem #9: vector games
Atari Tempest has a resolution of 768x1024. That's what its math box calculates to. Not bad for 1981!
But the display is a glorious color vector monitor. (The last one I fixed was a Wells Gardner 6100.)
And the whole point is to draw vectors between pixels, not to just show digital pixels on some LCD adapter. Real vectors have a unique (sometimes even faulty analog) look.
If you're going to have a vector game, have a vector monitor.

 

[sirgallium]

I type this while in the middle of repairing a 1982 TM202-G arcade CRT.

Very informative post thank you for writing it. You confirmed my suspicions that each arcade board has it's own custom resolution and framerate, as well as other variables that a CRT will happily adapt to. It's actually incredible how willing CRTs are to adapt to all sorts of pixel sizes, resolutions, and refresh rates. Not to mention the rest of the variables you spoke of.

Can you tell my why the image gets blurry over the years? How fixable would something like that be?

 

[michalrz]

Very informative post thank you for writing it. You confirmed my suspicions that each arcade board has it's own custom resolution and framerate, as well as other variables that a CRT will happily adapt to. It's actually incredible how willing CRTs are to adapt to all sorts of pixel sizes, resolutions, and refresh rates. Not to mention the rest of the variables you spoke of.

Can you tell my why the image gets blurry over the years? How fixable would something like that be?

There's probably a voltage pot, sometimes two, sometimes three, on a PCB somewhere on the side or base of the gun.
But you'll have to do it again after a while as the emitters wear out. And eventually it won't do anything at all.

 

[Jaybone909]

Awesome video! It's amazing how someone took the time and had the imagination to create something like this. How the hell do you think this stuff up?!

 

[fjmccloud]

Can you tell my why the image gets blurry over the years? How fixable would something like that be?

There's "focus" and "convergence", which are different things. PC CRTs always hid those adjustments in the (somehow always awkward to navigate) on-screen display. But on an arcade cabinet CRT the "focus" knob is on the flyback transformer itself, and it can be as simple as an adjustment there. That might be all you need!
But sometimes you need real repair.

As for why things go bad over time, it's the same as all electronics. First thing you'll encounter is thermal expansion.
Over time, solder joints just pop. Sometimes it's even audible! (Happened to my CRT TV last year.)
Fixing these is easy once you find them.

Secondly, over time the electrolytic capacitors go bad, and there are arcade monitor cap kits available to help.

And if none of these fixes your problem, sometimes you need to replace the flyback transformer itself, which isn't hard if you can get a replacement.

SAFETY NOTE: I'm not responsible for your actions. As usual, whenever doing repair work, pay obligatory respect for glassware implosion and high voltage. Unplugging it isn't sufficient.
The flyback transformer is the customary source of high voltage, but also beware that some manufacturers (*cough* such as Sony) often wire the CRT chassis itself to 120V instead of ground (!!) That's why they always caution you to discharge the flyback transformer to GROUND, which may not be the same as the CHASSIS.
There are numerous places that demonstrate how to safely discharge a flyback. That's always the scariest part to newcomers.

If you're not up to the task of doing the work yourself, if there are still any TV repair places in your area, do the arcade world a favor and give them some business, too. The world is better off if they stick around.

Most of these rules apply for LCD repair, too.

 

[sirgallium]

h

There's "focus" and "convergence", which are different things. PC CRTs always hid those adjustments in the (somehow always awkward to navigate) on-screen display. But on an arcade cabinet CRT the "focus" knob is on the flyback transformer itself, and it can be as simple as an adjustment there. That might be all you need!

Thanks for the info. Too bad I don't think I have my old 21" Viewsonic flatscreen CRT anymore or maybe I would do some investigating.

As for the danger warnings I appreciate it. I already have quite a number of injuries and I regularly fix cars, motorcycles, dirtbikes, tractors, chainsaws, as well as use them and power tools. I also play with electricity for fun such as transformers to create arcs, hydaulisis machines, and to melt pieces of metal. Believe me I know all about getting hurt haha it's part of playing with fun things I guess. But it is good to know about that Sony wiring. Step 1: Ground everything

You know I just ran into somebody the other day who repairs arcade cabinets. You don't happen to live in a town starting with a B do you?

 

[DocSavage]

Not only do they make a very high pitched squealing sound - never once did I encounter a CRT that didn't drive me crazy after a while, but they also took up a ton of space, ate electricity like it was going out of style, but also produced a ton of heat.

Be glad you don't have the hearing damage called Tinnitus. It's like listening to crt squealing 24/7 for the rest of your life!

 

[cyclone3d]

Be glad you don't have the hearing damage called Tinnitus. It's like listening to crt squealing 24/7 for the rest of your life!

Oh, I get horrible ringing in my ears pretty much every day, especially when it is quiet around. Could be that it is always there but other noise mostly drowns it out.

I have just learned to deal with it as it only gets really loud for a few minutes at a time.

 

[DocSavage]

Oh, I get horrible ringing in my ears pretty much every day, especially when it is quiet around. Could be that it is always there but other noise mostly drowns it out.

I have just learned to deal with it as it only gets really loud for a few minutes at a time.

Well damn. Just take care of your ears with earplugs when warranted or it'll get even worse.

 

[cyclone3d]

Well damn. Just take care of your ears with earplugs when warranted or it'll get even worse.

Yeah, I try to do that. Been like this ever since I was a kid so pretty sure it really has nothing to do with me damaging my ears in any way.

 

[Dullard]

Be glad you don't have the hearing damage called Tinnitus. It's like listening to crt squealing 24/7 for the rest of your life!

Got it. It's usually just a high pitched squeel, but it does other things sometimes. In the dead of winter I was outside and it sounded just like the trees were full of cicadas buzzing.

I owned a Williams Defender Stargate machine back in the day. You could go into the settings inside and change all sorts of parameters, I set it to hard as hell and we'd play like that for hours and hours. Then go out and look for Stargate machines, stomp the shit out of the high score, and use the 20 character winner's message to talk smack on the losers. I wish I still had it, sold it when I moved and the arcade scene was dying out.