BitWrangler wrote on 2021-06-04, 19:41:

Best to practice on Black and White TVs or mono monitors... of around the 12" size, they don't bite so hard... or at least start with smallest monitor you've got.

I do have a little 13" or 14" monitor that looked good in the ebay photos but probably got messed up in shipping, with the adjustment knobs not having any effect and the picture distorted... Actually, it is uncannily similar to the KDS situation... Thank you for the tip, and for reminding me that I have another monitor to look at and practice on! It would be cool to get it working just for the retro factor of the little monitor, though even if working, it would rarely be used. I will start with that one. I'll still try to take care of the dimness of the Gateway monitor, just because of how "easy" that fix seems to be (depending on the cause,) and I could possibly get it running in a useable manner so that I can continue with the main project. I have read that fixing the dimness may get a few more hours to a few more years out of a monitor.

I've been wanting to play some games, but these stupid issues keep getting in the way.

Monitor (or any other mains powered device) is absolutely not the first thing to muck around with especially with no prior electronics and/or soldering experience...

You'll first want to acquire all the right tools and supplies, learn to properly use them. Then you will be able to swap out parts without contributing to the problem but actual diagnostics will need even more tools and actual knowledge about how those things work and where to look and that is when things get interesting and potentially fatal.

There's a big fat capacitor in the power supply (in most mains powered devices) that has the capacity to kill and parts of line deflection carry pretty high voltages (1kV+) at significant peak currents (multiple A) that can kill your gear and in worst case yourself. Tube itself is not a huge concern and you don't often even need to remove the anode wire.

The problem you described earlier with the monitor might be due to bad capacitor(s) initially, but there's a chance something else gave in too when things went wrong. Finding any additional problems will not be something you can do for the time being.

Dimness issue in the other monitor is most likely due to wear and there is not much that can be done about it. Filament voltage could be boosted and it will allow some more life out the monitor but overall a tube swap or another monitor will become necessary sooner or later.

It will cost a lot less money to get a working monitor in decent state than to procure all the equipment and supplies to begin to work on these things yourself, and also there will be a lot of time necessary to build the skills themselves and aquire the knowledge necessary to actually tackle any significant problems. It can take years even, you must be absolutely sure it is worth it to pursue these sort of things. The skills will certainly be useful, but they should also align with any end goal you have in mind.

Tiido wrote on 2021-06-04, 21:36:

Monitor (or any other mains powered device) is absolutely not the first thing to muck around with especially with no prior elect […]
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Monitor (or any other mains powered device) is absolutely not the first thing to muck around with especially with no prior electronics and/or soldering experience...

You'll first want to acquire all the right tools and supplies, learn to properly use them. Then you will be able to swap out parts without contributing to the problem but actual diagnostics will need even more tools and actual knowledge about how those things work and where to look and that is when things get interesting and potentially fatal.

There's a big fat capacitor in the power supply (in most mains powered devices) that has the capacity to kill and parts of line deflection carry pretty high voltages (1kV+) at significant peak currents (multiple A) that can kill your gear and in worst case yourself. Tube itself is not a huge concern and you don't often even need to remove the anode wire.

The problem you described earlier with the monitor might be due to bad capacitor(s) initially, but there's a chance something else gave in too when things went wrong. Finding any additional problems will not be something you can do for the time being.

Dimness issue in the other monitor is most likely due to wear and there is not much that can be done about it. Filament voltage could be boosted and it will allow some more life out the monitor but overall a tube swap or another monitor will become necessary sooner or later.

It will cost a lot less money to get a working monitor in decent state than to procure all the equipment and supplies to begin to work on these things yourself, and also there will be a lot of time necessary to build the skills themselves and aquire the knowledge necessary to actually tackle any significant problems. It can take years even, you must be absolutely sure it is worth it to pursue these sort of things. The skills will certainly be useful, but they should also align with any end goal you have in mind.

Thank you. Due to my passion for retro computers and the amount of time and money I put into these projects, including collecting games and apps in their original boxes and buying various components for various builds, and the difficulty with dealing with certain modern displays, I do feel that it is worth it for me to learn these skills. I was in a motorcycle accident and two subsequent car accidents, and have been unable to work in my previous fields, so I have a lot of time on my hands and I am looking to learn new things. Due to the time I have, I can apply myself a bit more than the average student. As time goes on and parts become older, rarer, and more expensive, I believe that it is important for me to learn how to repair electronics. It could help me in many ways, including building a foundation to grow skillsets in ways that will allow me to possibly repair other electronics, and maybe even build custom boards (like the elusive ethernet/USB/IDE combo card I wish existed.)

I have been in many dangerous situations and have worked with dangerous things and I always work to gain as much knowledge as I can before working on things. However, I am aware that I may find that I have limitations, so I did find another semi-local technician who is interested in trying to help me out if I discover the project to be to daunting or dangerous. I also found a place that provides sales and services including refurbed crt monitors and repair services, and they are going to email me some information. From my studies over the past week, I learned a lot of things that made discussing the issues with the techs a lot easier than how it would have been a couple of weeks ago!