GAAAAAHHHHHH Mk.VI: The Return of the Son of the 50ft GAAAH that struck back!

[Siliconous Skumins]

Thanks guys.

It isn't the CFL (I think) but rather an issue detecting the vga signal.  Basically as soon as there is an input in VGA signal, it works normally for 5 seconds and then the screen goes black. Cycling the on/off button will regain another 5 seconds of image, and then will shut down again. I tested with another power supply and it had the same issues.  I changed the big VGA monitor for a small 7 inch one,  and that  worked normally with the computer.  So I surmise is its some interface circuit inside the monitor.

That is *exactly* the symptoms of a failing CCFL tube!  The tube(s) will light for several seconds until the inverter board senses it is drawing too much current, and then shuts down the inverter circuit. A faulty inverter circuit can also do something similar, but 90% of the time it is the tubes that are end of life.

You can do a simple test to see if it's the inverter circuit / tubes or not - all you need is a bright flashlight (LED would be better). Power up the monitor and wait for the screen to go black, now leave it as it is and switch on the flash light, and place the bright end flat against the screen and gently move it around the screen area. If the backlight is faulty but the monitor is still working, you should still be able to see small areas of the display image surrounding the glare from the flashlight on the screen. It's quite dim, so it may help to do this in a darkened room.

Pretty certain this is your problem though. Seen it many times.

The screen is fixable, but it is a heavy tear-down of the actual display panel - and you have to be SUPER careful of the thin edge connected flat cables, damage one and the monitor is junk!  I've done it, and it went OK (fixed with a DIY LED board), but you may want to Google the procedure to see what your up against.  Here is an example (crappy quality...):

How to replace an LCD screen backlight or bulb

[J. Wilhelm]

Thanks guys.

It isn't the CFL (I think) but rather an issue detecting the vga signal.  Basically as soon as there is an input in VGA signal, it works normally for 5 seconds and then the screen goes black. Cycling the on/off button will regain another 5 seconds of image, and then will shut down again. I tested with another power supply and it had the same issues.  I changed the big VGA monitor for a small 7 inch one,  and that  worked normally with the computer.  So I surmise is its some interface circuit inside the monitor.

That is *exactly* the symptoms of a failing CCFL tube!  The tube(s) will light for several seconds until the inverter board senses it is drawing too much current, and then shuts down the inverter circuit. A faulty inverter circuit can also do something similar, but 90% of the time it is the tubes that are end of life.

You can do a simple test to see if it's the inverter circuit / tubes or not - all you need is a bright flashlight (LED would be better). Power up the monitor and wait for the screen to go black, now leave it as it is and switch on the flash light, and place the bright end flat against the screen and gently move it around the screen area. If the backlight is faulty but the monitor is still working, you should still be able to see small areas of the display image surrounding the glare from the flashlight on the screen. It's quite dim, so it may help to do this in a darkened room.

Pretty certain this is your problem though. Seen it many times.

The screen is fixable, but it is a heavy tear-down of the actual display panel - and you have to be SUPER careful of the thin edge connected flat cables, damage one and the monitor is junk!  I've done it, and it went OK (fixed with a DIY LED board), but you may want to Google the procedure to see what your up against.  Here is an example (crappy quality...):

How to replace an LCD screen backlight or bulb

Aaargh! It may not be worth the effort. Actually it's not that complicated; I've done more complicated things in my day, but I usually leave LCD modules alone. I've had the monitor since 2003 I guess it's time to upgrade 

[LukeHogbin]

New Gah. My computer monitor just died on me. I'm down to my tablet and iPad until I can get a new one.  Expect a lot of typos in my posts, folks, at least for the next few days.

It's usually the 1000uF (or thereabouts) 25V caps that go *poof*, which are easy to replace.

New Gah. My computer monitor just died on me. I'm down to my tablet and iPad until I can get a new one.  Expect a lot of typos in my posts, folks, at least for the next few days.

It's usually the 1000uF (or thereabouts) 25V caps that go *poof*, which are easy to replace.

Yup, caps are Number one cause of problems, shortly followed by burned out CCFL tubes in the backlight, and finally the main PSU unit can often have issues - again it's often down to bad caps.  Basically it's all easily repairable if you have a little basic electronics knowledge - you don't even need test equipment if you simply replace any electrolytic cap *OVER* 10uF, especially any that are bulged at the top or base or have split and leaked the electrolyte. Don't worry about exactly matching the value of the caps, anything "near enough" will work (yours were probably out of spec LOOONG before the monitor craped out!), just make sure that any that say "Low ESR" are replaced with Low ESR type caps - otherwise you will quickly see the insides of that new cap...
Hint -  you can usually find enough similar value caps and low ESR caps inside old ATX PSUs and on PC motherboards, so keep an eye out for any old PCs that have been dumped, and scavenge the parts for free.

As for the backlight, tubes are available (just measure the size and order), but you can actually replace them with thin strips of surface mount LEDs on a PCB designed as a drop in replacement (or even modified LED strip / rope light sold via various internet outlets of cheap Chinese stuff). Sometimes the CCFL is not completely dead, but is now so old that it draws too much power from the inverter board, and the monitor shuts down. In this case you can usually drive the CCFL tubes directly via a common cheap CCFL inverter used in PC case lighting and car modifications. Just hook it up to a 12V supply and you are all set. The tubes will be heavily over-driven, but they should last another couple of years before they pop.
 

Google search "replace ccfl backlight" and similar terms to see alternative ideas for fixing.

Thanks guys.

It isn't the CFL (I think) but rather an issue detecting the vga signal.  Basically as soon as there is an input in VGA signal, it works normally for 5 seconds and then the screen goes black. Cycling the on/off button will regain another 5 seconds of image, and then will shut down again. I tested with another power supply and it had the same issues.  I changed the big VGA monitor for a small 7 inch one,  and that  worked normally with the computer.  So I surmise is its some interface circuit inside the monitor.

I've recently had a monitor in for repairs with similar symptoms. It was a Samsung something or other, which behaved exactly as you described. Guess what the problem was.

Spoiler: ShowHide

The darn thing had buggy firmware. All I had to do was plug it into VGA output, run a firmware update program, wait a few minutes for it to complete, and monitor was back to working order.

EDIT: I'd advocate against scavenging old caps, especially when you consider the fact that new caps are dirt cheap and in pristine shape. Plus a lot of electronics use CapXon or other shoddy brands. Especially Samsung is notorious for using CapXon in their mid-to-high range electronics.

[The Bullet]

Me too.

I often repair failed flatscreens.
ElCaps are mostly situated within the power supply right next to those components, that create a lot of heat.
As these parts of the system are often enclosed in an almost airtight whitemetal box (for EMC reasons of course), they are usually fried just after the warranty runs out....
When I replace them I drill two 5mm holes into the whitemetal enclosure. One at the top, the other at the bottom.
This does not affect the EMC properties but gives a chance to convection cooling.
The flatscreen I fixed last week had 8 ElCaps in the power supply, 4 were already open, 2 were on the point of cracking (the top was already bent outwards) and the other 2 were replaced just because I did not trust them.

total cost: 6.80 € for the parts, half an hour for the whole oepration.

Well worth it.

[Siliconous Skumins]

EDIT: I'd advocate against scavenging old caps, especially when you consider the fact that new caps are dirt cheap and in pristine shape. Plus a lot of electronics use CapXon or other shoddy brands. Especially Samsung is notorious for using CapXon in their mid-to-high range electronics.

Usually I would be totally onboard with that! Usually.

Except in the case of repairing on old VGA LCD monitor that is likely to die from something else failing before the re-used crappy caps do... VGA is a pretty dead technology now, few new computers are even able to support it, let alone come with a VGA connector on the back. How long do you really want it to last?....


Sometimes a hack job is all that is needed to get you by.

[J. Wilhelm]

EDIT: I'd advocate against scavenging old caps, especially when you consider the fact that new caps are dirt cheap and in pristine shape. Plus a lot of electronics use CapXon or other shoddy brands. Especially Samsung is notorious for using CapXon in their mid-to-high range electronics.

Usually I would be totally onboard with that! Usually.

Except in the case of repairing on old VGA LCD monitor that is likely to die from something else failing before the re-used crappy caps do... VGA is a pretty dead technology now, few new computers are even able to support it, let alone come with a VGA connector on the back. How long do you really want it to last?....


Sometimes a hack job is all that is needed to get you by.

I'm inclined to think my problem is the CCFL tube,  like you wrote .  Alas,  I'll perform the flash light test and on negative  results, I'll open the darn thing to see what's inside, but to be honest, it'd be harder for me to scavenge old capacitors than  just buying them new at Radio Shack or Fry's.  Anyhow, I just came back from Discount Electronics, a refurbished Dell reseller shop, and I'm looking at a 19" HP brand VGA monitor as a viable replacement.

[Banfili]

Have put nephew to bed with cold/flu - he is going to miss a couple of days of holiday, and today's family get-together. Bugger!

Not the way to spend your Irish holiday!

[Cora Courcelle]

Have put nephew to bed with cold/flu - he is going to miss a couple of days of holiday, and today's family get-together. Bugger!

Not the way to spend your Irish holiday!

Hope he's feeling better soon - but you know what they say about a cold ... treat it and it lasts a week, don't treat it and it will go in 7 days!
Is he of an age to enjoy a tot of irish whiskey to at least mask the symptoms?

[James Harrison]

The exhaust fell off my car on the way home tonight.  Cue three-quarters of an hour on the roadside and coming home on a trailer...

[Banfili]

Ms Cora, he is 19, so of age to drink anything he so wants! Right now he doesn't want anything alcoholic, but he may change his mind tomorrow!!

[Cora Courcelle]

Ms Cora, he is 19, so of age to drink anything he so wants! Right now he doesn't want anything alcoholic, but he may change his mind tomorrow!!

Then you can have the whiskey instead ...

[Siliconous Skumins]

The exhaust fell off my car on the way home tonight.  Cue three-quarters of an hour on the roadside and coming home on a trailer...

Yup - had that happen to me before on the old Mini. I feel your pain, although I was able to bodge a repair and rehang the exhaust. However, this is why you should always carry a survival tool-kit in the boot of any old classic car!

Emergency pack for classic cars:

Spoiler: ShowHide

1. A long length / coil of roofing grade copper wire (building supplies - for holding slates), this is used as a heavy duty heat resistant fix for loose things and broken exhaust hangers.

2. Duct tape / Ducktape - the handy man's secret weapon! 

3. A pack of assorted fuses in various ratings (and at least two that are higher than any rated fuse in your car - use only as a last resort to get you home, but not risk a fire).

4. A length of insulated cable capable of at least 15A, and at least as long as the lenngth of your car. Use for emergency electrical fix / bypass.

5. A tube of 5 minute epoxy glue. Change out every couple of years if not used.

6. A tin of "Tyre Weld" or similar puncture repair in a can. Useless for split side wall on tyres though - make sure the spare is good!

7. Assorted screwdrivers, hammer, vice grips and wire cutter pliers. For fixing / bodging stuff....

8. Several strips of metal with holes drilled along length (think Meccano  parts) and a large bunch of self tapping screws. Temporary fix for broken body panels and other impact / crash damage. Good enough to get you home safe.

9.  Some form of battery pack for starting or charging a weak car battery.  A DIY pack of 10 series connected 1.5V Alkaline AA size batteries will charge a battery that is too weak to start the car (but not a dead battery). Duracell batteries can last in excess of TEN YEARS, so no worries about it self discharging with age!  Trust me, you WILL need this device at some point... 

10) And finally ;  A cheap foam camping mat - for wet or stony ground and prostrate under car repair action. You WILLL thank me for this one! 

[rovingjack]

okay, now i'm curious. I keep seeing CRT tvs, or other older tvs and monitors on curbs, and I know I could salvage plenty of parts, working ones for electronic projects, non-working to use in art projects. I could make a few things out of the plastic parts and cases and circuit boards. Repurpose speakers, wire and screws of all kinds. Maybe even find some lenses from projection tvs.

but the tubes, I think that's sort of the only thing I can't figure out what to do with. and I hear they aren't exactly the sort of thing to break up or just throw away. It's really the only thing keeping me from picking up old tvs and scrapping them for parts and arts.

what could one do with them, if anything?

[Caledonian]

"You do those inbounds in the blue crates"
i do, but i run out of crates.
"You can get crates ar e check"
i go to e check
"no those go upstairs"
i go back to tell they don't have crates for me
"you can get crates upstairs"
i hurt myself trying to carry the crates down the stairs and return
"please work faster"
I apologise because i couldn't find any crates
"You get your crates at e check"
No i can't. I can't get crates at e check.

[Drew P]

"Come with me to get the crates and check"

Sometimes one has to be brought to the scene of the crime.

[Caledonian]

"Come with me to get the crates at e check"

Sometimes one has to be brought to the scene of the crime.

They themselves had hoarded the crates, but now they are running out as well. One just went to e check and returned furious and without crates.
Apparently nobody told e check there's tons of crates upstairs already, and they were just sending everything up. Now we need someone that speaks Polish to inform the workers there that we're running out of crates at inbound.
One of my coworkers just left a huge stack of crates at her desk and finished for today, but i know she'll be furious is the crates aren't were she left them tomorrow morning

[Banfili]

Ms Cora, he is 19, so of age to drink anything he so wants! Right now he doesn't want anything alcoholic, but he may change his mind tomorrow!!

Then you can have the whiskey instead ...

Alas, I don't drink it myself! He is having green tea with lemon, and will spend another day confined. I will go to Creevykeel by myself, and we will sort out the weekend (bank holiday variety) when I return.

[James Harrison]

The exhaust fell off my car on the way home tonight.  Cue three-quarters of an hour on the roadside and coming home on a trailer...

Yup - had that happen to me before on the old Mini. I feel your pain, although I was able to bodge a repair and rehang the exhaust. However, this is why you should always carry a survival tool-kit in the boot of any old classic car!

Emergency pack for classic cars:

Spoiler: ShowHide

1. A long length / coil of roofing grade copper wire (building supplies - for holding slates), this is used as a heavy duty heat resistant fix for loose things and broken exhaust hangers.

2. Duct tape / Ducktape - the handy man's secret weapon! 

3. A pack of assorted fuses in various ratings (and at least two that are higher than any rated fuse in your car - use only as a last resort to get you home, but not risk a fire).

4. A length of insulated cable capable of at least 15A, and at least as long as the lenngth of your car. Use for emergency electrical fix / bypass.

5. A tube of 5 minute epoxy glue. Change out every couple of years if not used.

6. A tin of "Tyre Weld" or similar puncture repair in a can. Useless for split side wall on tyres though - make sure the spare is good!

7. Assorted screwdrivers, hammer, vice grips and wire cutter pliers. For fixing / bodging stuff....

8. Several strips of metal with holes drilled along length (think Meccano  parts) and a large bunch of self tapping screws. Temporary fix for broken body panels and other impact / crash damage. Good enough to get you home safe.

9.  Some form of battery pack for starting or charging a weak car battery.  A DIY pack of 10 series connected 1.5V Alkaline AA size batteries will charge a battery that is too weak to start the car (but not a dead battery). Duracell batteries can last in excess of TEN YEARS, so no worries about it self discharging with age!  Trust me, you WILL need this device at some point... 

10) And finally ;  A cheap foam camping mat - for wet or stony ground and prostrate under car repair action. You WILLL thank me for this one! 

Useful list!  I could have driven her home last night, but the noise was absolutely deafening to the point of being painful.  So I rode home 'on the cushions' so to speak.  Good news is, that she's gone to the garage today and I should have her back tomorrow evening.  So that's only the one day when I have to use the bus to get to work and back. 

[The Bullet]

Small addition to the list.

2 pairs of gloves:

thick pair for working in the freezing season or touching something hot (like an exhaust pipe that came off after going 275 km on the highway in two hours...)

thin pair (rubber)  for working on the dirty/greasy stuff.

[Drew P]

Caledonian, sounds as though some manager (s) are not doing their job.....

[Mercury Wells]

Good Night Mr. Garibaldi...may you travel in the light with those who are waiting at the "Edge of the Rim", for you. 

My condolences to his family, friends & fans.

[Cora Courcelle]

Good Night Mr. Garibaldi...may you travel in the light with those who are waiting at the "Edge of the Rim", for you. 

My condolences to his family, friends & fans.

Saddened to read this news.

[rovingjack]

My housemate/friend made me feel terrible about myself yesterday, treated me like it was a burden to know me, and talked down to me as some adults do when talking to an obstinant preteen. And yet the landlord hasn't put any nobs on the kitchen cabinets that were installed a month and a half ago and it's an annoyance to open anything, but the landlord says there is a special way to install them that he wants done and he won't let me do it. The housemate tells me he's tired of waiting and says I should put the nobs in anyway, "what's the worst he can do? Raise the rent?" It made me feel like all the things I do, and the struggles I'm fighting are useless and don't matter and all the projects and goals I've been working towards are silly childrens ideas that nobody cares about and won't amount to anything. I hate that he can make me feel this way.

But my Gah, for today: I'm still kinda unsure about where we stand as friends after this behaviour suggest a certain amount of disrespect toward me. I very much spent my day trying to figure out how to avoid interacting with him for a little while, until I can get some distance and figure it out. And he came home early, seemingly unaware that the last few days happened and acting all friendly.

And the Gah, is I haven't the foggiest idea how to be distant and cold to somebody and not be conversational and sociable. It's just not in my nature to treat anybody like the way he spoke to me.

Secondary Gah: I went to ask the landlord about the knob installation and warn him that the housemate was talking about installing some with his permission. The landlord then tried to figure out when he could do it, and then said I could do it for him (he knows I'm handy). I asked him what the special technique was that he had said was his reason for not wanting me to do it in the first place. He showed me the technique... measure from one side of the drawer to the other and mark it at the half way point. doors instead of drawers and three inches down from the top. and then he tried 6 times to get me to take his cordless drill to do it. I how a cordless and a corded drill with a full set of woodworking bits and metal working bits, with a counter sink option and a depth stop. He seems upset when I told him repeated I don't need to borrow and then try and return his tool to him.

return to the first gah: housemate saw me talking to the landlord and joked about commiserating with me about interactions with the landlord and wanting to know what the landlord was bothering me about.

And I don't know how to not tell the story and chuckle about it, answer questions with a quip. I want to be short and distant in my dealings with him for a bit because how he treated me still stings. But at the same time I want to show off my fixing the coffee table the other day and how well it worked out. I want to share my designs for projects.

Gah, why is human interaction so hard?

[Drew P]

Because that one sounds controlling.

[Cora Courcelle]

I always try to give people the benefit of the doubt ONCE (particularly if sharing space);  he could have been having a bad day, or he might just not realise how offensive his words were to you, after all some people are very thick-skinned and expect others to be the same.
Repeat behaviour is not treated so graciously!