anybody use 19" crt vga monitor for multis?

cadillacman

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ive used a 15 incher in a tiny cabaret cab before...

wondering if anybody out there has used a 19 incher in a cab for use with a multiboard.

I picked up two dell 19 inch vga crt monitors today off of craigslist. one is like new, one is still NEW in the box!!!

for what i have invested, im hoping they will work out well for multi monitors.

ANybody ever de-case one and mount it to a old 19" arcade monitor frame?

looks like the aspect radtio may be slightly different but hey what the heck..
 
I have done it a few times. Never used a frame from a cga monitor though, I always built my own brackets, I don't think it would be tough to do though. They look ok, a little too crisp, Not for purists. On the bright side they are cheap, and you won't be tying up an arcade monitor.
 
me too but lcd+arcade=no

so this way it retains a crt goodness and to be honestly these were as cheap as dirt so what the heck.
 
the monitors? i will prolly keep em untill i built a multi or something..

if you are building them to sell, just use lcd's you can get 16-19inch lcds off craigslist usually for 40$ or less, they are just so much easier to mount and work with
 
I'm about to do this very same thing this week. I have a free 19" CRT computer monitor that I will decase and retrofit into a Dynamo cab for a multi-build. I'm setting up the multi in a barter for my arcade floor getting epoxied.

These dynamos are nice because they have the montior mounted to a square piece of plywood. All I need to do is cut a new piece of ply and mount the monitor to it and I get to keep the cab stock. No mutilation.
 
I've used vga monitors in all of my multi builds - a 19" and 20" in a couple of cocktails and a 19" in an old system 1 cab - all decased. Used custom mounts in the upright and the 20" - used the G07 mount in the last build. Like previously mentioned, cheap and keeps original displays available for dedicated machines and eliminates a separate power supply for the display as I'm liking just linking everything to the switching power supply.

Let's see... using free vga monitors less then a few years old with a straight-up connector on the multi board or using a ~30 year old display (usually with burn-in) and trying to get everything wired and able to work correctly... call me a terrorist but I like the vga route.
 
To keep for yourself? Don't bother... I hooked a 60n1 to a vga crt 19" and was unimpressed... Maybe with dark tint plastic it would help... But lack of scanlines makes every pixel a giant 2x2 (cuz its vga) hard-corner block... terrible

To sell, the phone call you'd avoid when the original cga died someday would be worth it, and you can save the cga for a dedicated

Edit: though curved front crt is probably the best vga route if you have to... Flat crt or lcd would only get worse
 
I have made quite a few Multis with 17" - 21" CRT monitors. It is great for selling them because they are cheap, last forever(or just about), no burn and have great colors not washed out from 30 years of service.

I always decase and build a Plywood mount and secure with L-Brackets.

This is a vid of mine running a 17" CRT running a 48-in-1

http://youtu.be/Yt7TcDCe_Wo

-Jake
 
I have de-cased a NEC 22" CRT and used it in a cab. And it looks awesome. LCD sucks shit but CRT VGA is very Good.

I just made brackets for the 4 corners and mounted it on the bolts like normal.
 
Done it quite a few times... they look good (I think your average joe is more impressed by the sharp/clear pic than the "authenticity" or lack thereof of the look). Bummer that they tend to be just a wee bit smaller than the originals.

cheers
/Tim
 
I have mounted a 19" VGA monitor in a frame. Here is a tutorial:

http://arturosarcadelab.blogspot.com/2010/08/computer-monitor-to-arcade-monitor.html

I have also used them without de-casing if I use the right cabinet.

http://arturosarcadelab.blogspot.com/2010/01/monitor-mounting-in-pacman-style.html

If you have a Midway cabinet (Pacman/MsPac/Galaga/etc.) it is easy to mount a monitor without de-casing.

Atari cabinets benefit greatly from a frame-mounted VGA. It is quite a challenge to install a 19" cased monitor in an Atari cabinet, but not impossible.
 
playing with the used one tonight, this is gonna be perfect. They have the more old school clicking on/off switch so no need to worry about will it power on with ac applied, its gonna. THey have tons of osd adjustments including vert and horiz position and size, pincushion,color, brightness contrast etc all kinds of stuff. cant wait to put togther a multi now this is gonna be sweet!
 
Dell 20" CRT monitors used in two builds for a pair of these cocktails. These are in progress build photos.

DSC00259.JPG


DSC00257.JPG
 
Computer Monitors measure screen size differently from TV and arcade tubes.
This is why I went with 20" CRTs.
 
If a computer monitor is 20" it means the viewable area is actually 18". It's always 2" less

I usually keep an eye out for 22" VGA's in my local craigslist since that's pretty much the biggest you will probably find.
 
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