Do I need to discharge a monitor to move it?

CrazyKongFan

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Hi, I've got a Gaplus cab (in a standard Midway Galaga/Ms Pac type cab) with a 19" G07 monitor in it. Currently, I have a JAMMA cab adapter and 48-in-1 board in it (just disconnected the Gaplus board, but left it in place). I've got a couple of Crazy Kong boards I'd like to play on it, but they play upside down (the 48-in-1 has a switch to play it either way, so it won't matter which way its in). I've never handled monitors before, is it safe to pull one off the mounting rails and rotate it 180 degrees without discharging, or do I need to discharge it first. Also, are they light enough that one person can do it, or will I need 2 people? It looks like I just need to remove 4 bolts to pull it out, then rotate 180, and reinstall the 4 bolts. Sorry for the newbie-ish type question :) Thanks!
 
Hi, I've got a Gaplus cab (in a standard Midway Galaga/Ms Pac type cab) with a 19" G07 monitor in it. Currently, I have a JAMMA cab adapter and 48-in-1 board in it (just disconnected the Gaplus board, but left it in place). I've got a couple of Crazy Kong boards I'd like to play on it, but they play upside down (the 48-in-1 has a switch to play it either way, so it won't matter which way its in). I've never handled monitors before, is it safe to pull one off the mounting rails and rotate it 180 degrees without discharging, or do I need to discharge it first. Also, are they light enough that one person can do it, or will I need 2 people? It looks like I just need to remove 4 bolts to pull it out, then rotate 180, and reinstall the 4 bolts. Sorry for the newbie-ish type question :) Thanks!

I would discharge the tube just to be safe. One person should be able to handle the monitor.
You never know where you might accidentally touch and then you will likely hurt yourself and/or the monitor (when it falls to the ground).

Discharge a couple of times just to be sure is my suggestion.
 
Yeah, I knew about flipping the yoke wires too. I figured pulling the monitor out and remounting it would be easier and less invasive. Just wasn't sure about the discharging part. I've never done that either, so I'm a little leary about that too ;)
 
and if you do flip the yoke wires around i'd suggest discharging first.

Why? The yoke doesn't carry a charge. You pull the yoke harness, split it accordingly and reinstall the harness on the pins.

One piece of advice: make sure you get the correct wires going to the correct pins. Otherwise you'll blow it up.
 
and if you do flip the yoke wires around i'd suggest discharging first.

Why? The yoke doesn't carry a charge. You pull the yoke harness, split it accordingly and reinstall the harness on the pins.

Because on a G07 (which the OP has), the yoke connector is located right behind where the focus and brightness pots are mounted. It is not uncommon for the rubber grommets on the backside to slide back a little exposing the connection, and if your hand accidentally touches the wire, you may get a shock from the focus pin. Maybe not, but discharging takes two seconds.


And make sure you know how to swap yoke wires on the G07. the wiring configuration is different that the regular WG monitor.

From left to right the wire colors are normally:

Brown - white - gray - empty - red.

Swap the brown and gray to flip the picture vertically. Swap the white and red to flip the picture horizontally...
 
I'm probably not gonna swap the yoke wires, but would it be possible to install a toggle switch on them (like a double throw non-shorting type of switch)? Or is the voltage really high on those wires? Seems like it'd be a good way to be able to flip the picture without rotating the monitor.
 
Overcome your fear!

Discharging a Monitor should not be a scary proposition. I know people see 16,000V and freak out, but safely discharging a monitor is something EVERYONE working on these machines should know how to do. Once you do it a few times, it becomes routine.

Bob Roberts is selling his discharge tool for around 10 bucks, and it's what I use.

If you want to be *really sure*, get a high-voltage probe for your multimeter (Fluke, for example). Then you can actually measure the stored charge on the CRT as you discharge it.

If you work on monitors (in any capacity), you should be comfortable discharging CRTs.
 
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