Power drill fix?

phatchit

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I am fairly new to the site.I have come across a few post that talk about using there power drill to fix the color in there monitors.What does that mean ?Could someone please explain ?Thanks and have a great day!
 
You're probably talking about degaussing. Strong stationary magnetic fields can magnetize your CRT causing permanent color distortion. When this happens you can de-magnetize (degauss) the CRT by applying a strong ALTERNATING magnetic field. There are special tools called degaussing coils available to do this. They are not expensive, but if you don't have one, you can degauss a CRT using the field from the electric motor in an AC powered drill.

Technique:
Unplug your game.
Plug the drill in and turn it on. Using a circular buffing motion, slowly move it above the CRT surface. The side of the drill should hover a few inches away from the glass - you want the motor as close as possible but the drill should not touch the glass. And be careful not to damage the rest of the game with the moving parts of the drill. After "long enough" (maybe a minute or so) slowly back away from the machine 5-10 feet while keeping the drill turned on and moving in a circle. Turn the drill off.
Power up the game to see if the discoloration has improved. Repeat the degaussing operation as needed. It might take more than one pass with severe cases.

PS. Welcome to the forums.
 
You're probably talking about degaussing. Strong stationary magnetic fields can magnetize your CRT causing permanent color distortion. When this happens you can de-magnetize (degauss) the CRT by applying a strong ALTERNATING magnetic field. There are special tools called degaussing coils available to do this. They are not expensive, but if you don't have one, you can degauss a CRT using the field from the electric motor in an AC powered drill.

Technique:
Unplug your game.
Plug the drill in and turn it on. Using a circular buffing motion, slowly move it above the CRT surface. The side of the drill should hover a few inches away from the glass - you want the motor as close as possible but the drill should not touch the glass. And be careful not to damage the rest of the game with the moving parts of the drill. After "long enough" slowly back away from the machine 5-10 feet while keeping the drill turned on and moving in a circle. Turn the drill off.
Power up the game to see if the discoloration has improved. Repeat the degaussing operation as needed. It might take more than one pass with severe cases.

PS. Welcome to the forums.

This is true. I did this last night to my Ms. Pac cocktail cabinet with excellent results. The whole process should take less than 30 seconds (your mileage may vary depending on how bad the discoloration is). FYI... I used a cordless drill with the same results.

Just want to emphasize what was said above... hold the drill SIDEWAYS near the screen. Pointing the drill at the screen like a gun won't work. No need to ever touch the game during this process.

Pretend you are a mobster. Pistol whip... don't shoot. (don't actually hit your monitor please)

It should also be noted that this won't fix discoloration due to burn in.
 
I degaussed my DK cocktail with a strong refrigerator magnet by running it in circular swirls around the affected area. I don't remember if I did it on the monitor or on the outside table-top glass though.
 
For the record, I have tried this method before, and while it works a little, it kinda sucks if you have a major issue to take care of. it can take care of little spots, but other than that...

I just use a manual degausser. Once you have one, you'll never use the drill again...
 
Thanks everyone for the feedback!I thought it might have something to do with the magnet but wasnt sure.Next time a monitor looks off ill give this a shot!Keep playin with your joystick!Peace!
 
Soldering guns (not irons) will work as well.

Pull the trigger and sweep around, holding the gun parallel to the tube face.
 
degussing with magnets

I also had great luck with magnets with a monitor that wouldn't self degauss. I found some old speakers that were small but had big magnets. I put a sm speaker in a glad lock bag and duct taped a long metal shaft in the bag and around it. Then fastened it to a cordless drill. Turned the monitor on and turned the drill on slow and moved it across the monitor. Worked great.

Long live the classics..............
 
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