Re: Monitor

[spec@vax2.concordia.ca (Mitchell Spector)]

In article Rubywand <rubywand@swbell.net> writes...

>D. Lee writes ...
>>
>> Hi,
>>
>>         After nearly 14 years of service, my trusty Monitor III connected
>> to my Apple IIe is beginning to show signs of wear and tear.
>>
>>         The monitor brightness level has been dimming quite a bit lately
>> and at times (like right now while I am typing), the stuff displayed on
>> the monitor is noticeably flickering.
>>
>>         Some questions about the monitor:
>>
>> 1.  Is there anything I can do, short of purchasing a new monitor??

[big snip]

>     14 years is a pretty decent service life. If you do not get the
>problem fixed fairly soon, scrap the monitor.

    Even if the Monitor III can be fully repaired, I would still recommend
replacing it. Those displays had that terrible anti-glare mesh that would
permanently trap dirt, dust and other gunk and overall gave the display a
grainy and fuzzy look. Even if you removed the mesh, you were still left
with a display that had an unusually slow phosphor refresh (scroll some
text and you'll notice a ghosting effect that last several moments. It is
also quite noticable in games with quick animation, and pretty annoying).
I remember back in junior high school everyone would run to grab an Apple
II Plus machine that did _not_ have a Monitor III connected. ;-)

    Monochrome displays are quite literally a dime a dozen these days.
Drop by any used computer store, thrift shop or garage sale and you
can usually find decent working displays for $5 or $10 (a display with
composite RCA inputs will work fine with any Apple II model). I would
recommend the Apple Monitor II, that had a nice clear, sharp picture
with non-glare coating. Brands like Zenith are good too, that is what
I originally used on my Apple II clone in the early 80's. Last time I
checked, the local Salvation Army thrift had at least a dozen monochrome
screens (at near give-away prices) compatible with the Apple II.

Mitchell Spector
spec@vax2.concordia.ca