Re: IIGS monitor flickering

[nparker@cie.uoregon.edu (Neil Parker)]

In article <2626h7$ffb@zip.eecs.umich.edu> grover@emunix.emich.edu (Grover
Thomas) writes:
>     Uh oh, my GS' monitor seems to be developing one of those
>infamous quirks.  The screen has recently been 'jumping' and
>flickering occasionally.
>
>     I'm looking for (self) repair suggestions before the thing
>totally dies on me.  Thanks!

Obviously it's time for me to post my infamous RGB Horror Story again.

A while ago the same thing happened to my GS's monitor.  The picture got
really jittery, and sometimes it would make jittery black margins at the
top and bottom of the screen, and sometimes it would black out completely.
When it blacked out, I could usually cure it by giving it a sharp slap on
the side of the case.  This state persisted for a couple of years, and then
suddenly it blacked out for good, and no amount of slapping could restore
it to life.  I was stuck using a borrowed black-and-white monitor for
almost a year afterwards.

The problem, I was informed, was a faulty flyback transformer.  I was told
that if I had gotten it replaced during the couple of years before it died
for good, it would have been relatively cheap.  Apparently, though, when
the flyback transformaer finally dies completely, it takes a number of
other parts with it, including some custom ICs, and the resulting damage
can only be fixed by sending the whole thing back to Apple, which costs
more than the monitor is worth.

The moral to this story is get the flyback transformer fixed NOW.  Do not
pass GO, do not collect $200.

According to some posts that I saw here several months ago, fixing the
flyback transformer may be as simple as re-soldering it to its circuit
board.  I haven't tried this--when I finally took my dead monitor in to be
fixed it was too late.

               - Neil Parker
--
Neil Parker                 No cute ASCII art...no cute quote...no cute
nparker@cie.uoregon.edu     disclaimer...no deposit, no return...
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