tr@wind.bellcore.com (tom reingold) (03/10/88)
We have several NEC Multisync monitors in the lab where I work. The colors are all different on them. I think maybe they are getting washed out on some, but I can't really remember if they are different. Is there anything I can adjust? Does this normally happen? Thank you for the millionth (roughly) time. Tom Reingold INTERNET: tr@bellcore.bellcore.com Bell Communications Research UUCP: rutgers!bellcore!tr 435 South St room 2L350 SOUNDNET: (201) 829-4622 [work] Morristown, NJ 07960 (201) 287-2345 [home]
wilk@svax.cs.cornell.edu (Michael Wilk) (03/15/88)
I was able to improve the colors on my Multisync by taking the cover off and adjusting the output levels of the individual RGB guns, also by adjusting the master focus and brightness knobs. These controls are well hidden and not described in the documentation. (A technician showed me.) I had to build my own tool for adjusting the RGB output levels: you need something with a square-tipped end, as I recall. The master focus and brightness controls are found by removing a thin metal plate on the rear of the monitor (this is after you remove the cover, of course). NEC doesn't tell you about these controls because it is VERY DANGEROUS to be playing around with the inside of the monitor while it's on, and it has to be on for you to see the results of your adjustments. I don't know why NEC didn't make these controls more accessbile. I can't offer any more help than this as it was over a year ago that I made these adjustments, and by now I've forgotten the exact procedure. The quality of my image did improve considerably, but please remember to be careful if you decide to go exploring; you might damage the monitor, and you might even hurt yourself.
mvolo@ecsvax.UUCP (Michael R. Volow) (03/16/88)
[deleted stuff about wilk@svax.cs.cornell.edu) adjusting the innards of the Multisync itself, eg guns, contrast, etc.] Why aren't the internal adjustments of the Multisync accurately done before shipping and purchase. Are they affected by shipping or are NEC's quality control standards lax? Will local vendors do this kind of adjustment if you buy from them and ask them? Michael Volow, M.D. Dept of Psychiatry, Durham VA Medical Center, Durham, N.C. 27705 919 286 0411 mvolo@ecsvax.UUCP
kevin@calvin.EE.CORNELL.EDU (Kevin Tubbs) (03/16/88)
In article <4768@ecsvax.UUCP> mvolo@ecsvax.UUCP (Michael R. Volow) writes: > >Why aren't the internal adjustments of the Multisync accurately done >before shipping and purchase. Are they affected by shipping or are >NEC's quality control standards lax? I can't speak for NEC products, but I just bought a Samsung EGA monitor (CD-1453M1, $349 from USA-Flex). Color and brightness were just fine, but vertical linearity was very bad - the top line of text was squished. Also, the height and width were set so that there was at least a 1.25" blank border all around the sides - a waste of the 14" screen. I've had a bit of experience repairing monitors, so I opened it up to have a look. Although most of the pots weren't labelled, I managed to find the correct ones and adjust the monitor for correct linearity and image size. My guess is that quality control, not shipping, is responsible for this. I can just picture some tired assembly line worker tweaking the pots until it "looks good", then going on to the next. -- Kevin Tubbs, 5152 Upson, Cornell University, Ithaca NY, 14853 (607) 255-8703 kevin@calvin.ee.cornell.edu {ihnp4,uunet,rochester}!cornell!calvin!kevin "If you took all the after-dinner speakers that ever were, and laid them end- to-end at the equator, it would be a good thing."
wtm@neoucom.UUCP (20 Bill Mayhew) (03/23/88)
As Michael pointed out, there are some internal adjustments in the multisync for adjusting the R G B output levels and the gun cutoff. I found the controls were very much non-optimally adjusted when I received my Multisync two years ago. The day I got the monitor, I tookd the cover off and fixed things. The screen was also badly magnetized and needed degaussing. The steel chassis was also magnetized and required degaussing. Once things were correctly adjusted, the Multisync performed admirably, and has been working well for the past two years about 60 hours a week. I have only degaussed the screen manually once more, about a year ago. One thing I would like to criticize in the design of the multisync is that the regulation of the high voltage power supply (CRT anode and focus) is not very good. Perhaps, regulation is not exactly an appropriate adjective, shall we say. There is noticable bloom in the picture when the screen changes from mostly dark to mostly light. There is also a slight shift in focus. This effect belies the Multisync's roots as a consumer TV set where marked changes in overall brightness are relatively infrequent; i.e. HV regulation is not a major requirement. One other complaint I have is that while the Multisync can lock to a broad range of horizontal scan rates and a reasonable number of vertical rates, the screen image drifts all over the place, requiring fiddling with the <necessarily> "conveninetly top-mounted" centering et al controls. I wrote an article for a magazine about multisynchronous monitors, and in the process had the opportunity/necessity of looking at a total of seven NEC Multisync monitors. There was extreme variation in the quality of the image out of the box. The best was pretty good, while the worst sample was pretty terrible. The moral is that if you buy a Multisync, you should insist that the dealer plug it in and connect it to a computer in the show room before you agree to buy. Now for the good news. I looked over the NEC Multisync II monitor, and was very impressed by it. It is a much better product than the original device. It seems to have been more pointedly designed for computer graphic applications. Overall picture quality was much better, and the image was much more stable when switching between graphic modes. The only unfortunate item is that the smaller Multisync II has a cooling fan, thus slightly increasing the noise level in one's office. By the way, I strongly recommend that consumers SHOULD NOT poke around inside their monitors. The monitor should be taken to a service center authorized by the manufacturer. (I have to say this so that my professional liability insurance co. won't get mad at me.) --Bill