Ritzert@DMZRZU71.BITNET (03/22/90)
there has been a lot of discussion on the varios screen savers. What about this alternative: switch the monitor off while the machine is doing a run of several hours (for example, making gnu c or TeX fonts). This may be in addition to a software screen saver. Question to well informed people: is there anything in the st (mega) or the monitor (sm124) which might get overloaded or damaged if the computer is running and the monitor is switched off? If not this method should be the best for the sm124. If You run the sm124 24 hours a day, some parts in it are really prone to get damaged, e.g. c711 and c915. Michael Ritzert mjr@dmzrzu71.bitnet
fkk@stasys.sta.sub.org (Frank Kaefer) (04/06/90)
obryan@gumby.cc.wmich.edu (Mark O'Bryan) writes: > If there is, I'd be extremely surprised, since I've been doing this for > years with my ST's. When I go home at night, I shut off the monitor and > leave the system on. Frequently, I don't shut down the computer for weeks > at a time. I've never had any problems as a result of it. Yes, I think leaving the system on while the monitor is off cannot do any damage to the system. I didn't switch my ST off for more than 2 years now, and it is still running. The only problem I had was because I covered the system (a Mega 4) with a cloth to keep the dust away. That killed the power supply, so I had to buy a 1040 power supply... Cheers, Frank --- +--------------------------------+ Darkness all around us | Frank Kaefer | fkk@stasys.UUCP | We don't close our eyes | (Compuserve: 72427,2101) | No one's gonna ground us | (BIX: fkaefer) | We were born to fly | Starnberg, West Germany | Comin' at us no stopping +--------------------------------+ Born to amplify [Carry On - Manowar]
ran@cns.umist.ac.uk (Bob Nutter) (04/09/90)
In article <825@nikhefh.nikhef.nl> t19@nikhefh.nikhef.nl (Geert J v Oldenborgh) writes: >> (about whether it is wise to leave your monitor on) >I know three people who left their monitor (Atari SM124) turned on all the >time. All three monitors blew after 2-3 years. Most others, including older >ones, have not blown. Draw your own conclusions. ...I wouldn't leave monitors on all the time, screen saver or no screen saver. The constant heat from the power supply etc will eventually dry out the electrolytic capacitors. It happens quite regularly with other makes (such as our Phillips-made Apollo 19" mono jobs) Capacitors being capacitors, however, you never know if/when... bob --------------------------------------------------------------------------- bob nutter, computer officer | "If there's no class divide, then how dept of computation, UMIST | come you're standing here waiting for po box 88 manchester m60 1qd uk | a bus when some guy's driving past in tel: +44 61 200 3312 | a car that cost more than a house?" email:b.nutter@umist.ac.uk | -Class War graffitti ran@cns.umist.ac.uk |
Ritzert@DMZRZU71.BITNET (04/11/90)
I am the one who asked the original quesiton. I would like to sum up the answers and thank every contributor. >...I wouldn't leave monitors on all the time, screen saver or no >screen saver. The constant heat from the power supply etc will >eventually dry out the electrolytic capacitors. It happens quite >regularly with other makes (such as our Phillips-made Apollo 19" mono >jobs) Statements like these meet my own experience. I know of an installation of about 70-80 STs, where the monitors are left on all the time. The people frequently encounter monitor problems due to defect electrlytic capacitors. There are a handfull problematic parts especially in the "horizontal offset controller" (Horizontalablenkstufe). Among them are C 915 (my own monitor), C 711 (had to be replaced in our old model sm124 in the office) and a few others. Some of these parts could easily be replaced by non-electrolytic capacitors to increase the long term stability of the sm124. Hey Atari, this is Your job! My conclusion from all the contributions: Switch the monitor off when You are running a long and stable job (like Metafont or long compilations). The time should be measurable in hours. Then it will be harmless to both the ST and the monitor. The argument that switching electronic equipment on and off frequently could damage the equipment is surely true. But in the case of a tv or computer monitor frequently means every few minutes, like a screen saver and not every few hours. So I think it is useful to do both things: install a screen saver program (something like idle12 or pyro) and switch the monitor off when You don't need it for a long time. Thanks, Michael Ritzert mjr@dmzrzu71.bitnet