Can my monitor be fixed?

August 5, 2005 11:01 PM

Is my broken monitor fixable? It displays everything very bright and washed out, and sometimes clicks itself off (with the image disappearing to a tiny dot in the middle) when displaying something white.

I have an older Apple Studio Display 21 inch CRT monitor (which I have connected to a PC) that has been acting up in the aforementioned manner for the past month. It's still usable, but barely. In addition to the problems described above, in the past it would sometimes become fuzzy and then suddenly snap back into sharpness with an audible click. All of these problems persist regardless of resolution or refresh rate or any other computer-adjustable signal parameter. Essentially, I am wondering if this is a simple thing I can fix myself. I know monitors can be dangerous to work on, maintaining powerful charges even after being unplugged, and would take appropriate precautions. I'm not looking to do anything more complicated than resoldering a bad connection. Can it be done, or it is a lost cause?

posted by Nothing to computers & internet (3 comments total)

Apple CRTs have known reliability problems with a component called a "deflector board" which cause the symptoms you're describing.

You could buy and install a new board, but given the difficulty in obtaining this part — since you're probably not an "Apple Authorized Repair Technician" who can buy replacement parts directly from Apple, you'd have to look for a used or refurbished part from a reseller — and given the electrocution danger, and given the relative cost of a Dell 19" LCD (equivalent in display to a 21" CRT once you take away the unused space on a CRT display) you're really just better off buying a new monitor.
posted by Rothko at 12:36 AM on August 6, 2005

Yeah, I actually already did buy a new one, I was just wondering if there were options for the old one besides getting rid of it. Thanks for the tip about the deflector board. That does seem to be the cause of at least the popping sound from what I've googled.
posted by Nothing at 1:42 AM on August 6, 2005

Rothko is NOT kidding about the electrocution danger, btw. No one should poke around inside a CRT unless they know exactly what they are up to. It can kill you.
posted by realcountrymusic at 9:32 PM on August 6, 2005