Had the brother in law over on Sunday. He can build just about anything this guy and is super handy..........in fact, he's everything I'm not when it comes to tools.
I was stumped on how to go about installing the monitor. I didn't know how I would get the angle correct, I measured it 100 ways, but nothing made sense to me. The monitor isn't light, its 100lbs! As per my brother in law the best thing to do would be have two guys lift it into place. Simply eyeball it to see which angle looks best, then draw two lines directly under the monitor. From there we would just rip down some wood to use as supports. Build the shelf, install monitor, make sure it doesn't fall out and MAME is done.
My 2nd, 2009 is my wedding. Its been the one thing that has consumed me for the last several weeks. Once the wedding is over and life goes back to normal I will %100 complete this project. It's been along while now,but I'm very happy.
I look forward to perhaps getting some new goodies at the next auction.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Monitor Issues
When I had my three Sony PVM monitors delivered I was so excited. Right away I had gone downstairs with my PC under my arm and completed control panel in the other hand. I cleared a spot on the floor and began putting everything together. As said all over the net it's best to make sure everything works together prior to doing the install. These new 25" monitors would be a huge step up from the 19" CRT I was going to use. Not only is bigger better, but it would be identical in size to the monitor removed from the cabinet. So I cleared a spot on the basement floor, hooked up the PC and some speakers to back of the monitor. Next step was making sure my new video card was installed correctly, and hooking up my control panel to the IPAC.
With all said and done I fired everything up, there were a few configuration issues. The video card had two display options, 800 x 600 (I think) and something else. I had to fiddle with this to make sure the entire screen was filled. The text on screen was also very difficult to read. These Sony monitors were/are? considered good monitors, they are meant for professional studio use. However with age and changes in technology they pale in comparison to today's monitors. Perhaps a combination of things, I'm unsure, but the picture needed work.
I had to make a couple of changes to get things the way I liked.
The resolution of the video card had to be adjusted.
To make the text readable I had to adjust the font size in MAME.
The same was required for Windows, much of the text on screen was not readable.
When these few steps were taking I could clearly see what game is was selecting, and able to read easily my on screen options. Now came time to adjust the monitor itself. It had a very "green" look to it. The Sony PVM monitors have a "reset" button on the front control panel. There is also an option for GREEN or PURPLE, DARKNESS, and I believe HUE. Each option has a + and - button used to get the desired effect. Sadly all the options on the left of my monitor don't work! The RESET doest do anything, and any adjustment that requires you to press "+" doesn't work.
Sadly this monitor (1 of 3) has been of no use to myself. I have it up for sale on the local Kijiji for $75. (What I paid) I'm in the process of trying to de-case the monitor. The guys over at the Build Your Own Arcade forums have provided some great advice. I might be able to swap out the defective part with a part from another working monitor. Make the required adjustments and then swap the part back into place. Once I have the desired look the monitor would remain stationary in the arcade cabinet, so constant adjustments would not be required. Its a great idea, perhaps a little out of my range...but as is the monitor is money wasted. So why not try to learn something and try to salvage it ?
When I discovered the one monitor wasn't working as I had hoped I went outside to the garage and began the "not so pleasant" task of hauling the remaining two 110lb monitors into the basement. Sadly by having the monitors delivered (saving me about a 2 or 3 hour round trip) I had purchased them sight unseen.....UNTESTED! I wanted to make %100 sure that this problem was exclusive to only the one monitor....It was!
I'm happy to say the other two monitors work flawlessly, they can be read clearly and easily. MAME looks great on them, the size is perfect and the colors vivid. I am very happy with the overall results.
I've decided to hang onto my 19" CRT in the event that I MAME a cocktail cabinet in the near future. The other two Sony PVM's will also remain with me. I figure worst case I will keep the broken one to source parts from, the other can be used for future projects or made available to my brother & friend whomever does a MAME project first.
With all said and done I fired everything up, there were a few configuration issues. The video card had two display options, 800 x 600 (I think) and something else. I had to fiddle with this to make sure the entire screen was filled. The text on screen was also very difficult to read. These Sony monitors were/are? considered good monitors, they are meant for professional studio use. However with age and changes in technology they pale in comparison to today's monitors. Perhaps a combination of things, I'm unsure, but the picture needed work.
I had to make a couple of changes to get things the way I liked.
The resolution of the video card had to be adjusted.
To make the text readable I had to adjust the font size in MAME.
The same was required for Windows, much of the text on screen was not readable.
When these few steps were taking I could clearly see what game is was selecting, and able to read easily my on screen options. Now came time to adjust the monitor itself. It had a very "green" look to it. The Sony PVM monitors have a "reset" button on the front control panel. There is also an option for GREEN or PURPLE, DARKNESS, and I believe HUE. Each option has a + and - button used to get the desired effect. Sadly all the options on the left of my monitor don't work! The RESET doest do anything, and any adjustment that requires you to press "+" doesn't work.
Sadly this monitor (1 of 3) has been of no use to myself. I have it up for sale on the local Kijiji for $75. (What I paid) I'm in the process of trying to de-case the monitor. The guys over at the Build Your Own Arcade forums have provided some great advice. I might be able to swap out the defective part with a part from another working monitor. Make the required adjustments and then swap the part back into place. Once I have the desired look the monitor would remain stationary in the arcade cabinet, so constant adjustments would not be required. Its a great idea, perhaps a little out of my range...but as is the monitor is money wasted. So why not try to learn something and try to salvage it ?
When I discovered the one monitor wasn't working as I had hoped I went outside to the garage and began the "not so pleasant" task of hauling the remaining two 110lb monitors into the basement. Sadly by having the monitors delivered (saving me about a 2 or 3 hour round trip) I had purchased them sight unseen.....UNTESTED! I wanted to make %100 sure that this problem was exclusive to only the one monitor....It was!
I'm happy to say the other two monitors work flawlessly, they can be read clearly and easily. MAME looks great on them, the size is perfect and the colors vivid. I am very happy with the overall results.
I've decided to hang onto my 19" CRT in the event that I MAME a cocktail cabinet in the near future. The other two Sony PVM's will also remain with me. I figure worst case I will keep the broken one to source parts from, the other can be used for future projects or made available to my brother & friend whomever does a MAME project first.
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