17 Inch CRT Blurry?

[Azarra]

I have a 17 inch CRT monitor. Brand... I'm not sure of. It's kinda old but it's always had this problem. It wasn't untill recently that it started really bugging me though.

I'm running at 1024x768 at 32 Bit with a refresh rate of 60Hz. Now to the problem. It's blurry. The text all just kinda blends together. If you wanna do much reading, you have to drop it down to 800x600. Changing the refresh rate doesn't help. As a matter of fact, I just pushed it up to 85 and it might've actually gotten worse. Now for a weird part of the situation. When I FIRST turn the monitor on *after being off for a while*, it's crisp as can be for a few minutes. After that, it gradually degrades. Any help?

 

[Ned_Flanders]

Try degauss - If no worky your monitor may be dying

 

[RichPLS]

I know I had a couple of NEC 17"ers and there was two manual focus adjustments on the side of the monitor accessable with a screwdriver only that you could tweak for this. This was factory set and worked fine for first few years, then after got blurry, I adjusted them back and now mother is using the NEC XP 17 and is still clear.
Maybe, just maybe yours has some sort of adjustment.

 

[fishmahn]

The monitor is about done for.

What I think happened is the electron guns are worn out. They get warm (maybe overheat) and they don't shoot the electron beam in a nice, tight beam any more, they spray out, so it excites more than just the pixel(s) they're supposed to.

Can it be fixed? Probably. Is it worth it? Usually not as its cheaper to buy a new 17" CRT than it is to have a repair place open up the monitor just to see what's wrong... and tell you that your CRT is repairable for about $250, while a new one is about $100 - less than the bench charge for his diagnosis.

Mike.

 

[Azarra]

Fishmahn, I would agree that it's just the monitor's age but it's done this every since I bought it *new*.

The adjustments that were spoken of, on the side of the monitor, are they very noticeable? I don't think I've seen any such adjustments but perhaps they're in the speaker holes on the side...

 

[RichPLS]

The adjustments on my NEC looked like just two holes about 2 inches apart, and a small flathead screwdriver had to be inserted in about 1-1/2 to reach the adjustment screws.

I am sure all CRT's have some sort of these adjustments, but are more hidden than others. Some you have to take housing off, which you then really need to know what you are doing due to high voltage being stored in the capacators that can kill if shorted even when unplugged.

Google you monitor and focus adjustment calibration or something similar.
Good luck.