One possible explanation concerning the green phosphor monitor "resilience": the human retina works as a CCD (over-simplistic approach!) with color "sensors" (cones) under the 1 red: 2 green : 1 blue ratio. Thus, the human retina is more sensitive to green light. So, a green phosphor monitor would run in lower intensity (voltage) in order to produce the same brightness (perception of intensity) compared to an amber monitor, resulting in less phosphor burnout.
In 1991, I bought a AOC monochrome VGA 12” monitor for my “gaming” rig. The case was almost identical, and the manufacturer was the same as the Sceptre. I remember, as a high school student, a $699 color VGA monitor was way out of my price range, and a $119 monochrome with the same resolution, it kept me on budget and still gave me the features. I sold it with my VIC-30 powered XT clone when I got my 286, as I also got my hands on an HP 14” color VGA monitor. Used. That monitor made it through the 100Mhz 486, and DOOM.
"One has to wonder why someone would have bought such a thing and never actually used it." I've seen pallets full of unopened SPARC servers at the Chicago Board of Trade back in the day, sitting for weeks if not months before deployment. They needed hardware ready to roll on a moment's notice, but if the service they bought it for got decommissioned then it's plausible that it would get left for dead and ultimately disposed of as scrap. It might seem wasteful, but this was an environment where throwing money at a problem was just another day at the office.
Yep, when I worked in a large office I would occasionally come across laptops that were not used and sat in cabinets from the day they were deployed as a "backup". Found an IBM 380XD (Pentium 1) with 2 working batteries that still had crisp documentation in the bag... Only used once to install office and VPN software. (Yes I saved it from scrap.) Old stuff is often lost in a business that stays in one place for many decades. Unfortunately today it just goes to commercial e waste where it must be destroyed and isn't saved.
@@volvo09 Yes. Not unusual to have spares on hand - quickest way to get a user back up and running. I used to see monitors like this used with a Novell server We also used to keep new equipment on hand for deployment to new hires
Having been on the other side of this (not being able to get the hardware when you need it), this actually makes total sense. Time is money and stock piles are just another form of insurance. What's truly magical here is that the stock survived 37 years in mint condition. That's crazy rare in my experience.
in some business contracts e.g. for mission-critical stuff (e.g. POS), instead of agreeing on a longer warranty or onsite repair, you just make a deal with "ship additional units as backup free of charge". In the end of the maintenance contract those units are returned to the dealer and sold of as overstock. but in cases those units just get lost, e.g. if a store is changing owners and clear out is not done completely. and years later those devices surface at the next tenant switch.
Same. I knew about them in mid 2000s, then remember seeing a screptre box in an episode of Seinfeld (the serenity now), and was surprised that they were from the 90s. Then I see this video! Apparently they were founded in 84
I only knew about Sceptre in recent years from some RUclipsrs having LCD monitors from that brand, and so too didn't know they were around for that long until I watched this video!
That was interesting because while you were checking the spectrum on your phone, i could see the spectrum on my phone here with the same app. And there it was 18.1Khz!. It got recorded :)
Even "back in the day", the amber didn't seem to last too well. I suspect it's because the amber phosphor wasn't very efficient, so the tube had to work hard and the phosphor itself wore out from the high intensity electron beam.
Hi Adrian, I am a big fan of your videos. They are always fun, incredibly informative and just plain fun to watch. I have been working with electronics for over 30 years myself and still I usually learn something from your videos, especially the ones where you use your logical insight and knowledge to repair the old digital logic. I saw the filament of the CRT glow the first time you darkened the room. Perhaps it would have been better to slowly bring the monitor up to mains voltage using a variac or something. I would start at 25 volts and increase by 25 volts every 10 minutes until you finally reach full mains voltage. It gives the electrolytic capacitors a chance to reform. Get well soon with your cold and as you would say yourself: Stay healthy, stay safe and see you next time. Thanks and keep up the good work! Cheers
D'Awww baby Adrian is so cute! Rockin' the vintage gear even way back when! I had a //c as a kid too. I had been nagging Mom for a C64 for years by that point, but apparently she had been saving up the $1295.00 for the 'better' computer. Was still stoked to upgrade from the VIC-20, though!
I never forgave my father for cheating out on my first computer. The C64 was well established, and all my friends had one, and he gets me the VIC-20. "It's the same computer, just with a bit less memory", he stated proudly. Needless to say, I did not share in the fun with my friends...
I have an Atari ST with its original monochrome monitor... and the industrial design of the monitor case appears to be the same. Also the Atari ST came out in 1986 IIRC
Surprisingly enough Sceptre still exists today - they now make LCD (and potentially OLED) monitors ranging from cheap office monitors to expensive gaming monitors.
As a brand, Sceptre is still making displays. I've owned one of their 24" LCD monitors years ago that suited me well. Their products are usually pretty cheap. I currently own one of their 42" 4K TVs that I paid $249 shipped for. However, even at that price, the quality isn't bad. It's not gonna win any awards but, It's actually fine for my intents and purposes. What I really like about it is it's a "dumb" TV so, it doesn't have an OS and apps to make it sluggish. Dumb TV's are becoming scarce. Get them while you can!
This monitor looks so great. I still remember how games (like Prehistorik 2, Keen Dreams or Prince of Persia) looked on monochrome monitor years ago when I played them on 286 PC.
As I recall, the red phosphors were changed in 1968, when someone discovered that color TV sets were putting off amounts of x-rays that could be a long term health hazard if you sat too close to the set. At least part of the problem was that the red phosphor (more vibrant) gave off x-rays when struck by the electron beam, so they switched the red phosphor.
Wow, what a stunning CRT! Love amber monitors, glad I have one as well. It just has that professional look, reminding me of the times I was allowed to use the PC of my sister's boyfriend to play Block Out and some sort of Scramble-like with a Biplane, as I vaguely remember. Finding such a device NOS, even if it'll need repairing, is great! So congrats, looking forward to part 2! 👏👍👍
Oh wow this brings back some memories. I had a Scepter monitor back in the day too. But mine was VGA (I didn't get into PCs until the 386/486 timeframe.) It was fairly small (I want to say 15 inches) and was definitely built to a cost. I think it was fixed-frequency (because multisync was still new and pricey) and only did the standard 640x480, 800x600 and 1024x768. But 1024x768 looked REALLY crappy (extremely small, and really fuzzy) that I just used it in 800x600 mode, which looked fine. But it worked well enough, and it fit my budget -- being a starving college student, I had to build my PC at a cost. Bought it along with the rest of my PC parts at a computer fair. Back in the day there were companies that would rent out a fairground or expo hall for a weekend, invite a bunch of mom and pop computer vendors to show up and bring their wares, and open it up to the public. You got in for a fairly small fee, and could basically wander around all day and look at and buy stuff. Companies would loudly yell and hawk their wares, and get into pricing wars with each other, and you could usually get a slightly better price if you haggle ("but that table over there has it for $X! C'mon, can't you do any better?") It was great fun, and with cash (or credit card) in hand you could walk in in the morning, and walk out that afternoon with everything you needed to put together a PC. God I miss those shows. I'd go around looking at all the expensive cool new things that I couldn't (yet) afford, and I'd meet and hang out with other computer nerds in the area. (they would usually let local user groups set up tables for a discounted fee, or sometimes for free.) Now that online shopping is so ubiquitous, shows like this don't really make sense any more, so I'm not sure if any companies still run shows like this. I wouldn't blame them if they didn't, but I still think it's kinda sad that they don't exist any more. Fun times, fun times.
I used to go to those fairs here in Australia too. They were still running as late as 2008 or so, then they suddenly stopped. A once a month sort of thing that rotated around community halls in the region. Fun times indeed.
Multitech Acer used to use a rebadged version of this monitor for their Acer 500+ Series of Computers. From what I can see the only difference between that one and the one I had, aside from the badge, is it came with the female IEC connector instead of the mains plug so it could be looped through the Acer's Power supply. Very awesome find. Definitely have finding one of these on my wishlist.
I do remember these peelable thick plastic sheets on the CRT face from late-80s-mid-90s. They helped much when you lugged many unpacked monitors into the class/office.
After 39 years of disuse the wet capacitors are 100% destroyed. The electrolyte had dissociated and when the monitor was turned on it burned the dry rolled foil in the caps.
That isn’t the case; I have equipment that is forty years old and still working with occasional use, no capacitor changes needed. The older capacitors from the early 80s are just of a higher quality and durability. They’re in sealed cans and so any drying would be a very slow process only accelerated by heating from daily use. In a NOS stock monitor like this, that process would be even slower.
@@gridrunnersshack6337 I can confirm that. I have replaced elcaps in a number of Commodore computers and the vast majority of them were totally fine-Checked with ESR meter. And Commodore wasn't exactly known to be picky.
@@gridrunnersshack6337 The "occasional use" is key here. If that monitor sit unused for 40 years there is good chance oxide layer in caps needs to be formed again even when they're not dry.
For years, I thought of Sceptre as a good quality and reasonably priced brand. I saw a TV a few years ago and was tempted, but it's been a long time since I tried one of their products, so I didn't know if they were still good.
That cct obviously was not made to handle the plastic drying out on some IC. The surge obviously opened something up with that arch spark. I would suggest that you do the test without the video card connected then unplug the monitor, turn on the computer then pug in the monitor with it turned on. The surge will not be quite so prominent with the lower build up of charging caps etc. That monitor served me well and if I ever come across such a find will test it thusly. Either that or put the monitor on a power supply and slowly ramp up the power.
I have an Apple Monitor III, new in box, that has that wonderful smeary, deep-green phosphor. It looks like something out of Fallout, and I love it. My parent's first computer was a used IBM XT that came with a cheapie amber monochrome monitor not unlike this one. Monitors like this were everywhere for a little while before VGA became ubiquitous.
I have real nostalgia for amber, but the only ones I own are green (Zenith ZVM-121) and white (Macintoshes). It's funny how I used to hate the CRT flicker and was an instant adopter of LCD monitors.
I thought scepter was a new off brand manufacturer, it's interesting to find out that the company that makes my new uhd tv has been around since before I was born.
Who spotted the typo in the manual at 7:48 where it reads on the second line of the warranty card "During the warrnaty period..." - warr-n-a-ty :) Great video as always Adrian, thoroughly enjoyed it as always 😎👍
I was about to tell you about the logo being the "S" in Sceptre, but then I reached the part of the video where you noticed that yourself. FYI: I've been going back through a lot of your CRT videos to learn as much as I can before I start working on one. It'll be the first time I work on a CRT (I've opened one before to de-RIFA the psu, but didn't do anything with the CRT or analog circuitry). I'm finally going to break my Macintosh cherry on a compact Mac. Anyway, thanks for the CRT content. I'm learning a lot from you. Hopefully, you'll keep me from getting zapped. 😄
18:40 it's not the PDF reader is slow, it's actually doing "partial get" on the source webserver. So it does not download the complete file at once (until you set that as default), but just the page you are looking at... and if the source webserver needs a second to go back to a file (which may happen on a larger CDN.)
Awesome. Love these videos. For a second there, I was like “Uh…where are the convergence rings? Then I realized “Oh yeah. This is monochrome. Duh.” 95.45421% sure your issue is cap-related. The caps either need to be reformed, or replaced because even though the monitor is NOS, they are likely dried out. Now of course it could be something else, but caps are the first thing I’d suspect. Everyone always defaults to the “caps are bad” mindset, but I think that’s actually the issue here this time.
Very first PC clone I bought (1986/7?) had something that looked exactly like that. Probably the same thing with a different badge and a UK power transformer.
TPV are now one of the largest monitor manufacturers in the world. Chinese these days rather than Taiwanese (and effectively owned by the Chinese State), they own the AOC and Philips brands.
Years ago I was offered a couple green /amber screen monitors from the mid 80s and foolishly let them go as the plugs didn't match the VGA I was used to seeing so figured they're pointless. I was later given a 4 hours used only NEC brand desktop system. Same thing it had proprietary connection and I gave up. I did keep the monitor - a dated 1994 KTX brand with 4 hours use. It's very bright and had the factory scent. Was also given a 2 hours used 13" Emerson I think colour TV same time dated I think Feb 1992. I plugged it in and it was BRIGHT image like brand new and filled the room with the factory new electronics scent. Unfortunately it sparked and blew a hole through the abs insulation over the HOT windings to the transistor heat sink. It still wants to work but I can't figure out how to insulate the 20kv from the eath potential Sink 4mm away. It would have been a warranty problem but found 30 years later.
Hey great a new Monitor Video, even when "quick" Thank you for that. My oldest Monitor is A IBM 5818-002 VGA Monitor that can just max 640X480.. but it was for free.
It's interesting the website of the Taiwanese company also showing AOC as a brand because I recently bought an AOC MM-211, and while seeing this video I found that my monitor is exactly the same model. I also got it in the original box, slightly used only. The box has some check boxes where the phosphor color is ticked, green, amber or white. Mine does have the green phosphor CRT tube. Unfortunately mine died after using it to debug a 286 project which caused the ATI Small Wonder card to go out of sync. This monitor has very little tolerance, just a few brief instances were enough to kill it. When out of sync there is a really nasty unsettling sound coming from inside the monitor so I always switched it off right away. Apparently not quickly enough! I will be looking for some transistor in the horizontal circuits which I think was killed in my case.
From wikipedia: It is the world’s largest manufacturer of computer monitors with a 33% market share.TPV designs and produces a full range of CRT and TFT LCD monitors as well as LCD TVs for distribution globally. *It owns brands such as AOC, Envision, and Philips for some products* (TPV obtained the brand name of Philips from Koninklijke Philips N.V.). It is also an original design manufacturer for other companies.
Be careful with running this type on monitor at CGA sync frequencies. Rumor has it that you can break the IBM 5151 by doing so, because the lower scan rate means the flyback is charged for a longer time, which may result in saturation of the flyback core and thus excessive drive current and a higher kickback voltage when the horizontal transistor turns off. Monitors with an internal oscillator with a limited capture range are basically imune against this kind of abuse, but the 5151-style circuit that drives the HOT basically just from a level-shifted HSYNC pin input is fragile. Obviously, the damage to the video amplifier / cathode drive circuit is not related to you running the monitor at 15.6 kHz later in the video, and I guess it is also unlikely to be related to the strange frequency your cards boots up with, but I can't be sure about the latter, especially as it broke just at the moment it was exposed to that frequency.
THe glue on the flyback core should be fine. There is little to no voltage across that (only some eddy currents maybe) Probably keeps the ferrite nice and firm in place. would not touch it if i didn't have to
For the clueless like me, what would he actually have to touch in order to get a bad shock from a CRT like this? I always hear how dangerous they can be so it freaks me out seeing him poke around the back while its plugged in. Obviously he knows what he's doing lol he seems completely unconcerned
I would not be as brave to work inside CRTs like you do Adrian, especially ones so old. I prefer to work around voltages that don't have the potential to give you a nasty shock or burns. Ever since I witnessed the fright of a flyback transformer arcing I decided I don't want to work inside any CRT.
@@rommix0 It's OK, but it wasn't a high end monitor. Low price was a large decider in the purchase. ;-) It's not a 4K monitor, but then again, my Win10 PC wouldn't perform well even if my video card supported that. That being said, for a low end inexpensive monitor, it's been pretty good. No probs at all.
In the ‘90s I worked in the back of the house at a soulless telemarketing company and we went through lots of these (or rather the VGA monochrome versions) and they always had that extra layer of plastic on the plastic. After passing the notion around the crew we decided that it was because the glass was not coated like higher-end monitors. So the protective film was needed to keep from the volatiles in the other products in the back from etching the glass, just like you sometimes find that power cables will ‘melt’ into plastics when stored together improperly. Oh man, the look of that little monitor with the two fixed cables…. When tossing the monitors out that went bad, we would swing the monitor by the cords to pitch the things into our large dumpster. So much stuff got trashed because it was cheaper to replace it….
One possible explanation concerning the green phosphor monitor "resilience": the human retina works as a CCD (over-simplistic approach!) with color "sensors" (cones) under the 1 red: 2 green : 1 blue ratio. Thus, the human retina is more sensitive to green light. So, a green phosphor monitor would run in lower intensity (voltage) in order to produce the same brightness (perception of intensity) compared to an amber monitor, resulting in less phosphor burnout.
Green phosphors are also cheap, and they're available in a wide range of colors and persistences.
@@shmehfleh3115 "GREEN phosphors are also cheap, and they're available in a wide range of COLORS..." ?🤔
@@JBS30000Yes, color is a spectrum.
In 1991, I bought a AOC monochrome VGA 12” monitor for my “gaming” rig. The case was almost identical, and the manufacturer was the same as the Sceptre. I remember, as a high school student, a $699 color VGA monitor was way out of my price range, and a $119 monochrome with the same resolution, it kept me on budget and still gave me the features.
I sold it with my VIC-30 powered XT clone when I got my 286, as I also got my hands on an HP 14” color VGA monitor. Used. That monitor made it through the 100Mhz 486, and DOOM.
"New old stock". I love to hear that on retro channels!
"One has to wonder why someone would have bought such a thing and never actually used it." I've seen pallets full of unopened SPARC servers at the Chicago Board of Trade back in the day, sitting for weeks if not months before deployment. They needed hardware ready to roll on a moment's notice, but if the service they bought it for got decommissioned then it's plausible that it would get left for dead and ultimately disposed of as scrap. It might seem wasteful, but this was an environment where throwing money at a problem was just another day at the office.
Yep, when I worked in a large office I would occasionally come across laptops that were not used and sat in cabinets from the day they were deployed as a "backup".
Found an IBM 380XD (Pentium 1) with 2 working batteries that still had crisp documentation in the bag... Only used once to install office and VPN software.
(Yes I saved it from scrap.)
Old stuff is often lost in a business that stays in one place for many decades. Unfortunately today it just goes to commercial e waste where it must be destroyed and isn't saved.
@@volvo09 Yes. Not unusual to have spares on hand - quickest way to get a user back up and running. I used to see monitors like this used with a Novell server
We also used to keep new equipment on hand for deployment to new hires
Having been on the other side of this (not being able to get the hardware when you need it), this actually makes total sense. Time is money and stock piles are just another form of insurance.
What's truly magical here is that the stock survived 37 years in mint condition. That's crazy rare in my experience.
Plus hospitals used to buy these all the time, and never use them. The few that were used got used all the way into the late 90s.
in some business contracts e.g. for mission-critical stuff (e.g. POS), instead of agreeing on a longer warranty or onsite repair, you just make a deal with "ship additional units as backup free of charge". In the end of the maintenance contract those units are returned to the dealer and sold of as overstock. but in cases those units just get lost, e.g. if a store is changing owners and clear out is not done completely. and years later those devices surface at the next tenant switch.
I think sceptre is still around making budget monitors lol
They are.
I came here to comment wondering if this monitor was as junk as the modern ones before watching the video lol
That eBay listing looked like an arcade cabinet chassis monitor.
WOW !! A am watching this on one Sceptre F24" monitor while working on its matching partner .. Never knew Sceptre has been around that long !!
Had no idea Sceptre was that old. That monitor is several months older than I am. Just turned 38 on November 10th
Same. I knew about them in mid 2000s, then remember seeing a screptre box in an episode of Seinfeld (the serenity now), and was surprised that they were from the 90s. Then I see this video!
Apparently they were founded in 84
Same, I only knew about them because of Make Anything, and the monitor I found at Savers
I didn't know either! I haven't finished the video yet, but I'm wondering if this monitor is as trash as the modern ones are
I only knew about Sceptre in recent years from some RUclipsrs having LCD monitors from that brand, and so too didn't know they were around for that long until I watched this video!
I am watching this on a Sceptre monitor.
That was interesting because while you were checking the spectrum on your phone, i could see the spectrum on my phone here with the same app. And there it was 18.1Khz!. It got recorded :)
Crazy Awesome! Had no idea Sceptre had been around that long, Their a great budget brand nowadays.
Even "back in the day", the amber didn't seem to last too well. I suspect it's because the amber phosphor wasn't very efficient, so the tube had to work hard and the phosphor itself wore out from the high intensity electron beam.
That picture of you as a kid brings back memories, I had the same setup and I still have my original apple 2c and it still works.
Hi Adrian,
I am a big fan of your videos. They are always fun, incredibly informative and just plain fun to watch. I have been working with electronics for over 30 years myself and still I usually learn something from your videos, especially the ones where you use your logical insight and knowledge to repair the old digital logic.
I saw the filament of the CRT glow the first time you darkened the room.
Perhaps it would have been better to slowly bring the monitor up to mains voltage using a variac or something. I would start at 25 volts and increase by 25 volts every 10 minutes until you finally reach full mains voltage. It gives the electrolytic capacitors a chance to reform.
Get well soon with your cold and as you would say yourself: Stay healthy, stay safe and see you next time.
Thanks and keep up the good work!
Cheers
D'Awww baby Adrian is so cute! Rockin' the vintage gear even way back when! I had a //c as a kid too. I had been nagging Mom for a C64 for years by that point, but apparently she had been saving up the $1295.00 for the 'better' computer. Was still stoked to upgrade from the VIC-20, though!
I never forgave my father for cheating out on my first computer. The C64 was well established, and all my friends had one, and he gets me the VIC-20. "It's the same computer, just with a bit less memory", he stated proudly. Needless to say, I did not share in the fun with my friends...
You'd be surprised to learn that TPV is the world's largest monitor manufacturer.
I have an Atari ST with its original monochrome monitor... and the industrial design of the monitor case appears to be the same. Also the Atari ST came out in 1986 IIRC
Surprisingly enough Sceptre still exists today - they now make LCD (and potentially OLED) monitors ranging from cheap office monitors to expensive gaming monitors.
Love these CRT videos 😊
now i will count days for the full repair video of this beauty!
That physical monitor based on the manufacture date is only about a month younger than me since I was born in February 1986!
As a brand, Sceptre is still making displays. I've owned one of their 24" LCD monitors years ago that suited me well. Their products are usually pretty cheap. I currently own one of their 42" 4K TVs that I paid $249 shipped for. However, even at that price, the quality isn't bad. It's not gonna win any awards but, It's actually fine for my intents and purposes. What I really like about it is it's a "dumb" TV so, it doesn't have an OS and apps to make it sluggish. Dumb TV's are becoming scarce. Get them while you can!
This monitor looks so great. I still remember how games (like Prehistorik 2, Keen Dreams or Prince of Persia) looked on monochrome monitor years ago when I played them on 286 PC.
As I recall, the red phosphors were changed in 1968, when someone discovered that color TV sets were putting off amounts of x-rays that could be a long term health hazard if you sat too close to the set. At least part of the problem was that the red phosphor (more vibrant) gave off x-rays when struck by the electron beam, so they switched the red phosphor.
Wow, what a stunning CRT! Love amber monitors, glad I have one as well. It just has that professional look, reminding me of the times I was allowed to use the PC of my sister's boyfriend to play Block Out and some sort of Scramble-like with a Biplane, as I vaguely remember. Finding such a device NOS, even if it'll need repairing, is great! So congrats, looking forward to part 2! 👏👍👍
Oh wow this brings back some memories. I had a Scepter monitor back in the day too. But mine was VGA (I didn't get into PCs until the 386/486 timeframe.) It was fairly small (I want to say 15 inches) and was definitely built to a cost. I think it was fixed-frequency (because multisync was still new and pricey) and only did the standard 640x480, 800x600 and 1024x768. But 1024x768 looked REALLY crappy (extremely small, and really fuzzy) that I just used it in 800x600 mode, which looked fine. But it worked well enough, and it fit my budget -- being a starving college student, I had to build my PC at a cost. Bought it along with the rest of my PC parts at a computer fair. Back in the day there were companies that would rent out a fairground or expo hall for a weekend, invite a bunch of mom and pop computer vendors to show up and bring their wares, and open it up to the public. You got in for a fairly small fee, and could basically wander around all day and look at and buy stuff. Companies would loudly yell and hawk their wares, and get into pricing wars with each other, and you could usually get a slightly better price if you haggle ("but that table over there has it for $X! C'mon, can't you do any better?") It was great fun, and with cash (or credit card) in hand you could walk in in the morning, and walk out that afternoon with everything you needed to put together a PC. God I miss those shows. I'd go around looking at all the expensive cool new things that I couldn't (yet) afford, and I'd meet and hang out with other computer nerds in the area. (they would usually let local user groups set up tables for a discounted fee, or sometimes for free.) Now that online shopping is so ubiquitous, shows like this don't really make sense any more, so I'm not sure if any companies still run shows like this. I wouldn't blame them if they didn't, but I still think it's kinda sad that they don't exist any more. Fun times, fun times.
I used to go to those fairs here in Australia too. They were still running as late as 2008 or so, then they suddenly stopped. A once a month sort of thing that rotated around community halls in the region. Fun times indeed.
Amber! My absolute favourite in ye olden CP/M days. With a steady block cursor very quiet on the eyes.
26:30 - Try some of the other monitors in your shop!
26:56 - I read your mind again, Adrian! :0
Multitech Acer used to use a rebadged version of this monitor for their Acer 500+ Series of Computers. From what I can see the only difference between that one and the one I had, aside from the badge, is it came with the female IEC connector instead of the mains plug so it could be looped through the Acer's Power supply.
Very awesome find. Definitely have finding one of these on my wishlist.
I do remember these peelable thick plastic sheets on the CRT face from late-80s-mid-90s. They helped much when you lugged many unpacked monitors into the class/office.
I'm currently watching this on a 24" LCD monitor made by Sceptre Tech. Too cool!
After 39 years of disuse the wet capacitors are 100% destroyed. The electrolyte had dissociated and when the monitor was turned on it burned the dry rolled foil in the caps.
That isn’t the case; I have equipment that is forty years old and still working with occasional use, no capacitor changes needed. The older capacitors from the early 80s are just of a higher quality and durability. They’re in sealed cans and so any drying would be a very slow process only accelerated by heating from daily use. In a NOS stock monitor like this, that process would be even slower.
@@gridrunnersshack6337 I can confirm that. I have replaced elcaps in a number of Commodore computers and the vast majority of them were totally fine-Checked with ESR meter. And Commodore wasn't exactly known to be picky.
@@gridrunnersshack6337 The "occasional use" is key here. If that monitor sit unused for 40 years there is good chance oxide layer in caps needs to be formed again even when they're not dry.
@@brys555agreed. As pointed out above.
Reforming in action - 14:50, ruclips.net/video/w6WbSXsnNlc/видео.htmlsi=DZz58Uzxr4XqAWBT
For years, I thought of Sceptre as a good quality and reasonably priced brand. I saw a TV a few years ago and was tempted, but it's been a long time since I tried one of their products, so I didn't know if they were still good.
Amazing picture from the past, mate! A happy childhood with your II.
I'm thinking that monitor was DOA when new. It was thrown back into the box, but never shipped out/returned. That's why it's been preserved.
Just for information P4 is used for B&W TV sets. P22 is used for Tri-color TV sets.
That cct obviously was not made to handle the plastic drying out on some IC. The surge obviously opened something up with that arch spark. I would suggest that you do the test without the video card connected then unplug the monitor, turn on the computer then pug in the monitor with it turned on. The surge will not be quite so prominent with the lower build up of charging caps etc. That monitor served me well and if I ever come across such a find will test it thusly. Either that or put the monitor on a power supply and slowly ramp up the power.
Okay, now it's time to fill out the warranty card and test their warranty ;-)
I was really expecting it would just work.
Sceptre is a well known bargain brand. Didn't know it lived that long ago.
3:53 that's SO cool 😃
I have an Apple Monitor III, new in box, that has that wonderful smeary, deep-green phosphor. It looks like something out of Fallout, and I love it.
My parent's first computer was a used IBM XT that came with a cheapie amber monochrome monitor not unlike this one. Monitors like this were everywhere for a little while before VGA became ubiquitous.
I had that monitor while in college! It got chunked in the dumpster when I graduated....
I had a few Sceptre monitors over the years, from CRTs to LCDs. They were pretty good, albeit quite basic and inexpensive.
I have real nostalgia for amber, but the only ones I own are green (Zenith ZVM-121) and white (Macintoshes). It's funny how I used to hate the CRT flicker and was an instant adopter of LCD monitors.
I thought scepter was a new off brand manufacturer, it's interesting to find out that the company that makes my new uhd tv has been around since before I was born.
Sceptre been going strong for years then
I had no idea they made CRT screens. I think they used to sell cheap Sceptre LCD screens at Best Try.
Who spotted the typo in the manual at 7:48 where it reads on the second line of the warranty card "During the warrnaty period..." - warr-n-a-ty :) Great video as always Adrian, thoroughly enjoyed it as always 😎👍
Ahh its Adrians digital display channel haha :P
The casing on this monitor is identical to the Atari SM125 monitor for the Atari ST.
I was about to tell you about the logo being the "S" in Sceptre, but then I reached the part of the video where you noticed that yourself. FYI: I've been going back through a lot of your CRT videos to learn as much as I can before I start working on one. It'll be the first time I work on a CRT (I've opened one before to de-RIFA the psu, but didn't do anything with the CRT or analog circuitry). I'm finally going to break my Macintosh cherry on a compact Mac. Anyway, thanks for the CRT content. I'm learning a lot from you. Hopefully, you'll keep me from getting zapped. 😄
Yeah a stylized S ceptre
Sceptre still exists and has a large number of monitors to offer. Your Zoyi oscilloscope multimeter is missing from your equipment list.
I acquired my first ever disk drive in 1986 (1541) £200 from Boots chemist in High Wycombe UK.
Hope you can get this thing working! :D
18:40 it's not the PDF reader is slow, it's actually doing "partial get" on the source webserver. So it does not download the complete file at once (until you set that as default), but just the page you are looking at... and if the source webserver needs a second to go back to a file (which may happen on a larger CDN.)
41:43 reminded me of the inside of Vohaul's ship in Space Quest II
Amber has always been my favourite colour.
tbf amber is easy on the eyes. Take it from someone who prefers high contrast displays for reading.
Awesome. Love these videos. For a second there, I was like “Uh…where are the convergence rings? Then I realized “Oh yeah. This is monochrome. Duh.” 95.45421% sure your issue is cap-related. The caps either need to be reformed, or replaced because even though the monitor is NOS, they are likely dried out. Now of course it could be something else, but caps are the first thing I’d suspect. Everyone always defaults to the “caps are bad” mindset, but I think that’s actually the issue here this time.
Very first PC clone I bought (1986/7?) had something that looked exactly like that. Probably the same thing with a different badge and a UK power transformer.
If it works, it is worth some $. Thousands are buried in landfills.
I wonder if that box you didn't get a shot of had an "amber" checkbox marked
You should fill in the card and then call in for warranty service!
Shoulda filled-in that warranty form!
TPV are now one of the largest monitor manufacturers in the world. Chinese these days rather than Taiwanese (and effectively owned by the Chinese State), they own the AOC and Philips brands.
Years ago I was offered a couple green /amber screen monitors from the mid 80s and foolishly let them go as the plugs didn't match the VGA I was used to seeing so figured they're pointless.
I was later given a 4 hours used only NEC brand desktop system. Same thing it had proprietary connection and I gave up.
I did keep the monitor - a dated 1994 KTX brand with 4 hours use. It's very bright and had the factory scent.
Was also given a 2 hours used 13" Emerson I think colour TV same time dated I think Feb 1992.
I plugged it in and it was BRIGHT image like brand new and filled the room with the factory new electronics scent.
Unfortunately it sparked and blew a hole through the abs insulation over the HOT windings to the transistor heat sink. It still wants to work but I can't figure out how to insulate the 20kv from the eath potential Sink 4mm away.
It would have been a warranty problem but found 30 years later.
get well soon!!! 🥺
That monitor is exactly the same age as me!
Hey great a new Monitor Video, even when "quick" Thank you for that. My oldest Monitor is A IBM 5818-002 VGA Monitor that can just max 640X480.. but it was for free.
10:22 “p-p” means “peak-to-peak”, not “positive to positive”.
Sceptre isn't a no-name. I remember seeing them all the time in the 90s.
Well hello to another welcomed CRT video
That monitor was made a day after my birthday in 1986, I would have been thirteen years old lol.
Ah yes. The perfect way to spend a lazy Saturday night.
When are we getting "Adrian's mechanical Garage?!?"
^-^
NOT FIREFOX. It's the document. Also Paperwhite is not yellow.
7:40 - A typo in the warranty card. "During the warrnaty period..." 😆
Looks like you found the US office of the Emirates General Petroleum Company.
you might want to check along the video signal path
from the MDA signal pin along the board
might have been a now dead ttl chip or something like that
It's interesting the website of the Taiwanese company also showing AOC as a brand because I recently bought an AOC MM-211, and while seeing this video I found that my monitor is exactly the same model. I also got it in the original box, slightly used only. The box has some check boxes where the phosphor color is ticked, green, amber or white. Mine does have the green phosphor CRT tube. Unfortunately mine died after using it to debug a 286 project which caused the ATI Small Wonder card to go out of sync. This monitor has very little tolerance, just a few brief instances were enough to kill it. When out of sync there is a really nasty unsettling sound coming from inside the monitor so I always switched it off right away. Apparently not quickly enough! I will be looking for some transistor in the horizontal circuits which I think was killed in my case.
From wikipedia:
It is the world’s largest manufacturer of computer monitors with a 33% market share.TPV designs and produces a full range of CRT and TFT LCD monitors as well as LCD TVs for distribution globally. *It owns brands such as AOC, Envision, and Philips for some products* (TPV obtained the brand name of Philips from Koninklijke Philips N.V.). It is also an original design manufacturer for other companies.
Yay Monitor! Let's go! 😁
Be careful with running this type on monitor at CGA sync frequencies. Rumor has it that you can break the IBM 5151 by doing so, because the lower scan rate means the flyback is charged for a longer time, which may result in saturation of the flyback core and thus excessive drive current and a higher kickback voltage when the horizontal transistor turns off. Monitors with an internal oscillator with a limited capture range are basically imune against this kind of abuse, but the 5151-style circuit that drives the HOT basically just from a level-shifted HSYNC pin input is fragile.
Obviously, the damage to the video amplifier / cathode drive circuit is not related to you running the monitor at 15.6 kHz later in the video, and I guess it is also unlikely to be related to the strange frequency your cards boots up with, but I can't be sure about the latter, especially as it broke just at the moment it was exposed to that frequency.
33:52 - I wonder if you'll need to re-cap the electrolytics after some use! Do capacitors have a 'shelf-life' or a 'use-life'? :)
would have been so nice if it worked. recently saw new old stock b/w monitor at egay for 75 euro.
It's a shame that the manual lied about 💚
They still make monitors!
THe glue on the flyback core should be fine. There is little to no voltage across that (only some eddy currents maybe) Probably keeps the ferrite nice and firm in place. would not touch it if i didn't have to
You’re so awesome ❤❤
9:04 - Any guess from what language this *gibberish* was translated? :)
For the clueless like me, what would he actually have to touch in order to get a bad shock from a CRT like this? I always hear how dangerous they can be so it freaks me out seeing him poke around the back while its plugged in. Obviously he knows what he's doing lol he seems completely unconcerned
I would not be as brave to work inside CRTs like you do Adrian, especially ones so old. I prefer to work around voltages that don't have the potential to give you a nasty shock or burns. Ever since I witnessed the fright of a flyback transformer arcing I decided I don't want to work inside any CRT.
Sceptre is still manufacturing TV's
I hope it can be fixed
The Clinton CEULC99F1ATE was also used in the Apple Lisa.
ohhh. minty monochrome
Sceptre is the evil organization in James Bond 007 movies😅😅😅
I'm afraid you're confusing that with SPECTRE.
Too bad you didn't send in the warranty registration card first...
Funny that Sceptre is still around making super low budget TVs and Monitors
The newest monitor on my Win10 PC is a Sceptre... ;-)
How is it compared to something like an LG. I still have my LG 4K monitor, and it has been serving me well.
@@rommix0 It's OK, but it wasn't a high end monitor. Low price was a large decider in the purchase. ;-) It's not a 4K monitor, but then again, my Win10 PC wouldn't perform well even if my video card supported that.
That being said, for a low end inexpensive monitor, it's been pretty good. No probs at all.
In the ‘90s I worked in the back of the house at a soulless telemarketing company and we went through lots of these (or rather the VGA monochrome versions) and they always had that extra layer of plastic on the plastic. After passing the notion around the crew we decided that it was because the glass was not coated like higher-end monitors. So the protective film was needed to keep from the volatiles in the other products in the back from etching the glass, just like you sometimes find that power cables will ‘melt’ into plastics when stored together improperly. Oh man, the look of that little monitor with the two fixed cables…. When tossing the monitors out that went bad, we would swing the monitor by the cords to pitch the things into our large dumpster. So much stuff got trashed because it was cheaper to replace it….