Nanao MS-2933 Dark/Dim

[Mimiq]

Well, I have returned after 2 weeks of working on an order for a new versus city, anxiously awaiting shipping, panic buying more arcade boards to populate the new cab... you get it.

Well it arrived, in one piece, and honestly, not that dirty! It contained the usual grime from japanese arcades, but the odor was minimal to non-existent. When it arrived we turned it on to test, and one monitor is just gorgeous. Minimal brightness and contrast settings and just incredibly sharp. The P1 side however... was incredibly dim.

Both monitors would show this strange "scratching" over the video signal while on. This was rectified after a light cleaning (hepa-vacuuming and an air compressor) and is now non-existent. I went into the service menu of the P1 monitor and the brightness and contrast settings were MAXED out. As well as the G-cutoff.

I manipulated the colors a bit and got a little bit better picture that was pitch black in areas, but its just not where I would want it to be. Below are the pictures from the original test

and then after my fooling around in the service menu (3rd strike pictures)

I did a MINOR adjustment to the flyback voltage (not even an 1/8th of a turn) and got more brightness to decrease the contrast/brightness and dial in the colors. Although now its playable/acceptable, its slightly washed out and just pathetic compared to the 2P monitor.

As I understand it, I have 2 options:

1) full recap of chassis (never done something this extensive)
2) CRT rejuvenation service with appropriate tool (although I understand this isn't really a fix? Just more to extend the life of a dying/dim monitor that accelerates the end.

Any further notes or specific caps I should look to replace first?

 

[nem]

You could swap the chassis between the two tubes to rule out it being a chassis issue.

To me it sounds like a worn tube that would need to be rejuvenated.

 

[PsychicJoTron]

You could try to adjust the flyback more, but before doing so I would lower the brightness adjustment in advance. Small, slow adjustments are critical. If you don't feel comfortable doing this then I think the idea from nem to swap chassis between the tubes and see if the issue follows the tube or the chassis is a good step.

 

[PsychicJoTron]

I know that your chassis is a 2933 but the instructions and explanations for setting black point, white point, and how each kind of adjustment (flyback, brightness, contrast, etc) should be done to optimize picture is top notch and should be applicable here:

https://mikejmoffitt.com/pages/ms9-hax/

The model itself isn't what to look at, it's the breakdown of optimizing your tube.

 

[Mimiq]

I know that your chassis is a 2933 but the instructions and explanations for setting black point, white point, and how each kind of adjustment (flyback, brightness, contrast, etc) should be done to optimize picture is top notch and should be applicable here:

https://mikejmoffitt.com/pages/ms9-hax/

The model itself isn't what to look at, it's the breakdown of optimizing your tube.

Thank you for that link! I have dialed in everything I can. The green gun is maxed out, brightness is set to almost the lowest setting, and contrast was increased to compensate, but was not maxed out thankfully.

You could try to adjust the flyback more, but before doing so I would lower the brightness adjustment in advance. Small, slow adjustments are critical. If you don't feel comfortable doing this then I think the idea from nem to swap chassis between the tubes and see if the issue follows the tube or the chassis is a good step.

I did adjust the flyback as well! The monitor is now "acceptable" but isn't as pretty as the other side which is absolutely perfect.

My monitor also has the OSD service menu instead of pots. I just have the pots on the flyback, and 3 on the chassis itself, with one being labeled as B+ (not sure what this does)

This is a cabinet from KC, so I reached out to him and he wants the chassis shipped back to him to be repaired by PNL and then reinstalled. If all else fails, he'll send me another monitor at a reduced price that's compatible with the 2933 chassis

 

[PsychicJoTron]

No prob - It's awesome when the seller stands behind the product! NVCs are awesome cabs, I hope you get everything where you want it soon.

 

[Mimiq]

Greta update!

The issue has now been fixed, although it tool 2 separate techs to get it done.

Long story short: I was able to mail my chassis for the 2933 back to KC in LA, and it was then sent to PNL for a "full repair/recap"

Once he got it back to me 3 days later, I found that only about 30% of the caps were replaced, and those were primarily in the power supply area of the chassis. No matter, ill plug it in and see what happens. The screen did spring back to life and it was (albeit ever so slightly) brighter!

New problem: I lost 100% of the red color. I tried everything, reseating the neck board, tube tester (no rejuv function, just verifying levels) to no avail. Luckily, there was an arcade monitor repair company that did house calls near me! For $200 he replaced a few more key caps, assured me the rest looked fine for now, and then reflowed the RGB color transistors on the neckboard.

Presto! She is good as new and sharp as can be. The p2 monitor will shine a little brighter than p1, but they're so much closer in visual fidelity that its hard to tell unless you know why they're different.

Thank you all for the help!