Is my monitor failing

Pilgrim57

Pilgrim57

Pilgrim57

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Recently when turning on or coming out of standby the screen flickers for 10-30 seconds but not every time.
I have tried a different port on the graphic cards, reduced the overclock to no effect. Does it at default speed. Noticed that I turned on monitor the other day before starting PC & it was flickering then.
It is a 5 year old Samsung 22".
I'm guessing it is not worth a repair.

Any suggestions for a 24" replacement?

Thanks
 
Yes.

/Thread


Joking lol, on topic, it does seem like it's failing, at that age wouldn't really be worth it for a repair in my opinion, what's your budget for a 24" replacement monitor and what specifications would it need to meet.
 
Thanks for that. I get lost in the detail: do I need 120Hz, IPS over TN, how do I connect display port when the card only has DVI & mini HDMI Not interested in 3D!
Don't game as much & FPS are rare mostly things like CIV, NWN & the like. Surfing & watching iPlayer & the like.
Card is 560Ti.
Budget around £300, as my current one cost £270 that works out at about £1 per week:) Was tempted by 27" but I think that may be too big.[H. space about 63cm]
 
Assuming (and I'm sure it is) that it is a SM226BW you have, then the fix is an absolute doddle, and will cost you no more than a few £'s.

It is caused by some dodgy capacitors that will be about to fail. If you are any way handy at all, grab a soldering iron and follow the guide here (it's for a 206bw, but it's the same monitor in essence only smaller)...

http://normsweb.com/tektips/sam206bw.shtml

...and the thread here...

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18069187

Just make sure to take yours apart and check the caps you need before ordering them, and be sure to get something like Panasonic/Nichicon caps with high temp (105c) and low ESR.

Taking the monitor apart is really simple, you basically need to remove 6 screws (3 holding the base on and 3 at the bottom of the rear casing) and then simply pry off the back cover with your fingers.

If you need any advice just shout, I've repaired the caps / inverter and the backlights on mine, so know my way around it pretty well now :D
 
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Pilgrim57 said:
Thanks for that. I get lost in the detail: do I need 120Hz, IPS over TN, how do I connect display port when the card only has DVI & mini HDMI Not interested in 3D!
Don't game as much & FPS are rare mostly things like CIV, NWN & the like. Surfing & watching iPlayer & the like.
Card is 560Ti.
Budget around £300, as my current one cost £270 that works out at about £1 per week:) Was tempted by 27" but I think that may be too big.[H. space about 63cm]
Click to expand...

120Hz isn't really necessary because you would need a stronger GPU to hit above 100fps on games, except from Portal or Steam games because they are largely defendant on CPU.

The AOC E2795VH is a pretty excellent monitor, it's up for £215.99 so you would have £75 left from your budget which you can put to something else in life :p

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-005-AO&groupid=17&catid=1120&subcat=

It looks really good for gaming and the LED backlight should make your whole experience that extra bit better, response time is fast although it's not the fastest but a couple ms won't make a difference, especially if your not playing FPS.

The other monitors you could consider are the Korean models such as the Yamakasi Catleap, they sell for around £200 on an auction site and have a 2560x1440 resolution with an 27" IPS LED display, albeit they do come from Korea so warranty claims (if any) might be a little bit more of a hassle.
 
Thanks for all the feedback guys.
Been a busy week.
@Diggsy Just one question: how do you remove the blown capacitors? [thanks for the links v. helpful]

I have today ordered a complete set of caps from Farnell inc a soldering kit as there was a min £20 spend:( RSSS only seem to sell most as a min of x5.

I hope I won't electrocute myself!
 
Pilgrim57 said:
Thanks for all the feedback guys.
Been a busy week.
@Diggsy Just one question: how do you remove the blown capacitors? [thanks for the links v. helpful]

I have today ordered a complete set of caps from Farnell inc a soldering kit as there was a min £20 spend:( RSSS only seem to sell most as a min of x5.

I hope I won't electrocute myself!
Click to expand...

It's dead easy mate, just take your time and you'll be fine. The only thing I would suggest is make sure the screen hasn't been turned on for a good 30 minutes or so before you work on it to allow most of the stored energy to discharge and be careful around the large cap in the middle of the board. Other than that there's not much to worry about.

See these links here which should help with removal and installing the new ones :)...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFsO-Qz0MGE&feature=relmfu

http://www.gcaudio.com/resources/howtos/soldering.html

This should be useful too, it's a complete repair video for the 226bw including how to take it apart and do the de-soldering / re-soldering...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEkckeT8Pz4

One thing I will say is try not to hold the heat on the board for too long, as you can strip the solder points off it if you overheat it. Just heat one leg of the cap and wiggle it around, you'll feel it start to loosen, once it does, move to the other leg and repeat.

Be careful of the polarity of the new caps, although it's pretty easy to get that right, and don't cut the legs off the new caps until they are soldered in place, it will make them easier to keep in place until soldered.
 
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Replacing the caps on a 226BW is the easiest thing in the world, and that's from somebody who is pretty useless with a soldering iron! :D

Take photos of every single cable and screw before you undo them, and you won't go wrong!
 
darael said:
Replacing the caps on a 226BW is the easiest thing in the world, and that's from somebody who is pretty useless with a soldering iron! :D

Take photos of every single cable and screw before you undo them, and you won't go wrong!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the confidence boost:cool: I just need to take my time.
Any fool can take things apart, its putting them back together that is the challenge;)

@Diggsy. Many thanks for the links they will be v helpful. Have watched the videos & will do again before I start.

Thanks again.

Found this short one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCSNWi3UHf4&feature=player_detailpage

2 questions:

Should I replace them one at a time to avoid putting one in the wrong holes?

I bought a complete set just in case, so should I only replace the obvious bad ones [the 3 in a group] or all of them?
 
No worries, you're more than welcome. Whilst you are in there you could replace all but the largest cap if you want to, as it will certainly not do any harm, and at least you'll know its done. However this is not essential. Oh and it may not be obvious which ones are gone, as caps can fail without bulging/leaking, although it's more common that they do either bulge or leak.

As for whether to replace one or all at the same time, entirely up to you, but personally I would do them all at once. I would draw a plan of the board and write the values of each cap down so there is no way to get them wrong when installing the new ones.
 
HI Diggsy. I don't think I expressed myself clearly, the point is moot, but I meant replace all of the caps but take one out then put the new one in before going on to the next.
Anyway it is done, *huge sigh of relief* & I'm flicker free:D
The large cap was a bust as the replacement didn't have the leg to reach the holes in the board:confused: If I was more confident & adventurous I suppose I could have cut the old capacitor legs off close to the cap & soldered the new on to the old legs.

see http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showpost.php?p=22269136&postcount=179

@ darael I think I can confidently state I am more **** at soldering than you:o It was like the Kryton Factor to remove the old caps & get the solder to make a good joint. I wish I had got Silver solder.

TVM once again guys.
 
Hey, great news!! Oh and just read your other thread too, I would imagine the 4mm solder tip was way too big for the job and just made it more awkward for you, but at least it got the job done.

Good to know that another Samsung has been fixed! Just hope you don't suffer the same luck I did - fix lasted maybe 12-18 months before 2 of the 4 CCFL tubes went :(

Mind you, I did replace them and am still using the screen today :)
 
Diggsy said:
Hey, great news!! Oh and just read your other thread too, I would imagine the 4mm solder tip was way too big for the job and just made it more awkward for you, but at least it got the job done.

Good to know that another Samsung has been fixed! Just hope you don't suffer the same luck I did - fix lasted maybe 12-18 months before 2 of the 4 CCFL tubes went :(

Mind you, I did replace them and am still using the screen today :)
Click to expand...

That's the trouble with being a solder novice, you learn the hard way:(

About the tubes, the screen looked sealed to my eyes, how easy were they to replace & where did you get them from? I guess they are not standard in as much as they must be rated a certain colour temp or voltage.
 
Pilgrim57 said:
That's the trouble with being a solder novice, you learn the hard way:(

About the tubes, the screen looked sealed to my eyes, how easy were they to replace & where did you get them from? I guess they are not standard in as much as they must be rated a certain colour temp or voltage.
Click to expand...

Got them from the US - CCFL Warehouse... http://www.ccflwarehouse.com/20ccdubaasfo.html

$33 + $13 shipping, then whatever you get stung by Customs (was about £10 IIRC)

This unit is the correct fitment for this screen, but the fix is anything but easy to do. It's daunting to strip a screen right down to the bare bones. Do-able for sure, but not for the faint hearted.
 
Diggsy said:
Got them from the US - CCFL Warehouse... http://www.ccflwarehouse.com/20ccdubaasfo.html

$33 + $13 shipping, then whatever you get stung by Customs (was about £10 IIRC)

This unit is the correct fitment for this screen, but the fix is anything but easy to do. It's daunting to strip a screen right down to the bare bones. Do-able for sure, but not for the faint hearted.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I like the "no soldering" but I would say this is "A bridge too far" for me. If the backlight go phuut I'll put the £40 odd towards a new bigger monitor.
You really are a mine of information, Diggsy:cool:
 
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