New Description
General information about repairing CRT monitors found in most older arcade cabinets. Anyone attempting to repair an arcade CRT should be quite sure that they understand what parts are dangerous and how to discharge a CRT. You can view a video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDAiLtTDuf4 on YouTube] as to how to do this, but be sure you know what you are doing!
Common vocabulary that is necessary to understand the following tips:
* '''Purity''' - How well each gun lines up with its respective phosphors. A CRT with good purity means that the red gun only excites the red phosphors, the green gun only excites the green phosphors, and the blue gun only excites the blue phosphors. If your purity is off, then some sections of your screen will appear discolored. This is because the red gun has shifted to excite the green phosphors, green has shifted to blue, and blue to red (or the other way around).
* '''Convergence''' - How well the red, green and blue guns line up with respect to each other. Good convergence means that for a specific "pixel", all three guns are aiming at the exact same cluster of phosphors. Bad convergence means that one or more of the guns will aim slightly off from its target, meaning that you do not get the correct mixing of colors to produce a crisp image. '''Static Convergence''' refers to the entire monitor, while '''Dynamic Convergence''' refers to how the convergence drifts as the guns move left to right and top to bottom. For instance, if you have a green gun that always draws slightly to the right no matter where on the CRT you look, your static convergence is off.
* '''Tube''' - The actual cathode ray tube itself, without the control circuitry.
* '''Neck''' - The stem that sticks out the back of the cathode ray tube, where the guns live and where the yoke, convergence rings and neck board are attached.
* '''Chassis''' - The arcade term for the circuit board that controls the CRT.
* '''Neck Board''' - The small circuit board connected to the chassis through a series of wires that plugs directly into the back of the neck of the tube.
* '''Yoke''' - The plastic housing and horizontal and vertical magnet windings that are attached to the front of the neck and provide the steering for the electrons to make a picture on the CRT.
* '''Convergence Rings''' - The set of rings behind the yoke that can be adjusted to balance static convergence and purity.
* '''Degaussing''' - The process of attempting to remove stray magnetic fields in the metal shield of the CRT behind the phosphors. Most monitors have an automatic degauss function as well as a button to press. However, you can buy an external degaussing ring to perform a similar functionality.
Old Description
General information about repairing CRT monitors found in most older arcade cabinets. Anyone attempting to repair an arcade CRT should be quite sure that they understand what parts are dangerous and how to discharge a CRT. You can view a video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDAiLtTDuf4 on YouTube] as to how to do this, but be sure you know what you are doing!
Common vocabulary that is necessary to understand the following tips:
* '''Purity''' - How well each gun lines up with its respective phosphors. A CRT with good purity means that the red gun only excites the red phosphors, the green gun only excites the green phosphors, and the blue gun only excites the blue phosphors. If your purity is off, then some sections of your screen will appear discolored. This is because the red gun has shifted to excite the green phosphors, green has shifted to blue, and blue to red (or the other way around).
* '''Convergence''' - How well the red, green and blue guns line up with respect to each other. Good convergence means that for a specific "pixel", all three guns are aiming at the exact same cluster of phosphors. Bad convergence means that one or more of the guns will aim slightly off from its target, meaning that you do not get the correct mixing of colors to produce a crisp image. '''Static Convergence''' refers to the entire monitor, while '''Dynamic Convergence''' refers to how the convergence drifts as the guns move left to right and top to bottom. For instance, if you have a green gun that always draws slightly to the right no matter where on the CRT you look, your static convergence is off.
* '''Tube''' - The actual cathode ray tube itself, without the control circuitry.
* '''Neck''' - The stem that sticks out the back of the cathode ray tube, where the guns live and where the yoke, convergence rings and neck board are attached.
* '''Chassis''' - The arcade term for the circuit board that controls the CRT.
* '''Neck Board''' - The small circuit board connected to the chassis through a series of wires that plugs directly into the back of the neck of the tube.
* '''Yoke''' - The plastic housing and horizontal and vertical magnet windings that are attached to the front of the neck and provide the steering for the electrons to make a picture on the CRT.
* '''Convergence Rings''' - The set of rings behind the yoke that can be adjusted to balance static convergence and purity.