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Date:	Mon, 21 Jan 2002 18:23:41 PST7
From:	Peter Skye <pskye@peterskye.com >
Reply-To:	scoug-help@scoug.com
To:	scoug-help@scoug.com
Subject:	SCOUG-Help: Monitor Glitch

Content Type: text/plain

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J. R. Fox wrote:
>
> Hi Peter,

Hiya J. R.,

> My approx. 3 yr. old 21-incher has started occasionally
> doing something ... sort of like a slight "zoom out"
> effect of the screen image, which then very quickly
> snaps back to a normal display.

My first guess is that the power supply is having a bit of trouble.

You run 1600x1200 like me, yes? And what vertical frequency -- 75 Hz
perhaps? Try switching to 60 Hz and see if the problem goes away.

> My hope was to get another couple years out of this monitor.

If it's still under warranty, take it in for repair. My Sony 21" had
its power supply start to fail with only a month left on the warranty.
I bought a cheap 1600x1200 monitor at Fry's for less than $200 and used
it for two weeks while Sony fixed my 21" for free. It probably would
have cost me more than $200 if the monitor had failed two months later
when the warranty had run out -- and now I have a spare 1600x1200. (The
cheap 1600x1200 functions okay but it sure doesn't look as good as the
Sony with its Trinitron tube.)

> The computer tends to be on 24/7, but the monitor
> I generally turn off overnight, or if there will be
> any prolonged period of non-usage during the day.

Everything here is 24/7, even all the monitors. I could save a few
bucks on the electrical bill if I turned the monitors off when I'm not
here, but I never remember. A 24/7 monitor uses about $15/month in
electricity (at 130 watts per monitor and 16 cents per kilowatt hour).

I've seen arguments for 35 years (I'm 54) on what you should turn off
and what you should leave on. There's a "thermal shock" which occurs
when something is turned on and expands quickly when it heats up --
that's why a lot of light bulbs fail the moment you turn the wall switch
on, and the same happens with electronic gear. There is some other
damage which power cycling ("turning them on and off") can cause. And
disk drive motors can freeze up when they are off, so when you turn them
on they won't spin (tapping on the drive's case sometimes helps to get
the motor going). You're going to spend the money one way or another --
either on the electrical bill or on repair & replacement.

- Peter

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