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Offline AmigaOldskoolerTopic starter

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CRT TV's - Are you using one?
« on: July 10, 2019, 08:20:07 AM »
Hi everyone,

For quite some time I used a Philips Flat-screen CRT TV for my Amiga 1200. The image was very nice and I was happy with it. Unfortunately it developed a high squeeking sound (which only the rest of the family could hear - my hearing is apparantly not as good as it used to be, so I could not hear a thing) and stopped working properly. I'm now using an LCD TV and it is OK, but I miss the CRT, so thought I'd start looking around for a new one. With an RGB to SCART, using a CRT on the Amiga is a great experience in my opinion. :)

Anyway, I was wondering who else uses a CRT for their Amiga? If yes, what brand, size etc.? Any recommendations? :)

Offline paul1981

Re: CRT TV's - Are you using one?
« Reply #1 on: July 10, 2019, 10:40:33 AM »
I still have my Microvitec 1438 and Philips 8833, but they are packed away in the loft due to space constraints. I have have two VGA monitors in the loft and a third that is in the junk room incase I need to hook up a motherboard to it or something. Also, I have a an old Hitachi portable colour TV in the junk room for attaching to my C64 to still check they're both working once in a while. Almost forgot about the old Ferguson black & white portable in the loft - that was what I used for the C64 up until 1990. It still works fine.

So the answer to your question is no, but only because I don't have the room to set them up!
 

Offline Brian Hoskins

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Re: CRT TV's - Are you using one?
« Reply #2 on: July 10, 2019, 12:24:57 PM »
Here's my take:

For Workbench and applications, an LCD monitor is prefferable to CRT because you get a sharper and more precise image on an LCD.  Especially compared to old CRTs (all CRTs are old now) which tend to suffer from a range of image geometry distortions.

For Games, Demos and a general retro experience then CRT is prefferable because it's far more 'forgiving' of the AMIGAs graphics capabilities than LCD.  In fact, I imagine that most games on the AMIGA are designed around the experience you get from a CRT screen.  Games definitely look better on CRT, there's no doubt about it.

In practice I use both.  On the CRT side I use an AMIGA technologies branded 1538.  This is an excellent little monitor because of its ability to multisync.  You can use it on the AMIGA native modes and also higher graphics modes on the Workbench, no problems.

I also have a Philips 8833, so my setup is very similar to Paul's.  But I tend to use my Philips monitor on my old Spectrum computers rather than the AMIGA.

I also have another CRT monitor, the model I can't quite recall (will have to check later) but it only just about syncs down to the AMIGA screen modes and I found that only the higher modes work on it so it's not that much use for gaming.  It's a lovely monitor with my graphics card in the A2000 though.

Paul's right, they do take up a lot of room.  Whether that's worth it or not depends on what you're doing with your AMIGA the most.

PS: I worry about keeping these old monitors in the attic on two fronts:

  • Previously I kept a monitor up there and it yellowed really badly.  I was under the impression that exposure to UV triggered this reaction but my monitor went yellow just by being stored in the attic in the dark! I wonder if the heat triggered it.  Not sure.  But ever since then I don't keep any AMIGA equipment in the attic.
  • It gets very hot in the attic, especially in the Summer.  And then it goes cool in the night.  So your equipment is going hot/cold/hot/cold all the time.  So I worry about the longevity of older equipment like this when subjected to that environment.  This is a worry that is born of personal feeling rather than direct experience of attic storage causing specific problems with my equipment.
« Last Edit: July 10, 2019, 12:30:42 PM by Brian Hoskins »
 

Offline tonyvdb

Re: CRT TV's - Are you using one?
« Reply #3 on: July 10, 2019, 09:50:33 PM »
Ive used two different monitors with my Amiga's the 1080 and the 1960 the 1080 lasted for its lifetime and finally got rid of it a couple years back but the 1960 suffered the usual death that most did of the cold solder letting go at the rear of the tube and burning the circuit board. If you can find a working 1960 it was a good monitor for the Amiga.
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Offline paul1981

Re: CRT TV's - Are you using one?
« Reply #4 on: July 10, 2019, 11:06:20 PM »

PS: I worry about keeping these old monitors in the attic on two fronts:

  • Previously I kept a monitor up there and it yellowed really badly.  I was under the impression that exposure to UV triggered this reaction but my monitor went yellow just by being stored in the attic in the dark! I wonder if the heat triggered it.  Not sure.  But ever since then I don't keep any AMIGA equipment in the attic.
  • It gets very hot in the attic, especially in the Summer.  And then it goes cool in the night.  So your equipment is going hot/cold/hot/cold all the time.  So I worry about the longevity of older equipment like this when subjected to that environment.  This is a worry that is born of personal feeling rather than direct experience of attic storage causing specific problems with my equipment.

There was a recent post on here regarding the yellowing of the someones's Apple Quadra (or whatever they're called) and there was a rusky chap I think who linked to some info about yellowing and it was quite interesting (required google translate) and it turns out even air alone can yellow some plastics. I never knew that, so perhaps that explains your case.
My monitors are in boxes and I think I put them in bags too and the boxes are taped, so pretty safe from dust. The biggest problem with the loft besides heat is moisture in there, but since we had four vents installed up there on both sides of the house (eight vents in total) then that problem has disappeared and all the cardboard boxes up there remain as dry as a bone. I have a load of floppy disks up there, but again I was careful to bag and pack them very well. I have tapes up there which aren't packed well at all (C64 and reel to reels) so I'm not sure how they'll be after all these years.
 

Offline golem

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Re: CRT TV's - Are you using one?
« Reply #5 on: July 10, 2019, 11:18:03 PM »
I'm using Philips 107P and 107B. I acquired them around 2005 I think. They are 17" CRT monitors designed for PC but they sync to the 1200 VGA modes (not PAL or 15kHz modes though) with straight through silver Commodore adaptor. I also have an Indivision and I have tried it with a modern flatscreen for Workbench but it was too unforgiving so I went back to the CRT. It is softer image and looks better to my eyes.
                                                             
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Offline Darin

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Re: CRT TV's - Are you using one?
« Reply #6 on: July 11, 2019, 05:11:09 PM »
Yes, I still use CRT's with my Amigas for the most part.  I've got a couple 1084s monitors, a KDS 19" with component and VGA inputs, and a Samsung 19".  I have a 1950 in storage that has a flyback transformer issue.  One of my time depending project is to see if I can hook my systems up my 78" Samsung LED TV, I'm thinking that would be fun for games.

On the yellowing, I've found that heat does play a big role in the yellowing of plastics.  UV is also a significant contributor to yellowing on some plastics. 
 

Offline tonyvdb

Re: CRT TV's - Are you using one?
« Reply #7 on: July 11, 2019, 08:25:32 PM »
One of my time depending project is to see if I can hook my systems up my 78" Samsung LED TV, I'm thinking that would be fun for games.

I have a 120" fixed screen with projector and using the VGA input on the projector from the Indivison games look awesome on the big screen.
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Offline AmigaOldskoolerTopic starter

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Re: CRT TV's - Are you using one?
« Reply #8 on: July 13, 2019, 08:08:35 AM »
Thanks for all the input guys. :) I found a free CRT TV which I'll be picking up today. It's a "Grundig" and it is 28", so quite larger than what I've used in the past. Think it should work nicely. :)

Offline Brian Hoskins

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Re: CRT TV's - Are you using one?
« Reply #9 on: July 13, 2019, 08:15:41 AM »
You won't get a great picture with a TV though.  Keep your eye out for a proper CRT monitor.

That 28" grundig would be a good platform for a full size arcade cabinet though.
 

Offline paul1981

Re: CRT TV's - Are you using one?
« Reply #10 on: July 13, 2019, 11:49:15 AM »
Thanks for all the input guys. :) I found a free CRT TV which I'll be picking up today. It's a "Grundig" and it is 28", so quite larger than what I've used in the past. Think it should work nicely. :)

It should be a very good picture if it has a SCART connection. You're gonna have lots of fun with that.  ;D
 

Offline AmigaOldskoolerTopic starter

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Re: CRT TV's - Are you using one?
« Reply #11 on: July 14, 2019, 02:45:46 PM »
Picked up the TV. Weighed a ton. ;D Installed it and it powered up, but still emits that high frequency sound. Guess most old TV-s are like this? Since I can't hear the sound myself, it is hard to describe. Yes, I use an RGB to SCART cable. Gives a nice picture, and I love using it for watching demos and playing games.

Offline zipper

Re: CRT TV's - Are you using one?
« Reply #12 on: July 14, 2019, 04:53:34 PM »
All tube receivers do emit 15625/15750 Hz sound. More or less.
 

Offline 10MARC

Re: CRT TV's - Are you using one?
« Reply #13 on: July 14, 2019, 05:38:10 PM »
I could not wait to get away from CRT Televisions on my computers in 1984, I sure don't want to use one now! I have a 1084, a 1902, a couple of 1702's and some LCD displays - no nostalgia at all for blurry CRT's. That's just me, though.
 

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Re: CRT TV's - Are you using one?
« Reply #14 on: July 14, 2019, 05:44:52 PM »
I could not wait to get away from CRT Televisions on my computers in 1984, I sure don't want to use one now! I have a 1084, a 1902, a couple of 1702's and some LCD displays - no nostalgia at all for blurry CRT's. That's just me, though.

I do, however, love my Commodore 2002 connected to my REV3 NTSC A500 when playing Indy500 and Flight Simulator!
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