Maintenance on 1084S monitor

[AmigaBruno]

I've recently bought an Amiga 1084S monitor, although I haven't collected it in person yet.

I plan to check it before bringing it home. I hope it will continue to work for the foreseeable future, but I wonder if anyone has any advice on how to keep it running.

My original 1084S monitor let me down after about 6.5 years. The problem was that one of the colours red, green, or blue stopped working. I got someone to make up a new lead, which seemed to work at first, but after only a few minutes the same fault recurred. I never managed to get it repaired. I then had a custom lead made up for an old monitor I had lying around.

What can I do to get the most out of my new old 1084S monitor?

[smerf]

Hi,

I have had mine since 1990, I find not turning it on works great. Makes it last a long long long  time.

Hey just joking, don't know what to tell you on this one, the 1084 monitors were a problem, some would last forever, and some ( like the ones I bought) would last for 5 minutes after you turn it on, the one I am using now, works only if you slap it on the side about 10 times, then it turns on and stays on until you turn it back off, then slap it another 10 times it will come back on. Have had it apart about 3 times and can not find a problem, probably a cold solder joint. Has driven me crazy for five years now. One day I will find it.

smerf

[JimS]

Hi,

 Have had it apart about 3 times and can not find a problem, probably a cold solder joint. Has driven me crazy for five years now. One day I will find it.

smerf

I've found that cold solder joints happen most often on the flyback transformer. I made it a habit to check and then resolder those joints whenever I had to open any of the Amiga monitors.

[freqmax]

The solder joints on the HV transformer is a cultprint worth checking..

[AmigaBruno]

Well, I picked up the monitor in person 2 days ago now and it's working OK.

Interestingly enough, although it says 1084S on the front of the monitor, it's not the same model I bought with my original Amiga A500 years ago. I used to own the second one pictured on the page below, but the one I've just bought is the third or forth model on the page, which is listed as a 1084ST or 1084S-D1. Is this a later model?

http://www.bigbookofamigahardware.com/bboah/product.aspx?id=850

[JimS]

Interestingly enough, although it says 1084S on the front of the monitor, it's not the same model I bought with my original Amiga A500 years ago. I used to own the second one pictured on the page below, but the one I've just bought is the third or forth model on the page, which is listed as a 1084ST or 1084S-D1. Is this a later model?

Commodore used two manufacturers for the 1084. Phillips and Daewoo. The "D" in the model number means yours is a Daewoo.

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

There's actually about eight zillion different models of 1084 monitor.  Really, I'm not exaggerating that number at all.  

Check out this list:

http://gona.mactar.hu/Commodore/monitor/Commodore_monitors_by_model_number.html

[djkoelkast]

I love the 1084S image, but they sure beep as hell, I can't stand the high pitched noise they make.

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

I love the 1084S image, but they sure beep as hell, I can't stand the high pitched noise they make.

You mean the high pitched whine?  Probably the flyback transformer.  Typical in old CRT devices.  With my LCD I don't miss that at all!  

[pVC]

My original 1084S monitor let me down after about 6.5 years. The problem was that one of the colours red, green, or blue stopped working. I got someone to make up a new lead, which seemed to work at first, but after only a few minutes the same fault recurred. I never managed to get it repaired.

That's typical problem and often thought to be because of the cable, but it's actually the connector on the monitor. It's really easy to fix if you open the monitor and re-solder the connector... those pins just get loose by time. Just be careful where to touch if you open monitor... no danger around that connector though

[djkoelkast]

You mean the high pitched whine?  Probably the flyback transformer.  Typical in old CRT devices.  With my LCD I don't miss that at all!  

Yeah, they all have it. I don't hear it on CRT VGA monitors though, only on old televisions and television-like monitors like the 1084(S), it really hurts my ears.

[zipper]

Because you can hear 15625/15750 Hz - but 30/31 kHz just dogs and bats etc..

[LaserBack]

to make the 1084s last forever you must do 2 steps

1: resolder all the board with good tin....(manufacturer used buggy tin in this monitor)
2: replace all those buggy chinese capxon caps and insert good japanese caps...ie chemicon, rubycon or panasonic

[AmigaBruno]

You mean the high pitched whine?  Probably the flyback transformer.  Typical in old CRT devices.  With my LCD I don't miss that at all!  

This whine was very noticeable and annoying on my original 1084S Philips monitor, but I didn't hear it on any other monitors, including the same model in the shops. What stopped the whine was me moving out and having the monitor transported across London in a small van. It never whined after that!

[AmigaBruno]

That's typical problem and often thought to be because of the cable, but it's actually the connector on the monitor. It's really easy to fix if you open the monitor and re-solder the connector... those pins just get loose by time. Just be careful where to touch if you open monitor... no danger around that connector though

Unfortunately, my knowledge of electronics doesn't extend that far. I bought an electronics projects kit with a breadboard in February, but I haven't managed to build even the first project, which is an LED with a dimmer switch. Some years ago, I saw a series on TV which included information that TV sets and monitors contain one or more components which store high voltages even when they're turned off and unplugged. This means that unless you know exactly what you're doing you can easily kill yourself by attempting to repair one.  The extortionate prices charged even just to look at a monitor to diagnose the fault prevented me from having it repaired.