Got this old 80's Panasonic VCR. Been in the family before I was even
born. It's VFD screen has gotten ultra dark, and fuzzy. Is there
anyway to fix this? The player still plays great, it's a top loader.

wrote in message
...
Got this old 80's Panasonic VCR. Been in the family before I was even
born. It's VFD screen has gotten ultra dark, and fuzzy. Is there
anyway to fix this? The player still plays great, it's a top loader.

There are reasons that VFDs go dim, including the -25v (as low as -20v on
some displays, and over -30v on others) dropping due to poor capacitors in
the voltage multiplier that most designs use. However, by far the most
common cause of trouble, especially on something that age, is the VFD panel
itself going low emission. You could try checking the negative supply just
in case, and also giving the face of the display and the inside of the
window a good clean, as they collect a dust 'film' over the years. Other
than that, it's a case of live with it, or replace it with a shiny new PVR
....

Arfa

On Mar 3, 4:30*am, "Arfa Daily" wrote:
wrote in message

...

Got this old 80's Panasonic VCR. *Been in the family before I was even
born. *It's VFD screen has gotten ultra dark, and fuzzy. *Is there
anyway to fix this? *The player still plays great, it's a top loader.

There are reasons that VFDs go dim, including the -25v (as low as -20v on
some displays, and over -30v on others) dropping due to poor capacitors in
the voltage multiplier that most designs use. However, by far the most
common cause of trouble, especially on something that age, is the VFD panel
itself going low emission. You could try checking the negative supply just
in case, and also giving the face of the display and the inside of the
window a good clean, as they collect a dust 'film' over the years. Other
than that, it's a case of live with it, or replace it with a shiny new PVR
...

Arfa

Oh wow.. Took the front panel off, and it was extremely filthy.. It
was tough dirt too, when I cleaned it, it dried up blury, but after
lots of scrubbing, I have completed it, and it also became slightly
brighter too, though not too well still.. (in the pics, the camera
made it look better than it really is).

Befo http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...gon/before.jpg

After: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...on/after-1.jpg

On Mon, 3 Mar 2008 08:03:29 -0800 (PST), wrote:

Oh wow.. Took the front panel off, and it was extremely filthy.. It
was tough dirt too, when I cleaned it, it dried up blury, but after
lots of scrubbing, I have completed it, and it also became slightly
brighter too, though not too well still.. (in the pics, the camera
made it look better than it really is).

Befo http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...gon/before.jpg

After: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...on/after-1.jpg

A smoker in the house?

Jonesy
--
Marvin L Jones | jonz | W3DHJ | linux
38.24N 104.55W | @ config.com | Jonesy | OS/2
*** Killfiling google posts: http://jonz.net/ng.htm

On Mar 3, 12:10*pm, Allodoxaphobia wrote:
On Mon, 3 Mar 2008 08:03:29 -0800 (PST), wrote:
Oh wow.. *Took the front panel off, and it was extremely filthy.. *It
was tough dirt too, when I cleaned it, it dried up blury, but after
lots of scrubbing, I have completed it, and it also became slightly
brighter too, though not too well still.. *(in the pics, the camera
made it look better than it really is).

Befo *http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...gon/before.jpg

After: *http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...on/after-1.jpg

A smoker in the house?

Jonesy
--
* Marvin L Jones * *| jonz * * * * *| W3DHJ *| linux
* *38.24N *104.55W *| *@ config.com | Jonesy | *OS/2
* * *** Killfiling google posts: http://jonz.net/ng.htm

Oddly no. I have Asthma, so non of my parents smoked. I think this
fog up happened when we moved to Florida back in 98. It was in
storage for at least 2 years. Perhaps that caused it.

wrote in message
...
On Mar 3, 4:30 am, "Arfa Daily" wrote:
wrote in message

...

Got this old 80's Panasonic VCR. Been in the family before I was even
born. It's VFD screen has gotten ultra dark, and fuzzy. Is there
anyway to fix this? The player still plays great, it's a top loader.

There are reasons that VFDs go dim, including the -25v (as low as -20v on
some displays, and over -30v on others) dropping due to poor capacitors in
the voltage multiplier that most designs use. However, by far the most
common cause of trouble, especially on something that age, is the VFD
panel
itself going low emission. You could try checking the negative supply just
in case, and also giving the face of the display and the inside of the
window a good clean, as they collect a dust 'film' over the years. Other
than that, it's a case of live with it, or replace it with a shiny new PVR
...

Arfa

Oh wow.. Took the front panel off, and it was extremely filthy.. It
was tough dirt too, when I cleaned it, it dried up blury, but after
lots of scrubbing, I have completed it, and it also became slightly
brighter too, though not too well still.. (in the pics, the camera
made it look better than it really is).

Befo http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...gon/before.jpg

After: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...on/after-1.jpg


You can actually see the 'uneveness' of the illumination on individual
segments, and this is the classic symptom of a worn display. Still, I guess
it's at least useable now, so that's at least a bit of a result. :-)

Arfa

Oh wow.. Took the front panel off, and it was extremely filthy.. It
was tough dirt too, when I cleaned it, it dried up blury, but after
lots of scrubbing, I have completed it, and it also became slightly
brighter too, though not too well still.. (in the pics, the camera
made it look better than it really is).

Befo http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...gon/before.jpg

After: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...on/after-1.jpg


Hey that looks pretty good. Definitely worn, but serviceable. I'd leave well
enough alone.