Hi,

My LCD desktop monitor has been exhibiting a problem for over 1 year.
It is out of warranty and I would like to fix it.

The problem is that the monitor displays the picture, and then
gradually fades to white, and then gradually fades to black.

The monitor does not exhibit the problem all the time. It comes and
goes. I do not have a procedure which triggers the problem; it seems
to be random. Sometimes it will behave this way for only a few
minutes, while other times it will behave like this for weeks.

I do not do anything to trigger the problem, other than have the
monitor powered on.

I have two of these monitors. I bought both monitors at the same time.
Both monitors are connected to the same video card (nVidia) via a DVI
connection. Only one of the monitors exhibits the problem--the other
continues to function properly. When the monitor exhibits the
problem, I can swap the DVI cables and the other monitor continues to
function properly. So I do not believe the problem is my video card or
computer.

I do not know of a method to get the monitor out of this problem
state. I've tried cycling the power to the monitor, and I've tried
rebooting the computer. Neither method fixes the problem. The only
thing I can do is wait for it to fix itself. But eventually, it
malfunctions again.

A video of the problem occurring is available he
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7YpFZVRjcE


Best regards,
Nick

saber850 wrote in message
...
Hi,

My LCD desktop monitor has been exhibiting a problem for over 1 year.
It is out of warranty and I would like to fix it.

The problem is that the monitor displays the picture, and then
gradually fades to white, and then gradually fades to black.

The monitor does not exhibit the problem all the time. It comes and
goes. I do not have a procedure which triggers the problem; it seems
to be random. Sometimes it will behave this way for only a few
minutes, while other times it will behave like this for weeks.

I do not do anything to trigger the problem, other than have the
monitor powered on.

I have two of these monitors. I bought both monitors at the same time.
Both monitors are connected to the same video card (nVidia) via a DVI
connection. Only one of the monitors exhibits the problem--the other
continues to function properly. When the monitor exhibits the
problem, I can swap the DVI cables and the other monitor continues to
function properly. So I do not believe the problem is my video card or
computer.

I do not know of a method to get the monitor out of this problem
state. I've tried cycling the power to the monitor, and I've tried
rebooting the computer. Neither method fixes the problem. The only
thing I can do is wait for it to fix itself. But eventually, it
malfunctions again.

A video of the problem occurring is available he
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7YpFZVRjcE


Best regards,
Nick


Can you observe discrete jumps in the fade, ie stepped.
Is it a backlight problem? if so perhaps find the brightness control line to
the inverter and break there and add your own subcircuit perhaps. First
monitor that line as maybe a fault inside the inverter chip


--
Diverse Devices, Southampton, England
electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list on
http://diverse.4mg.com/index.htm

On May 2, 3:21*am, "N_Cook" wrote:
saber850 wrote in message

...



Hi,

My LCD desktop monitor has been exhibiting a problem for over 1 year.
It is out of warranty and I would like to fix it.

The problem is that the monitor displays the picture, and then
gradually fades to white, and then gradually fades to black.

The monitor does not exhibit the problem all the time. It comes and
goes. I do not have a procedure which triggers the problem; it seems
to be random. Sometimes it will behave this way for only a few
minutes, while other times it will behave like this for weeks.

I do not do anything to trigger the problem, other than have the
monitor powered on.

I have two of these monitors. I bought both monitors at the same time.
Both monitors are connected to the same video card (nVidia) via a DVI
connection. *Only one of the monitors exhibits the problem--the other
continues to function properly. *When the monitor exhibits the
problem, I can swap the DVI cables and the other monitor continues to
function properly. So I do not believe the problem is my video card or
computer.

I do not know of a method to get the monitor out of this problem
state. I've tried cycling the power to the monitor, and I've tried
rebooting the computer. Neither method fixes the problem. The only
thing I can do is wait for it to fix itself. But eventually, it
malfunctions again.

A video of the problem occurring is available he
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7YpFZVRjcE

Best regards,
Nick

Can you observe discrete jumps in the fade, ie stepped.
Is it a backlight problem? if so perhaps find the brightness control line to
the inverter and break there and add your own subcircuit perhaps. First
monitor that line as maybe a fault inside the inverter chip

--
Diverse Devices, Southampton, England
electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list onhttp://diverse.4mg.com/index.htm

Thanks for the quick response. I do not observe discrete jumps in the
fading--it seems very smooth to me.

I do not know if it is a backlight problem; how can I tell?

On Sun, 2 May 2010 08:21:04 +0100, "N_Cook" wrote:

saber850 wrote in message
...
Hi,

My LCD desktop monitor has been exhibiting a problem for over 1 year.
It is out of warranty and I would like to fix it.

The problem is that the monitor displays the picture, and then
gradually fades to white, and then gradually fades to black.

The monitor does not exhibit the problem all the time. It comes and
goes. I do not have a procedure which triggers the problem; it seems
to be random. Sometimes it will behave this way for only a few
minutes, while other times it will behave like this for weeks.

I do not do anything to trigger the problem, other than have the
monitor powered on.

I have two of these monitors. I bought both monitors at the same time.
Both monitors are connected to the same video card (nVidia) via a DVI
connection. Only one of the monitors exhibits the problem--the other
continues to function properly. When the monitor exhibits the
problem, I can swap the DVI cables and the other monitor continues to
function properly. So I do not believe the problem is my video card or
computer.

I do not know of a method to get the monitor out of this problem
state. I've tried cycling the power to the monitor, and I've tried
rebooting the computer. Neither method fixes the problem. The only
thing I can do is wait for it to fix itself. But eventually, it
malfunctions again.

A video of the problem occurring is available he
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7YpFZVRjcE


Best regards,
Nick


Can you observe discrete jumps in the fade, ie stepped.
Is it a backlight problem? if so perhaps find the brightness control line to
the inverter and break there and add your own subcircuit perhaps. First
monitor that line as maybe a fault inside the inverter chip


I don't think it is a backlight issue
My bet is a circuit problem with something common to all colors.

The brightness increases to max, then it goes negative to black. Then
it pops back to normal.

A lot of monitors have everything wrapped up in one chip.
Some ICs may drive the monitor directly.

Look for unstable supply voltage.
If the voltage is going on/off abruptly but has a big cap on the line
that would explain it.

On Sun, 2 May 2010 00:25:15 -0700 (PDT), saber850
wrote:

On May 2, 3:21*am, "N_Cook" wrote:
saber850 wrote in message

...



Hi,

My LCD desktop monitor has been exhibiting a problem for over 1 year.
It is out of warranty and I would like to fix it.

The problem is that the monitor displays the picture, and then
gradually fades to white, and then gradually fades to black.

The monitor does not exhibit the problem all the time. It comes and
goes. I do not have a procedure which triggers the problem; it seems
to be random. Sometimes it will behave this way for only a few
minutes, while other times it will behave like this for weeks.

I do not do anything to trigger the problem, other than have the
monitor powered on.

I have two of these monitors. I bought both monitors at the same time.
Both monitors are connected to the same video card (nVidia) via a DVI
connection. *Only one of the monitors exhibits the problem--the other
continues to function properly. *When the monitor exhibits the
problem, I can swap the DVI cables and the other monitor continues to
function properly. So I do not believe the problem is my video card or
computer.

I do not know of a method to get the monitor out of this problem
state. I've tried cycling the power to the monitor, and I've tried
rebooting the computer. Neither method fixes the problem. The only
thing I can do is wait for it to fix itself. But eventually, it
malfunctions again.

A video of the problem occurring is available he
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7YpFZVRjcE

Best regards,
Nick

Can you observe discrete jumps in the fade, ie stepped.
Is it a backlight problem? if so perhaps find the brightness control line to
the inverter and break there and add your own subcircuit perhaps. First
monitor that line as maybe a fault inside the inverter chip

--
Diverse Devices, Southampton, England
electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list onhttp://diverse.4mg.com/index.htm

Thanks for the quick response. I do not observe discrete jumps in the
fading--it seems very smooth to me.

I do not know if it is a backlight problem; how can I tell?


A backlight gives general brightness to an image.
if it is out, the video will still be there and u can see the image if
u shine a light on the screen - effectively replacing the backlight.

your issue looks like the video is changing - not a backlight issue.

check the PS voltages first.

On May 2, 6:39*am, wrote:
On Sun, 2 May 2010 00:25:15 -0700 (PDT), saber850
wrote:



On May 2, 3:21*am, "N_Cook" wrote:
saber850 wrote in message

....

Hi,

My LCD desktop monitor has been exhibiting a problem for over 1 year..
It is out of warranty and I would like to fix it.

The problem is that the monitor displays the picture, and then
gradually fades to white, and then gradually fades to black.

The monitor does not exhibit the problem all the time. It comes and
goes. I do not have a procedure which triggers the problem; it seems
to be random. Sometimes it will behave this way for only a few
minutes, while other times it will behave like this for weeks.

I do not do anything to trigger the problem, other than have the
monitor powered on.

I have two of these monitors. I bought both monitors at the same time.
Both monitors are connected to the same video card (nVidia) via a DVI
connection. *Only one of the monitors exhibits the problem--the other
continues to function properly. *When the monitor exhibits the
problem, I can swap the DVI cables and the other monitor continues to
function properly. So I do not believe the problem is my video card or
computer.

I do not know of a method to get the monitor out of this problem
state. I've tried cycling the power to the monitor, and I've tried
rebooting the computer. Neither method fixes the problem. The only
thing I can do is wait for it to fix itself. But eventually, it
malfunctions again.

A video of the problem occurring is available he
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7YpFZVRjcE

Best regards,
Nick

Can you observe discrete jumps in the fade, ie stepped.
Is it a backlight problem? if so perhaps find the brightness control line to
the inverter and break there and add your own subcircuit perhaps. First
monitor that line as maybe a fault inside the inverter chip

--
Diverse Devices, Southampton, England
electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list onhttp://diverse.4mg.com/index.htm

Thanks for the quick response. *I do not observe discrete jumps in the
fading--it seems very smooth to me.

I do not know if it is a backlight problem; how can I tell?

A backlight gives general brightness to an image.
if it is out, the video will still be there and u can see the image if
u shine a light on the screen - effectively replacing the backlight.

your issue looks like the video is changing - not a backlight issue.

check the PS voltages first.

The problem isn't occurring at the moment. When it returns, I will
try shining a light at the screen to determine if the problem is the
backlight.

Regarding the supply voltage: both monitors (as well as the computer
itself) get their power from an APC UPS. When the problem returns, I
will try using the outlet directly on the wall.

On May 2, 3:05*am, saber850 wrote:
Hi,

My LCD desktop monitor has been exhibiting a problem for over 1 year.
It is out of warranty and I would like to fix it.

The problem is that the monitor displays the picture, and then
gradually fades to white, and then gradually fades to black.

The monitor does not exhibit the problem all the time. It comes and
goes. I do not have a procedure which triggers the problem; it seems
to be random. Sometimes it will behave this way for only a few
minutes, while other times it will behave like this for weeks.

I do not do anything to trigger the problem, other than have the
monitor powered on.

I have two of these monitors. I bought both monitors at the same time.
Both monitors are connected to the same video card (nVidia) via a DVI
connection. *Only one of the monitors exhibits the problem--the other
continues to function properly. *When the monitor exhibits the
problem, I can swap the DVI cables and the other monitor continues to
function properly. So I do not believe the problem is my video card or
computer.

I do not know of a method to get the monitor out of this problem
state. I've tried cycling the power to the monitor, and I've tried
rebooting the computer. Neither method fixes the problem. The only
thing I can do is wait for it to fix itself. But eventually, it
malfunctions again.

A video of the problem occurring is available hehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7YpFZVRjcE

Best regards,
Nick

One thing I forgot to mention about the video is that it is not
demonstrating the typical "end" of this problem.

Typically, the monitor fades to all white, then to all black (as
captured in the video), and that's it; it will stay black. It
typically does not cycle the way it does in the video, at least not
indefinitely. It may cycle several times, but within 1 and ~5 cycles
(usually just 1 cycle), it will stay in the "black" state.

On May 2, 9:40*am, Meat Plow wrote:
On Sun, 2 May 2010 08:21:04 +0100, "N_Cook" wrote:



saber850 wrote in message
....
Hi,

My LCD desktop monitor has been exhibiting a problem for over 1 year.
It is out of warranty and I would like to fix it.

The problem is that the monitor displays the picture, and then
gradually fades to white, and then gradually fades to black.

The monitor does not exhibit the problem all the time. It comes and
goes. I do not have a procedure which triggers the problem; it seems
to be random. Sometimes it will behave this way for only a few
minutes, while other times it will behave like this for weeks.

I do not do anything to trigger the problem, other than have the
monitor powered on.

I have two of these monitors. I bought both monitors at the same time.
Both monitors are connected to the same video card (nVidia) via a DVI
connection. *Only one of the monitors exhibits the problem--the other
continues to function properly. *When the monitor exhibits the
problem, I can swap the DVI cables and the other monitor continues to
function properly. So I do not believe the problem is my video card or
computer.

I do not know of a method to get the monitor out of this problem
state. I've tried cycling the power to the monitor, and I've tried
rebooting the computer. Neither method fixes the problem. The only
thing I can do is wait for it to fix itself. But eventually, it
malfunctions again.

A video of the problem occurring is available he
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7YpFZVRjcE

Best regards,
Nick

Can you observe discrete jumps in the fade, ie stepped.
Is it a backlight problem? if so perhaps find the brightness control line to
the inverter and break there and add your own subcircuit perhaps. First
monitor that line as maybe a fault inside the inverter chip

What brand/model monitor?
What brand/model card with NVidia chip?

Does the monitor have a DSUB I/O?
Does the video card have a DSUB I/O

The symptoms don't describe an inverter problem to me
but rather an LCD matrix drive, possibley PSU derived.

Both monitors are a Samsung SyncMaster 204B.
The video card is a ASUS EN7600GT.

The monitors have 1 DSUB I/O port and 1 VGA I/O port. I've only ever
used the DSUB I/O.
The video card has two DSUB I/O ports. Each one is connected to a
monitor.

As I mentioned in the OP, when the monitor is malfunctioning, I have
swapped the DVI cables between the monitors. When doing so, the
malfunctioning monitor continues to malfunction while the other
monitor (the one which has never malfunctioned) continues to function
properly. So from this, I believe the computer & video card are
functioning properly. Am I making a valid assessment here?

Is the PSU typically isolated from other circuitry in the monitor such
that it can be replaced?

saber850 wrote in message
...
Hi,

My LCD desktop monitor has been exhibiting a problem
for over 1 year.
It is out of warranty and I would like to fix it.

The problem is that the monitor displays the picture,
and then
gradually fades to white, and then gradually fades to
black.

The monitor does not exhibit the problem all the time.
It comes and
goes. I do not have a procedure which triggers the
problem; it seems
to be random. Sometimes it will behave this way for
only a few
minutes, while other times it will behave like this
for weeks.

I do not do anything to trigger the problem, other
than have the
monitor powered on.

I have two of these monitors. I bought both monitors
at the same time.
Both monitors are connected to the same video card
(nVidia) via a DVI
connection. Only one of the monitors exhibits the
problem--the other
continues to function properly. When the monitor
exhibits the
problem, I can swap the DVI cables and the other
monitor continues to
function properly. So I do not believe the problem is
my video card or
computer.

I do not know of a method to get the monitor out of
this problem
state. I've tried cycling the power to the monitor,
and I've tried
rebooting the computer. Neither method fixes the
problem. The only
thing I can do is wait for it to fix itself. But
eventually, it
malfunctions again.

A video of the problem occurring is available he
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7YpFZVRjcE

Best regards,
Nick

Does this monitor have buttons on the front to control
brightness? Could one of those be stuck or shorted?

David

saber850 wrote:
On May 2, 3:21 am, "N_Cook" wrote:
saber850 wrote in message

...



Hi,
My LCD desktop monitor has been exhibiting a problem for over 1 year.
It is out of warranty and I would like to fix it.
The problem is that the monitor displays the picture, and then
gradually fades to white, and then gradually fades to black.
The monitor does not exhibit the problem all the time. It comes and
goes. I do not have a procedure which triggers the problem; it seems
to be random. Sometimes it will behave this way for only a few
minutes, while other times it will behave like this for weeks.
I do not do anything to trigger the problem, other than have the
monitor powered on.
I have two of these monitors. I bought both monitors at the same time.
Both monitors are connected to the same video card (nVidia) via a DVI
connection. Only one of the monitors exhibits the problem--the other
continues to function properly. When the monitor exhibits the
problem, I can swap the DVI cables and the other monitor continues to
function properly. So I do not believe the problem is my video card or
computer.
I do not know of a method to get the monitor out of this problem
state. I've tried cycling the power to the monitor, and I've tried
rebooting the computer. Neither method fixes the problem. The only
thing I can do is wait for it to fix itself. But eventually, it
malfunctions again.
A video of the problem occurring is available he
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7YpFZVRjcE
Best regards,
Nick
Can you observe discrete jumps in the fade, ie stepped.
Is it a backlight problem? if so perhaps find the brightness control line to
the inverter and break there and add your own subcircuit perhaps. First
monitor that line as maybe a fault inside the inverter chip

--
Diverse Devices, Southampton, England
electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list onhttp://diverse.4mg.com/index.htm

Thanks for the quick response. I do not observe discrete jumps in the
fading--it seems very smooth to me.

I do not know if it is a backlight problem; how can I tell?
If it is the backlight, you can still see a picture in strong
ambient light, try different viewing angles and light angles.
If you can still sortof see a picture, it is the backlight.
The slow fade suggests the invertor,or its powersupply circuit.

On May 2, 9:22*am, saber850 wrote:
On May 2, 9:40*am, Meat Plow wrote:





On Sun, 2 May 2010 08:21:04 +0100, "N_Cook" wrote:

saber850 wrote in message
....
Hi,

My LCD desktop monitor has been exhibiting a problem for over 1 year..
It is out of warranty and I would like to fix it.

The problem is that the monitor displays the picture, and then
gradually fades to white, and then gradually fades to black.

The monitor does not exhibit the problem all the time. It comes and
goes. I do not have a procedure which triggers the problem; it seems
to be random. Sometimes it will behave this way for only a few
minutes, while other times it will behave like this for weeks.

I do not do anything to trigger the problem, other than have the
monitor powered on.

I have two of these monitors. I bought both monitors at the same time.
Both monitors are connected to the same video card (nVidia) via a DVI
connection. *Only one of the monitors exhibits the problem--the other
continues to function properly. *When the monitor exhibits the
problem, I can swap the DVI cables and the other monitor continues to
function properly. So I do not believe the problem is my video card or
computer.

I do not know of a method to get the monitor out of this problem
state. I've tried cycling the power to the monitor, and I've tried
rebooting the computer. Neither method fixes the problem. The only
thing I can do is wait for it to fix itself. But eventually, it
malfunctions again.

A video of the problem occurring is available he
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7YpFZVRjcE

Best regards,
Nick

Can you observe discrete jumps in the fade, ie stepped.
Is it a backlight problem? if so perhaps find the brightness control line to
the inverter and break there and add your own subcircuit perhaps. First
monitor that line as maybe a fault inside the inverter chip

What brand/model monitor?
What brand/model card with NVidia chip?

Does the monitor have a DSUB I/O?
Does the video card have a DSUB I/O

The symptoms don't describe an inverter problem to me
but rather an LCD matrix drive, possibley PSU derived.

Both monitors are a Samsung SyncMaster 204B.
The video card is a ASUS EN7600GT.

The monitors have 1 DSUB I/O port and 1 VGA I/O port. *I've only ever
used the DSUB I/O.
The video card has two DSUB I/O ports. *Each one is connected to a
monitor.

As I mentioned in the OP, when the monitor is malfunctioning, I have
swapped the DVI cables between the monitors. *When doing so, the
malfunctioning monitor continues to malfunction while the other
monitor (the one which has never malfunctioned) continues to function
properly. *So from this, I believe the computer & video card are
functioning properly. Am I making a valid assessment here?

Is the PSU typically isolated from other circuitry in the monitor such
that it can be replaced?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I don't have any suggestions, but it is definitely Not the backlight.
With a fading backlight the picture would just get darker and darker,
there would be no video reversal such as shown in the video.

On Sun, 2 May 2010 07:22:40 -0700 (PDT), saber850
wrote:

On May 2, 9:40*am, Meat Plow wrote:
On Sun, 2 May 2010 08:21:04 +0100, "N_Cook" wrote:



saber850 wrote in message
...
Hi,

My LCD desktop monitor has been exhibiting a problem for over 1 year.
It is out of warranty and I would like to fix it.

The problem is that the monitor displays the picture, and then
gradually fades to white, and then gradually fades to black.

The monitor does not exhibit the problem all the time. It comes and
goes. I do not have a procedure which triggers the problem; it seems
to be random. Sometimes it will behave this way for only a few
minutes, while other times it will behave like this for weeks.

I do not do anything to trigger the problem, other than have the
monitor powered on.

I have two of these monitors. I bought both monitors at the same time.
Both monitors are connected to the same video card (nVidia) via a DVI
connection. *Only one of the monitors exhibits the problem--the other
continues to function properly. *When the monitor exhibits the
problem, I can swap the DVI cables and the other monitor continues to
function properly. So I do not believe the problem is my video card or
computer.

I do not know of a method to get the monitor out of this problem
state. I've tried cycling the power to the monitor, and I've tried
rebooting the computer. Neither method fixes the problem. The only
thing I can do is wait for it to fix itself. But eventually, it
malfunctions again.

A video of the problem occurring is available he
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7YpFZVRjcE

Best regards,
Nick

Can you observe discrete jumps in the fade, ie stepped.
Is it a backlight problem? if so perhaps find the brightness control line to
the inverter and break there and add your own subcircuit perhaps. First
monitor that line as maybe a fault inside the inverter chip

What brand/model monitor?
What brand/model card with NVidia chip?

Does the monitor have a DSUB I/O?
Does the video card have a DSUB I/O

The symptoms don't describe an inverter problem to me
but rather an LCD matrix drive, possibley PSU derived.

Both monitors are a Samsung SyncMaster 204B.
The video card is a ASUS EN7600GT.

The monitors have 1 DSUB I/O port and 1 VGA I/O port. I've only ever
used the DSUB I/O.
The video card has two DSUB I/O ports. Each one is connected to a
monitor.

As I mentioned in the OP, when the monitor is malfunctioning, I have
swapped the DVI cables between the monitors. When doing so, the
malfunctioning monitor continues to malfunction while the other
monitor (the one which has never malfunctioned) continues to function
properly. So from this, I believe the computer & video card are
functioning properly. Am I making a valid assessment here?

Is the PSU typically isolated from other circuitry in the monitor such
that it can be replaced?
The problem indicates an problem with the video controller IN THE
MONITOR. The Samsung 204s (and other Samsungs) have a bad reputation
for this reason. A slow fade to white can be a problem with the power
to the LCD panel itself, a fast fade to black can be caused by the
inverter. A slow fade to black MUST originate from the video
controler.

Open up the monitor, using all applicable precautions. On the video
controller should be several three terminal devices, but labeled with
a U number (as a hypothetical example, U404). Those are voltage
regulators. It is remotely possible that one of those may be putting
out an incorrect voltage. The last two digits in the part number will
be the output voltage. Again, a hyprtetical part number - L117N33B is
a 3.3 volt regulator.

PlainBill

On Sun, 2 May 2010 07:22:40 -0700 (PDT), saber850
wrote:

Both monitors are a Samsung SyncMaster 204B.

Thank you for supplying the maker and model number.

This might be of interest:
http://pavel.kirkovsky.com/2009/03/samsung-syncmaster-204b-repair/
http://www.djhome.net/tips/samsungsyncmaster204T.htm
I've seen both problems on the bench with similar Samsung models.

My usual method is to replace *ALL* the large value electrolytic
capacitors. The labour is less to do it at one time, than to spend
any time finding which one or two is the culprit. Make sure you buy
105C or 125C replacement caps as the 85c variety don't last. Larger
values and voltage ratings are fine, but watch out for package sizes
and lead spacing.

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

As I mentioned in the OP, when the monitor is malfunctioning, I have
swapped the DVI cables between the monitors. When doing so, the
malfunctioning monitor continues to malfunction while the other
monitor (the one which has never malfunctioned) continues to function
properly. So from this, I believe the computer & video card are
functioning properly. Am I making a valid assessment here?

Yes, of course -- that's Troubleshooting 101.

What's going on is that the video information is being lost, and the pixel
"twist" is being forced all the way one way, then all the way the other way.
As to the cause...

hr(bob) wrote:

On May 2, 9:22 am, saber850 wrote:

On May 2, 9:40 am, Meat Plow wrote:






On Sun, 2 May 2010 08:21:04 +0100, "N_Cook" wrote:

saber850 wrote in message
...

Hi,

My LCD desktop monitor has been exhibiting a problem for over 1 year.
It is out of warranty and I would like to fix it.

The problem is that the monitor displays the picture, and then
gradually fades to white, and then gradually fades to black.

The monitor does not exhibit the problem all the time. It comes and
goes. I do not have a procedure which triggers the problem; it seems
to be random. Sometimes it will behave this way for only a few
minutes, while other times it will behave like this for weeks.

I do not do anything to trigger the problem, other than have the
monitor powered on.

I have two of these monitors. I bought both monitors at the same time.
Both monitors are connected to the same video card (nVidia) via a DVI
connection. Only one of the monitors exhibits the problem--the other
continues to function properly. When the monitor exhibits the
problem, I can swap the DVI cables and the other monitor continues to
function properly. So I do not believe the problem is my video card or
computer.

I do not know of a method to get the monitor out of this problem
state. I've tried cycling the power to the monitor, and I've tried
rebooting the computer. Neither method fixes the problem. The only
thing I can do is wait for it to fix itself. But eventually, it
malfunctions again.

A video of the problem occurring is available he
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7YpFZVRjcE

Best regards,
Nick

Can you observe discrete jumps in the fade, ie stepped.
Is it a backlight problem? if so perhaps find the brightness control line to
the inverter and break there and add your own subcircuit perhaps. First
monitor that line as maybe a fault inside the inverter chip

What brand/model monitor?
What brand/model card with NVidia chip?

Does the monitor have a DSUB I/O?
Does the video card have a DSUB I/O

The symptoms don't describe an inverter problem to me
but rather an LCD matrix drive, possibley PSU derived.

Both monitors are a Samsung SyncMaster 204B.
The video card is a ASUS EN7600GT.

The monitors have 1 DSUB I/O port and 1 VGA I/O port. I've only ever
used the DSUB I/O.
The video card has two DSUB I/O ports. Each one is connected to a
monitor.

As I mentioned in the OP, when the monitor is malfunctioning, I have
swapped the DVI cables between the monitors. When doing so, the
malfunctioning monitor continues to malfunction while the other
monitor (the one which has never malfunctioned) continues to function
properly. So from this, I believe the computer & video card are
functioning properly. Am I making a valid assessment here?

Is the PSU typically isolated from other circuitry in the monitor such
that it can be replaced?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


I don't have any suggestions, but it is definitely Not the backlight.
With a fading backlight the picture would just get darker and darker,
there would be no video reversal such as shown in the video.
Are you connected to a Laptop ? is power saving kicking in an option
available in your LCD if the battery is getting low?
Maybe we went over that already, I'm too tired to look back.

On Sun, 2 May 2010 14:14:33 -0700, "William Sommerwerck" wrote:

As I mentioned in the OP, when the monitor is malfunctioning, I have
swapped the DVI cables between the monitors. When doing so, the
malfunctioning monitor continues to malfunction while the other
monitor (the one which has never malfunctioned) continues to function
properly. So from this, I believe the computer & video card are
functioning properly. Am I making a valid assessment here?

Yes, of course -- that's Troubleshooting 101.

What's going on is that the video information is being lost, and the pixel
"twist" is being forced all the way one way, then all the way the other way.
As to the cause...

I like the 'crazy LCD controller' idea -- bad connection somewhere making
it cycle through the brightness range -- doesn't seem like faulty components
could make an LCD smoothly cycle brightness how you describe?

So I think the culprit is the controller PCB in the LCD, unless bad power
is provoking the thing to craziness?

Grant.
--
http://bugs.id.au/

On Sun, 02 May 2010 14:10:47 -0700, Jeff Liebermann wrote:

On Sun, 2 May 2010 07:22:40 -0700 (PDT), saber850
wrote:

Both monitors are a Samsung SyncMaster 204B.

Thank you for supplying the maker and model number.

This might be of interest:
http://pavel.kirkovsky.com/2009/03/samsung-syncmaster-204b-repair/
http://www.djhome.net/tips/samsungsyncmaster204T.htm
I've seen both problems on the bench with similar Samsung models.

My usual method is to replace *ALL* the large value electrolytic
capacitors. The labour is less to do it at one time, than to spend
any time finding which one or two is the culprit. Make sure you buy
105C or 125C replacement caps as the 85c variety don't last. Larger
values and voltage ratings are fine, but watch out for package sizes
and lead spacing.

Agree with you, there's usually room to squeeze in higher voltage caps,
and, with switching regs you could drop capacitance a little bit[1] and
not harm the circuit performance -- ripple current rating of the caps
is more important than the capacitance value of replacement cap.

[1] Got some 390/63 and 820/25 105'C low ESR caps I'd use instead of
470/35 and 1000/16 in a repair.

Grant.
--
http://bugs.id.au/

"Jeff Liebermann" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 2 May 2010 07:22:40 -0700 (PDT), saber850
wrote:

Both monitors are a Samsung SyncMaster 204B.

Thank you for supplying the maker and model number.

This might be of interest:
http://pavel.kirkovsky.com/2009/03/samsung-syncmaster-204b-repair/
http://www.djhome.net/tips/samsungsyncmaster204T.htm
I've seen both problems on the bench with similar Samsung models.

My usual method is to replace *ALL* the large value electrolytic
capacitors. The labour is less to do it at one time, than to spend
any time finding which one or two is the culprit. Make sure you buy
105C or 125C replacement caps as the 85c variety don't last. Larger
values and voltage ratings are fine, but watch out for package sizes
and lead spacing.

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

I was thinking capacitor too. In the old analog days one would
searching for a leaky coupling cap in the video amplifiers

On May 2, 11:46*am, "David" wrote:
saber850 wrote in message
...
Hi,

My LCD desktop monitor has been exhibiting a problem
for over 1 year.
It is out of warranty and I would like to fix it.

The problem is that the monitor displays the picture,
and then
gradually fades to white, and then gradually fades to
black.

The monitor does not exhibit the problem all the time.
It comes and
goes. I do not have a procedure which triggers the
problem; it seems
to be random. Sometimes it will behave this way for
only a few
minutes, while other times it will behave like this
for weeks.

I do not do anything to trigger the problem, other
than have the
monitor powered on.

I have two of these monitors. I bought both monitors
at the same time.
Both monitors are connected to the same video card
(nVidia) via a DVI
connection. *Only one of the monitors exhibits the
problem--the other
continues to function properly. *When the monitor
exhibits the
problem, I can swap the DVI cables and the other
monitor continues to
function properly. So I do not believe the problem is
my video card or
computer.

I do not know of a method to get the monitor out of
this problem
state. I've tried cycling the power to the monitor,
and I've tried
rebooting the computer. Neither method fixes the
problem. The only
thing I can do is wait for it to fix itself. But
eventually, it
malfunctions again.

A video of the problem occurring is available he
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7YpFZVRjcE

Best regards,
Nick

Does this monitor have buttons on the front to control
brightness? Could one of those be stuck or shorted?

David

It has buttons on the front, but not to control the brightness or
contrast directly--those are available a couple levels deep in the
menu. When the problem returns, I will try adjusting the brightness &
contrast via the monitor to see what happens.

In article
s.com, saber850 writes

The problem is that the monitor displays the picture, and then
gradually fades to white, and then gradually fades to black.

Erk. That video you put on Youtube is kinda creepy! Are you sure it's
not demonic possession?

I don't think it's a backlight problem. It looks more like a contrast
issue. I have a similar Samsung monitor (SyncMaster 2343 widescreen)
with touch controls and It looks like yours has those too. In your
situation, the first thing I would do is whip the back off and
disconnect the touch control board from the main board and see if the
problem stops. I'm wondering if a "button" is stuck.

Then I'd probably move to gently heating some of the chips, particularly
those on the back of the LCD panel, with a hairdryer to see if the fault
is temperature-related.

I know you say you want to try and fix it, but if it's a panel fault,
the monitor's fit only for scrap.

--
(\__/)
(='.'=) Bunny's thinking about giving Windows 7
(")_(") a go despite what he's said about it...

In article
s.com, saber850 writes

As I mentioned in the OP, when the monitor is malfunctioning, I have
swapped the DVI cables between the monitors. When doing so, the
malfunctioning monitor continues to malfunction while the other
monitor (the one which has never malfunctioned) continues to function
properly. So from this, I believe the computer & video card are
functioning properly. Am I making a valid assessment here?

Yes. Sensible, logical fault-finding.

Is the PSU typically isolated from other circuitry in the monitor such
that it can be replaced?

It depends on the specific monitor. Some have an external PSU brick, if
yours are those then try swapping them over. If the PSU is internal it
will probably be on its own board which can be removed and swapped out.

How old is the monitor?

--
(\__/)
(='.'=) Bunny's thinking about giving Windows 7
(")_(") a go despite what he's said about it...

On May 2, 5:10*pm, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Sun, 2 May 2010 07:22:40 -0700 (PDT), saber850
wrote:

Both monitors are a Samsung SyncMaster 204B.

Thank you for supplying the maker and model number.

This might be of interest:
http://pavel.kirkovsky.com/2009/03/samsung-syncmaster-204b-repair/
http://www.djhome.net/tips/samsungsyncmaster204T.htm
I've seen both problems on the bench with similar Samsung models. *

My usual method is to replace *ALL* the large value electrolytic
capacitors. *The labour is less to do it at one time, than to spend
any time finding which one or two is the culprit. *Make sure you buy
105C or 125C replacement caps as the 85c variety don't last. *Larger
values and voltage ratings are fine, but watch out for package sizes
and lead spacing.

--
Jeff Liebermann * *
150 Felker St #D * *http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann * * AE6KS * *831-336-2558

This is great info; thanks. The website links you found refer to the
problem as "flickering". Is that the condition my monitor has, given
the video I posted?

On May 2, 12:32*pm, Sjouke Burry
wrote:
saber850 wrote:
On May 2, 3:21 am, "N_Cook" wrote:
saber850 wrote in message

....

Hi,
My LCD desktop monitor has been exhibiting a problem for over 1 year.
It is out of warranty and I would like to fix it.
The problem is that the monitor displays the picture, and then
gradually fades to white, and then gradually fades to black.
The monitor does not exhibit the problem all the time. It comes and
goes. I do not have a procedure which triggers the problem; it seems
to be random. Sometimes it will behave this way for only a few
minutes, while other times it will behave like this for weeks.
I do not do anything to trigger the problem, other than have the
monitor powered on.
I have two of these monitors. I bought both monitors at the same time..
Both monitors are connected to the same video card (nVidia) via a DVI
connection. *Only one of the monitors exhibits the problem--the other
continues to function properly. *When the monitor exhibits the
problem, I can swap the DVI cables and the other monitor continues to
function properly. So I do not believe the problem is my video card or
computer.
I do not know of a method to get the monitor out of this problem
state. I've tried cycling the power to the monitor, and I've tried
rebooting the computer. Neither method fixes the problem. The only
thing I can do is wait for it to fix itself. But eventually, it
malfunctions again.
A video of the problem occurring is available he
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7YpFZVRjcE
Best regards,
Nick
Can you observe discrete jumps in the fade, ie stepped.
Is it a backlight problem? if so perhaps find the brightness control line to
the inverter and break there and add your own subcircuit perhaps. First
monitor that line as maybe a fault inside the inverter chip

--
Diverse Devices, Southampton, England
electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list onhttp://diverse.4mg.com/index.htm

Thanks for the quick response. *I do not observe discrete jumps in the
fading--it seems very smooth to me.

I do not know if it is a backlight problem; how can I tell?

If it is the backlight, you can still see a picture in strong
ambient light, try different viewing angles and light angles.
If you can still sortof see a picture, it is the backlight.
The slow fade suggests the invertor,or its powersupply circuit.

If it is the invertor or the power supply circuit, would either be
worth repairing/replacing instead of replacing the entire monitor? Is
there any part of an LCD monitor whose expense would not justify its
replacement, and to simply replace the monitor as a whole?

On May 2, 5:14*pm, Jamie
t wrote:
hr(bob) wrote:
On May 2, 9:22 am, saber850 wrote:

On May 2, 9:40 am, Meat Plow wrote:

On Sun, 2 May 2010 08:21:04 +0100, "N_Cook" wrote:

saber850 wrote in message
...

Hi,

My LCD desktop monitor has been exhibiting a problem for over 1 year..
It is out of warranty and I would like to fix it.

The problem is that the monitor displays the picture, and then
gradually fades to white, and then gradually fades to black.

The monitor does not exhibit the problem all the time. It comes and
goes. I do not have a procedure which triggers the problem; it seems
to be random. Sometimes it will behave this way for only a few
minutes, while other times it will behave like this for weeks.

I do not do anything to trigger the problem, other than have the
monitor powered on.

I have two of these monitors. I bought both monitors at the same time.
Both monitors are connected to the same video card (nVidia) via a DVI
connection. *Only one of the monitors exhibits the problem--the other
continues to function properly. *When the monitor exhibits the
problem, I can swap the DVI cables and the other monitor continues to
function properly. So I do not believe the problem is my video card or
computer.

I do not know of a method to get the monitor out of this problem
state. I've tried cycling the power to the monitor, and I've tried
rebooting the computer. Neither method fixes the problem. The only
thing I can do is wait for it to fix itself. But eventually, it
malfunctions again.

A video of the problem occurring is available he
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7YpFZVRjcE

Best regards,
Nick

Can you observe discrete jumps in the fade, ie stepped.
Is it a backlight problem? if so perhaps find the brightness control line to
the inverter and break there and add your own subcircuit perhaps. First
monitor that line as maybe a fault inside the inverter chip

What brand/model monitor?
What brand/model card with NVidia chip?

Does the monitor have a DSUB I/O?
Does the video card have a DSUB I/O

The symptoms don't describe an inverter problem to me
but rather an LCD matrix drive, possibley PSU derived.

Both monitors are a Samsung SyncMaster 204B.
The video card is a ASUS EN7600GT.

The monitors have 1 DSUB I/O port and 1 VGA I/O port. *I've only ever
used the DSUB I/O.
The video card has two DSUB I/O ports. *Each one is connected to a
monitor.

As I mentioned in the OP, when the monitor is malfunctioning, I have
swapped the DVI cables between the monitors. *When doing so, the
malfunctioning monitor continues to malfunction while the other
monitor (the one which has never malfunctioned) continues to function
properly. *So from this, I believe the computer & video card are
functioning properly. Am I making a valid assessment here?

Is the PSU typically isolated from other circuitry in the monitor such
that it can be replaced?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I don't have any suggestions, but it is definitely Not the backlight.
With a fading backlight the picture would just get darker and darker,
there would be no video reversal such as shown in the video.

Are you connected to a Laptop ? is power saving kicking in an option
available in your LCD if the battery is getting low?
* Maybe we went over that already, I'm too tired to look back.

No, this is one of my desktop monitors, and my desktop is not
configured to sleep or hibernate. The second monitor which is
connected to the same video card continues to function properly while
the other malfunctions. So I don't think it's a problem of effect of
the video card or computer.

On May 2, 8:13*pm, Mike Tomlinson wrote:
In article
s.com, saber850 writes

The problem is that the monitor displays the picture, and then
gradually fades to white, and then gradually fades to black.

Erk. *That video you put on Youtube is kinda creepy! *Are you sure it's
not demonic possession?

I don't think it's a backlight problem. *It looks more like a contrast
issue. *I have a similar Samsung monitor (SyncMaster 2343 widescreen)
with touch controls and It looks like yours has those too. *In your
situation, the first thing I would do is whip the back off and
disconnect the touch control board from the main board and see if the
problem stops. *I'm wondering if a "button" is stuck.

Then I'd probably move to gently heating some of the chips, particularly
those on the back of the LCD panel, with a hairdryer to see if the fault
is temperature-related.

I know you say you want to try and fix it, but if it's a panel fault,
the monitor's fit only for scrap.

--
(\__/) *
(='.'=) *Bunny's thinking about giving Windows 7
(")_(") *a go despite what he's said about it...

Yeah, I was also a bit disturbed by the video when the picture's color
inverts. I've changed my background so if I capture another video of
the malfunctioning problem, it won't contain a person.

If the problem were related to a "stuck" or "sticking" button on the
face of the monitor, I'd expect the problem to exist all the time, or
at least after I use the buttons. But neither is the case for me.
The problem will start at a seemingly random time, and stop after a
seemingly equally random duration. In particular, I rarely use the
monitor's buttons except for power.

I was also thinking about applying heat to the back of the monitor to
see if that triggers the problem. If that triggers it, does that
suggest a cold solder joint?

Thanks for the info about the worth of the panel.

On May 2, 8:17*pm, Mike Tomlinson wrote:
In article
s.com, saber850 writes

As I mentioned in the OP, when the monitor is malfunctioning, I have
swapped the DVI cables between the monitors. *When doing so, the
malfunctioning monitor continues to malfunction while the other
monitor (the one which has never malfunctioned) continues to function
properly. *So from this, I believe the computer & video card are
functioning properly. Am I making a valid assessment here?

Yes. *Sensible, logical fault-finding.

Is the PSU typically isolated from other circuitry in the monitor such
that it can be replaced?

It depends on the specific monitor. *Some have an external PSU brick, if
yours are those then try swapping them over. *If the PSU is internal it
will probably be on its own board which can be removed and swapped out.

How old is the monitor?

--
(\__/) *
(='.'=) *Bunny's thinking about giving Windows 7
(")_(") *a go despite what he's said about it...

This monitor does not have an external PSU brick; so I assume the PSU
is internal. According to the following link, this monitor's power
supply and inverter boards are integrated into one unit (http://
pavel.kirkovsky.com/2009/03/samsung-syncmaster-204b-repair/).

I purchased the monitor new in 2007.

On Sun, 2 May 2010 17:53:14 -0700 (PDT), saber850
wrote:

On May 2, 5:10*pm, Jeff Liebermann wrote:

This might be of interest:
http://pavel.kirkovsky.com/2009/03/samsung-syncmaster-204b-repair/
http://www.djhome.net/tips/samsungsyncmaster204T.htm
I've seen both problems on the bench with similar Samsung models. *

This is great info; thanks. The website links you found refer to the
problem as "flickering". Is that the condition my monitor has, given
the video I posted?

No, it's not the same. What's probably happening is that as your
power supply warms up, the cazapitors are starting to also get hot. My
guess(tm) is that the power supply output voltages drop, causing the
odd changes to white and black. The symptoms of having the wrong
power supply voltage vary radically with the type of circuit and which
capacitors are a problem. I've seen flickering, fades, time delayed
sudden failure, smoke, fire, and most commonly, just plain no picture.
Given a specific single component failure, it's possible to predict
the symptoms. Given multiple partial failures, it's at best a guess.

Open up the monitor (it's a royal pain), replace all the big caps
whether they look bad or not, and live happily ever after. If you're
into being sure, I suggest you look into purchasing or building an ESR
(equivalent series resistance) meter, as you're guaranteed to run into
this problem in other devices that use electrolytics (motherboards,
TV's, power supplies, monitors, game boxes, router, etc). I use mine
far too often.

http://www.ludens.cl/Electron/esr/esr.html
http://www.anatekcorp.com/blueesr.htm
http://www.flippers.com/esrktmtr.html (I have this one)
http://www.midwestdevices.com/index.html

More good reading on LCD repair:
http://www.ccl-la.com/blog/index.php/category/monitor-repair/
Note how just about all the failures are electrolytic capacitors.
Here's your Syncmaster 204 page:
http://www.ccl-la.com/blog/index.php/samsung-214t-repair/
Note the they're symptoms include a "dark picture". Hmmmm...



--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On Sun, 2 May 2010 17:58:59 -0700 (PDT), saber850
wrote:

If it is the invertor or the power supply circuit, would either be
worth repairing/replacing instead of replacing the entire monitor? Is
there any part of an LCD monitor whose expense would not justify its
replacement, and to simply replace the monitor as a whole?

The Samsung SyncMonster 204/214 is all one big board. There are
replacement boards available on eBay but they tend to have the same
problem that you're trying to fix.

Sending the monitor to the recyclers for such a simple problem will
surely bring down upon your head the wrath of all repairmen,
ecologists, and toxic waste handlers. To maintain your karma, you
must at least make an attempt at repair.

Incidentally, having two identical monitors is a bad idea. Sympathetic
failure and contagious failure modes has been known to propagate
between the bad monitor and the good. I would keep them apart just to
be safe.

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

In article , Jeff Liebermann
writes

Incidentally, having two identical monitors is a bad idea. Sympathetic
failure and contagious failure modes has been known to propagate
between the bad monitor and the good.

Yeah, I know. Just had two Iiyama 20" TFTs (used side by side with a
spanned desktop) fail on me. Expensive lesson.

--
(\__/)
(='.'=) Bunny's thinking about giving Windows 7
(")_(") a go despite what he's said about it...

In article
..com, saber850 writes

This monitor does not have an external PSU brick; so I assume the PSU
is internal. According to the following link, this monitor's power
supply and inverter boards are integrated into one unit

Don't think so. The photos in your link show that the power board is
separate. It would be unusual for the PSU and driver electronics to be
integrated into a single board. It's also obvious that it's been
designed down to the lowest price possible.

(http://
pavel.kirkovsky.com/2009/03/samsung-syncmaster-204b-repair/).

Ugh. The state of these caps. Samsung have skimped on the components
and their users are now paying the price. Bad form.

I purchased the monitor new in 2007.

I suggest as a first step you do what the link above suggests and
replace the few caps indicated, and see how it goes.

--
(\__/)
(='.'=) Bunny's thinking about giving Windows 7
(")_(") a go despite what he's said about it...

On Mon, 3 May 2010 05:34:56 +0100, Mike Tomlinson
wrote:

In article , Jeff Liebermann
writes

Incidentally, having two identical monitors is a bad idea. Sympathetic
failure and contagious failure modes has been known to propagate
between the bad monitor and the good.

Yeah, I know. Just had two Iiyama 20" TFTs (used side by side with a
spanned desktop) fail on me. Expensive lesson.

That might be a different problem. The warranty timer chip found in
most electronic devices may have been triggered. The manufacturer
sets the warranty countdown timer to induce a failure immediately
after the warranty expires. When the power supply blows up, and
produces a continuous clicking sound, I tell the customer that's the
warranty timer still running.
http://pinktentacle.com/2010/01/secret-sony-timer-kills-products-after-warranty/


--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Jeff Liebermann wrote in message
...
On Sun, 2 May 2010 17:53:14 -0700 (PDT), saber850
wrote:

On May 2, 5:10 pm, Jeff Liebermann wrote:

This might be of interest:
http://pavel.kirkovsky.com/2009/03/samsung-syncmaster-204b-repair/
http://www.djhome.net/tips/samsungsyncmaster204T.htm
I've seen both problems on the bench with similar Samsung models.

This is great info; thanks. The website links you found refer to the
problem as "flickering". Is that the condition my monitor has, given
the video I posted?

No, it's not the same. What's probably happening is that as your
power supply warms up, the cazapitors are starting to also get hot. My
guess(tm) is that the power supply output voltages drop, causing the
odd changes to white and black. The symptoms of having the wrong
power supply voltage vary radically with the type of circuit and which
capacitors are a problem. I've seen flickering, fades, time delayed
sudden failure, smoke, fire, and most commonly, just plain no picture.
Given a specific single component failure, it's possible to predict
the symptoms. Given multiple partial failures, it's at best a guess.

Open up the monitor (it's a royal pain), replace all the big caps
whether they look bad or not, and live happily ever after. If you're
into being sure, I suggest you look into purchasing or building an ESR
(equivalent series resistance) meter, as you're guaranteed to run into
this problem in other devices that use electrolytics (motherboards,
TV's, power supplies, monitors, game boxes, router, etc). I use mine
far too often.

http://www.ludens.cl/Electron/esr/esr.html
http://www.anatekcorp.com/blueesr.htm
http://www.flippers.com/esrktmtr.html (I have this one)
http://www.midwestdevices.com/index.html

More good reading on LCD repair:
http://www.ccl-la.com/blog/index.php/category/monitor-repair/
Note how just about all the failures are electrolytic capacitors.
Here's your Syncmaster 204 page:
http://www.ccl-la.com/blog/index.php/samsung-214t-repair/
Note the they're symptoms include a "dark picture". Hmmmm...



--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558


Could placing a small 12V fan temporarily, at least, in that area be a
diagnostic tool ?

Incidentally, having two identical monitors is a bad idea.
Sympathetic failure and contagious failure modes has been
known to propagate between the bad monitor and the good.
I would keep them apart just to be safe.

Uva uvam videndo varia fit, right?

On 03/05/2010 03:50, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
Incidentally, having two identical monitors is a bad idea. Sympathetic
failure and contagious failure modes has been known to propagate
between the bad monitor and the good.

It's not only that. There is a grating feeling when two otherwise
identical items have one that shows signs of minor inferiority. It's a
sick child, something that is crying out for some attention.

Ye feel you should be doing something about the one that is failing, but
the affliction is so slight that technically it's not a worthwhile
process of either taking the cover off or approaching the service agent
with complaints.

However, that feeling is however a stress to be remembered and
eventually dealt with as with all the other stresses one unfortunately
collects.

Now, if you only had one of the item and that fault was so minor, you'd
probably be not so aware of the problem, and certainly not so aware of
the stress ...

Life is simpler. I'm going to disconnect one of my stereo speakers and
live with mono. ;-)

--
Adrian C

On May 2, 10:46*pm, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Sun, 2 May 2010 17:53:14 -0700 (PDT), saber850
wrote:

On May 2, 5:10*pm, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
This might be of interest:
http://pavel.kirkovsky.com/2009/03/samsung-syncmaster-204b-repair/
http://www.djhome.net/tips/samsungsyncmaster204T.htm
I've seen both problems on the bench with similar Samsung models. *
This is great info; thanks. *The website links you found refer to the
problem as "flickering". *Is that the condition my monitor has, given
the video I posted?

No, it's not the same. *What's probably happening is that as your
power supply warms up, the cazapitors are starting to also get hot. My
guess(tm) is that the power supply output voltages drop, causing the
odd changes to white and black. *The symptoms of having the wrong
power supply voltage vary radically with the type of circuit and which
capacitors are a problem. *I've seen flickering, fades, time delayed
sudden failure, smoke, fire, and most commonly, just plain no picture.
Given a specific single component failure, it's possible to predict
the symptoms. *Given multiple partial failures, it's at best a guess.

Open up the monitor (it's a royal pain), replace all the big caps
whether they look bad or not, and live happily ever after. *If you're
into being sure, I suggest you look into purchasing or building an ESR
(equivalent series resistance) meter, as you're guaranteed to run into
this problem in other devices that use electrolytics (motherboards,
TV's, power supplies, monitors, game boxes, router, etc). *I use mine
far too often.

http://www.ludens.cl/Electron/esr/esr.html
http://www.anatekcorp.com/blueesr.htm
http://www.flippers.com/esrktmtr.html (I have this one)
http://www.midwestdevices.com/index.html

More good reading on LCD repair:
http://www.ccl-la.com/blog/index.php/category/monitor-repair/
Note how just about all the failures are electrolytic capacitors.
Here's your Syncmaster 204 page:
http://www.ccl-la.com/blog/index.php/samsung-214t-repair/
Note the they're symptoms include a "dark picture". *Hmmmm...

--
Jeff Liebermann * *
150 Felker St #D * *http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann * * AE6KS * *831-336-2558

Very helpful, thanks.

On May 2, 10:50*pm, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Sun, 2 May 2010 17:58:59 -0700 (PDT), saber850
wrote:

If it is the invertor or the power supply circuit, would either be
worth repairing/replacing instead of replacing the entire monitor? *Is
there any part of an LCD monitor whose expense would not justify its
replacement, and to simply replace the monitor as a whole?

The Samsung SyncMonster 204/214 is all one big board. *There are
replacement boards available on eBay but they tend to have the same
problem that you're trying to fix.

Sending the monitor to the recyclers for such a simple problem will
surely bring down upon your head the wrath of all repairmen,
ecologists, and toxic waste handlers. *To maintain your karma, you
must at least make an attempt at repair.

Incidentally, having two identical monitors is a bad idea. Sympathetic
failure and contagious failure modes has been known to propagate
between the bad monitor and the good. *I would keep them apart just to
be safe.

--
Jeff Liebermann * *
150 Felker St #D * *http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann * * AE6KS * *831-336-2558

I'm all for repairing it, but I just want to make sure the repair is
cost effective. From the information I've received from this group,
and websites, it seems the repair will be very inexpensive if it's
just some capacitors.

Is there a way I can gain confidence that the problem is w/ the
capacitors, before opening it up?

On May 3, 4:01*am, "N_Cook" wrote:
Jeff Liebermann wrote in message

...



On Sun, 2 May 2010 17:53:14 -0700 (PDT), saber850
wrote:

On May 2, 5:10 pm, Jeff Liebermann wrote:

This might be of interest:
http://pavel.kirkovsky.com/2009/03/samsung-syncmaster-204b-repair/
http://www.djhome.net/tips/samsungsyncmaster204T.htm
I've seen both problems on the bench with similar Samsung models.

This is great info; thanks. *The website links you found refer to the
problem as "flickering". *Is that the condition my monitor has, given
the video I posted?

No, it's not the same. *What's probably happening is that as your
power supply warms up, the cazapitors are starting to also get hot. My
guess(tm) is that the power supply output voltages drop, causing the
odd changes to white and black. *The symptoms of having the wrong
power supply voltage vary radically with the type of circuit and which
capacitors are a problem. *I've seen flickering, fades, time delayed
sudden failure, smoke, fire, and most commonly, just plain no picture.
Given a specific single component failure, it's possible to predict
the symptoms. *Given multiple partial failures, it's at best a guess.

Open up the monitor (it's a royal pain), replace all the big caps
whether they look bad or not, and live happily ever after. *If you're
into being sure, I suggest you look into purchasing or building an ESR
(equivalent series resistance) meter, as you're guaranteed to run into
this problem in other devices that use electrolytics (motherboards,
TV's, power supplies, monitors, game boxes, router, etc). *I use mine
far too often.

http://www.ludens.cl/Electron/esr/esr.html
http://www.anatekcorp.com/blueesr.htm
http://www.flippers.com/esrktmtr.html (I have this one)
http://www.midwestdevices.com/index.html

More good reading on LCD repair:
http://www.ccl-la.com/blog/index.php/category/monitor-repair/
Note how just about all the failures are electrolytic capacitors.
Here's your Syncmaster 204 page:
http://www.ccl-la.com/blog/index.php/samsung-214t-repair/
Note the they're symptoms include a "dark picture". *Hmmmm...

--
Jeff Liebermann * *
150 Felker St #D * *http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann * * AE6KS * *831-336-2558

Could placing a small 12V fan temporarily, at least, in that area be a
diagnostic tool ?

Yes, I considered this. Unfortunately, as I described, the problem is
very random. For example, it has not surfaced in over a week. So by
trying to cool it, I don't know if it's actually helping, or luck.
The same problem applies to the suggestions I've received to replace
the caps outlined on that website. While I'd be happy to do it, I
won't really know if it has helped for a couple months.

One thing I'd really like is to find a trigger for this problem. I
will try heat today. Is there a way to "stress" the monitor's
electronics, to try reproducing the issue? Would changing the image
rapidly have any effect? Should I display a solid color (perhaps
white) on it?

With a reasonably reliable repro procedure (even if it takes hours), I
can then get more info, and attempt to fix it, all while having some
confidence that my changes have either helped or not.

On Mon, 3 May 2010 04:37:58 -0700, "William Sommerwerck"
wrote:

Incidentally, having two identical monitors is a bad idea.
Sympathetic failure and contagious failure modes has been
known to propagate between the bad monitor and the good.
I would keep them apart just to be safe.

Uva uvam videndo varia fit, right?

http://alkek.library.txstate.edu/swwc/ld/ldex081a1.html
I don't think Samsung uses grape juice in their capacitors.

Monitor failures really are contagious. In about 2004, I purchased 9
almost identical Dell systems, all with E173FPF(?) LCD displays. They
worked just fine for 3 years, when they started failing. The ones
that were the warmest and powered on the longest failed first. Within
about 2 months, 6 had developed bad capacitor failure symptoms. What
I found amazing was there was one monitor that was left in the box for
about 2 years. It was used to replace the first monitor failure, and
promptly died about 6 months later. Apparently, they age in the box.
When asked by the owner what was happening, I joked that such failures
were contagious. Unfortunately, my explanation leaked all over the
company with predictable embarrassment. I had to write a company wide
memo explaining what was really happening, what I was doing to fix it,
and apologize for my bad joke. (However, I didn't promise not to do
it again).

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On Mon, 3 May 2010 08:09:58 -0700 (PDT), saber850
wrote:

Is there a way I can gain confidence that the problem is w/ the
capacitors, before opening it up?

Drugs work well for improving confidence. I find that I perform my
most heroic feats of daring and self-endangerment when thoroughly
doped to just below the point of going comatose. This steadies the
hand, improves on my diagnostic abilities, and opens me to a variety
of unusual approaches. The only problem is that I have difficulties
remembering what changes I've made while under the influence and have
therefore resorted to using a camcorder or digital camera. This helps
answer the inevitable questions "What was I thinking"?

I'll refrain from recommending specific controlled substances and
prescription drugs as each technician responds differently. For
starters, anti-depressants and anti-anxiety drugs work well for
elevating one's self-confidence.
http://www.alphacalm.com/anti-anxiety-drugs/

However, if the chemical confidence builder solution is not for you, I
suggest you purchase an ESR tester (see previous rant), and test the
capacitors in the circuit. Yes, it works without removing the caps.
Also, look for bulges, leaks, brown goo, and oozing rubber plugs.

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On May 3, 11:20*am, saber850 wrote:
On May 3, 4:01*am, "N_Cook" wrote:



Jeff Liebermann wrote in message

.. .

On Sun, 2 May 2010 17:53:14 -0700 (PDT), saber850
wrote:

On May 2, 5:10 pm, Jeff Liebermann wrote:

This might be of interest:
http://pavel.kirkovsky.com/2009/03/samsung-syncmaster-204b-repair/
http://www.djhome.net/tips/samsungsyncmaster204T.htm
I've seen both problems on the bench with similar Samsung models.

This is great info; thanks. *The website links you found refer to the
problem as "flickering". *Is that the condition my monitor has, given
the video I posted?

No, it's not the same. *What's probably happening is that as your
power supply warms up, the cazapitors are starting to also get hot. My
guess(tm) is that the power supply output voltages drop, causing the
odd changes to white and black. *The symptoms of having the wrong
power supply voltage vary radically with the type of circuit and which
capacitors are a problem. *I've seen flickering, fades, time delayed
sudden failure, smoke, fire, and most commonly, just plain no picture..
Given a specific single component failure, it's possible to predict
the symptoms. *Given multiple partial failures, it's at best a guess.

Open up the monitor (it's a royal pain), replace all the big caps
whether they look bad or not, and live happily ever after. *If you're
into being sure, I suggest you look into purchasing or building an ESR
(equivalent series resistance) meter, as you're guaranteed to run into
this problem in other devices that use electrolytics (motherboards,
TV's, power supplies, monitors, game boxes, router, etc). *I use mine
far too often.

http://www.ludens.cl/Electron/esr/esr.html
http://www.anatekcorp.com/blueesr.htm
http://www.flippers.com/esrktmtr.html (I have this one)
http://www.midwestdevices.com/index.html

More good reading on LCD repair:
http://www.ccl-la.com/blog/index.php/category/monitor-repair/
Note how just about all the failures are electrolytic capacitors.
Here's your Syncmaster 204 page:
http://www.ccl-la.com/blog/index.php/samsung-214t-repair/
Note the they're symptoms include a "dark picture". *Hmmmm...

--
Jeff Liebermann * *
150 Felker St #D * *http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann * * AE6KS * *831-336-2558

Could placing a small 12V fan temporarily, at least, in that area be a
diagnostic tool ?

Yes, I considered this. Unfortunately, as I described, the problem is
very random. *For example, it has not surfaced in over a week. *So by
trying to cool it, I don't know if it's actually helping, or luck.
The same problem applies to the suggestions I've received to replace
the caps outlined on that website. *While I'd be happy to do it, I
won't really know if it has helped for a couple months.

One thing I'd really like is to find a trigger for this problem. *I
will try heat today. *Is there a way to "stress" the monitor's
electronics, to try reproducing the issue? *Would changing the image
rapidly have any effect? *Should I display a solid color (perhaps
white) on it?

With a reasonably reliable repro procedure (even if it takes hours), I
can then get more info, and attempt to fix it, all while having some
confidence that my changes have either helped or not.

So I tried various techniques to try reproducing the problem today,
all to no avail. I tried heat. I displayed a solid white image--with
the brightness & contrast at their max level--for several hours
straight; nothing. I turned it off for ~4 hours, and when I turned it
back on, the problem repeated itself. So clearly heat is not a
trigger, not is prolonged use. Unfortunately, the "randomness" of the
problem persists.

Here's more observations:

When the monitor is in it's "black" state, it's not as if the monitor
was off--there is a very low level of light on the screen, so it's
more of a dark gray than black. Is this the backlight?

With the monitor in it's "gray/black" state, I pointed a flashlight at
the screen at all angles & at a close distance. I do not see any of
the image.

I noticed that as the problem was occurring, and the screen was fading
first to white, and then to gray/black, the image is not being
updated. I moved the mouse over to that screen while the fading was
occurring, but the mouse on that screen did not move. Does this
suggest a defective video board?

I also tried adjusting the brightness & contrast, but I couldn't,
because the on-screen menu does not show up.