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The Secret Life of XY Monitors (2001)

jmargolin.com

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Re: The Secret Life of XY Monitors (2001)

#11

Post by orbital-decay »

onetimeuse92304 wrote: post #3

> It's also a safety issue, since the Cathode voltage might be substantial. When I was a small kid, my father had a TV set repair side hustle. I was 7-8yo but I would sometimes be called to help him a bit. Once he asked me to clean a bunch of CRT tubes from substantial amount of dust. What he forgot is that he was just testing one of them and the charge wasn't properly dissipated and it did not have time to dissipate…

I also touched a CRT anode when fiddling with a TV set when I was 12. I was aware of the danger and scared of that thing (it was huge!) but still forgot to discharge it. Despite the ~26kV nominal voltage there was only enough charge to make me jump to the ceiling, or at least I thought so. It's a lesson you never forget.

Re: The Secret Life of XY Monitors (2001)

#13

Post by jareklupinski »

sowbug wrote: post #9
Scoundreller wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And have someone nearby with a 2x4 to beat you off whatever you might be gripping/fell onto.

Just to add a bit more color here: most flexor muscles in your body are a lot stronger than the corresponding extensors, so when an external command comes in telling both to contract, for example from electricity in the thing you're working on, gripping wins. You can't let go. Great for grabbing a branch as you fall out of a tree. Not so great for repairing a power line. Late edit: I've heard you can use this factoid…

> I don't know what Step Two is, unfortunately.

step two is waiting for the aforementioned 2x4 wielder "to beat ... whatever you might be gripping/fell onto"

Re: The Secret Life of XY Monitors (2001)

#14

Post by RetroTechie »

It's a pity such monitors aren't made any more.

In the late 80s, I owned a small (12..13" or so) amber monochrome CRT monitor. Lovely phosphor color, non-flickering superb for text-based work, single composite video input.

Let go when it didn't seem to matter much, and CRTs were still everywhere.

But today I'd love to have such a screen. Commercially this would be a small niche market, but probably a stable one. And regardless of modern LCD/LED screens, such antique monochrome CRTs have properties that no modern flatscreen can match. As an in-between, LCD/LED screen designed for ~0 lag & X/Y vector input (monochrome or color), would be nice too. Doesn't exist afaik?

Re: The Secret Life of XY Monitors (2001)

#15

Post by autoexec »

RetroTechie wrote: post #14

It's a pity such monitors aren't made any more. In the late 80s, I owned a small (12..13" or so) amber monochrome CRT monitor. Lovely phosphor color, non-flickering superb for text-based work, single composite video input. Let go when it didn't seem to matter much, and CRTs were still everywhere. But today I'd love to have such a screen. Commercially this would be a small niche market, but probably a stable one. And…

When LCD monitors/TVs came out they were a huge step backwards in terms of quality. They were relentlessly pushed on consumers because they were cheaper to make, cheaper to ship, and took up less space in stockrooms and on store shelves. I doubt the CRT will make a comeback. Even today's TVs are inferior to CRTs in some ways and so we're still compromising, but at least current LCD screens are so much better now than they were when they were replacing CRTs.

Re: The Secret Life of XY Monitors (2001)

#16

Post by rzzzt »

jareklupinski wrote: post #13
sowbug wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just to add a bit more color here: most flexor muscles in your body are a lot stronger than the corresponding extensors, so when an external command comes in telling both to contract, for example from electricity in the thing you're working on, gripping wins. You can't let go. Great for grabbing a branch as you fall out of a tree. Not so great for repairing a power line. Late edit: I've heard you can use this factoid…

> I don't know what Step Two is, unfortunately. step two is waiting for the aforementioned 2x4 wielder "to beat ... whatever you might be gripping/fell onto"

"Mother" on speed dial maybe?

Re: The Secret Life of XY Monitors (2001)

#17

Post by mauvehaus »

onetimeuse92304 wrote: post #5
colechristensen wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Probably not enough to cause lasting damage unless you are extremely unlucky about where the discharge went You don't have to be that unlucky. Discharge across your heart can stop it, no problem. It is not at all difficult for that energy to route through your chest. You were lucky.

Well... one difference between a stun gun and CRT tube is that in a stun gun you usually have both terminals relatively close to each other. Little chance of the main pulse going deep across the chest. On the other hand working with the CRT you are likely using both hands and that makes the signal go through your upper chest, by default. So yeah, there is something to it. One thing I learned as amateur EE is to alway…

You're describing the well-known Alanis Morissette technique for electrical work:

"I got one hand in my pocket, and the other one holding a DMM"

Re: The Secret Life of XY Monitors (2001)

#18

Post by bombcar »

autoexec wrote: post #15
RetroTechie wrote: post #14

It's a pity such monitors aren't made any more. In the late 80s, I owned a small (12..13" or so) amber monochrome CRT monitor. Lovely phosphor color, non-flickering superb for text-based work, single composite video input. Let go when it didn't seem to matter much, and CRTs were still everywhere. But today I'd love to have such a screen. Commercially this would be a small niche market, but probably a stable one. And…

When LCD monitors/TVs came out they were a huge step backwards in terms of quality. They were relentlessly pushed on consumers because they were cheaper to make, cheaper to ship, and took up less space in stockrooms and on store shelves. I doubt the CRT will make a comeback. Even today's TVs are inferior to CRTs in some ways and so we're still compromising, but at least current LCD screens are so much better now than…

The problem is that the available market for CRT screens (and it does exist!) is well supplied for now by used and other older models.

Modern screens are better in many ways, but like CRTs, there are tradeoffs and many things are not yet designed around those tradeoffs.

Re: The Secret Life of XY Monitors (2001)

#19

Post by Zardoz84 »

Cthulhu_ wrote: post #6
colechristensen wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Probably not enough to cause lasting damage unless you are extremely unlucky about where the discharge went You don't have to be that unlucky. Discharge across your heart can stop it, no problem. It is not at all difficult for that energy to route through your chest. You were lucky.

That said, direct current is "safer" than alternating current; AC makes your muscles (and heart) spasm/contract 50 or 60 times a second like it's fibrilating, DC locks everything up like a defibrilator. I recommend neither though.

high frequency alternate current is the safest, in the sense that the skin effect enters in effect, and the current doesn't touch your muscles (or at least your hearth). However, the danger of burns persists.

Re: The Secret Life of XY Monitors (2001)

#20

Post by theamk »

autoexec wrote: post #15
RetroTechie wrote: post #14

It's a pity such monitors aren't made any more. In the late 80s, I owned a small (12..13" or so) amber monochrome CRT monitor. Lovely phosphor color, non-flickering superb for text-based work, single composite video input. Let go when it didn't seem to matter much, and CRTs were still everywhere. But today I'd love to have such a screen. Commercially this would be a small niche market, but probably a stable one. And…

When LCD monitors/TVs came out they were a huge step backwards in terms of quality. They were relentlessly pushed on consumers because they were cheaper to make, cheaper to ship, and took up less space in stockrooms and on store shelves. I doubt the CRT will make a comeback. Even today's TVs are inferior to CRTs in some ways and so we're still compromising, but at least current LCD screens are so much better now than…

I don't remember LCDs needing any "push" in the customer segment, and they certainly co-existed for a while, until people stopped buying CRTs.

Initially they were wildly expensive, so all we could do is to sit and watch; but the moment they got affordable, people just started buying them. I remember swapping my CRT for a (smaller) LCD.. the extra space on my desk was so nice! And in a few years, I bought an LCDs display that was much larger than any CRT I could ever afford and fit on my desk...

And yes, viewing angle restriction was annoying. Also magazines would keep writing about latency, but I didn't care - I was not a gamer, I was a programmer, big size + desk space was much more important.

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