New Monitor or New Computer

[bszopi]

So my 19" Samsumg widescreen LCD died today. Its only like 1 1/2 yrs old, which pisses me off. I think its the power supply that went, as I just can't turn it on (no power lights when plugged in). Looking online, I can get another decent 19-20" widescreen for ~$150. But, I can also get a new 64-bit HP with a 20" widescreen with 500gb HD and 3gb RAM for $550. The existing computer is probably 4-5 years old, so its definately not a powerhouse in the least. But, it works just fine. If I get a new computer, then I have to deal with getting everything from the old computer to the new (which is a lot of crap). We have a new laptop (4-mo old), so its not like a really need anything nice and new. Just trying to decide what to do...

Another (cheapest) option is to just repair the monitor. If it is in fact the PS, it looks like I can get one online for ~$40. But, if that not it, then I just wasted $40 and still need to decide on what to purchase next.

If you were in my shoes, what would you do?

[SofaKingWeToddDid]

if i could afford it, i would get the newer computer, the price is nice and its not 5 years old. (like mine)

[Superdave]

Power supplies are very common in LCD monitors, also Inverters that drive the CCFL bulbs.


at the very least pull it apart and look at the power supply, if there is any bulged or leaking caps you can easily repair it. If you don't have the equipment just send it to me and i'll see if i can bring it back to life.

[SofaKingWeToddDid]

maybe this is whats wrong with my boss' LCD screen thinggy, the power light barely comes on but the screen itself doesnt turn on. (the light doesnt change from red to green or something like that)

[bszopi]

Power supplies are very common in LCD monitors, also Inverters that drive the CCFL bulbs.


at the very least pull it apart and look at the power supply, if there is any bulged or leaking caps you can easily repair it. If you don't have the equipment just send it to me and i'll see if i can bring it back to life.

I actually did pull it apart (before I posted), hoping for a board mount fuse or something. There was 1 cap that tha end looked slightly bulged, but not as bad as I have seen before. Perhaps it is still the culprit. I guess I could try replacing that cap first and see what it does. Hopefully its something common I can pick up easily... Of course, now I need to pull it apart again, since I went ahead and put it back together earlier.

[IsaacHayes]

x2 on what super dave said.

Thursday I repaired 2 more Acer monitors at work that had fried power boards from bad power in the building. I'm an IT guy for the state but with the budget the way it is, for less than the price of one new monitor I can get enough capactiors and diodes from jameco.com to rebuild 100 monitors. They really should pay me more.... It always seems I've got more knowledge and skills than what my duties are. I guess that comes with being a jack of all trades.

Just look for diodes on the boards were the board looks "hot' and burned. Also replace any bulging or leaking capacitors.

Thankfully the ones I've worked on were easy to see what is wrong, and used full size components, not surface mount.

[Superdave]

Not sure how your computer is configured but it'll make a huge difference in the life of a LCD if you have the computer shut it off after 20 minutes of non-use.

I've got about 400 LCD's running 24x7 at work, from the factory they last roughly 2 yrs till the CCFL bulbs start going out.. once the bulbs start putting too much load on the inverter it usually blows it's fuse.. or the power supply starts having issues.


The bulged cap could be the problem, but they usually go out of tolerance before they start bulging so if you have a cap tester it would be a good idea to go through most of them on the board.

[bszopi]

One of the downfalls of running Linux - the video card driver lacks the ability to actually power down the monitor. So, although it "sleeps" after 20 or so minutes, the monitor basically remains on, just showing a black screen. You can definately tell its still on though... When I looked over the card, I didn't see any other signs of overheating or damaged components. Being an ex-Navy Electronics Technician, we used to have to troubleshoot boards down to the component level, so I usually know what to look for. I'll pull it apart again and see what I can find. If I can't see anything else, I may just order the $40 board and cross my fingers that's the problem.

[Superdave]

for $40 you can't really go wrong, i'd do it.

[bszopi]

What's really confusing is the place I found it lists 2 items with the same part #, but different item #s - http://www.shopjimmy.com/catalogsear...53bw&stock=all . And of course, only 1 has a picture (which looks right), but it is out of stock. The other is in stock, but has no picture. I may have to email them and ask what the deal is...

[IsaacHayes]

That PS looks easy to work on, and not many components.. I'd try replacing the caps and any diodes next to the transformer and slap it back in first. Radio shack should have the components still (unless they are totally cellphone shack now) or any other local electronics store.

Not sure on the different part numbers.

[Superdave]

allied electronics can get anything you need for it. I wouldn't mess with rat shack.



Pretty simple supply although it's got the inverter built in (which most consumer grade LCD's do). Here is one on ebay, shipping is kinda high though. http://cgi.ebay.com/Samsung-Power-Su...3286.m20.l1116

[IsaacHayes]

Well, locally if radiosnatch is the only game, it's quick to get the parts.. Less waiting. But will cost you probably the same as if you ordered 100 from jameco or somewhere.

From that ebay pic, looks like they replaced the electrolytics. I'd replace them and the 2 diodes by the stepdown transformer. The inverter trans is probably ok if you have no power to the whole LCD then it's probably just the power board. Now if the power LED came on and you could see the screen with a flashlight then it would be the inverter or bulb of course. I'd test the 2 large diodes too and any others though.

[bszopi]

IIRC, the circled cap is the one that is bulging. If I am understanding the layout of the board, it looks like that is on the inverter side, not the PS side. I'll pull it apart again tonight and see...

[60dgrzbelow0]

This article on manipulating DPMS via X-ORG might just solve that "Power Down" problem and let your flavor of Linux shut off the monitor (or any other "Energy STAR" power saving device) whenever you want to ...

http://linuxreviews.org/howtos/power/xorg_dpms/

Also...eBay has quite a few Samsung LCD boards available right now, as well...

(One should NEVER underestimate the Power of a NAVY Man...)