need help with 24'' Sony CRT monitor.
 

i have a 24'' sony gdm-fw900. i love this thing and i want to see if it's possible to get it functioning again. one day when i woke up i turned it on,it turned on but no picture. sounds like the monitor picture kicks on like it always does but no picture. i called local tech and says possibly something do with the power supply or something with the h/v power supply. said monitors are complicated so it'll cost me to even have it looked at.

i was wondering can be something as small as a bad cap or transistor around the video drivers boards(if that's what there called) where the inputs are at? maybe something on the board went bad? i wonder what it possibly can be cause? any ideas? any advice be much appreciated.

sorry if this is the wrong section. i just recently join these forums and was directed by an AK member to give these forums a try.

well if you want to do it yourself, begin by typing the name and model in to google, and reading, try to get a manual ,service manual, Sonys have blinking power lights that give a code if something is not working. There should be some clues, you have to know what to look for. And there are discussion boards for that monitor out there I saw them typing in your model number into google, you just have some reading to do before taking off the back.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1061724

Link has a service manual posted, with dis assembly instructions.

i took the back off before to remove the anti-glare screen from the monitor cause when it was given to me it had some marketings on the screen. later on i found it uses an anti-glare screen so i took it off.

i appreciate the feedback and link to the service manual but i think i will probably have a more experience tech do this cause i really don't want to mess anything up. i read sony still provides parts still. if so that be great.

that model seems to have quite a following, and I found one on ebay for $900. so I guess its well worth getting fixed.... After reading the specs I kinda want one too....

yea. luckily i got mine for free. i found someone on craigslist advertising it and was gonna throw it away at the curb cause he said he got a new monitor. i messaged him within seconds lol when i found it.

i was reading more on the service manual and tried trouble shooting with no luck. i took it apart and the tube looked fine to me. maybe a transformer problem or something that drives the tube went. i won't know till the weekend when i be able to take it up to a tech i know.

all i know when i talked to him if it's anything big like the flyback(i think it's called) or something else it can cost as much as going out and buying a 24'' lcd so i'm guessing 200-300 the most if it's something major.

Well a flyback will not be that much, they are probably around $50. If your power light is not giving erros its most likely in the power supply, everything past that has some diagnostic circuit attached to it. I would also guess with 80% certainty that its not the flyback. do you get a power on light to come on? can you hear, sense through static that the picture tube is getting high voltage? sometimes you hear the static, or can feel it if your hand is very close to the front of the screen as you power it up? Use the manual, take your time and don't get ripped off, type the symptoms into google, you would be surprised at what is on the internet. Just curious, you have tried a different monitor on your computer to be sure the monitor is the problem, and not your computer, or other signal source? Have you tried the other types of inputs?

i can hear it come on and it gets power so i guessed that's sign the tube itself is still good. it seems it tries to get a picture once it turns on but stays blank and goes right into power saving mode and stays there. i tried the trouble shooting to see if that'll work but nope,nothing. i can hear the static and high frequency pitch monitors make when turned on but it goes right into power saving mode(orange light) and stays there.

yes i tried it on my 360 and my wii using a vga converter i bought for my wii and a female vga to 5xBNC male connector so i can use the monitor input switch instead of the VGA box. i tried the bnc and vga connection on my computer and my consoles. right now i'm using my viewsonic ultrabrite CRT monitor till i get my sony repaired.

any other ideas anyone? i really appreciate the help your giving me Username1.

i have a new problem here guys and hopefully someone reads this...... i decided to try the monitor one more time before i bring it downstairs and now it won't power on at all! i hit the button many many times and nothing.......does this mean the tube itself died? or is it in the power supply?

Sounds like the standby supply took a crap. That's the power source which stays on (low voltage) to tell the main power supply to 'wake up' when you hit the power button, do you have a light on the front of any color?

I once fixed a flat panel that had a stby issue, it turned out to be a pair of SMD fuses that had somehow gone high resistence but not blown. You should get inside this thing with a voltmeter, start from the power socket and find where you're loosing power.

The CRT doesent often die all at once.

Constant attempts to restart it probably didnt help whatever has now gone out.

That said, I had a look at these monitors online. Nice.

so it has nothing to do with the tube....Thank God(hopefully). how can you tell if a tube went? it should be able to be repaired then if it's just something else and not as long as it's the tube itself? i have a multi-meter i use to adjust the bias in my amps but that's all i know how to do technically. never replaced caps or anything so replacing a transformer or power supply would probably be out of my league.

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thanks a lot for the info guys and thanks site123a. i don't know much on monitors besides specifications. from reading it can be a fuse or cracked/cold solder joints. it got me curious could it be because my room is very well air conditioned and the cold air could had something to do with it when i had it sitting in the corner for the past few days?

Where are you located?

i'm located in NJ.

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i know i don't. never replaced parts before. i did call a tech i usually deal with in my area cause he's only one i know who fixes up old vintage amps and been doing it for over 40 years. when i talked to him over the phone he told me monitors are pretty complex compared to tv's and if it's anything big it'll gonna cost around same price you be able to find a 24'' lcd monitor on the market today but i'm fine with that if it can in fact be fixed.

where in nj? Zip code? Its good its dead, dead is easier to fix than on standby with no diagnostic help. Now for sure (almost) its in the power supply main, or stand by. and 100% its not the picture tube.

Well it's very good to hear it's not the tube itself. that's all i was worried about. i'm in NJ,Riverside,08075.

-o- yer a good distance from me.....

yea it is. sorry about that. i do appreciate you and everyone here helping me out informing me on my problem. i greatly appreciate it. now just need to figure out how i'm gonna bring this behemoth to the shop without breaking it. it has a crack stand already so i want to be careful. i was actually thinking of dragging a roller chair with me up there and rolling it in the shop lol since it'll be a pain with me carrying it through the door since i do have pretty wide shoulders.

well, you do have to be careful about shock you may give to the set. By shock I mean sharp bang, vibration, etc. Putting it in a chair and rolling it in the street, sidewalk, will bounce it sharply, and possibly move the focusing magnets on the neck of the tube. A lot of tv's & monitors used pretty crappy glue to hold these items in place once adjusted at the factory. you can easily add to the amount of work needed to get it working again if you are harsh in transport to get it repaired, so be gentle. You can carry it sideways, that would make it taller, not as wide. Just keep the bouncing to a minimum. Take your time, that monitor seems to really be worth it, and besides you have a backup.

i was going to do it slowly but i didn't know about the magnet part. so i think i'm probably gonna just carry it or just have my friend help so i can carefully get it there. i can carry it myself of course even tho it's heavy. i just thought of the chair out of precaution cause want to be careful but didn't know about the magnet part.

how much you think it can estimate of the cost? if it's just the power supply does that mean like 100-200? or more then 200?

iirc these got dried out small lytics in the psu.
too bad i trashed mine when the crt went to air and started arcing.the boards were still good.
mine had a shorted hot dragging the psu down.got it free and used it 5 years after i fixed it.crt went sick over a week or so.sprung a leak.R.I.P.

well looks like i be putting it out on the curb now..... i went to the tech and told me he didn't want to bother with it cause had too much stuff to look at and it's not worth fixing. and after that when i came back since i had a ride my friend was dumb and open the back before i got out of the car and since the monitor had a broken stand already it fell out on the street...... seemed screen was unharmed but the stand broke more and piece of the back casing broke. also the front bezel chipped. i swear....i have the worst luck in the world.

i have no idea if it's still worth fixing or not. i don't know any other experience techs who are willing to work on these things anymore in nj. also don't know if anything internally suffered anything from the fall(was about 3 1/2 foot fall). should i still try or just curb the thing? i don't know what to do.

this truly sucks and worst day i ever had....

Might be better off getting a good used one at a thrift shop.

that's going to be impossible in most cases cause this is pretty rare and sought after monitor....and still go for over several hundred bucks in good working condition. i think the tube itself is still worth good amount for parts maybe,so thinking if i can't get second opinion from another local shop or find anyone local in south jersey who willing to help me out i guess i might just have to put it up as parts or something maybe. i really don't want to see it go on the curb.

the tube itself is still in perfect condition from what i expected. just the casing and stand is cracked and bezel is chipped. glass tube is still unscratched and not harmed.

power supply or front panel fuse is dead from what people told me here so i can't really test it cause it won't power on but i still get static sound every time i plug it in the wall so guess that's a sign that the tube is still working fine.

maybe you will get lucky and the fall didnt kill the aperture grille.too bad you are not local.would not be hard to figure it out here.
you sure you hear static?
more likely you are hearing the degausser.

kinda sounds like static to me. i mean i get sound every time at the plug. i guess that just means it's receiving power to the connector maybe? i took pics in my other forum asking for suggestions of the inside. seem none of the inside suffered one bit and no crack boards or anything. the thin steel sheet that protects the circuits also has no dents or suffered any damage. the fall wasn't very high. maybe 3ft the most. only thing seem to take damage from the fall was the back plastic casing and front bezel is slightly crack but no damage to the glass and not single scratch. i have no idea what position it fell from either.

heres the pics i took.

http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/a...a/DSC01143.jpg
http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/a...a/DSC01154.jpg
http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/a...a/DSC01155.jpg

only damage it suffered in fall(from what i can physically see):
http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/a...a/DSC01157.jpg
http://i882.photobucket.com/albums/a...a/DSC01158.jpg

Fw900
 

I had a tech look at MY fw900 a few weeks back and said it was the flyback, so I replaced that with a used unit, it was in working condition, but another tech I used that installed this flyback board said the CRT has a short.
He said it can be repaired or a new tube would fix it.

Any idea what I should do ?