The Unofficial Sony GDM-FW900 thread - Page 2

Originally Posted by jhirsche

My monitor (GDM-FW900) exhibits this same problem as well. The problem seems to occur when the monitor has been shut-off, or in standby long enought for it to cool down completely (especially in a cold room... say less than 60F.) Upon turning it back on cold, the screen will slowly loose focus, make a loud POP (like a static shock) - which returns it to focus. It will do this several times for up to an hour, until the monitor is warm, and then correct itself with no syptoms returning until the next shutdown.

My fix has been to leave the monitor on all the time, showing the screensaver. Also seems to happen more often in the winter (dry weather / static buildup?)

Bump for an answer....

Originally Posted by sumrtym

That's it exactly. Personally, I don't like it running 24/7 and the wear/tear on it doing that. Would love to just get it repaired if I could ever get clarification on the exact problem / fix and find someone willing to do it.

Originally Posted by Unkle Vito!

The problems that most of you are experiencing with the GDM-FW900 and the focusing issue followed by a loud "pop" is due to a short in the tube caused by a faulty flyback.

What needs to be done is: first get rid of the short (a Sencore CR7000 Beamrite or a Sencore CR70 is needed), then replace the flyback. Once the flyback is replaced, then the focussing can be adjusted by displaying a MEME background from a video signal generator, and then manually adjusting the Vertical and Horizontal focussing knobs on the flyback. After that, secure the knobs by placing a small amount of white paint (in form of a paste).

I do not recommend leaving the unit on at all times or even on standby mode (sleep mode), as it will shorten the life of the tube. Power the unit down (turn it off) when not in use.

Do not attempt to work inside a CRT if you are not an skilled Tech or Engineer. The voltages inside the CRT are lethal and will kill you!

The flyback is still available thru Sony Parts distribution channels for about $98.00.

Hope this helps...

Unkle Vito!
Unklevito Computers & Video Equipment
As seen on eBay and Sony Monitor Forums

Originally Posted by PvtChurch

Hey folks question: Can either of this monitor's inputs accept a component signal? I ask because I have one device I need to connect to it where my only option is component. So I wondered if I connected said device's component cable to a VGA adapter or 5BNC adapter if the monitor would recognize the signal. I'd really prefer not to dole out $60 for a Component to VGA transcoder since I'm already paying $60 for an HDFury so I can connect my HDMI devices.

Originally Posted by Sibilance

Weird. I have a Multiscan g520 that had the Focus - POP issue for a couple of weeks.

... Before I continue into the next paragraph, let me point out that I live in Texas. Land of insect annoyances.

In my case it was being caused by... wait for it... /fire ants./ They tend to be attracted to electrical fields, and in this particular instance, my computer set up was along a wall closest to a large nest of fire ants out in the yard. During one Out of Focus - Pop session I looked behind the set in frustration and noticed a line of fire ants crawling up along the power cord of the monitor and inside, presumably on a suicide march.

Found the fire ant nest out in the yard, destroyed it. Problem solved.

Anyway, I just purchased a GDM-FW900 for my set up, so I'll probably be keeping an eye on this thread.

Originally Posted by sumrtym

I thought flybacks weren't replaceable, only things you attached to them to help correct the problem?

And now if I could find someone in Kansas City would actually REPAIR it.....

Originally Posted by rspad1

I just bought a NEW Sony e540 on ebay and it has the problem that it goes blurry and then pops after a minute or so and then it is ok, for a while.

Anyone have an update on this issue?

Thanks

Originally Posted by tonyptony

I've just been noticing a new problem with my FW900. Twice over the last few days the display has gone out of focus over the course of about 1 minute or so. To a point of complete unreadability. Then in each case I noticed a soft electronic popping sound and all of a sudden the display was back into razor sharp focus. Any clue as to what this is?

Duh, now that I read the last few posts I see that jhirsche and sumrtym have the same problem. Same question to Unkle Vito: I thought the flyback was not replaceable?

If I get the flyback is there anyone in the South Jersey (USA) area who has the know-how and equipment to repair?

Originally Posted by Mathesar

Great monitor, mine is still going strong. I used to run my Xbox360 to the FW900's VGA input and it looked great. What I did was bought a BNC cable for my PC so i could just toggle back and forth between inputs.

Originally Posted by Unkle Vito!

I do not recommend leaving the unit on at all times or even on standby mode (sleep mode), as it will shorten the life of the tube. Power the unit down (turn it off) when not in use.

Originally Posted by jasonarmadillo

I recently picked up a FW900 and I bought a VGA cable for my Xbox 360. When I hook it up to the FW900's VGA port, the Xbox image is too wide for the screen. I know the Xbox outputs 1080p from the VGA cable. No adjusting of the image using either the Xbox settings or the monitors control panel fixes it. I'm new to these awesome monitors, so what am I doing wrong?

Originally Posted by jtbradyl

The g2 value is a voltage control I think. I got all the gadgets and hooked them up. Thankfully my HP A7217A (the hp version of the GDM-FW900) has an opening on the case to give access to the ECS connection. I successfully got windas operating and proceeded to change the G2 value. A NOTE! Do backup the original settings. I needed the backup copy. I made multiple changes and somewhere in the process the changes were not taking hold and I had to recycle the monitor to get it working again but it worked at a low level. I located my backup, entered the G2 value I wanted and windas worked correctly. Without the backup I think the monitor would have had to be brought to a repair place. Anyway here is what I noticed about changing the G2 value. My original value was G2=156 and when I lowered it below G2=151 I could not successfully set the colors using my Eye One Display2 color calibrator. Also when I lowered the G2 value the brightness calibration of the I1D2 would increase thereby keeping the underlying brightness of the screen the same. What I ended up doing was setting the brightness to 45 and contrast to 95 and the G2 value to 152 and used the I1D2 calibrator to set the colors. I had the monitor set to 9300K but the calibrator adjusted it to 6500K . Lowering the voltage lessens the intensity of everything. What I have ended up with is a monitor that reaches a good black when the brightness is reduced to 0 but the overall picture is too dark. As the brightness is increased the screen lightens up. At a brightness setting of 40-45 the screen is slightly gray but tolerable. Of course what I really want is a bright screen with black blacks great colors and crisp whites (like my CRT TV). Is this possible? Actually I've reduced the brightness to 35 with good results (and I could reduce it further) but there is still something dissatisfying about the picture but at least it's not washed out.

Originally Posted by sIRwa2

@epsilon72, i see them go for 150 to 400 on 2ehand sites..if you want to own the best monitor ever made, i would definitely check it out.. if you can lift it..buy it