Skip site navigation (1)Skip section navigation (2)
Date:      Tue, 9 Jan 1996 22:37:42 +0100 (MET)
From:      J Wunsch <j@uriah.heep.sax.de>
To:        freebsd-hackers@freebsd.org (FreeBSD hackers)
Subject:   Re: Dual Monitor Systems...
Message-ID:  <199601092137.WAA00405@uriah.heep.sax.de>
In-Reply-To: <199601091040.LAA21892@allegro.lemis.de> from "Greg Lehey" at Jan 9, 96 11:40:36 am

next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
As Greg Lehey wrote:

> You've obviously never burnt out a monitor :-(
> 
> Running monitors out of spec *does* damage monitors.

The usual cause for burning a monitor is _over_driving its horizontal
frequency.  In a dumb fixed-frequency monitor, the CRT accelerator
voltage supply is simply done by the horizontal output stage (``line
transformator'', like in any TV set), and overdriving its spec'ed
frequency causes this stage to produce way too much high voltage, and
finally too much power dissipation in the driving transistors, hence
overheating either the transistor(s), or melting the isolation out of
the transformator.

_Under_driving the frequency has the ill side-effect of reducing the
high voltage, which is far less dangerous.  If a monitor is operated
in this state for a really long period of time (weeks), this might
also cause the cathode of the CRT to become `deaf' (reduced
emittability), but that's certainly not a problem if it's running a
few hours in this state.

Running a fixed-frequency monitor (f[H] usually between 60 and 90 kHz)
at VGA speed (31.5 kHz) is plain underdriving.

(``multi-sync'' monitors have a separate accelerator voltage power
supply, or some other sort of self-control, and usually protect
theirselves against overdriving.)

> ..., but what
> happens if you have a power fail in the middle of the night, and
> something hangs?

I don't turn off my computer, but i turn off my monitor when i'm
absent for a while.

-- 
cheers, J"org

joerg_wunsch@uriah.heep.sax.de -- http://www.sax.de/~joerg/ -- NIC: JW11-RIPE
Never trust an operating system you don't have sources for. ;-)



Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?199601092137.WAA00405>