A week or so ago my Meteor CNC's controller PC decided not to (appear to) boot up.  Probotix wants an arm and a leg for a new one, so I figured I'd see if I could deduce the actual problem before starting fresh with a new LinuxPC. 

 

I took the hard drive out and put it in another PC to see if it still worked.  I used the same monitor though and although I could hear grumbling of the drives there was still no image from the PC on the monitor.  Not even the usual boot up sequence.  On a whim I dug out another monitor that I knew had worked and sure enough it worked as expected with the PC.  Put everything back together with the "new" monitor and it appears my Meteor CNC is alive and well again.   

Lesson learned:  Monitors can fail.  Particularly inexpensive LCD monitors from Staples., 

4D 

Glad it was a relatively simple and inexpensive fix. Good to know.

Thanks @Grandpadave52.   I did a search for the most reliable LCD monitors and Dell seemed to pop up more than any other.  So a new Dell 20" monitor is on the way.  The old monitor was the one that came with the CNC but is 1/3 smaller than the one that failed and a bit harder for my old eyes to see.  I believe I've got at least 3 dead LCD monitors and likely 3 or 4 old CRT monitors I need to take down to the recycler.  They don't take CRT monitors for free though but as I need to start clearing out the unused stuff from my house I'm happy to pay to get rid of those. 

I've had excellent service from my personal Dell monitors as well as PCs and now my laptop. All have been or are business class versions which have been refurbished/ reset off of a lease.

 

Back in my work days, Dell became the standard issue over H-P corporate wide rather for desktops or laptops with docking stations..Latitudes for laptops. All were leased; received a new laptop about every 2-1/2 years. I traveled a LOT; in and out of bags, cars, planes, hotels etc;  handled numerous times per day in and out of meetings, training class sessions, shop floor environment. I only had one hard drive fail which was way before SSD.

My Cousin got me a ViewSonic 1080p Gaming Monitor VX2267-MHD 22" with 75Hz, 1ms, FreeSync, HDMI, VGA for $59.00.

Since retiring from the state he opened his own computer shop. I believe he gave it to me for his cost. 

If I remember correctly Worst Buy had the same monitor on sale at the time for $129.95.

Tells you what kind of markup they put on them, they probably get them for cheaper than my Cousin does due to the volume they buy. 

PCs, monitors, keyboards and mice have been both a joy and a pest over the last 40ish years.  Best way to kill a CRT was to drop it off a cart or countertop. LCDs seem to pop a capacitor eventually and start complaining shortly before they die completely.   The Dell 20" I bought was $84 from Amazon. There were alternative brands the same size/specs as cheap as $32.  Hopefully this monitor outlives my desire to play with my CNC.   

Not all projects are complicated.  A hole, angled at 15 degrees from vertical, to hold a flashlight to light up the working area under my truck, was finally cut.  Too bad I've already finished with the under truck project but it is nice to have my CNC running again.  Scrap of oak that I figured I could eventually find a use for makes a good solid but unusual base. A bit of cork sheet wrapped around inside of the hole for a snug fit but won't scratch the flashlight.  Thought about cutting the scrap into a circle, but figured then I'd have more scraps that needed a use.  Now all I need is another use for this flashlight and base. 

4D

Cool. Beats mine duct taped to a brick.

5 minutes ago, Grandpadave52 said:

Cool. Beats mine duct taped to a brick.

I started out believing I could do this with  my drill press. Turns out the only paddle bit I don't have between 1/4" and 2"  is 1.125", which was the size needed.   One easy thing a CNC can do is make holes/pockets of any useful size.  Throw in my adjustable angle clamping fixture for angled holes.

 

It is a good thing I don't have any loose bricks to play with, otherwise I might have tried to drill/pocket a hole in a brick. 

On 12/28/2023 at 12:07 PM, 4DThinker said:

Lesson learned:  Monitors can fail.

Yes, and I learned they can also send bogus info back to the computer.  Several years ago my computer was doing weird things, acting glitchy, stumbling at times and it would often show up on the old monitor (22" HP).  I changed the monitor and all my computer issues went away.  In checking with my local computer builder he echoed what I suspected, the monitor was causing the computer issue.

 

Fast forward to last year when I decided to replace the replacement monitor (we have about five 22" LCD monitors on hand from both my wife's office and nephew's office where both companies were replacing these monitors with larger).  I searched for 32" curved 4k monitors and lucked into a deal - got a good one for $230.  It was a one-day offer on Amazon, could have been a mistake but I jumped on it.  The day before it was $350 and I had set a limit of $300 so I snatched it up.

1 hour ago, difalkner said:

Yes, and I learned they can also send bogus info back to the computer.  Several years ago my computer was doing weird things, acting glitchy, stumbling at times and it would often show up on the old monitor (22" HP).  I changed the monitor and all my computer issues went away.  In checking with my local computer builder he echoed what I suspected, the monitor was causing the computer issue.

I'm curious if the cable connection...  VGA vs DVI vs HTMI vs ...  could make a different.  I seem to remember HDMI as having some handshake capability.   I think it was about copyright protection/encryption.  Digital cables being the most likely to cause glitches. 

My connection on that monitor was DVI.  The new monitor is HDMI.  Cables were good on the old one, brand new for the new monitor, but I wondered the same thing about the cables so I switched out the cables on the old monitor - no difference which tells me it was the monitor.