Hey I did the resistor mod and I used a 5.1M Ohm resistor. The brightness is down to a fraction of before, but now it's too dark!!! I have the brightness/contrast turned up all the way but it's not bright enough... Anyways I'm planning on trying another resistor and was wondering if you folks can suggest what I go with next...
THANKS
I've been noticing this slowly encroaching brightness problem with my Sony G500 for the last year or so. I guess I was in a bit of denial because I love my monitor but it finally got to the point tonight where a game (System Shock 2) became unplayable because the monitor was just too bright (even with Brightness at 0). So I googled and found this thread.
Great info here on the resistor fix except... I don't know how to solder. Is soldering something that can be picked up fairly easily? Or should I not even try? I'm certainly willing to learn and I'd love to save my monitor. I don't suppose anyone on here who's done the fix lives in the los angeles area? I'd be happy to bring my monitor to you and pay what you think is fair.
Let me know, thanks.
Also, Slipkid, I went to the site you posted (http://www.alliedelec.com/) and searched on "6.2m OHM 1/2 watt" but it didn't come up with anything. I searched on "6.2 OHM" and it came up with like 20 listings. Do you have the exact part number you bought? I want to make sure I get the right thing. Thanks.
Soldering is VERY easy. You can pick up a cheapo soldering iron at the dollar store (at least around here you can) which would be fine for the job.
I would reccomend getting a cheap "learn to solder" kit. Usually they consist of a bunch of electronic parts (such as capacitors, resisters, and in some cases a small IC) which usually teaches you how to solder while also making a bunch of LEDs blink on and off using the included components and an illustrated guide describing the process. You can usually find them for ~$5 (or more if they also come with an iron), just check around at hobby shops, and online.
Soldering is VERY easy. You can pick up a cheapo soldering iron at the dollar store (at least around here you can) which would be fine for the job.
I would reccomend getting a cheap "learn to solder" kit. Usually they consist of a bunch of electronic parts (such as capacitors, resisters, and in some cases a small IC) which usually teaches you how to solder while also making a bunch of LEDs blink on and off using the included components and an illustrated guide describing the process. You can usually find them for ~$5 (or more if they also come with an iron), just check around at hobby shops, and online.
Hey, thanks. I actually just got done looking on ebay and found a "learn to solder" kit before I read this. It's just like you describe. It has a flashing siren thingy that you first make. I think I'll get that one. About time I learned this skill anyway.
And I should be able to get the resitor at Radio Shack? Do I just say it's a "6.2M OHM 1/2 watt resistor" and that's all the info they need? Thanks again.
Also, Slipkid, I went to the site you posted (http://www.alliedelec.com/) and searched on "6.2m OHM 1/2 watt" but it didn't come up with anything. I searched on "6.2 OHM" and it came up with like 20 listings. Do you have the exact part number you bought? I want to make sure I get the right thing. Thanks.
the 4.7M OHM are "stock #" 832-3362
the 6.2M OHM are "stock #" 832-3368
the catch is that they require you to buy them in units of 200 though (they only cost me $4.50 for each set, plus about $7 for the tax + shipping)
another catch - they are only supposed to accept orders of at least $20 (or something like that), so if you order from them call them rather than use the web, the woman i talked to was nice about it & let me just order what i needed
also, since i have over 150 extras of each, i'd be more than willing to give you some...contact me via a "private message" at the board
And I should be able to get the resitor at Radio Shack? Do I just say it's a "6.2M OHM 1/2 watt resistor" and that's all the info they need? Thanks again.
yes, that is what you need to ask for BUT....
unfortunately the radio shack near me did not carry them, and when i called their "national" # they said they do not have them either - that they only go up to 1M
perhaps they lied to me though & your mileage may vary
ALSO - you may want to try 4.7Meg OHM 1/2 watt first though; on mine the 6.2M makes it a little too much on the dark side but i like it that way - supposedly these will probably burn out over time & if that happens i am going to try replacing it with a 4.7M one to see how that looks
After I put the 5.6M resistor on the monitor, it was really dark, but now the monitor is fairly light again. The weird thing is, that my brightness controls are backwards now. When I turn down the brightness, the monitor gets brighter? Any ideas?
How do you do that? If it's what I think it is, then it might have been the thing that messed it up.
More details on my funky brightness controls. When you turn it up from 0 to 30 it gets brighter, then after that, the more you turn it up the darker it gets.
Well, because I dont have the monitor in front of me this moment, tell me what you did to mess it up, and I'll tell you if that's what I was talking about.
Well, because I dont have the monitor in front of me this moment, tell me what you did to mess it up, and I'll tell you if that's what I was talking about.
Went into the menu, and did the "Color Return??" option.
The higher the resistance, the brighter the picture.
are you SURE?
i heard it was just the opposite in regards to making this modification
i was told to try 4.7M first, and if that doesn't make it dark enough THEN to try 6.2 (or 6.8M)
i decided to skip 4.7 and go right to 6.2 though since my monitor was so bright i couldn't imagine it being too dark, i wanted "maximum brightness reduction"
i don't claim to know anything for sure myself though! i would be interested in an explanation as to what's what & why it works that way
To use the auto color calibration thing, you need to have the monitor powered up (and not let it go into power save mode) for about an hour. You'll know it's warmed up, because once it's happy with it's “warmth” will it let you even select the option.
At which point, you can select the option, press (what I recall to be) the right arrow button, and the monitor will go black, and slowly (over the course of 10 seconds or so) fade to white. Then the picture will return (with a better color/brightness/contrast calibration) but you will still have to set the levels themselves, this only calibrates the scale.
To use the auto color calibration thing, you need to have the monitor powered up (and not let it go into power save mode) for about an hour. You'll know it's warmed up, because once it's happy with it's “warmth” will it let you even select the option.
At which point, you can select the option, press (what I recall to be) the right arrow button, and the monitor will go black, and slowly (over the course of 10 seconds or so) fade to white. Then the picture will return (with a better color/brightness/contrast calibration) but you will still have to set the levels themselves, this only calibrates the scale.
thanks but....
my moniitor doesn't have an option to do that anywhere....i've searched all of the menus
my moniitor doesn't have an option to do that anywhere....i've searched all of the menus
i have a DELL P1110 / trinitron
You sure? Check Color/sRGB tab/ and select "Color Return". Keep in mind it may say "Available after warmup", and be unselectable untill the message goes away.
0
Straight_ManGeeky, in my own wayNaples, FLIcrontian
edited October 2004
Jameco can source and supply milspec resistors (look for those with 5% variance or less, in the commercial catalog, and NOT the home catalog). As to where Navy Electro(nics) Tech got his at work, um, milspec supplier I would guess....
So anyone have any insight on why my brightness controls are all messed up?
When you increase it from 0 to 30 it gets brighter, but if you increase it after that, it actually gets darker.
I'm really confused. I'm wondering if I burned out the resistor with heat when I was soldering it on.
Go to control panel then adobe gamma load a different monitor profile i am using the canon hdtv gamma 1.5 monitor phosphors (trinitron) check the single gamma only box desired Macintosh default 1.80 white point hardware 6500 k daylight
ADJUSTED SAME AS HARDWARE I'M USING THE SAME MONITOR AND NOW MY BLACKS ARE BLACK INSTEAD OF WASHED OUT GRAY !!!! HOPE THIS HELPS YA OUT !
You sure? Check Color/sRGB tab/ and select "Color Return". Keep in mind it may say "Available after warmup", and be unselectable untill the message goes away.
right! i did do that b4, under the "EASY" color submenu
i just tried it with the RGB menu as well
i didn't realize that was what you meant by "AUTO COLOR CALIBRATION"
now here's a new perplexing thing
when i just went to do that under the "RGB" setting, now my monitor is really "faded".....it looks terrible....no brightness or color adjustments seem to help either
but i can go into the "COLOR" menus, and switch it to "EASY" instead of "RGB" & it looks alot better
also tried the 3 settings there, 9300, 6500, and 5000, and 9300 looks "best" but not great
i don't know what any of this stuff means but think i learned something - that there is alot more to this than i realized....
Hello, I found this thread to be very helpful as I too have this monitor. I dont have a problem with it being too bright. My problem is that I get a shadow to the right of everything on screen. It is not the Convergence settings because the shadow has no color. Is there a controller inside the monitor that will adjust this? Or is this some signs of old age which can not be repaired? Also, how do I remove the cover from the back of the monitor. Thanks for your help
Unless you know what you are doing, removing the cover of a monitor can be extremely dangerous. Monitors are not like a typical household appliance (including the computer itself), even unplugged there is enough stored voltage in there to kill you.
The shadow problem sounds like it could be interference from a power cable or a speaker. Try moving anything electrical or magnetic which is near your monitor and see if the shadow disappears or moves.
Hello, I found this thread to be very helpful as I too have this monitor. I dont have a problem with it being too bright. My problem is that I get a shadow to the right of everything on screen. It is not the Convergence settings because the shadow has no color. Is there a controller inside the monitor that will adjust this? Or is this some signs of old age which can not be repaired? Also, how do I remove the cover from the back of the monitor. Thanks for your help
I am a new owner of a pre-owned Dell P1110 monitor. I picked it up from the trash pile at a friend's company. It had the brightness problem. I performed the resistor hack. I went to Radio Shack, and picked up a 100-pack assortment of cabon film resistors. In that package, was 5 1-megaohm resistors. I soldered them all in series to create 5 megaohms, and soldered it in. And now the monitor is good as new!!!!!! Thanks to all who have provided information on this.
On the note of your shadows, I also am getting shadows to the right of every dark contrast line. The reason this happens is because this particular monitor is very sensitive to interference. If you are using a poor quality cable (as I am, its a $20 best buy cheap cable), the ghosting is typical. Buying a high quality cable, I am told, will solve this problem. Here is the cable that I just ordered which I hope will solve the problem:
That is PCCables part number 00646, 10FT. SVGA CABLE MONITOR HDDB15 M-M, $6.45. I will keep posted how this cable works for me when it arrives in the next few days.
Comments
THANKS
Thanks all very much for all the info regarding the brightness of the
Sony G500 and the Dell P1110.
Great improvement made by replacing the 10 MOhm resistor
with a 5.6 MOhm one.
Saving money by fixing 2 Monitors.
Investment.
Some fuel for my car to drive to the nearest electronics shop.
and 20 Euro cents for the 2 resistors.
I'm not sure if the following site is mentioned somewhere.
This is of great help.
http://www.hutzelman.com/home/hardware/mods/monitor/
I've been noticing this slowly encroaching brightness problem with my Sony G500 for the last year or so. I guess I was in a bit of denial because I love my monitor but it finally got to the point tonight where a game (System Shock 2) became unplayable because the monitor was just too bright (even with Brightness at 0). So I googled and found this thread.
Great info here on the resistor fix except... I don't know how to solder. Is soldering something that can be picked up fairly easily? Or should I not even try? I'm certainly willing to learn and I'd love to save my monitor. I don't suppose anyone on here who's done the fix lives in the los angeles area? I'd be happy to bring my monitor to you and pay what you think is fair.
Let me know, thanks.
Also, Slipkid, I went to the site you posted (http://www.alliedelec.com/) and searched on "6.2m OHM 1/2 watt" but it didn't come up with anything. I searched on "6.2 OHM" and it came up with like 20 listings. Do you have the exact part number you bought? I want to make sure I get the right thing. Thanks.
I would reccomend getting a cheap "learn to solder" kit. Usually they consist of a bunch of electronic parts (such as capacitors, resisters, and in some cases a small IC) which usually teaches you how to solder while also making a bunch of LEDs blink on and off using the included components and an illustrated guide describing the process. You can usually find them for ~$5 (or more if they also come with an iron), just check around at hobby shops, and online.
Hey, thanks. I actually just got done looking on ebay and found a "learn to solder" kit before I read this. It's just like you describe. It has a flashing siren thingy that you first make. I think I'll get that one. About time I learned this skill anyway.
And I should be able to get the resitor at Radio Shack? Do I just say it's a "6.2M OHM 1/2 watt resistor" and that's all the info they need? Thanks again.
the 4.7M OHM are "stock #" 832-3362
the 6.2M OHM are "stock #" 832-3368
the catch is that they require you to buy them in units of 200 though (they only cost me $4.50 for each set, plus about $7 for the tax + shipping)
another catch - they are only supposed to accept orders of at least $20 (or something like that), so if you order from them call them rather than use the web, the woman i talked to was nice about it & let me just order what i needed
also, since i have over 150 extras of each, i'd be more than willing to give you some...contact me via a "private message" at the board
yes, that is what you need to ask for BUT....
unfortunately the radio shack near me did not carry them, and when i called their "national" # they said they do not have them either - that they only go up to 1M
perhaps they lied to me though & your mileage may vary
ALSO - you may want to try 4.7Meg OHM 1/2 watt first though; on mine the 6.2M makes it a little too much on the dark side but i like it that way - supposedly these will probably burn out over time & if that happens i am going to try replacing it with a 4.7M one to see how that looks
The higher the resistance, the brighter the picture.
After I put the 5.6M resistor on the monitor, it was really dark, but now the monitor is fairly light again. The weird thing is, that my brightness controls are backwards now. When I turn down the brightness, the monitor gets brighter? Any ideas?
The monitor was pretty messed brightness/contrast wise after I performed the mod until I did this.
More details on my funky brightness controls. When you turn it up from 0 to 30 it gets brighter, then after that, the more you turn it up the darker it gets.
Any help would be appreciated.
Went into the menu, and did the "Color Return??" option.
Is this the same thing you did?
are you SURE?
i heard it was just the opposite in regards to making this modification
i was told to try 4.7M first, and if that doesn't make it dark enough THEN to try 6.2 (or 6.8M)
i decided to skip 4.7 and go right to 6.2 though since my monitor was so bright i couldn't imagine it being too dark, i wanted "maximum brightness reduction"
i don't claim to know anything for sure myself though! i would be interested in an explanation as to what's what & why it works that way
i just tried that too
my screen went black for about a minute, then came back
scared the sh*t out of me!
is that the "AUTO COLOR CALIBRATION" thing?? or how do you do that?
thanks!
At which point, you can select the option, press (what I recall to be) the right arrow button, and the monitor will go black, and slowly (over the course of 10 seconds or so) fade to white. Then the picture will return (with a better color/brightness/contrast calibration) but you will still have to set the levels themselves, this only calibrates the scale.
thanks but....
my moniitor doesn't have an option to do that anywhere....i've searched all of the menus
i have a DELL P1110 / trinitron
You sure? Check Color/sRGB tab/ and select "Color Return". Keep in mind it may say "Available after warmup", and be unselectable untill the message goes away.
When you increase it from 0 to 30 it gets brighter, but if you increase it after that, it actually gets darker.
I'm really confused. I'm wondering if I burned out the resistor with heat when I was soldering it on.
ADJUSTED SAME AS HARDWARE I'M USING THE SAME MONITOR AND NOW MY BLACKS ARE BLACK INSTEAD OF WASHED OUT GRAY !!!! HOPE THIS HELPS YA OUT !
right! i did do that b4, under the "EASY" color submenu
i just tried it with the RGB menu as well
i didn't realize that was what you meant by "AUTO COLOR CALIBRATION"
now here's a new perplexing thing
when i just went to do that under the "RGB" setting, now my monitor is really "faded".....it looks terrible....no brightness or color adjustments seem to help either
but i can go into the "COLOR" menus, and switch it to "EASY" instead of "RGB" & it looks alot better
also tried the 3 settings there, 9300, 6500, and 5000, and 9300 looks "best" but not great
i don't know what any of this stuff means but think i learned something - that there is alot more to this than i realized....
The shadow problem sounds like it could be interference from a power cable or a speaker. Try moving anything electrical or magnetic which is near your monitor and see if the shadow disappears or moves.
I am a new owner of a pre-owned Dell P1110 monitor. I picked it up from the trash pile at a friend's company. It had the brightness problem. I performed the resistor hack. I went to Radio Shack, and picked up a 100-pack assortment of cabon film resistors. In that package, was 5 1-megaohm resistors. I soldered them all in series to create 5 megaohms, and soldered it in. And now the monitor is good as new!!!!!! Thanks to all who have provided information on this.
On the note of your shadows, I also am getting shadows to the right of every dark contrast line. The reason this happens is because this particular monitor is very sensitive to interference. If you are using a poor quality cable (as I am, its a $20 best buy cheap cable), the ghosting is typical. Buying a high quality cable, I am told, will solve this problem. Here is the cable that I just ordered which I hope will solve the problem:
http://www.pccables.com/cgi-bin/orders6.cgi?action=Showitem&id=ID1811422&partno=00646&search=MONITOR&rsite=pccables.com&rcode=
That is PCCables part number 00646, 10FT. SVGA CABLE MONITOR HDDB15 M-M, $6.45. I will keep posted how this cable works for me when it arrives in the next few days.