PS. When I have the WinDAS cable, do I just config the program as "COM1" (or whatever it will be) and put the second box to manual?
Depends on what you're using. If you are using one of your serial ports and you have more than one port, then whatever port you plug the adaptor into is what you need to set the mother board to use that port (ex: adaptor is in port 1, then set CMOS to port one).
If you are using USB, it might need to be set to COM 3. That's what mine is at.
As far as WinDAS closing on you, I think you have to get a driver for the adaptor you ordered installed on your computer so WinDAS has something to work with (the driver should come with the adaptor). I just have a question: did you change the COM port settings without closing WinDAS? I have that problem on my computer. When I was still trying to figure out which COM port mine was and I changed the setting without closing it, I would get a critical error message and it forced WinDAS to shut down.
Something else to keep in mind: when you receive your cable, you might need to swap the RXD and TXD cables for it to work with the monitor.
I read somewhere that somebody thought the voltage regulator for the electron guns wears out and the voltage gets higher and higher and that's where the bright screen comes from. If that's the case then the proper way to fix these monitors is to repair that voltage regulator. However there are alternatives and the proof is this website. For people who want to be cheap about it, like me, they would prefer to go either the WinDAS route or the resistor route.
Yes, that theory would make sense. G2 periodically bumps itself up, without user knowing, to compensate for the natural aging of other components. This may be why people say that their Sony CRTs brightens up over time until blacks are washed out. When one goes to restore it via OSD, the CRT will lower the G2... perhaps in my case, a bit too much. Either way, I've heard that the resistor trick is not good for the unit and WinDAS is the proper way to go as for as trying to fix brightness/black/contrast levels.
For me: yes. I can't lower the G2 value on my p991s any more because there is a light red tint that becomes more obvious the lower the value gets.
The "red tint" is happening to my unit as well after the image restore. If I look at my other FW900 then come back the restored one (the one that needs brightness at 70+) I can see more browns and reds even at D95. Most likely just like your p991 mine G2 is now set to a very low value. Perhaps it's a mixed blessing. A lowered G2 may keep these monitors alive for longer.
Depends on what you're using. If you are using one of your serial ports and you have more than one port, then whatever port you plug the adaptor into is what you need to set the mother board to use that port (ex: adaptor is in port 1, then set CMOS to port one).
If you are using USB, it might need to be set to COM 3. That's what mine is at.
As far as WinDAS closing on you, I think you have to get a driver for the adaptor you ordered installed on your computer so WinDAS has something to work with (the driver should come with the adaptor). I just have a question: did you change the COM port settings without closing WinDAS? I have that problem on my computer. When I was still trying to figure out which COM port mine was and I changed the setting without closing it, I would get a critical error message and it forced WinDAS to shut down.
Something else to keep in mind: when you receive your cable, you might need to swap the RXD and TXD cables for it to work with the monitor.
None of my two computers have serial ports. So that's why I've ordered a USB to ttl adapter, as per someone over at hardforum.com who had success.
So right now I have no driver or cable. I'm now worried that the cable will come without any software. But I guess such drivers can be found online (I think the rar file I downloaded from this forum has the driver included). Or maybe Windows already has it in its system?
I had it on COM#1 and one of the other options rather than MANUAL. I could ticker around in Xpert mode, save and load dat files, and whatever else.
But for some reason the next time I opened WinDAS (I checked the config option again), whenever I go to xpert mode or the save/load dat file menu, it would close on me with a critical error. This would occur even when I reselect my model and then re-configure my port.
And no, I didn't close WinDAS after I configure my port. I'll try that when I get home. It's interesting to note that whenever I'm booted out of WinDAS, the next time I start it up again, the ports would remain to whatever they were prior to me changing it. So I guess closing the program, after the port has been set, "saves" the configuration so you can use it again.
You've mentioned that I may need to swap the rx/tx connectors. Do you mean that's for the P1110 or for the FW900? According to the poster at Hardforum, he says to have the Red/RX part of the cable connected to the TX and vice-versa, I wonder why it isn't Red(RX) to RX and Blue(TX) to TX:
"Monitor pins are arranged like this: (top to bottom)
GND
+5v
RX
TX
Orange(GND) goes to GND on monitor.
Red(RX) to TX on the monitor
Blue(TX) to RX on the monitor"
Anyways, I'm sure I'll figure it out. Just as long as nothing gets damaged if I connect the wrong pins, I'm sure I'll do fine.
You've mentioned that I may need to swap the rx/tx connectors. Do you mean that's for the P1110 or for the FW900? According to the poster at Hardforum, he says to have the Red/RX part of the cable connected to the TX and vice-versa, I wonder why it isn't Red(RX) to RX and Blue(TX) to TX:
"Monitor pins are arranged like this: (top to bottom)
GND
+5v
RX
TX
Orange(GND) goes to GND on monitor.
Red(RX) to TX on the monitor
Blue(TX) to RX on the monitor"
Anyways, I'm sure I'll figure it out. Just as long as nothing gets damaged if I connect the wrong pins, I'm sure I'll do fine.
It works like this:
TXD is the transmitter and RXD is the receiver, right? This is looking at the computer's perspective. The transmitter from the computer plugs into the receiver of the monitor and the receiver to the computer plugs into the transmitter of the monitor. That's why you plug it in reverse.
TXD is the transmitter and RXD is the receiver, right? This is looking at the computer's perspective. The transmitter from the computer plugs into the receiver of the monitor and the receiver to the computer plugs into the transmitter of the monitor. That's why you plug it in reverse.
Ah, that makes sense.
Now I'm worried if I'm actually going to physically be able to hook the cable up. I've heard that the ESC Port on the FW900 is very constricting and I'll have to feel my way through rather than use my eyes. What can I do to reduce chances of shocking myself or damaging the monitor? Should I work a grounding strap?
Now I'm worried if I'm actually going to physically be able to hook the cable up. I've heard that the ESC Port on the FW900 is very constricting and I'll have to feel my way through rather than use my eyes. What can I do to reduce chances of shocking myself or damaging the monitor? Should I work a grounding strap?
Look to see if you can find a very small cover on the side or on the back of the monitor. If you have one, you can just pop the cover off and the port should be right there.
If you don't have one, then you probably would want to take the back cover off and find the ECS port that way.
Look to see if you can find a very small cover on the side or on the back of the monitor. If you have one, you can just pop the cover off and the port should be right there.
If you don't have one, then you probably would want to take the back cover off and find the ECS port that way.
I think all FW900 have "ESC Port" coverings located on the right hand side if you look from the rear. Hopefully the opening will be sufficient for me to work on it. Still need tweezers to get things plugged in as far as I've heard.
Something else I noticed about this FW900. In expert mode, the OSD tells me that my R, G, and B gains in 93k are all varying around 70. RGB bias are all at 50.
On my other FW900, default 93k are higher, R gain is at 89, G 75, and B is 95.
Are the differences between the monitors just something that the units themselves auto tune? The colors look very different. This one is much sharper and easier on the eye, but is a little dim and more brown while the other is a bit too bright and blue.
Something else I noticed about this FW900. In expert mode, the OSD tells me that my R, G, and B gains in 93k are all varying around 70. RGB bias are all at 50.
On my other FW900, default 93k are higher, R gain is at 89, G 75, and B is 95.
Are the differences between the monitors just something that the units themselves auto tune? The colors look very different. This one is much sharper and easier on the eye, but is a little dim and more brown while the other is a bit too bright and blue.
The one that is too bright may need to be adjusted through WinDAS even with the washed out blue. Have you tried image restore on the one with the washed out blue? It might correct the color, however may make the brightness better or worse. In my case it fixed the washed out blue but made the screen really bright. However other people do say that it corrects color and brightness. Guess mine was an exception.
As far as Expert mode on your monitor goes, I don't have all that fancy stuff on my p991. It just has 3 color settings and sRGB.
The one that is too bright may need to be adjusted through WinDAS even with the washed out blue. Have you tried image restore on the one with the washed out blue? It might correct the color, however may make the brightness better or worse. In my case it fixed the washed out blue but made the screen really bright. However other people do say that it corrects color and brightness. Guess mine was an exception.
As far as Expert mode on your monitor goes, I don't have all that fancy stuff on my p991. It just has 3 color settings and sRGB.
The one with the blue: I've done image restore on it a few times but the color profile stays the same and results are the same. It was overbright before I restored because I didn't do for at least a year (I guess the G2 voltage on these either rises itself, or overtime, at the same setting, the same voltage will give more brightness).
Either way, when I get the cable I will tinker around with both. Hopefully I won't screw up anything.
"I then adjusted the two register entries G2 and DRIVE_MAX. The original values where G2 @ 167 and DRIVE_MAX @ 210. With those I had to keep brightness at 9 and contrast at 100, and it still looked washed out.....I eventually settled on G2 at 157 and drive max at 255. I now keep brightness at 41 and contrast at 85. Blacks are completely black, colors pop off the screen, and contrast is excellent!"
Drive Max may be the other bright setting I've been looking for. I'll have to try messing with it on my p991. I'll let you know what happens tomorrow.
"I then adjusted the two register entries G2 and DRIVE_MAX. The original values where G2 @ 167 and DRIVE_MAX @ 210. With those I had to keep brightness at 9 and contrast at 100, and it still looked washed out.....I eventually settled on G2 at 157 and drive max at 255. I now keep brightness at 41 and contrast at 85. Blacks are completely black, colors pop off the screen, and contrast is excellent!"
Drive Max may be the other bright setting I've been looking for. I'll have to try messing with it on my p991. I'll let you know what happens tomorrow.
Yes, supposedly the DRIVE_MAX value changes the contrast, ie: higher DRIVE_MAX = higher ranges on the front contrast OSD pot.
I remember reading somewhere that basically G2 and brightness button = gamma, DRIVE_MAX and contrast button = (white) brightness and contrast, would be more appropriate to describe the controls.
"I then adjusted the two register entries G2 and DRIVE_MAX. The original values where G2 @ 167 and DRIVE_MAX @ 210. With those I had to keep brightness at 9 and contrast at 100, and it still looked washed out.....I eventually settled on G2 at 157 and drive max at 255. I now keep brightness at 41 and contrast at 85. Blacks are completely black, colors pop off the screen, and contrast is excellent!"
Drive Max may be the other bright setting I've been looking for. I'll have to try messing with it on my p991. I'll let you know what happens tomorrow.
I'm curious. Do you know if regular CRT warm up has anything to do with G2 settings?
All my Sony PC CRTs take time to warm up. This FW900 took somewhere near 30 minutes to stabilize to get its final color. It used to look washed out and blurry at start up.
Now after image restore, I can use it as soon as it turns out. Total warm-up time (NOT according to the OSD) by my eyes is less than 5 minutes, if that.
Is this weird or what? Could this mean that the G2 must be really low? Or could it be another combination of settings and other factors?
The G2 adjustment is basically the Screen pot on the flyback transformer that sets the voltage sent to the picture tube and directly affects the brightness of the CRT.
The higher this value the better because the dynamic range (difference between black and white) will be higher on a new tube.
When the CRT warms-up the tube's filaments heat up until they settle in with this G2 value.
By lowering this value (on a new tube) the warm-up will obviously take less but the brightness and contrast will not be that great.
What was the G2 value prior and after the Image Restoration ?
My guess is that your G2 value didn't change but it was lower than Default (when your monitor was new) and performing Image Restoration reset the original color values and imposed them on this lower G2 value producing a dimmer picture, thus shorter the warm-up.
Are you sure the image quality is not worse now ?
The G2 adjustment is basically the Screen pot on the flyback transformer that sets the voltage sent to the picture tube and directly affects the brightness of the CRT.
The higher this value the better because the dynamic range (difference between black and white) will be higher on a new tube.
When the CRT warms-up the tube's filaments heat up until they settle in with this G2 value.
By lowering this value (on a new tube) the warm-up will obviously take less but the brightness and contrast will not be that great.
What was the G2 value prior and after the Image Restoration ?
My guess is that your G2 value didn't change but it was lower than Default (when your monitor was new) and performing Image Restoration reset the original color values and imposed them on this lower G2 value producing a dimmer picture, thus shorter the warm-up.
Are you sure the image quality is not worse now ?
I don't know what the G2 was before nor what it is now. I don't have the WinDAS cable yet. I only performed the image restoration in hopes to improve the blacks and make my monitor sharper.
I wouldn't say the image quality is worse than before. This FW900 was supposedly very very mint when I got it from Unkle Vito (<cite class="ic-username"></cite>LAGRUNAUER). And believe me, when I got first got it 2 years ago, it was very sharp, the contrast was excellent and it was very bright.
Over time, I had to do something because the warm up times were taking longer and longer and texts were becoming harder to read. Though the "over bright" issues were never really there. The default for this monitor is 50% brightness and 100% contrast. I've always ran it at 35 to 40% brightness and about 80 to 85% contrast.
After the image restore (the only time I've done it since I owned this thing), the blacks are now very very deep. Text is as sharp as any LCD, just like when I got this monitor. However, the front brightness pot, at its default of 50%, is very very dim. It does wonders for the blacks but I can't see any details because I think I'm lacking brightness and gamma. Images are "cleaner" now, very sharp, though but they are not as vivid or as alive as I remember. I would need to up the R G B bias by about 10-15% each to have the same amount of liveliness as before. This slight boost in contrast is done using "expert mode" in D93. The difference is noticeable but yet it is very subtle if I A&B them back and forth. As for the brightness control, now I have to push it up to about 70 to 80 to have satisfactory results, though pushing it too high can give me too much gamma (but not in the same way as before when the "graying" blacks were becoming more apparent).
Basically what I have now is slightly worse contrast, dimmer brightness (if I turn it up, I can see more details but there's more browns and reds than I would like, it doesn't look ntural). In return, I have better blacks, much sharper text and almost no warm-up time. But in certain situations, I can definitely tell that there's less contrast than before, and the whites are not as pure or bright as before.
So what you're saying is that my G2 hasn't been lowered, or has it? I'm a bit confused. You said that it is possible that my G2 was higher than default or are you saying that my G2 now is lower than before?
You said G2 is basically the juice that allows more contrast ranges and brightness, but there is more than one setting that is responsible for this isn't there? What about the "DRIVE_MAX" setting in WinDAS? Isn't that supposed to change contrast as well?
What I would really like now is to get more brightness and more whites so I can have better detail and slightly more gamma in all my images. I dunno if that makes sense, but I hope this is do-able over WinDAS.
I'm curious. Do you know if regular CRT warm up has anything to do with G2 settings?
All my Sony PC CRTs take time to warm up. This FW900 took somewhere near 30 minutes to stabilize to get its final color. It used to look washed out and blurry at start up.
Now after image restore, I can use it as soon as it turns out. Total warm-up time (NOT according to the OSD) by my eyes is less than 5 minutes, if that.
Is this weird or what? Could this mean that the G2 must be really low? Or could it be another combination of settings and other factors?
Well, your G2 value appears to be low, however, we won't know that for sure until you do the WinDAS thing. It doesn't surprise me it takes a short time to warm up.I think your warm up time is much shorter now because the G2 value is very low and it just appears it takes about 5 mins.
I don't know what it is but for some reason there is a long warm up time. That's just a fact with these Trinitrons.
I'm saying that Unkle Vito probably tweaked (most definitely ) your monitor before sending it to you. Probably he lowered the factory G2 value and tweaked the color values manually.
You'll know for sure when you'll have a Windas cable. I'm willing to bet that it is much lower than aprox 160, which I've seen is generally the factory G2 setting for most Trinitrons.
The Image Restore DOES NOT modify the G2 value (at least not on g520 tubes) but it does modify colors (obviously). So, all you need to do is increase the colors brightness to compensate for the lack of brightness.
Do not be fooled by the apparent sharpness. Every CRT has a better focus on text when you lower the brightness or contrast.
Theothernewguy,
The DRIVE_MAX should be next or in the close vicinity to the G2 value. Use Expert -> Viewer in Windas.
I'm saying that Unkle Vito probably tweaked (most definitely ) your monitor before sending it to you. Probably he lowered the factory G2 value and tweaked the color values manually.
You'll know for sure when you'll have a Windas cable. I'm willing to bet that it is much lower than aprox 160, which I've seen is generally the factory G2 setting for most Trinitrons.
The Image Restore DOES NOT modify the G2 value (at least not on g520 tubes) but it does modify colors (obviously). So, all you need to do is increase the colors brightness to compensate for the lack of brightness.
Do not be fooled by the apparent sharpness. Every CRT has a better focus on text when you lower the brightness or contrast.
Theothernewguy,
The DRIVE_MAX should be next or in the close vicinity to the G2 value. Use Expert -> Viewer in Windas.
Okay, let's say that my monitor has the lowered G2 like you said. So I just bump that up? What about MAX_DRIVE? What if that is at the default level? Should I push that up as well?
Does G2 affect contrast level or just brightness level?
As I've said before G2 adjusts the voltage that goes into the picture tube making the image brighter.
When you have the cable you can start from 163 for G2 and lower it if feels too bright.
MAX_DRIVE is 220 (default) on my CRT and for the moment I see no reason to adjust it since the Contrast is very good. If it feels a little low push the contrast to 100 in OSD, there's no harm in doing that !
As I've said before G2 adjusts the voltage that goes into the picture tube making the image brighter.
When you have the cable you can start from 163 for G2 and lower it if feels too bright.
MAX_DRIVE is 220 (default) on my CRT and for the moment I see no reason to adjust it since the Contrast is very good. If it feels a little low push the contrast to 100 in OSD, there's no harm in doing that !
Yes, for sure I will boost the G2. It must be quite low.
Doesn't it wear out the tube by pushing contrast to 100? What about MAX_DRIVE, doesn't it just push contrast up anyhow?
First of all, NO.
Secondly, why would you like to push a value up for a registry command that represents a potential risk since you don't know exactly what voltages it modifies when all you want to do is to increase the contrast for which you have a dedicated option in the OSD ?
It's safer and simpler so it's enough for me.
First of all, NO.
Secondly, why would you like to push a value up for a registry command that represents a potential risk since you don't know exactly what voltages it modifies when all you want to do is to increase the contrast for which you have a dedicated option in the OSD ?
It's safer and simpler so it's enough for me.
Yeah, I agree with you there. I won't be touching the MAX_DRIVE unless it is not on default, which IIRC is 210.
I will only use the G2 to give me more brightness.
I did a factory restore on the F500R and it set DRIVE_MAX to 255. Given the locations of DRIVE_MAX and DRIVE_MIN in the firmware registers, and because 0/255 were set by a restore, I think the two are 0-255 min/max levels for G2 not voltages. That's a logical guess and I hope someone who knows for sure will chime in.
I should add, if the above is true at least a few people are running their tubes at too high a voltage to compensate for a max G2 level that's too low. At 210 max that's about 82%.
I did a factory restore on the F500R and it set DRIVE_MAX to 255. Given the locations of DRIVE_MAX and DRIVE_MIN in the firmware registers, and because 0/255 were set by a restore, I think the two are 0-255 min/max levels for G2 not voltages.
If the highest value on DRIVE_MAX is 255, then my p991s don't need adjustment on DRIVE_MIN/MAX because I have no values between 0 and 255 except for the geometry settings, and it looks like it is at 255.
The default value for DRIVE_MAX on my P1130 is 220 and I'm positive nobody touched it before.
There are a lot of myths concerning what can kill or not a tube but the only thing that's really true is a very intense white color aka high brightness aka screen voltage from the flyback transformer.
So, again, NO, a high Contrast will not kill a tube as long as the brightness is in check.
As I mentioned in a previous post, it is wiser and safer to push the contrast to 100 if you want high contrast instead of meddling with various Windas registers that you don't know exactly what voltages they affect. It's a rule of common sense.
Driving the tube at it's highest refresh rate will again NOT damage the tube. These things are electronically protected so as to give you an "Out of Range" message when you try a refresh rate that could be potentially dangerous. The only disadvantage will be that on most Trinitron tubes the image will not be that focused on a resolution's highest refresh rate.
This behavior is not present on Shadow Mask's and I've used in the past 5 years several such CRTs with contrast all the way to 100 and highest refresh possible and they look just as good as new ones (I actually have a CRT warehouse where I can test unused CRTs with the ones that I have).
If the highest value on DRIVE_MAX is 255, then my p991s don't need adjustment on DRIVE_MIN/MAX because I have no values between 0 and 255 except for the geometry settings, and it looks like it is at 255.
From what I've read these registers differ across models. Here's the start of the F500R (G1 chassis) register list and their values after a factory restore:
Comments
If you are using USB, it might need to be set to COM 3. That's what mine is at.
As far as WinDAS closing on you, I think you have to get a driver for the adaptor you ordered installed on your computer so WinDAS has something to work with (the driver should come with the adaptor). I just have a question: did you change the COM port settings without closing WinDAS? I have that problem on my computer. When I was still trying to figure out which COM port mine was and I changed the setting without closing it, I would get a critical error message and it forced WinDAS to shut down.
Something else to keep in mind: when you receive your cable, you might need to swap the RXD and TXD cables for it to work with the monitor.
Yes, that theory would make sense. G2 periodically bumps itself up, without user knowing, to compensate for the natural aging of other components. This may be why people say that their Sony CRTs brightens up over time until blacks are washed out. When one goes to restore it via OSD, the CRT will lower the G2... perhaps in my case, a bit too much. Either way, I've heard that the resistor trick is not good for the unit and WinDAS is the proper way to go as for as trying to fix brightness/black/contrast levels.
The "red tint" is happening to my unit as well after the image restore. If I look at my other FW900 then come back the restored one (the one that needs brightness at 70+) I can see more browns and reds even at D95. Most likely just like your p991 mine G2 is now set to a very low value. Perhaps it's a mixed blessing. A lowered G2 may keep these monitors alive for longer.
http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1035951906&postcount=6175
http://cgi.ebay.com/USB-serial-adapter-PL2303-TTL-console-recovery-RS232-/170572765073?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27b6edd791
So right now I have no driver or cable. I'm now worried that the cable will come without any software. But I guess such drivers can be found online (I think the rar file I downloaded from this forum has the driver included). Or maybe Windows already has it in its system?
I had it on COM#1 and one of the other options rather than MANUAL. I could ticker around in Xpert mode, save and load dat files, and whatever else.
But for some reason the next time I opened WinDAS (I checked the config option again), whenever I go to xpert mode or the save/load dat file menu, it would close on me with a critical error. This would occur even when I reselect my model and then re-configure my port.
And no, I didn't close WinDAS after I configure my port. I'll try that when I get home. It's interesting to note that whenever I'm booted out of WinDAS, the next time I start it up again, the ports would remain to whatever they were prior to me changing it. So I guess closing the program, after the port has been set, "saves" the configuration so you can use it again.
You've mentioned that I may need to swap the rx/tx connectors. Do you mean that's for the P1110 or for the FW900? According to the poster at Hardforum, he says to have the Red/RX part of the cable connected to the TX and vice-versa, I wonder why it isn't Red(RX) to RX and Blue(TX) to TX:
"Monitor pins are arranged like this: (top to bottom)
GND
+5v
RX
TX
Orange(GND) goes to GND on monitor.
Red(RX) to TX on the monitor
Blue(TX) to RX on the monitor"
Anyways, I'm sure I'll figure it out. Just as long as nothing gets damaged if I connect the wrong pins, I'm sure I'll do fine.
TXD is the transmitter and RXD is the receiver, right? This is looking at the computer's perspective. The transmitter from the computer plugs into the receiver of the monitor and the receiver to the computer plugs into the transmitter of the monitor. That's why you plug it in reverse.
Ah, that makes sense.
Now I'm worried if I'm actually going to physically be able to hook the cable up. I've heard that the ESC Port on the FW900 is very constricting and I'll have to feel my way through rather than use my eyes. What can I do to reduce chances of shocking myself or damaging the monitor? Should I work a grounding strap?
If you don't have one, then you probably would want to take the back cover off and find the ECS port that way.
I think all FW900 have "ESC Port" coverings located on the right hand side if you look from the rear. Hopefully the opening will be sufficient for me to work on it. Still need tweezers to get things plugged in as far as I've heard.
From page 21 of this thread:
On my other FW900, default 93k are higher, R gain is at 89, G 75, and B is 95.
Are the differences between the monitors just something that the units themselves auto tune? The colors look very different. This one is much sharper and easier on the eye, but is a little dim and more brown while the other is a bit too bright and blue.
As far as Expert mode on your monitor goes, I don't have all that fancy stuff on my p991. It just has 3 color settings and sRGB.
The one with the blue: I've done image restore on it a few times but the color profile stays the same and results are the same. It was overbright before I restored because I didn't do for at least a year (I guess the G2 voltage on these either rises itself, or overtime, at the same setting, the same voltage will give more brightness).
Either way, when I get the cable I will tinker around with both. Hopefully I won't screw up anything.
"I then adjusted the two register entries G2 and DRIVE_MAX. The original values where G2 @ 167 and DRIVE_MAX @ 210. With those I had to keep brightness at 9 and contrast at 100, and it still looked washed out.....I eventually settled on G2 at 157 and drive max at 255. I now keep brightness at 41 and contrast at 85. Blacks are completely black, colors pop off the screen, and contrast is excellent!"
Drive Max may be the other bright setting I've been looking for. I'll have to try messing with it on my p991. I'll let you know what happens tomorrow.
I remember reading somewhere that basically G2 and brightness button = gamma, DRIVE_MAX and contrast button = (white) brightness and contrast, would be more appropriate to describe the controls.
I'm curious. Do you know if regular CRT warm up has anything to do with G2 settings?
All my Sony PC CRTs take time to warm up. This FW900 took somewhere near 30 minutes to stabilize to get its final color. It used to look washed out and blurry at start up.
Now after image restore, I can use it as soon as it turns out. Total warm-up time (NOT according to the OSD) by my eyes is less than 5 minutes, if that.
Is this weird or what? Could this mean that the G2 must be really low? Or could it be another combination of settings and other factors?
The higher this value the better because the dynamic range (difference between black and white) will be higher on a new tube.
When the CRT warms-up the tube's filaments heat up until they settle in with this G2 value.
By lowering this value (on a new tube) the warm-up will obviously take less but the brightness and contrast will not be that great.
What was the G2 value prior and after the Image Restoration ?
My guess is that your G2 value didn't change but it was lower than Default (when your monitor was new) and performing Image Restoration reset the original color values and imposed them on this lower G2 value producing a dimmer picture, thus shorter the warm-up.
Are you sure the image quality is not worse now ?
I don't know what the G2 was before nor what it is now. I don't have the WinDAS cable yet. I only performed the image restoration in hopes to improve the blacks and make my monitor sharper.
I wouldn't say the image quality is worse than before. This FW900 was supposedly very very mint when I got it from Unkle Vito (<cite class="ic-username"></cite>LAGRUNAUER). And believe me, when I got first got it 2 years ago, it was very sharp, the contrast was excellent and it was very bright.
Over time, I had to do something because the warm up times were taking longer and longer and texts were becoming harder to read. Though the "over bright" issues were never really there. The default for this monitor is 50% brightness and 100% contrast. I've always ran it at 35 to 40% brightness and about 80 to 85% contrast.
After the image restore (the only time I've done it since I owned this thing), the blacks are now very very deep. Text is as sharp as any LCD, just like when I got this monitor. However, the front brightness pot, at its default of 50%, is very very dim. It does wonders for the blacks but I can't see any details because I think I'm lacking brightness and gamma. Images are "cleaner" now, very sharp, though but they are not as vivid or as alive as I remember. I would need to up the R G B bias by about 10-15% each to have the same amount of liveliness as before. This slight boost in contrast is done using "expert mode" in D93. The difference is noticeable but yet it is very subtle if I A&B them back and forth. As for the brightness control, now I have to push it up to about 70 to 80 to have satisfactory results, though pushing it too high can give me too much gamma (but not in the same way as before when the "graying" blacks were becoming more apparent).
Basically what I have now is slightly worse contrast, dimmer brightness (if I turn it up, I can see more details but there's more browns and reds than I would like, it doesn't look ntural). In return, I have better blacks, much sharper text and almost no warm-up time. But in certain situations, I can definitely tell that there's less contrast than before, and the whites are not as pure or bright as before.
So what you're saying is that my G2 hasn't been lowered, or has it? I'm a bit confused. You said that it is possible that my G2 was higher than default or are you saying that my G2 now is lower than before?
You said G2 is basically the juice that allows more contrast ranges and brightness, but there is more than one setting that is responsible for this isn't there? What about the "DRIVE_MAX" setting in WinDAS? Isn't that supposed to change contrast as well?
What I would really like now is to get more brightness and more whites so I can have better detail and slightly more gamma in all my images. I dunno if that makes sense, but I hope this is do-able over WinDAS.
I don't know what it is but for some reason there is a long warm up time. That's just a fact with these Trinitrons.
You'll know for sure when you'll have a Windas cable. I'm willing to bet that it is much lower than aprox 160, which I've seen is generally the factory G2 setting for most Trinitrons.
The Image Restore DOES NOT modify the G2 value (at least not on g520 tubes) but it does modify colors (obviously). So, all you need to do is increase the colors brightness to compensate for the lack of brightness.
Do not be fooled by the apparent sharpness. Every CRT has a better focus on text when you lower the brightness or contrast.
Theothernewguy,
The DRIVE_MAX should be next or in the close vicinity to the G2 value. Use Expert -> Viewer in Windas.
These are the values I think may be it:
BRT_MIN
BRT_MAX
CNT_MAX_BRT_MAX
CNT_MAX_BRT_MIN
Does G2 affect contrast level or just brightness level?
As for DRIVE_MAX, on my F500R the register is near the top of the list (REG4).
When you have the cable you can start from 163 for G2 and lower it if feels too bright.
MAX_DRIVE is 220 (default) on my CRT and for the moment I see no reason to adjust it since the Contrast is very good. If it feels a little low push the contrast to 100 in OSD, there's no harm in doing that !
Yes, for sure I will boost the G2. It must be quite low.
Doesn't it wear out the tube by pushing contrast to 100? What about MAX_DRIVE, doesn't it just push contrast up anyhow?
Secondly, why would you like to push a value up for a registry command that represents a potential risk since you don't know exactly what voltages it modifies when all you want to do is to increase the contrast for which you have a dedicated option in the OSD ?
It's safer and simpler so it's enough for me.
I will only use the G2 to give me more brightness.
I should add, if the above is true at least a few people are running their tubes at too high a voltage to compensate for a max G2 level that's too low. At 210 max that's about 82%.
There are a lot of myths concerning what can kill or not a tube but the only thing that's really true is a very intense white color aka high brightness aka screen voltage from the flyback transformer.
So, again, NO, a high Contrast will not kill a tube as long as the brightness is in check.
As I mentioned in a previous post, it is wiser and safer to push the contrast to 100 if you want high contrast instead of meddling with various Windas registers that you don't know exactly what voltages they affect. It's a rule of common sense.
Driving the tube at it's highest refresh rate will again NOT damage the tube. These things are electronically protected so as to give you an "Out of Range" message when you try a refresh rate that could be potentially dangerous. The only disadvantage will be that on most Trinitron tubes the image will not be that focused on a resolution's highest refresh rate.
This behavior is not present on Shadow Mask's and I've used in the past 5 years several such CRTs with contrast all the way to 100 and highest refresh possible and they look just as good as new ones (I actually have a CRT warehouse where I can test unused CRTs with the ones that I have).
REG1-G2 130
REG2-DRV_ZERO_LEVEL 0
REG3-DRIVE_MIN 0
REG4-DRIVE_MAX 255
REG5:dummy4
REG6:dummy5
Compare to your model and see if the register names are different.
Mike