Packard Bell Restoration | Finding a Working Monitor | Trash to Treasure Part 3
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- Опубліковано 2 кві 2023
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Our vintage computer restoration continues as we try to get all the bits together for a complete Packard Bell PC from 1996. Today we take a detour to sort the monitor after ours arrived smashed to bits in part 2. Can we get luckier today?
#trashtotreasure #restoration #retro
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● Episode Links
Part 1: • Packard Bell Restorati... - The Packard Bell Arrives
Part 2: • Packard Bell Restorati... - Testing and Cleaning Inside
Part 3: • Packard Bell Restorati... - Finding a Working Monitor
Part 4: • 1996 Packard Bell Rest... - Plastic Fantastic
Part 5: • Finally, a Home Fit fo... - A Home Fit for a '90s Packard Bell
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Episode Links!
Part 1: ua-cam.com/video/ylCUulJf-eI/v-deo.html - The Packard Bell Arrives
Part 2: ua-cam.com/video/mqijq_A3Z2E/v-deo.html - Testing and Cleaning Inside
Part 3: ua-cam.com/video/mwZKLWxcCCA/v-deo.html - Finding a Working Monitor
Part 4: ua-cam.com/video/Ob7BtOjK0Bk/v-deo.html - Plastic Fantastic
Part 5: Coming soon
After all these years, _Trash to Treasure_ is still my favorite series on the channel. So _satisfying_ to watch.
4:45 - those off yellow spots are likely remnants of stickers used to hold an after market anti-glare screen. Popular additions back in the day!
Agreed!
I was just going to say the same thing, as i used one at art college
Hey now, have Alex build a cabaret sized arcade and mount that decased monitor and FPGA in it. Would look fantastic!
I was just about to say something similar, That monitor, without its shell, looks like it would fit in perfectly in either a Cabaret style arcade machine, especially with its smaller size.
No it wouldn't. Arcade games look terrible on anything but a 15khz CRT monitor. Yes, I know MAME has a scanline feature, but it's not the same.
Maybe in the shop kiosk though.
@@bradallen8909 bullshit. you don't need a scanline generator on a CRT that produces scanlines so just stop I'm not talking LCD here. And you saw the evidence first hand anyways. He showed Bomb Jack fpga playing on it (unless you didn't watch the video and you're just trolling which I suspect). I've built and refurbished dozens of cabs with PC CRT's in them running emulation AND straight off the jamma boards and they look fabulous.
Came here to say the same! 👍👍👍
Maybe you could have a clear box case made to display the working monitor in so people who have never see the inside of one can see what they are all about. Have some labels pointing out some of the main components. Display it along side a clear computer or game console.
I'm getting big CUB monitor vibes from the unhoused CRT. I think it'd look really good in a plain cubical and, yes, transparent acrylic (or toughened glass!) case.
FYI. The internal guts of many Packard Bell monitors were made by either Benq or Panasonic. The ones in this video look like the BenQ monitors because of the control knobs. The Panasonic built monitors usually had digital aspect control buttons; a set of LEDs and three buttons.
For nearly 30 years, I thought the Packard Bell monitor speakers would have these giant woofers. They were sought after back in the day so I’m just surprised. Good video, Neil, as always!
Great result. I suppose the positive takeaway from the original smashed monitor is that the 'sacrificial' outer casing did it's job protecting the tube and all the innards. 😊👍
I had a Packard Bell Force 341CD back in the day. That monitor brings back some memories of playing the original Warcraft, Duke Nukem 3D, Command and Conquer etc. Nice that you're restoring these, it's a blast from the past.
A lot of those Packard Bell monitors had lousy dot pitch for high resolution PC work, but they would be just perfect for running lower resolution games like Bomb Jack. Your patience in cleaning these things is amazing. ;)
No, they're not perfect at all. They're 31khz VGA monitors. Arcade games look absolutely terrible on them as demonstrated in the video.
@@bradallen8909 Personal preference, I get why some people like scanlines but personally I don't as I never had the money to experience real arcades so don't have the nostalgia goggles for it.
This is the exact type monitor that the first ever PC (P75, 8meg RAM, 850 meg HDD) that I got back in 1995 had. A great deal of nostalgia here, I really regret throwing the mahine out!
Fantastic work Neil. I’m thinking that some form of anti glare filter being mounted to the front may have caused the front bezel yellowing. That’s crazy that they had different cases for slightly different models. You’d have thought for tooling costs, they’d have kept them the same.
We had a Packard Bell of the era with the same monitor - honestly the speakers sound surprisingly good overall.
Thanks, nice work. Hard working is not enough for this job, love is needed.
The picture looked amazing on the dropped one. Maybe you could use it in the retro shop. It will be safe behind the glass.
here for the custard cream reference
Love the DCI Barnaby reference! Fantastic video as always 😀
order is restored! Loved the cleaning as always!
I'm pleased you managed to get one working monitor out of it. That was the same style as the one my aunt and uncle had on their Packard Bell. The PC itself was the weird angled one, but it was the same monitor.
Can't remember if I commented on the previous video, but I also had a monitor arrive incorrectly packaged. It was an IBM 14" model, packed in packing peanuts with the tube facing downwards. Dug it out only to hear the telltale tinkling sound of glass rattling around inside. Completely necked. Didn't even bother trying to power it on. I did make an opening tool for it, just a thin strip of aluminium with one end filed at an angle. Insert it into the slots and it pops the hidden clips. The electronics were fully intact, but the neck was snapped. A real shame since the eBay listing showed it working, and I only paid $1 Aussie dollary doo (plus $65 shipping, still would've been a deal though).
Anyway, can't wait to see your monitor united with the Packard Bell PC!
Thoroughly enjoyed episode, mix of asmr restoration, success and losses cut, decent spare monitor parts at least? and the new lab adding another layer of retro repair to the RMC repertoire.
Hi Niel, I'm visiting the UK in June and I've just booked tickets to come visit the Cave when I'm there! I'm from Winnipeg, Canada. Long time viewer of your channel.
Yum, custard creams 😊
For a moment, the word "Lab" reminded me of what LTT is building. Thankfully, you're doing another kind of lab.
Love to see these restoration videos, I also noticed an aphex twin vinyl record lurking in the background 👍
I had that exact monitor, this got my right in the nostalgia...
I'm in the US and many of us who grew up in the 90s remember this monitor. This thing is iconic
Your about to be chief inspector Barnaby lol
What a beautiful view from your potting shed
That's a nice view from Neil's potting shed!
The comment I came here to make :) I'd love that view from my Retro Shed!
I'm watching this on a thoroughly modern gaming pc but I had one of these monitors back in the day and damn if I don't miss that lumpy beast with its tinny speakers
Watching this on a Compaq MV700 CRT that I have been stress testing for the last week.
You could make use of the screen also for an Custom arcade machine
Those Chunghwa tubes seem to be pretty good. I recently retired one from an IBM monitor that's been in constant use since 2001.
Looks like a perfect donor for a tabletop CRT arcade box. Those mounting holes could easily be attached to a frame.
I would definitely use it for that, or perhaps the top monitor in a self-made Nintendo selecty thingumy ... or a slim neo-geo goldy.
The glass survived by the same principle as the crumple zone in a car - the more brittle case absorbed the impact, took the damage sacrificially, and ensured its interior remained unharmed. 😄
It must’ve only had one bad drop, as any subsequent ones wouldn’t have been protected-against in the same way!
Ah, damn. I thought you were going to smash the CRT. That's always fun to watch.
A lovely pb.
Nice work! It looks Great!
Build a cocktail MiSTer set up with that extra monitor. That'd be a cool episode.
Looking at the way those old plastics broke apart, it makes you wonder how many years our beloved retro kit will last before it starts falling apart. Good C64 breadbin cases are already becoming a rarity because of exactly this. :(
Good job mate! I had one of those with the ears and everything (back in the day) my first pc was a Packard Bell (after my C64 and Amiga 500+ of course) Cheers!
I had a screen like that once. I think I gave it away to a family member that needed screen. Long gone by now. I kinda wish they had thought to send it back when they were done with it.
Ooh, a lab space. Awesome!
....Midsomer Murders reference? Nice.
I had that exact monitor for my PB pc back in the day. Great monitor for the time.
The discolouration pattern looks a lot like it might have been from one of those screen privacy guards or anti glare guard. I remember years ago seeing monitors with those attached with a sort of glue sticker to keep them affixed around the screen.
Yellowing I think comes down to storage, light exposure and I think most importantly chemical composition. The yellow teeth effect on keyboards is all because each key is made from a different batch of plastics. Same for the button and bottom tray on the monitor.
That one with the yellow circles was likely a display model, or had some kind of color. There was likely a card cutout with specs and such glued on at those 5 points.
low soec games just look so crisp on just about any PC Crt, truly great tech, albeit a bit heavy.
omg I had just that same monitor back in the days.. or at least one that used the exact same attachable speakers and knob arrangement. Mine ran under the european reseller brand Lion Electronics.
uummm Custard creams....now I want to snack!!!!
Place a small rmc sticker over the scratch...
Great vid
I'm fixated. Not with the monitors, but the red apron. An artist at work. 🎨
Usually cheap computer speakers are just plastic cases. Just put some loudspeaker dampening material in them and they can actually be a bit better, less rumbling plastic sound.
Man I wish your repair shop (even though it's not ready yet) was located here in the states. I'd love to find someone who would go over CRT monitors like this, I used to have a massive Packard Bell collection and very often I used to come across dark or dead monitors and had to just give up on them.
Such great monitors, used one almost every day for over 10 years back when I got an entire Windows 98 Packard Bell as a hand-me-down(it was less than a year old, amazingly) to replace the old A1200.
Keep in mind; I both work and play on the computer, so it probably would've been used on average more than 12 hours a day, almost every day for over 10 years through multiple new machines and room rearrangements.
As for the smashed one, would be a good screen to use for being mounted inside a wall or a recreation of a "try before you buy" unit from say Comet or something, where the bezel isn't visible? Just throwing out ideas.
I use the 12% peroxide cream for my Tonka restorations. Apply with a brush and wrap the parts in a plastic bag or cling film, leave out in the Sun, works a treat on yellowed plastics and windscreens. Just an idea for you. 👍
wow, haven't seen this monitor since the late 90's when it was my daily driver.
I don't miss it, neither do my eyes XD (I should point out that I mean for office work, too small).
I had a PB system from fall of 1992 and the monitor lasted for years and years, a bit longer than the PC it was purchased with did. Like some others have said it didn't have a great dot pitch and it didn't support resolutions higher than 1027x768 but it had a wonderful image for early 90's PC gaming at 640x480 or below. I spent many hours sitting in front of it throughout most of the 90s!
Monitor repair/refurb is something I really need to get clued up on. I have a bunch of monitors that could do with being looked at, but need someone with the experience to show me how to do it safely!
the monitor without a case would be great as an arcade monitor, kept as portrait orientation. great picture on it too...
i'm pretty sure i have one of those microphones as seen in the advert..
Its interesting seeing a bare CRT tube turned on its side in an odd way, it a good example that 4:3 isn't a completely square aspect ratio.
If you had the bigger CR 10 you might be able to 3D print another base. It might have to be in 2 parts, but with an overlap and rebate it would be a strong joint.
Fantastic. Been waiting for this video. Glad you got some more!
Maybe the tube from the smashed up one could be used in a little homebrew arcade system, with a generic setup, including the multisystem?
chief inspector Barnaby :D
We had that monitor with the mounted speakers on the Packard bell 486 that was bought from John Lewis. Had a 512 mb HDD which seemed a decent size drive at the time 😄
It was more than that, our MESH 486 came with a 100 MB drive. I remember my dad bringing a second home and me being able to install all my games without compressing the drive
@@chrisbrazier88 mine definitely had a 512mb drive. It was a Packard Bell base and monitor. Ran Windows 3.11 and had a 486 processor, floppy disk drive and 512mb HDD.
20:02 Idk I think we've made good progress on the "why" of yellow plastic. Fire retardant chemical inside the plastic oxidizing. Different batches of parts have unique chemistry mixes so different oxidation rates. Oxidation is a loss of oxygen which treatments tend to restore. And direct sunlight is fine on plastic ,beneficial even, but light passing through glass changes the waveform and accelerates yellowing.
amazing work Neil really enjoyed that something nice about just watching them be washed lol
Well done, red warrior! 👍 Look forward to seeing the full assembly, I always wanted one of these. Especially one of the strange computers designed fit in a corner 😀
Had one exactly the same 🙂
I was given a brand new Apple monitor back in the day - that had fallen off the shelf. I managed to get it to display a picture after a lot of board repair, but the shadow mask had slipped and there was no way to recover that. Still I made use of it as a test unit - and it's damaged state meant no one was going to "borrow" it!
glad you got sorted! checks out that 1994 monitor different to later ones, from memory my original 94 monitor didn't have horizontal sizing where the later ones did.
Binge watching all these from beginning - great memories of my first PC -486dx version on interest free credit from Dixons - hate to say it but it was to replace my A4000D !!! In fact the Amiga stayed on the desk next to it for anything none work related, whilst WordPerfect 5.1 and Lotus 123 (I think, as pre excel? ) we’re on the PC while I learnt all about removing bloatware! I went on to self build my first pentium and the 486 was trashed. However the A4000D is in the loft needing some TLC.
If noone takes the case-less tube, perhaps it could be a nice display piece. 'Exploded' view in an acrylic case sort of thing?
Oh no, I used to own one of those wretched monitors. I'm going to need therapy to try to forget about it again
Did the shipping company take responsibility for the damage?
They may do between themselves and the seller, but a far as the transaction goes it's the responsibility of the seller.
with weight and inertia when drop, shipping an old crt screen is the gamble. ive receveid some with bad protections in good shape, and my last disappointment is my PC-ECD in box with genuine foam in double box with bullet proof exterior packaging arrive with one crack in one corner. fortunately for it i had a spare bezel.
Could use that monitor in the arcade downstairs.
That’s what we do! It turns out it’s a perfect fit in a cocktail cab and is now in service
Packard Bells
Tried to think of something witty to say about the fact you’re wearing gloves and an apron. But it’s actually a great idea.
Had one of those Packard Bell with the wrap around speakers , not me, but one I set up for a boss at work, I hated them and I think it was the first time Win95 I used, which I didnt like given my use of Win 3.11
the yellowing is a fire resistant chemical used in the plastic which caused the yellowing and brittleness. sunlight causes the reaction. nintendo used it as well which is why the consoles change colour in time
Sorry mine didn't work! Gutted! Hopefully you can salvage some parts from it, or even get it going!
i wouldve hot glues the front back together, temperarily til you get a new case,, then shell only..
Take the monitor with the broken housing and turn it into a MistER arcade cabinet.
Niel, You had better keep the innards of that smashed up monitor. It really doesn't take much imagination to think that at some point you will have an arcade's monitor die. At that point the remains of this monitor would be ideal to get you out of a hole, although you would probably need to fabricate some brackets to hold it together.
Yep I will be keeping it. Worth keeping in mind it's 31khz and not the 15khz of most arcade monitors but we'll find a use for it.
We need a company in the UK that will handle CRT shipping properly. - They send a crate and materials to seller - pickup and deliver with care.
Do you think you could build a perspex/plexiglas case that could show off the internal components? For people who have not seen the inside of a monitor, that might be a great instructional tool. You could label the major components for instructional purposes and highlight the dangerous areas for those who might be tempted to put fingies in there. Lovely video, I'm so glad you got at least one monitor out of the deal. Cheers!
What I've noticed can sometimes cause that awful discoloration is masking tape. Also if you don't have restore media or a format number, Nostalgia Mall might be able to source some of that based on the system specs, either directly, or through his Packard Bell Planet wiki.
When plastic is molded they end up with imperfect ones etcetera...this gets chopped up and a percentage is usually melted down with new plastic to make good parts...so I'd be willing to say chemicals in mold release or lubricant or high amounts of regrind cause some parts to yellow much worse along with sunlight where the part sits for many years.
Well, just stick it in a mini cabinet for vertical games.
I would take a guess the yellow spots could be were the adhesive pads were from one of those scaremongering anti crt radiation blocking filters that were sold in the 80's and 90's for monitors
How you doing? I was very impressed with that box repair/restoration video you did, so I sent you an email regarding a similar matter. :)
I bought a 17" Sony Multisync that was perfect when the guy on ebay paid a shipping store to pack it that showed up smashed to bit (Bezel around the CRT). I did get a refund, but I can not seem to find a bezel or another one that is not cracked. It turns on and looks fantastic too. I do do 3D printing but don't have a printer with a big bed to fashion another one. I don't think common printers come big enough for that. All those monitors for the 80's are probably brittle like that. The only way might be to find one within driving distance to hand carry back. Do I try my wood working skills (and I do have some along with the tools) to try an make a bezel out of Oak to hold the tube?
Hi Neil.Watching this video has reminded me I’ve got an old CRT monitor that I got with my first PC back in 2001 back in 2001.Not been used for a long while so any advice for trying it out ?
i make a plywood case and use it for my server because the innarads are fine make your own case xD
Is there a safe way to install the crt guts inside a clear plastic shell? you could make it a display piece where people could see the innards on display. Make a basic plexiglass cube for it or something
Alternatively, maybe someone has a proper vintage/model non-working monitor they'd be willing to send you the case for to house the other monitor. Or, if you decide to go slightly insane, there's always 3D printing... :-)
Packadr-Bell wasn't disliked for poor quality, but for their habit of using non-standing parts that forced you to go back to hem for repair or upgrade parts. People also often had the same complain about Dell computers in certain lines and certain times, with the additional problem that some of them had crappy parts.