From Newsgroup: sci.electronics.design

On 2026-02-18, John Robertson <jrr@flippers.com> wrote:

On 2026-02-17 7:57 p.m., Jeff Liebermann wrote:

On Tue, 17 Feb 2026 18:00:15 -0800, John Robertson <jrr@flippers.com>
wrote:

Ideas? I am first considering finding other flybacks with similar
characteristics that could be fitted in using an adapter PCB to fix the
pinouts, the other alternative is HV work...

Have the transformer wound to your specifications:
<https://www.customcoils.com/flyback-transformers/>
<https://www.google.com/search?q=custom%20flyback%20transformer>

Good points - there are some transformers that can put out the HV
needed, and then add some more windings to get the others...

The problem is will people pay for a new flyback that costs upwards of
$200 when they were previously under $50? If I have a few thousand $$ to spare I could get 100 to 1000 made, and that may be the route to go.

How much of that $50 is your time to diagnose the problem and
replace the part. In other words what is the percentage impact on
the repair price? CRT becoming more expensive maintain; I'm sure
everyone knows that, and if they want to stay with CRT, they will
be prepared to pay for the privilege.
--
Jasen.
Efc|Efca -i-+-#-#-# -u-|-C-#-u-+-u
--- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: sci.electronics.design

On 2/18/2026 7:47 PM, Don Y wrote:

On 2/18/2026 5:09 PM, John Robertson wrote:

On 2026-02-18 11:54 a.m., Don Y wrote:

On 2/17/2026 11:21 PM, John Robertson wrote:

On 2026-02-17 9:05 p.m., Don Y wrote:

Is it (are they) WG monitors?-a I would assume there is aftermarket >>>>> support
for these as they were *so* common.

Electrohome monitors.

Canada?

These were the best of the 19" monitors and were used extensively by
all US arcade manufacturers. Wells Gardner seemed to be the 2nd choice
monitor and then others when they couldn't order enough of those two.

I only recall using EH for vectorscan monitors.-a They made one that
was fast enough that you could actually emulate a raster!-a (but noisey
as hell when you were hammering on the deflection amplifiers)

It's the aftermarket that looks like it is stopping production of
all flybacks...

If you are doing this to maintain machines on a route, then
a fix may just be to pick up scrap arcade pieces and part
them out.

Nah, this is for collectors and home owners.

Then money is less of an object.

If you are doing this to cater to "home sales", then LCD
upgrades may be a better route (as they likely won't shit
the bed and need future servicing)

Yes, LCDs will work if you can find any 4:3s any more! They are
getting expensive...

You could always make a bezel that crops the displayed area.

That plus there are GPU shaders that can emulate scanlines, color bleed,
and other CRT artifacts pretty well, run the video output through some post-processing for that "tube" feel..

--- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: sci.electronics.design

bitrex <user@example.net> wrote:

On 2/18/2026 7:47 PM, Don Y wrote:

On 2/18/2026 5:09 PM, John Robertson wrote:

On 2026-02-18 11:54 a.m., Don Y wrote:

On 2/17/2026 11:21 PM, John Robertson wrote:

On 2026-02-17 9:05 p.m., Don Y wrote:

Is it (are they) WG monitors?-a I would assume there is aftermarket >>>>>> support
for these as they were *so* common.

Electrohome monitors.

Canada?

These were the best of the 19" monitors and were used extensively by
all US arcade manufacturers. Wells Gardner seemed to be the 2nd choice
monitor and then others when they couldn't order enough of those two.

I only recall using EH for vectorscan monitors.-a They made one that
was fast enough that you could actually emulate a raster!-a (but noisey
as hell when you were hammering on the deflection amplifiers)

It's the aftermarket that looks like it is stopping production of
all flybacks...

If you are doing this to maintain machines on a route, then
a fix may just be to pick up scrap arcade pieces and part
them out.

Nah, this is for collectors and home owners.

Then money is less of an object.

If you are doing this to cater to "home sales", then LCD
upgrades may be a better route (as they likely won't shit
the bed and need future servicing)

Yes, LCDs will work if you can find any 4:3s any more! They are
getting expensive...

You could always make a bezel that crops the displayed area.

That plus there are GPU shaders that can emulate scanlines, color bleed,
and other CRT artifacts pretty well, run the video output through some post-processing for that "tube" feel..

Eric the LCD!
rCLI picked him out of thousands. I didnrCOt like the others, they were all too flat.rCL
(Apologies to John Cleese.)

Cheers

Phil Hobbs
--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs Principal Consultant ElectroOptical Innovations LLC / Hobbs ElectroOptics Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics
--- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: sci.electronics.design

On 2/22/2026 1:16 PM, bitrex wrote:

On 2/18/2026 7:47 PM, Don Y wrote:

On 2/18/2026 5:09 PM, John Robertson wrote:

If you are doing this to cater to "home sales", then LCD
upgrades may be a better route (as they likely won't shit
the bed and need future servicing)

Yes, LCDs will work if you can find any 4:3s any more! They are getting >>> expensive...

You could always make a bezel that crops the displayed area.

That plus there are GPU shaders that can emulate scanlines, color bleed, and other CRT artifacts pretty well, run the video output through some post-processing for that "tube" feel..

That would be a monumental task -- taking existing video, digitizing it,
post processing in a GPU and then redisplaying. Video games (arcade pieces) were "fitted" to their component parts. You didn't buy a generic multisync monitor and use it in one of its "modes". Rather, you designed the hardware
to drive the monitor AT it's specified extents. (Doing otherwise would
be wasteful).

Quantities weren't particularly high (10-20K total production) but the industry didn't have room for slop/margin. A game *might* have to pay for itself in as little as 90 days (the "90 day wonders" where the market moved on a few months after their release)

[When was the last time you played Monopoly? You may still have one tucked
in a closet -- they don't take up much room (unlike arcade pieces) -- but
it likely has been "tucked" for a long time! (This, IMO, is the driving
force behind *thin* cocktails -- let it act as your kitchen table!]

John seems to be addressing the folks who either want a "home arcade"
(for its novelty) or want to preserve a particular machine (sentimentality) Mame just doesn't cut it on either score.

[I am still holding onto a Rogo as it had a special place in my heart,
though I have gifted all of my other arcade pieces to friends.]
--- Synchronet 3.21b-Linux NewsLink 1.2