Monitor on the blink... Sigh.

[Macavity]

I use a single (analogue multiplexed) 10" 4:3 monitor for my remote video astronomy:

http://www.lilliputuk.com/monitors/vga/fa1042/

In theory, a great and versatile (albeit rather expensive!) device.

But I get intermittent problems, which I'm still trying hard to solve!

In a nutshell, the problem seems like intermittent loss of "synch" of the image. Those old enough, may remember controls like "line/frame hold" on old TVs? The symptoms... flikering image, break up of the image, seem just like the past need for twiddling these? Some of it depends on signal / connections? I HATE it that the two AV channels are fed in via a single small stereo audio jack. Jiggle that or waggle the cable, and the picture flickers anyway!

FWIW, I have made improvements(?)... clean contacts, added solder to the PCB. Ironically, the monitor seems to have MOST trouble with the very B&W camera signals (Watec and Finder Cam) I want. It is rock steady, if I feed it a "full blown" color HD signal from the lounge TV O/P! Could it possibly be due to "weird" sizes of video cam screens: 752 x 582 (not exactly 800 x 600)? Would that matter? Any TV engineers / electronics gurus out there.

Not sure whether this is a question or just a rant now! Oddly my cheap and chearful "Tesco Tele" is rock steady on camera signals. I begin to worry about Lilliput now! Anyone else own one? I see one or two reviewers were less than keen? Perhaps I killed it, leaving it in the obsy for last winter? Sadly, 10" 4:3 monitors are less common now - These are seemingly about the only brand available...

I have one more cunning plan. The monitor has just about every type of input known to man! I see there are AV to HDMI converter boxes at £14 from amazon. Maybe I'll just convert the AV signal to HDMI and see? I suspect the signal will be degraded, but at least HDMI sockets seem a bit more positive than small stereo audio jacks.

P.S. It may be that I must face the inevitable - Buy a new monitor, and use this one for something else. If you know of a cheap(er) and reliable UK 4:3 monitor around 8" - 12", let me know maybe? 

[Thalestris24]

Hi Chris

So am I right in thinking you're taking output from a cctv-type video camera?

There's a 12" colour monitor on Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/inch-Cctv-Monitor-hdmi-Input/dp/B00CHICG46

or a wee 7" one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sourcingbay%C2%AE-Digital-TFT-LED-Receiver-display/dp/B00LA07RH8/ref=pd_cp_computers_0

Alternatively, maybe you could just digitize the signal: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hauppauge-USB-Live-composite-analogue/dp/B003Q2ZA36/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1408284490&sr=1-1&keywords=video+digitiser#productDetails

Just some ideas

Hth

Louise

Edit: Um, do you know if it's actually a monitor problem rather than a signal problem?

[shirva]

getting to that time of year chris skies getting darker and kit going on the blink..davy

[Macavity]

Hi Louise - Yes, it's all Video Astronomy, so my signals are indeed analogue over coax.

An odd problem. May be the monitor (or not!). I think it might even be the classic problem

of grounding (loops). Quite a lot of active video splitting, multiplexing, switches etc. etc. 

Thanks for the monitor links. I'm sure I will solve it eventually. To get it all "working", I may

have skimped on the *quality* (price) of some things... It's all working today... for now. lol

Ah, Davy, you know how it is, Eh? All ya really need: a "lottery grant"... "research staff"...

[shirva]

ile join the research team