this post was submitted on 21 Mar 2025
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Last week I made a post asking if I should buy an old vintage monitor.

Well, I went back to the recycled goods store this week and it was still there, so $30 later I have it, and it seems to just work*

There's very little about this monitor on the internet, so I'm thinking of documenting as much as I can about it, especially as it's Osborne branded so there could be some interesting history behind it.

* The power button is stuck on, and it does an occasional unsettling arc sound and the image slightly distorts for a millisecond. I believe the latter is fairly common among old CRTs but I don't know much more than that.

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[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Thanks for the heads up - it'll stay as a very occasional use monitor until I either feel comfortable enough to look inside (after lots of research, given the voltages within) or find a friend experienced in CRTs. I really wouldn't want to blow it up when it could've been prevented easily by maintaining it.

[โ€“] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Ragebutt's advice is good RE: maintenance. I would take the back off, make sure it's discharged then clean around the anode cap and in general make sure there is not excessive dust/soot that could form a path for electrical discharge. Clean the anode with alcohol, apply a little dialectric grease to the cup and put everything back together. There is a decent chance that will help, just make sure not to wipe off the black paint on the tube - this is called "aquadag" and it is important to the operation of the monitor.