can power conditioners cause lcd displays to malfunction made in china

The HD Guru’s readers have asked for the real story on power line conditioners. Are they really needed with an HDTV? Do they provide a sharper picture as some salesmen claim? How well do they protect the TV in case of a lightening strike or other electrical spike? What about surge protectors and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS)? The HD Guru responds.

In the United States the alternating current (AC) sent from your electric company should be delivered to your home at a steady rate of 120 volts at 60 cycles per second. In some parts of the US, there are variations, resulting in voltages that are either too high or too low. Sometimes interruptions cut the power altogether. Delivery of too much power is called a voltage surge; too little, a voltage droop or sag. Electrical storms can deliver lightening strikes, which can produce catastrophic voltage surges capable of destroying the power supplies of all the electronics plugged into the system, whether they’re powered up or not. Air conditioner and refrigerator motors powering on and off can also cause momentary voltage fluctuations. Another potential power problem is electrical interference caused by industrial grade electrical equipment operating nearby as would be found in a factory. Your home’s wiring may also pick up electrical line interference or radio frequency interference (RFI) caused by, among other things, broadcast transmitters located in your vicinity.

Fluctuating voltages can cause lights to brighten and dim. TV, lights and other electrical devices may momentarily shut off due to total voltage dropouts. Radio frequency interference can create hum and/or video noise bars and static.

Power conditioners can’t give your digital HDTV a sharper picture or better color, regardless of display technology, whether plasma, LCD, DLP, SXRD, or DILA rear projection. Period. Resolution is, by definition fixed, and so cannot be increased. If a salesman tells you otherwise, ask why are there no power conditioners connected to the dozens of TVs on display. All HDTVs have internal power supplies designed to filter and transform the incoming AC to voltages necessary for the set’s operational needs. These built-in power supplies do a great job, and are designed to accept a fairly wide range of line voltages. Can a power conditioner clean up heavy interference in your power line? Yes, but most of the time they are simply not necessary and will be of no use because the vast majority of households are free of electrical interference.

While power conditioners cannot improve your picture, a surge protector can protect your set in the event of a power surge. What’s needed depends on the display and the amount of protection you can afford. For LCDs and plasmas the HD Guru suggests a surge protector at the very minimum. According to experts, the rating should be at least 360 joules. These are very inexpensive, with prices starting at under $20. For lamp driven devices such as microdisplay front and rear projectors, including LCOS (Sony SXRD and JVC DiLA), DLP and LCD, you should purchase an uninterruptible power supplies (UPS). The HD Guru also recommends using the UPS with digital video recorders (DVRs like TiVo). A UPS will prevent the lamp’s cooling fan motor (or hard drive in the DVR) from shutting off during a power failure. You need just enough battery power to cool off the projector to prevent premature lamp failure or a DVR’s power down. 10 minutes worth of battery back up is more than sufficient. Virtually all UPS units also have built-in surge protection.

UPSs’ are either on-line or off-line designs. The on-lines are best because they actively filter and convert AC wall power into DC (Direct Current) to charge the battery, while simultaneously converting the DC back to AC to run your HDTV or DVR. In addition to offering excellent line conditioning, on-line UPS systems provide surge protection. Because it’s “on-line” there is no voltage drop when the AC power fails. The switch to battery backup is seamless.

The Tripp-Lite SU750XL is a good on-line UPS. Rated at 750VA, it will run a 500-watt load for about 10 minutes, which is plenty of time to cool off the lamp in any projector or properly shut down a TiVo. While it retails for $449, a quick internet search found it for $288.93 + shipping.

Depending upon capacity off-line UPS prices start at around $40. Because the AC in/out circuitry is not coupled to the output there’s around a 1-millisecond switch between line current and battery power. Virtually all have built-in surge protection and many of the mid size and larger one also have line conditioners.

Bottom line? Instead of selecting a line conditioner with surge protection, which can cost up to $500 or more, get first-rate protection that includes surge and battery backup plus top quality line conditioning, for under $300 by purchasing an on-line UPS. For under $100 you can be protected from the most common surge and short-term power loss problems with a UPS with surge protection combo.

I heard it all, but ignored it. I"m in a brown/black out prone area so I"ve been over cautious using an APC 1500VA powering a Monster HTS 5100 and distributing to my system from there.

In part I feel it"s because I don"t understand power enough; I know the APC produces a stepped sine wave. I know that"s not good for my use, but does it produce that only when acting as a backup? Short of a regenerator would anything eliminate the square sine?

With your ever-growing collection of electronic devices, perhaps it seems your home never has enough power outlets. Power strips and their more elaborate siblings, surge protectors, offer an easy solution: one plug in the wall, many outlets for your devices. But wait! There"s more to these simple-seeming products than meets the eye.

Adding additional AC outlets and USB charging ports is incredibly useful, and often vital. Don"t waste money on the wrong one, however. Here"s everything you need to know about power strips and surge protectors.

Typically, power strips are cheap, multioutlet products that are merely an expansion of a wall outlet. They"re usually small and thin, sometimes fitting directly onto the outlet itself. They usually have a circuit breaker (on/off switch) of some sort, but most don"t offer any real "protection" from electrical issues. Some might have the barest level of protection, but they"re all pretty much just like plugging into the wall directly.

Surge protectors are relatively cheap too, but unlike power strips they offer some level of protection. As their name suggests, surge protectors protect your products from power surges at the expense of itself. But more on that in a moment. How much they do this, and how well varies considerably. They"re usually a bit more elaborate, and often bigger, than a simple power strip, though not always.

Surge protectors offer protection in units called joules. Generally, the more joules the better, as this means the device can handle one large surge, or multiple smaller surges, before your gear is in danger. Over time, the parts inside the protector wear down, reducing its effectiveness.

Unfortunately, there"s no way to know how much protection a device has left, or if the initial rating is even accurate. Buying from a reputable company, and one that includes a warranty, is a good idea.

Some surge protectors offer a warranty (up to a certain amount) on the gear connected to the protector. For example, in the US, certain Belkin models have up to $300,000 in connected equipment warranty, and states: "Belkin Components will repair or replace, at its option, any equipment which is damaged by a transient voltage surge/spike or lightning strike, (an "Occurrence"), while properly connected through a Belkin Surge Protector to a properly wired AC power line with protective ground."

You"ll probably never need it, but it certainly doesn"t hurt to have it. Keep in mind, however, that just because the warranty exists doesn"t mean you"ll ever see a dime from it. Note in that Belkin quote the term "at its option." That means they"ll come up with any reason not to cover your claim. So don"t use this as a replacement for home or renter"s insurance.

You"re always going to need more outlets. You"ll undoubtedly add more gear, without necessarily getting rid of your current gear. I"m not saying that if you think you need four outlets, you should get 12 -- but at least six is probably a good investment.

Most modern devices use "wall warts" -- plugs that convert AC power into DC power and look like little boxes with electrical prongs sticking out. Consider getting a surge protector with wider spacing between sockets, or sockets that can be rotated or moved, to accommodate chunky plugs.

Many surge protectors come with USB connections, so you can charge your mobile devices without having to use their wall warts. Handy, for sure, but check what the output amp rating is. Generally, this is either 1 or 2 amps (often labeled 1A or 2A). This is how much flow you can get through the pipe, so to speak. You"ll want at least 2 amps for quicker charging.

Most modern phones have the ability to fast-charge, but you"ll need to use their wall warts for that. If you don"t need to quickly charge them, though, these lower power ports will work just fine.

While not offering much protection, a portable power strip might prevent marital friction, and/or invoke bliss from travel companions. Most hotels and hostels have few accessible outlets, yet everyone has multiple devices that need recharging. Most portable power strips add two to three additional outlets, plus offer direct USB charging (see No. 8, above).

Remember the joule rating we discussed earlier? This is just the initial rating. This gets lower over time. In other words, surge protectors wear out. Some will give you a warning or shut off when their protection drops below a safe level. Many will just keep working, without protection, and you won"t know it until a power spike damages your gear. If you know you"ve had a serious electrical event (like lightning blew out a transformer down the street), it"s probably worth replacing your surge protector just in case.

Most companies that sell surge protectors say they need to be replaced every three to five years. Sure, they"re motivated to have you buy them more often, but with many models under $50, this isn"t an extreme cost.

There is no reason not to get a surge protector over a simple power strip. If you live in an area with lots of thunderstorms, your gear is probably more likely to experience power surges. Even if you live in the desert, your AC or refrigerator could kick power spikes back down the lines to your AV gear. Either way, some extra protection for your gear is absolutely worth the small difference in price between simple power strips and surge protectors.

As well as covering TV and other display tech, Geoff does photo tours of cool museums and locations around the world, including nuclear submarines, massive aircraft carriers, medieval castles, epic 10,000 mile road trips, and more. Check out Tech Treks for all his tours and adventures.

He wrote a bestselling sci-fi novel about city-size submarines, along with a sequel. You can follow his adventures on Instagram and his YouTube channel.

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Maintains usable 120V nominal output to sensitive electronics during severe brownouts and overvoltages. Prevents surges and spikes from damaging circuitry. Filters out potentially disruptive line noise.

The LC1200 1200W 120V Line Conditioner - Automatic Voltage Regulator adjusts under- and overvoltages to provide safe, computer-grade AC power that meets ANSI C84.1 specifications. The automatic voltage regulation (AVR) offers three levels of voltage stabilization that corrects undervoltages as low as 89V and overvoltages as high as 147V back to regulated 120V nominal power. Providing optimum voltage conditions not only extends the life of your equipment, but also keeps your equipment working through brownouts and prolonged overvoltage conditions.

Just connect the space-saving NEMA 5-15P right-angle plug with 7-ft. (2.13 m) cord to an AC power source, and plug up to four devices into the NEMA 5-15R outlets. You can monitor AC power, incoming voltage level and AC line status using the seven diagnostic LEDs on the front panel. The compact LC1200 fits comfortably into your computer or home theater setup.

Extended Warranty and Technical Support for Select Tripp Lite Products – DC Power Supplies; Keyspan Products; KVM Switches; PDUs; Power Inverters; Power Management; UPS Systems

Extended Warranty and Technical Support for Select Tripp Lite Products – DC Power Supplies; Keyspan Products; KVM Switches; PDUs; Inverters; Power Management; UPS Systems

In the United States, National Electric Code article 210-19 FPN No. 4. suggests a 5% maximum combined voltage drop on the feeder and branch circuits to the furthest outlet "will provide reasonable efficiency of operation." The Canadian electrical code also requires no more than a 5% drop between the meter and outlet. Applying the 5% tolerance gives a nominal 120V range of 114V to 126V.

Yes, a power conditioner will stabilize the voltage from a generator. However, it will not convert the modified sine wave produced by some generators to pure sine wave, making those generators unsuitable for sensitive electronics.

Yes, but not with the printer itself. Printers and copiers use a hot roller called a fuser unit to bind ink toner to the paper as it passes through the printer. Periodically, the printer needs to reheat the fuser unit to the required temperature, and this requires a lot of electricity. To prevent a power sag (under-voltage) from impacting computers and other sensitive equipment on the same circuit as the printer, use a power conditioner with Automatic Voltage Regulation (AVR).

Connecting a printer to a line conditioner may prevent the printer from getting the voltage it needs. A better approach would be to have a qualified electrician check the capacity of the existing line and add a separate circuit for the printer if necessary.

A power or voltage spike is a sudden increase in voltage, ranging from a few hundred volts to tens of thousands and lasting between 1 and 30 microseconds. A power surge is like a spike but lasts longer. Voltage fluctuations are normal and do not typically harm equipment connected to an outlet. Over- or under-voltages occur when the voltage reaching powered devices falls out of the normal service range.

As a power conditioner corrects high or low input voltage, it will make a gentle clicking sound. The frequency of the clicking will depend on the quality of the utility power in your area. The clicking is normal, and no action is required on your part.

A power conditioner can potentially improve sound quality by providing a cleaner and more stable power supply to audio equipment. Power fluctuations and electrical noise can interfere with the performance of audio equipment, leading to degradation in sound quality. By conditioning the power, a power conditioner can reduce the amount of electrical noise and provide a stable voltage, which can result in improved sound quality.

However, it is important to note that the effect of a power conditioner on sound quality can vary depending on the equipment and the specific electrical problems being addressed. In some cases, the improvement in sound quality may be minimal or not noticeable, while in other cases it can be significant.

A power conditioner is an electrical device that improves the quality of the power supplied to an electrical load by regulating voltage, reducing noise, and filtering out electrical disturbances. The goal of a power conditioner is to protect sensitive electronic equipment from damage caused by power fluctuations and electrical noise.

A surge protector, on the other hand, is specifically designed to protect electronic equipment from damage caused by power surges and spikes. It accomplishes this by diverting excess voltage away from connected equipment.

Some power conditioners include surge protection as part of their functionality, effectively combining the two functions into a single device. In these cases, the power conditioner can improve the quality of the power supply while also providing protection against power surges and spikes.

If improved sound quality is your primary goal, an isolation transformer is the best choice. Microphones, instruments and amplifiers can pick up unwanted hums or buzzes if they are plugged into the same circuit as items such as fluorescent lights, air conditioners and dimmer switches. If your band is playing in a bar, even the bartender"s blender is a potential source of interference!

An isolation transformer uses two coils of copper wire, wound so that the primary coil connected to incoming AC power induces a current in the secondary coil powering connected devices. Since there is no direct connection between the coils, musical instruments and recording equipment attached to the secondary coil are isolated from audio frequency noise on the power line.

Post your questions, opinions and reviews of the MPC1000. This forum is for discussion of the OFFICIAL Akai OS (2.1). If you wish to discuss the JJ OS, please use the dedicated JJ OS forum

Although, I found that if I connected the anode pin (LED_A) and logic power pin (VCC) together on the actual display unit, while also connecting the ground (LED_K) to ground, I could get the backlight to light, but it"s generally advised against for reasons I"m not sure of. This Is why I ultimately decided to pull a separate 5v for the LED from the power section of the PCB. The problem is the mpc is so much more complex and I don"t know if I have the technical know how to find a clean and easily accessible 5v source just to power the backlight"s LED. Again, looking at the mpcstuff.com"s product photo I can see that the A and K pins on the board have big globs of hot glue on them. Did they just connect the anode (Pin A) to the logic supply voltage (VCC)? Does it actually matter that much to have a clean independent voltage to power the LED?

On the one for my Kurzweil K2000, I think the guy jumped pin 3 (VCC +5V) to pin 21 as you did. But he used a resistor to make the jump, which probably is there for protection and for the same reason you were advised not to use the single source 5V to power both the VCC and backlight without a resistor.

I replaced my K2000 keyboard"s LCD display. All I did was remove the old LCD screen and place the new compatible LCD screen, which had 22 pins. The additional 2 pins are for backlight LEDs, which you"d just supply 5V DC from power supply.

As far as all the connection goes, it is that simple. No sane LCD manufactures would change PIN outs! Just connect pin to pin (don"t leave any pins unsoldered), and provide 5VDC on Pin 21 & 22.

I"ve tried everything suggested with my lcd (the same one mentioned at the beginning of the thread) but still nothing. I can get power to light up the back light but all I"m getting on the lcd is a few horizontal lines

I bought ERM24064DNS-1 and then I followed Slump pinout scheme. It toke some time to figure out the pinout on replacement, I"m using single patch cables, the one used with breadbord for temporary circuits. mine pin legs was presoldered facing the back of replacement"s display. This give me some trouble to find pin 1. So, If you look to the original display, side by side with mainboard, the pin 1 on display is up, and on the mainboard is down, so the placement is reverse and not really 1to1 to the sight in my case.

Anyway done the pin 9(from manboard) to pin 20(on replacement display) thing. The pin9( on replacement display) can be leaved not connected. The cable that were on pin20 (on replacement display) can be leaved not connected, but I suggest to connect to pin 9, to not leave things messed.

If you done this well, on poweron you see blink screen and orizzontal lines for a sec, and the default lights on unit power up. Else the lights on unit don"t power up, so check pinout scheme.

I suggest to check the brightness on poweron, the replacement don"t save brightness setting. So everytime, in my case, I need to set brightness with STOP+WHEEL to show characters.

I connected pin 21 to pin 2,and 22 to pin 4, on the cable from the front panel, it came straight from the ADDA board. The specs tells it was a 12V. the backlight worked well for an hour, then I had the bad idea to load a project from SD. after full load the project, backlight shut off and ADDA fried.

Hopefully I can put any uncertainty to rest! I successfully installed one of the BuyDisplay LCDs in my MPC1k. As others have pointed out, you will need to swap pins 9 and 20 in the ribbon cable. I emailed BuyDisplay regarding Pins 21 & 22, and they told me to just solder Pin 21 directly to Vcc (Pin 3, 5V on the LCD) and Pin 22 to Ground (Pin 2 on the LCD). Here is a photo of what I"m talking about:

PS I do not recommend ordering the LCD with the header pins attached! Though no fault of BuyDisplay"s, the pins were soldered on the "wrong" side of the PCB, and you can"t use a ribbon cable that mates with header pins anyway as they are too tall to put the front panel back on.

Do you guys think that the same can be performed on a MPC 60 MKII, since both machines use 240x64 displays? I just wrote a long ass post about it because I"m trying to pull off the same upgrade on my 60, and I"m waiting on parts to get here. The only difference between the old/new is that the 60 uses a 10 pin cable vs the 20 pinouts on the modern Chinese replacements, so I don"t know if the signal could be converted with a board or just a plain adapter. Can"t source the datasheets for the 60 though, so I"m basically on a plug-n-play trial & error experiment at the moment.

There is a possible way to modify the 240x64 LCD"s to work on the 60 however it requires a decent amount of modification to it that is out of the scope for most to do.

In my diagram, I have a connection between NC pin 20 to NC pin 9. Well, NC means no connection is necessary. So you can save yourself a wire by not connecting those.

I think that PWRGD means...The Power Good signal (power-good) is a signal provided by a computer power supply to indicate to the motherboard that all of the voltages are within specification and that the system may proceed to boot and operate.

I read somewhere about people connecting PWRGD to Vout with a 10K resistor in between... But we already have VEEOUT pin 9 going to VEE pin 20. Another theory of mine is that it tells the LCD to not power up until the voltages are regulated or within parameters in the MPC 1000. This might protect the LCD from an electrical spike when you press the power button to turn it on or off.

The usual use for PWRGOOD is to hold other devices in RESET, though you could use it (indirectly) to drive a P-MOSFET series switch. The problem is you then have to implement soft start or it can glitch on the inrush current of any downstream decoupling and turn the MOSFET off again! https://www.microchip.com/forums/m614064.aspx

There are many, many uses for a PG (power good) signal. One of the most common is to control power-sequencing of circuits with many different rails. For instance, you may have a Supply B that is not supposed to turn on until Supply A is on, and stable. By feeding the PG signal from Supply A to Supply B"s enable input (either directly, or through some simple logic gates or a CPLD), they will sequence themselves in the proper order.

Another common usage is forresetsupervisor ICs. If such a device has an active-low manual-reset input, OR"ing together all the PGs from supplies (assuming each is open-drain), if any of them fail / go out of regulation, the reset supervisor will toggle a reset of the system.

So it"s really up to you, but there"s two common uses. You should check the datasheet to see when PG is asserted/de-asserted; for some regulators, if they detect you"re out of regulation by 7.5% - 10%, the signal will assert. https://electronics.stackexchange.com/q ... l-properly

If your LCD does not power up, or flickers, then try connecting them. I do not think it will blow anything up. As a further precaution, plug your MPC 1000 into a power conditioner. You know, like a Furman Power Conditioner or a "rack rider." Perhaps a high quality surge protector would be sufficient. This may help prevent any spikes in electrical current during power up and power down while you are testing.

The most important thing is not running a power cable to ground. And using a plug with ground, and making sure your power outlet has ground. And don"t confuse which pin is pin 1. Match up pins carefully.

Apparently you don"t need to bridge pin 1 and 2. I can not seem to find Vanwerks original picture with his comment on Imgur atm. But he wrote this as a caption:

"Note: it is not necessary to form a solder bridge between pin 1 and 2. I took the picture while I was experimenting. I no longer have the pins connected and it works fine".

Well I will get my BuyDisplay LCD in a couple of weeks. I"ll post the correct details if I get it working, so that we can put all uncertainties to rest.

Troubleshooting CRTs versus LCDs begins with similar steps, but diverges due to the differing natures of the two display types. The first troubleshooting steps are similar for either display type: power down the system and display and then power them back up; make sure the power cable is connected and that the outlet has power; verify that the signal cable is connected firmly to both video adapter and display and that there are no bent pins; verify that the video adapter is configured properly for the display; try the problem display on a known-good system, or try a known-good display on the problem system; and so on. Once you"ve tried the "obvious" troubleshooting steps, if the problem persists, the next step you take depends on the type of display. The following sections cover basic troubleshooting for CRTs and LCDs.

CRTs seldom fail outright without obvious signs, such as a loud snap or a strong odor of burning electrical components. Most CRT problems are really problems with the power, video adapter, cable, or hardware/software settings. To eliminate the CRT as a possible cause, connect the suspect CRT to a known-good system, or connect a known-good display to the suspect system. It is worth noting, that older CRTs eventually wear out, and starts dimming. Common signs of a weak CRT are a dim picture, dysfunctional brightness and/or color controls, image smearing at high brightness, and in color CRTs, a tint towards a single color (Red Green Blue)

Even if the CRT is in warranty, the shipping costs may exceed the value of the CRT. For example, shipping a CRT both ways can easily cost $75 or more. If that CRT is a year-old 17" model, you"re probably better off spending $100 to $200 for a new 17" or 19" CRT than paying $75 in shipping to have the old one repaired. CRTs have many components, all of which age together. Fixing one is no guarantee that another won"t fail shortly. In fact, that happens more often than not in our experience.

Never disassemble a CRT. At best, you may destroy the CRT. At worst, it may destroy you. Like televisions, CRTs use extremely high voltages internally, and have large capacitors that store that energy for days or even weeks after the CRT is unplugged. Robert once literally burned a screwdriver in half when working inside a color television that had been unplugged for several days. Also, the large, fragile tube may implode, scattering glass fragments like a hand grenade. People who repair CRTs and televisions for a living treat them with great respect, and so should you. If you must repair a CRT, take it to someone who knows what they are doing. You have been warned.

Check the obvious things first. Verify that the CRT is plugged in (and that the receptacle has power), the video cable is connected to the video card, the computer and CRT are turned on, and the brightness and contrast settings are set to the middle of their range. If none of these steps solves the problem, your CRT, video card, or video cable may be bad. Check the suspect CRT on a known-good system or a known-good CRT on the problem system.

CRTs contain multiple filaments, which can be broken, or gas may have leaked into the vacuum inside the CRT. CRTs damaged this way are unrepairable without specialist equipment. With the display open. check if all three filaments are glowing bright orange. Excessive redness or purple arcing signifies gas has leaked in. There may also be an internal short inside the CRT, which is also unfixable without specialist equipment.

If you have ACPI or APM power management enabled, it may be causing the problem. Some systems simply refuse to wake up once power management puts them to sleep. We have seen such systems survive a hardware reset without restoring power to the CRT. To verify this problem, turn off power to the system and CRT and then turn them back on. If the CRT then displays an image, check the power management settings in your BIOS and operating system and disable them if necessary.

Catastrophic CRT failure is imminent. The noises are caused by high-voltage arcing, and the smell is caused by burning insulation. Unplug the CRT from the wall before it catches fire, literally.

There are two likely causes. First, you may be driving the CRT beyond its design limits. Some CRTs display a usable image at resolutions and/or refresh rates higher than they are designed to use, but under such abuse the expected life of the CRT is shortened dramatically, perhaps to minutes. To correct this problem, change video settings to values that are within the CRT"s design specifications. Second, the power receptacle may be supplying voltage lower than the CRT requires. To correct this problem, connect the CRT to a different circuit or to a UPS or power conditioner that supplies standard voltage regardless of input voltage.

This is usually a minor hardware problem. The most likely cause is that the signal cable is not connected tightly to the CRT and/or video card, causing some pins to make contact intermittently or not at all. Verify that no pins are loose, bent, or missing on the cable or the connectors on the CRT and video card, and then tighten the cable at both ends, If that doesn"t fix the problem, open the computer, remove the video card, and reseat it fully.

In elderly systems, another possible cause is that some hardware DVD decoder cards "steal" one color (usually magenta) and use it to map the DVD video signal onto the standard video signal. Remove the DVD decoder card. If your video adapter includes hardware DVD support, or if you are upgrading to such an adapter, you don"t need a DVD decoder card.

The most likely cause is that the CRT is receiving inadequate power. Connect it to a different circuit or to a backup power supply that provides correct voltage regardless of fluctuations in mains voltage.

The most likely cause is that the refresh rate is set too low. Change the refresh rate to at least 75 Hz. Flicker also results from interaction with fluorescent lights, which operate on 60 Hz AC and can heterodyne visually with the CRT. This can occur at 60 Hz (which is far too low a refresh rate anyway), but can also occur at 120 Hz. If you"re running at 120 Hz refresh and experience flicker, either use incandescent lighting or reset the refresh rate to something other than 120 Hz.

The video card settings are likely outside the range supported by the CRT, particularly if you have just installed the CRT or have just changed video settings. To verify this, restart the system in Safe Mode (press F8 during boot to display the Windows boot menu and choose Safe Mode). If the system displays a VGA image properly, change your display settings to something supported by the CRT.

Most modern CRTs can display signals at many different scan frequencies, but this doesn"t mean that the CRT will necessarily automatically display different signals full-screen and properly aligned. Use the CRT controls to adjust the size and alignment of the image.

Depending on the CRT, video card, and video settings, this may be normal behavior, adjustable using the CRT controls. If the distortion is beyond the ability of the controls to correct, the problem may be with the video card, the CRT, or the driver. First try changing video settings. If the problem persists at several settings, move that CRT to a different system (or use a different video card) to determine whether the problem is caused by the CRT or video card. Repair or replace the faulty component.

This is usually caused by RF interference from another electrical or electronic device, particularly one that contains a motor. Make sure such devices are at least three feet from the CRT. Note that such interference can sometimes penetrate typical residential and office walls, so if the CRT is close to a wall, check the other side. Such image problems can also be caused by interference carried by the power line or by voltage variations in the AC power supply. To eliminate interference, plug the CRT into a surge protector. Better still, plug it into a UPS or power conditioner that supplies clean power at a constant voltage.

This problem may also be caused by using a video cable that is too long or of poor quality or by using a poor-quality KVM switch (keyboard/video/mouse switch). Manual KVM switches are particularly problematic.

The CRT may need to be degaussed. A CRT that sits in one position for months or years can be affected even by the earth"s very weak magnetic field, causing distortion and other display problems. Exposing a CRT to a strong magnetic field, such as unshielded speakers, can cause more extreme image problems. Many modern CRTs degauss themselves automatically each time you cycle the power, but some have a manual degauss button that you must remember to use. If your CRT has a manual degauss button, use it every month or two. The degaussing circuitry in some CRTs has limited power. We have seen CRTs that were accidentally exposed to strong magnetic fields, resulting in a badly distorted image. Built-in degaussing did little or nothing. In that case, you can sometimes fix the problem by using a separate degaussing coil, available at RadioShack and similar stores for a few dollars. We have, however, seen CRTs that were so badly "magnet burned" that even a standalone degaussing coil could not completely eliminate the problem. The moral is to keep magnets away from your CRT, including those in speakers that are not video-shielded.

An incorrect yoke may have been attached to the CRT. Unless you have a lot of spare time on your hands, this is usually not worth fixing. Replace the display.

You may have a weak picture tube. Without specialist equipment, this is usually unfixable. You could try a CRT rejuvenator as a last resort, but this may fix or kill your CRT permanently.

If your LCD displays no image at all and you are certain that it is receiving power and video signal, first adjust the brightness and contrast settings to higher values. If that doesn"t work, turn off the system and LCD, disconnect the LCD signal cable from the computer, and turn on the LCD by itself. It should display some sort of initialization screen, if only perhaps a "No video signal" message. If nothing lights up and no message is displayed, contact technical support for your LCD manufacturer. If your LCD supports multiple inputs, you may need to press a button to cycle through the inputs and set it to the correct one.

Unlike CRTs, where increasing the refresh rate always reduces flicker, LCDs have an optimal refresh rate that may be lower than the highest refresh rate supported. For example, a 17" LCD operating in analog mode may support 60 Hz and 75 Hz refresh. Although it sounds counterintuitive to anyone whose experience has been with CRTs, reducing the refresh rate from 75 Hz to 60 Hz may improve image stability. Check the manual to determine the optimum refresh rate for your LCD, and set your video adapter to use that rate.

First, try setting the optimal refresh rate as described above. If that doesn"t solve the problem and you are using an analog interface, there are several possible causes, most of which are due to poor synchronization between the video adapter clock and the display clock, or to phase problems. If your LCD has an auto-adjust, auto-setup, or auto-synchronize option, try using that first. If not, try adjusting the phase and/or clock settings manually until you have a usable image. If you are using an extension or longer than standard video cable, try connecting the standard video cable that was supplied with the display. Long analog video cables exacerbate sync problems. Also, if you are using a KVM switch, particularly a manual model, try instead connecting the LCD directly to the video adapter. Many LCDs are difficult or impossible to synchronize if you use a KVM switch. If you are unable to achieve proper synchronization, try connecting the LCD to a different computer. If you are unable to achieve synchronization on the second computer, the LCD may be defective. Finally, note that some models of video adapter simply don"t function well with some models of LCD.

If the screen is displaying a full, stable image, but that image is of poor quality, first verify that the display is not connected through a KVM switch or using an extension cable. If so, connect the display directly to the video adapter using the standard cable. If that is already the case, adjust the brightness, contrast, and focus controls. If you are unable to get a proper image using these controls, the problem is most likely a clock or phase mismatch, which you can cure by taking the steps described in the preceding item.

The best way to adjust clock and phase is to use auto-adjust first. Check the utility and driver CD that came with the monitor. It may have a wizard or at least the appropriate background screens to use while adjusting phase and clock settings. If not, go to the Windows Start menu and select Shutdown. When the screen goes gray and the Windows Shutdown dialog appears, leave that dialog onscreen, but ignore it. Use the gray screen to adjust clock and phase manually. Any problems with clock and phase and any changes you make to the clock and phase settings are clearly evident on the gray screen.

Always adjust clock first. Clock is usually not a problem if you have used the auto-adjust feature of your monitor, but if you do have clock problems they will be evident as large vertical bars on your screen. Tweak the clock setting until those bars disappear. Then adjust phase. Phase problems are evident as thin black lines running horizontally across the screen. Adjust phase until the lines disappear or are minimized.

Not all analog video cards synchronize perfectly with flat panels. The gray Shutdown screen exaggerates the problem, so don"t worry if very tiny movements are visible after you"ve adjusted clock and phase as well as possible. After you"ve set the clock and phase controls for the best image possible on the gray screen, cancel Shutdown and the image should be optimized.

Your video card is supplying a video signal at a bandwidth that is above or below the ability of your LCD to display. Reset your video parameters to be within the range supported by the LCD. If necessary, temporarily connect a different display or start Windows in Safe Mode and choose standard VGA in order to change video settings.

This occurs when you run an LCD at other than its native resolution. For example, if you have a 19" LCD with native 1280x1024 resolution but have your display adapter set to 1024x768, your LCD attempts to display those 1024x768 pixels at full screen size, which physically corresponds to 1280x1024 pixels. The pixel extrapolation needed to fill the screen with the smaller image results in artifacts such as blocky or poorly rendered text, jaggy lines, and so on. Either set your video adapter to display the native resolution of the LCD, or set your LCD to display the lower-resolution image without stretching the display (a feature sometimes referred to as display expansion), so that pixels are displayed 1:1, which results in the lower resolution using less than the entire screen.

This is a characteristic of LCDs, particularly older and inexpensive models, caused by defective pixels. Manufacturers set a threshold number below which they consider a display acceptable. That number varies with the manufacturer, the model, and the size of the display, but is typically in the range of 5 to 10 pixels. (Better LCDs nowadays usually have zero dead pixels.) Nothing can be done to fix defective pixels. Manufacturers will not replace LCDs under warranty unless the number of defective pixels exceeds the threshold number.

Some people claim that leaving the unit powered off for a day or two will "erase" a persistent after-image. Others suggest leaving a neutral gray screen (like the one used for phase adjustment) up on the screen to "equalize" the display. I dunno. FWIW, I"ve seen this problem on older Samsung panels but never on the Sony or NEC/LaCie panels I use.

Again, this is a characteristic of LCDs, particularly older and inexpensive models. The after-image occurs when the display has had the same image in one place for a long time. The after-image may persist even after you turn the display off.

Transistor-based pixels in an LCD respond more slowly than the phosphors in a CRT. The least-expensive LCDs exhibit this problem even with slow image movement, as when you drag a window. Better LCDs handle moderately fast image movement without ghosting, but exhibit the problem on fast-motion video. The best LCDs handle even fast-motion video and 3D gaming very well. The only solution to this problem is to upgrade to an LCD with faster response time.

Use the brightness control to increase image brightness. If you have set brightness to maximum and the image is still too dim, contact the display manufacturer. The CCRTs used to backlight the screen have a finite lifetime and may begin to dim as they near the end of their life.

If one or more horizontal and/or vertical lines appear on the display, first power-reset the computer and display. If the lines persist, run the auto-setup function of your display. If that does not solve the problem, power the system and display down, remove the video cable, and verify that the video plugs and jacks on both computer and display ends do not have broken or bent pins. Even if all appears correct, try a different video cable. If the problem persists, contact the display manufacturer.

My CyberPower CP 1350 AVR LCD Intelligent UPS device (battery backup and surge suppression) arrived two days ago (purchased on Amazon). The first thing that happened when I plugged it in was a red light on in the back of it, "Wiring fault.

My CyberPower CP 1350 AVR LCD Intelligent UPS device (battery backup and surge suppression) arrived two days ago (purchased on Amazon). The first thing that happened when I plugged it in was a red light on in the back of it, "Wiring fault." I looked it up and on the Cyberpowersystems.support page it says, "The wiring fault light indicates that the outlet that the unit is connected to is either not properly grounded or has reversed wiring. First, try connecting the unit to another outlet. If the unit still displays the electrical wiring fault, contact technical support for assistance. If the unit does not display the wiring fault light in the new outlet, you will need to have an electrician correct the problem with the faulty outlet." So, after trying it on another outlet and also got a red light with that one, I called CyberPower. I just want to say how polite and attentive the CyberPower guys are on the telephone. I have since called them with more questions about hooking up the unit, and each time (3 different guys) they were knowledgeable and solved the problem quickly. The red light problem went as follows: they said that the outlets probably are not grounded, and if all your outlets give the red light, it could mean that your house doesn"t have grounded outlets. I was surprised, since almost all of my outlets have 3-prong plugs; the 3-prongs are supposed to be for grounded units, but people can install a 3-prong on an outlet that is not grounded, and that still does not make it grounded. Very important to know! So, I bought a "receptable tester" at Lowe"s for $5 and tried out the outlets in my house and discovered that certain rooms did not have grounded outlets, while other rooms did. (Just want to add that you can do this without buying a receptacle tester, if you have a surge protector power strip with the two lights on it that say "Protected" and "Grounded." If the "Grounded" light doesn"t light up or is DIM, then that outlet is NOT grounded - same thing with the receptacle tester - the two lights on the right should be fully on - if the middle one is bright and the one on the right is DIM then your outlet is NOT grounded. My electrician confirmed this. At first, he thought maybe the center light was reflecting in the right light, but it was DIM. He tested the outlet with his other tools, and said it was NOT grounded.) It dawned on me that the rooms that had grounded outlets were built 1970s or later, and the rooms that did not have grounded outlets were installed with the original house, built in 1955. Unfortunately, the rooms I need to use the CyberPower device in are the old part of the house where my office is. I"m sharing this information, because there are likely to be others who will experience this same situation. If your house is an older house, it is likely that the outlets in some rooms (the older ones) are not grounded, which means you need to call in a professional electrician and have a new, grounded, outlet installed. A new grounded outlet involves putting in a separate line from the main electric box in your house, all the way to the spot where you want an outlet to hook up your UPS device. For many people this isn"t difficult. For me it was problematic since my basement is finished, with paneling and ceiling tiles all around, and there were only two teeny possible places in the ceilings of closets where the electrician could try to drill a hole up into the wall for an outlet on the first floor. It took him several hours, but he was finally about to get around the heating ducts and struts, and with the aid of a special drill extender he was able to get two new, grounded, outlets installed in my first-floor office. I had him install two, although I only needed one, so I"d have plenty of outlets for digital devices that need grounding. It did cost me, but now I can be confident that my electronics will be protected with grounding, surge suppression, and battery backup.

The second problem I faced was when I hooked up the UPS to my new (replacement model) Comcast "wireless gateway" modem/router, and wanted the WiFi signal to go out, not from the Comcast unit, but from my Apple Time Capsule unit. I"m sharing this info because I feel certain that others will run into this, too. I followed the Comcast instructions with one exception - the Comcast cable comes out of the wall and into the cable "input" of the CyberPower UPS device. Then you need another cable coming out of the CyberPower unit, from the cable "output" into the Comcast modem/router. So, I thought I had everything hooked up correctly, but it didn"t work. I called Comcast and had to talk with an intake person for about twenty minutes before they would pass me to a tech specialist. They helped me get it set up, but after we got off the phone, my Apple Time Capsule continued to blink amber (yellow) and didn"t go to the green light. When I checked in the Time Machine app, there was a message, "Double NAT." I looked that up, and it means you have two WiFi systems running. So, even though the Comcast guy told me he was disabling the WiFi on my Comcast unit so that signals would go out through my Time Capsule, there was still this problem. The Comcast guy told me he couldn"t help me any more, have to call Apple. So I called Apple. Apple is always very nice, but the intake person didn"t know what to do about the yellow light. He passed me to a WiFi specialist at Apple, and that guy knew exactly what to do. So here is what you should do if your Apple Time Capsule keeps blinking amber (yellow) after you have your CyberPower and Comcast set up: Look in Applications - Utilities - AirPort Utility. The Internet icon should have a green light to the left of it. If the Time Capsule icon has an amber (yellow) light to the left of it, simply double-click on the amber light in the picture. It will open a small window. Again, see the yellow circle there and click on it. You will see a small drop-down that has the option "Ignore." --> CLICK ON IGNORE. That is the solution. The Apple guy says "We get this all the time." There are other solutions you will see online, including something about "bridge." Don"t do that. Just click "ignore" and you"ll be all set from there on out.

One other difficulty I had was plugging devices into the CyberPower unit. I thought something was wrong. The situation is, when you plug things into the unit for the first time, it takes a lot of muscle to shove them into the sockets. Right out of the factory, the plugs are tight. So just use your strength and force them in. After that, it"s no problem at all.

I set the CyberPower unit on the floor near the Comcast outlet and modem, and hooked up my computer speaker system and Time Capsule near it. That keeps all the wires in the same area, and off my desk. I have a 14-gauge (9-foot) heavy duty extension cord running from the CyberPower unit to my iMac desktop. I purchased the extension cord on Amazon, too. The CyberPower guys said to get a 14-gauge "one-to-one" extension cord. That means that each electronic device you put on an extension cord coming out of the UPS device needs to have its own extension cord - this is important. This is why I moved my Time Capsule and speakers over to plug in directly to the CyberPower device on the floor. So my desk has just one cord coming off of it, no spaghetti mess of wires all over the place, just on the floor in the corner. The extension cord I picked is a neutral gray, and very flexible:

One last comment - this is a most impressive looking machine. It is big and very solid. It is also VERY HEAVY. Other than the things I mentioned, I have had no problem with the device. I have a new grounded outlet now, and I managed to get a Comcast modem hooked through it, and the WiFi signal to go through my Apple Time Capsule, which I"m sure many of you have. So I hope this info helps some of you out there. I am very happy with my purchase, and now thinking I will buy another one for my TV and sound system in the recreation room (which is in the newer part of the house and has grounded outlets!). If I ever do have a problem with it, I will report back! Happy customer, and very happy with the CyberPower tech guys!

I"ve posted more photos of the software bug. It continues to drive me crazy several times a day with popups and dings and dongs... The unit it"s self seems to still be working fine tho. I"m loving everything but the bugware.

First thing I did was plug it in. The battery was around 88% so I let it charge. In just a few minutes, it had reached 100%. It started out pulling 18.2 watts with 88% charge on the battery. By the time it got to 93% charge, it was pulling 15 watts. As the battery gets closer to full charge, the less current it pulls to do so.

NOTE: Just because the unit says 100% charged, does NOT mean it is topped off. In fact, it will still continue to charge for HOURS later. More on that later...

After I saw 100% I took a lamp with a 3/way bulb in it which was 50w/100w/150w. I set the lamp on the 150 watt and plugged it into my (Kill-A-Watt) current tester. The lamp was pulling 148 watts plugged in using the 150w setting.

You can expect to go from 100% charge to shutdown in 27 minutes pulling 148 watts with the display on. This this is with a NEW set of batteries. In my experience, this time will shorten as the batteries age.

Although 100% charged, the UPS unit continued to pull the higher voltage from the wall. The voltage draw continued to fall as the HOURS passed by. I let the UPS unit stay plugged in until I saw that the voltage draw either shut off or leveled out somewhere. I finally gave up watching this slow voltage drop-off and went to bed around 2:00am, about 6 hours after 100% was reached. The next morning I woke up and saw that the UPS unit was only pulling 7.0 watts. I continued to watch the voltage draw a few more hours and it never changed. The unit pulls 7.0 watts continuously. This is with the LCD on. I never turned the LCD off to see if the voltage went to zero but I doubt if the LCD pulls 7 watts. I am assuming from my testing here that the unit till trickle 7 watts of current always with the LCD on. You can expect at least this much once you have it hooked up and it"s "FULLY" charged.

*UPS Load. Right now my load says 279 watts typing this up and listening to tv stream in background, 1x 32", 2x 24" monitors. Intel i7 6 core. 3 browsers open and about 30 tabs, outlook, Visual Studio and the UPS software running.

*Adjust when the UPS kicks in; (i.e. if voltage goes below 100v, when AC voltage goes above 139v) You can set these parameters. I left them at the defaults show above.

The software is BUGGY on my Windows 10 PRO. The only bug I can report is very annoying. Throughout the day an startling and annoying Windows ALERT will popup in the bottom right of the screen and in the Windows notification area telling you that the UPS has lost connection with the UPS. In less than 5 seconds another startling and annoying Windows ALERT will popup in the bottom right of the screen and in the Windows notification area telling you that the UPS has reestablished connection and everything is alright. This happens all the time every day. I hate it. I doubt any connection is ever really lost here, who knows as there is no evidence of it. I will probably end up uninstalling the software as it the negatives outweigh the positives for me personally.

I never open the software anymore to check on any of those features I"ve mentioned above. Once you"ve learned about the current you use and about how much time you have after a power failure, there really isn"t anything else you need to know.

I have been searching for opinions on these popup alerts and they seem to have been happening for many years so I wouldn"t expect a software update fix anytime soon if ever.

...battery backup time. This "modest" category is where the CyberPower CP850AVRLCD UPS fits in. Model numbers of these UPS systems can be a little confusing, as many people think that the model reflects the output level of the device in watts.

My home and home office contain many sensitive electronic devices. We have several personal computers, a PC server, NAS drives, routers, switches, printers, cordless phones, security system, etc. All of these things (and more) plug into the AC mains and are therefore vulnerable to voltage sags or spikes and the occasional power outage. When a person invests a lot of money in electronic hardware, it only makes sense to do everything you can to protect it. That is why I always discourage people from plugging these sensitive devices directly into the wall. I currently have a total of 10 UPS systems and two line conditioners in my home, which protect my most valuable computer, security and A/V equipment.

Over the years the cost of power conditioners and Uninterrupted Power Supplies has dropped drastically, and yet the overall reliability and performance of these have improved a great deal. A typical UPS used to be thought of as a simple battery backup device. But today the majority of UPS systems also help to condition the power, to a degree, using technologies such as AVR (Automatic Voltage Regulation). There are several different types of UPS systems available, offering a wide range of output capacities and power conditioning capabilities. Of course the price goes up as your need of greater output and more sensitive voltage protection increases. But for some devices you can get by with a modest UPS system, to simply provide a moderate amount of power protection and battery backup time. This "modest" category is where the CyberPower CP850AVRLCD UPS fits in.

Model numbers of these UPS systems can be a little confusing, as many people think that the model reflects the output level of the device in watts. The model number of most UPS systems actually reflects the volt-amp rating, whereas the continuous watt load the unit can handle is usually a fraction of that VA rating, in terms of AC output. Calculating the exact watt output the UPS can sustain, strictly based on the VA rating, can be a little tricky since the AC load is not usually in precise phase. However, if you look up the specs of a given UPS system, the manufacturer usually indicates the maximum watts that the device is meant to sustain. In the case of the CyberPower CP850AVRLCD, the VA rating is 850 but the watt output rating is 510. That is a 60% difference between the VA and Watt rating.

This CyberPower UPS provides Automatic Voltage Regulation, shown by the letters "AVR" in the model number. This means that the UPS is capable of decreasing (Buck) or increasing (Boost) output voltage, slightly, in order to "clean" the power it is passing through to your electronic equipment. This is, or course, while the UPS is receiving AC power through your mains. If the voltage exceeds the minimum or maximum voltage tolerance, the system will automatically switch over to battery power, in order to protect your electronic equipment. The included PowerPanel Personal Edition software allows you a modest adjustment to these minimum and maximum voltage tolerance levels. The software also clearly displays the current status of the UPS, including voltage supplied, voltage condition, remaining battery capacity, battery status, remaining battery runtime and the current battery backed up load on the system. PowerPanel Personal Edition allows you to adjust the amount of time that your computer will remain running on battery power before shutting down. Of course you can choose to set the UPS to allow your computer to run as long as possible, but the UPS will still shut down your computer when it is down to only 5 minutes of remaining time. Therefore you will need to consider how much of a load your current equipment will put on the UPS, as too much load could cause the UPS to shutdown your computer almost immediately after an AC power failure. There is also a configuration screen for alert sounds, which allows you to enable or disable the beeping sounds this UPS would normally make during power events. There is not much more you can do with this software, which really limits its overall usefulness.

The majority of my UPS systems are made by APC. However, I wanted to try a CyberPower unit, so I purchased this smallish 510 Watt unit to provide conditioning and battery backup for a DSL modem, an Ethernet Router, a wireless access point, and a 16-port Gigabit switch. The total load of this attached hardware is only about 45 to 50 watts, at full working load. Therefore this UPS should provide battery backup long enough for me to do some moderate Internet browsing from another UPS powered PC or wirelessly from a laptop. Setup of the CyberPower UPS was completely effortless. You don"t even have to hook up cables to the internal battery, which is something that all APC units require. Upon powering up the CyberPower UPS I was greeted with a nice blue LCD display, which can be toggled to show current load level, estimated run time, input voltage, output voltage, output frequency, battery capacity, and the current status of the UPS (normal AC, battery in use, AVR in use, if system overload is detected, if audible sound is enabled or disabled, or if there is a household wire fault). I think this LCD status display is very useful. However, CyberPower has decided that the consumer does not need the LCD to remain lit, for real-time monitoring. Therefore you will find that the