monitor question

[franksolich]

Okay, so the old monitor suddenly faded out and went dark.

It was probably long past time, as it was pretty ancient.

I had a spare monitor here, and hooked it up.

It's an Optiquest Q51.

It's smaller than the preceding monitor.

The color/contrast is way too dark.  I don't mind the miniature print--after all, I have good eyes--but I do mind that everything's far too dark.

There's four buttons on the lower left-hand side of the monitor.

I punch one, and get a little rectangle in the middle of the screen, blue and green, CONTRAST.

But after getting that, it doesn't tell what one does next.

I went to the web-site of Optiquest Q51, the "service manual," and damn it, it has no such instructions.

I'm headed to the big city soon, and I imagine I'll just go ahead and pick up a couple of new used monitors at the thrift store, to see if they work any better.  But as this one seems to work, I'd still like to keep it as a spare.....provided I can figure out how to lighten it up.

[CG6468]

Sometimes they just fade to black, Frank.

[thundley4]

I searched for that model and brand ,  being too dark seemed like it was a problem for many people even with new ones.

[franksolich]

I searched for that model and brand ,  being too dark seemed like it was a problem for many people even with new ones.

Well, I just got back from the big city.

There was only one used computer monitor at the thrift store, for $3.99.

Compaq FS7600.

I'll hook it up and try it out tonight.

[Chris_]

I had one of those or something similar to it.  I paid $45 for it over ten years ago.  I finally ditched it last month for a used Dell flat panel.

[franksolich]

Sometimes they just fade to black, Frank.

Well, that one was ancient.

When I got the computer I have now, I told TVDOC the monitors I had here, and he suggested I use the one that just burned out or blacked out or whatever.....but warned me it was like 15 years old.

And that was three years ago.

[franksolich]

Okay, so I got around to plugging in the Compaq FS7600 monitor.

It's bright and the print's regular size instead of being miniaturized.

And there's handy-dandy buttons on the front, near the bottom, with instructions about what they're for.

I'm still keeping the Optiquest Q51 though, for emergency back-up.

I'm thinking of winter, when it's -20 degrees, 45 mph winds, and twelve inches of snow on the ground, and something goes wrong.....by having spares, one doesn't have to run out to get a new one right away.

I could be deceiving myself, but this one looks better than the one that blacked out or burned out, or whatever it did--the really ancient one.