The lines running through the screen as you are describing are often called jail bars. You could try to adjust some of the color pots on your monitor to see if it makes a difference but more than likely you’ll probably need to install a cap kit on your monitor chassis. Please see our posts on Adjusting An Arcade Monitor and Installing A Cap Kit for more information.

We have also featured your question on episode 15 of our Q&A podcast. Please listen to it for more of our thoughts on your question. Thank you for your question and keep us updated on your progress.

What you are describing sounds less like a monitor issue and more like a board issue. You might check the voltage going to the board and see if the board gives you any error messages on boot up. Of course, since you have been working on the monitor it could still be the problem. We would definitely like to see a picture of your monitor. If you get a chance you might send us one over so we can help you troubleshoot this issue further.

We have also featured your question on episode 15 of our Q&A podcast. Please listen to it for more of our thoughts on your question. Thank you for your question and keep us updated on your progress.

It really sounds like there are some wiring issues going on here. I would particularly look around the wiring coming from the board to the monitor. Sounds like the sync wire or the pin that it connects to on the chassis might be having some problems. Check your sync wire and touch up some of the solder on the back of the pin where it connects to on the chassis and see if it makes a difference. If you don’t know which wire is sync, check out our JAMMA wiring diagram and trace it from where the board connects to the monitor. You might also double check that you have the connector plugged in correctly to the monitor.

We have also featured your question on episode 15 of our Q&A podcast. Please listen to it for more of our thoughts on your question. Thank you for your question and keep us updated on your progress.

I just purchased a Centipede arcade game. I have several horizontal lines running thru the screen. There lines are stable thru the screen. You could still play the game but the annoying red lines are thru the screen. I’m not really sure where to start as far as troubleshooting. This is my first project and could use some advice. Let me know what you think.

Thanks

This sounds like it’s a problem with either the connection between your board and your monitor or your monitor chassis. If you are getting game sounds but no picture (a symptom we call “playing blind”) then you’ve probably got a problem with your monitor chassis. This really sounds like you need to replace the HOT (or Horizontal Output Transistor) on your monitor chassis. Please see our posts on Troubleshooting Monitors With Michael and More Troubleshooting Monitors With Michael for more information. Also, check out our online store where we have our Volume 2 DVD on sale which has a video on replacing the HOT.

We have also featured your question on episode 14 of our podcast. Please listen to it for more of our thoughts on your issue. Thank you for your question and keep us updated on your progress.

You definitely want to try and degauss first. If that doesn’t work then it could be that your convergence rings are out of alignment. These rings are located on the back of the neck of your monitor usually right above the glass, glowing part. The rings control the alignment of the color guns (RGB). It could be that one of these guns is not aligned properly causing your discoloration.

A word of warning before modifying these rings, make sure you use a paint pen or white out to draw a line across them (on a flat, even area going past the edge of the rings on to the tube) before trying the move them. If you get these out of alignment they are notoriously hard to get back into alignment without marking them first. Please make sure that you take this step with the monitor off.

Once you’ve marked them, you can turn your monitor back on and start adjusting them. Make sure you take all of the proper safety precautions when working with a live monitor. Rubber gloves are a plus! Adjust each one to see if it makes any difference at all and if not just move them all back to their original positions.

We have also featured your question on episode 14 of our podcast. Please listen to it for more of our thoughts on your issue. Thank you for your question and keep us updated on your progress.

My friends and I recently purchased a dedicated Lethal Enforcers. We probably should have done some research before moving the unit, but because of it’s weight, we had to take out the monitor to make it lighter. We didn’t unhook/unscrew anything on the actual monitor or chassis, just the bolts that held it onto the cabinet. When we put it all together and started it up, there was a massive amount of distortion and wavy lines. Upon messing with the vert/horz hold and positioning, we were able to someone rectify the problem, but we can’t get it to even a reasonable viewing spot. The knobs are hyper sensitive and barely touching one of them will send the screen into chaos. Have you run into anything like this? We are total novices to arcades and may have to call someone for help.

Thanks!