Well here we have another shining example of Samsung monitor greatness. This particular specimen was born in March 2011. After less than 2 years in service it was given to me as 'broken'. But for us folks on BCN, broken is a relative term.
What did I find out about this 'broken' monitor? First of all it is an LED which apparently makes it less complicated on the insides than an LCD. It also has an external power brick. The symptoms are this: With nothing plugged in, it will turn on and show a gray box in the upper left that flashes between 'HDMI' and 'Analog'. If I plug an HDMI cable in to the monitor (not connected to anything on the other end) it will turn into a bouncing box that says 'Check Signal Cable' forever. So yes, mister monitor, I will take your advice. Oh darn, I forgot to plug something in to you! So I plug the HDMI cable into an active source and a few seconds later the 'HDMI' box comes back up in the top left and then just as it seems like it is about to display a picture, the whole thing shuts off. Using the analog input has much the same behavior.
So I crack this thing open hoping to see a bunch of bulged caps. But this is a different animal and thus has no on board power supply and inverter board like an LCD. I see only a couple of SMD 'lytics on the logic board. It even appears to be missing a few given the empty spaces. The solder marks seem to suggest that they could have been stolen for the next monitor on the assembly line. The 'screen size selector' jumper is pretty cute too! While I was at it, I did probe the power brick and it had a steady 14.2volts coming out of it.
One other noteworthy thing about this piece of junk is that is is supposedly 'eco' friendly. It has some kind of sensor just under the name badge on the front that according to the documentation will sense when you get out of your chair and then turn the screen off. I call BS on that feature. I tried unplugging the sensor but it had no effect. And the very last stupid feature about it is the buttons on the front. There are none! Apparently they are some sort of infrared emitter/sensor thing-a-ma-jigs that can sense the presence of your finger. I call BS on that too!
Anyway:
TLDR: This monitor turns itself off immediately upon being fed an HDMI or Analog VGA signal. I am not sure how to diagnose or fix it. I appreciate your help as always.
What did I find out about this 'broken' monitor? First of all it is an LED which apparently makes it less complicated on the insides than an LCD. It also has an external power brick. The symptoms are this: With nothing plugged in, it will turn on and show a gray box in the upper left that flashes between 'HDMI' and 'Analog'. If I plug an HDMI cable in to the monitor (not connected to anything on the other end) it will turn into a bouncing box that says 'Check Signal Cable' forever. So yes, mister monitor, I will take your advice. Oh darn, I forgot to plug something in to you! So I plug the HDMI cable into an active source and a few seconds later the 'HDMI' box comes back up in the top left and then just as it seems like it is about to display a picture, the whole thing shuts off. Using the analog input has much the same behavior.
So I crack this thing open hoping to see a bunch of bulged caps. But this is a different animal and thus has no on board power supply and inverter board like an LCD. I see only a couple of SMD 'lytics on the logic board. It even appears to be missing a few given the empty spaces. The solder marks seem to suggest that they could have been stolen for the next monitor on the assembly line. The 'screen size selector' jumper is pretty cute too! While I was at it, I did probe the power brick and it had a steady 14.2volts coming out of it.
One other noteworthy thing about this piece of junk is that is is supposedly 'eco' friendly. It has some kind of sensor just under the name badge on the front that according to the documentation will sense when you get out of your chair and then turn the screen off. I call BS on that feature. I tried unplugging the sensor but it had no effect. And the very last stupid feature about it is the buttons on the front. There are none! Apparently they are some sort of infrared emitter/sensor thing-a-ma-jigs that can sense the presence of your finger. I call BS on that too!
Anyway:
TLDR: This monitor turns itself off immediately upon being fed an HDMI or Analog VGA signal. I am not sure how to diagnose or fix it. I appreciate your help as always.
Attached Files
But today, I’m making an exception here. Why? No idea. Perhaps only because the repair details are still “fresh” in my head… which is ironic, given this is a 16 year old monitor that hardly anyone will care about today. It is new to me, though. 
I picked it up last November from someone on my local Craigslist. It wasn’t very close to where I live, but was close to a family friend that I had to go visit anyways. So after watching the posting on Craigslist for a few weeks and seeing it getting...
Comment