suction cup?

[enp82003]

Ok i recently bought an arcade 19" monitor off ebay for my machine... something that scares me about it is the rubber suction cup thats suppose to be on the side is off? do i just place that back on or what? I was reading about it and it seems like something kind of dangerous to mess around with.
the guy i bought it from isn't really being responsive to it.

[Sniderman]

Holy hell, do NOT screw with that. I'm a bit fuzzy on the details, but that "suction cup" is the anode cap. Here:

http://www.stickycarpet.com/pinx/md.html


You're saying it's already off though? Is it broken and/or discharged? Someone more knowledable will give you better info, but I just know you do NOT want to mess witht hat until you know what's going on. Supply a photo if you can.

[enp82003]

thanks i am deff. going to dispute it more till i get the money back... not worth losing my life over.

[Sniderman]

You won't lose your life, but you'll wish you were dead if it zaps you. But if the cap is already off as you describe, it sounds like it's broken and discharged. I'm not an expert at all, but that shouldn't be "hanging" the way you describe.

[shawnbo42]

No, it shouldn't be hanging like that. If you can post some pics of the monitor, there are a few of us around here that can probably help you to get back in business. Unless your monitor was physically broken in the shipping process, you should be able to get it up and running.

[TheDomesticInstitution]

I'd rig up a discharging device and make sure there isn't a charge left in the monitor. Then I would take a pair of needlenose pliers, and squeeze the pins together under the suction cup and place them back in small hole where it's supposed to go on the tube. It's not that big of a deal, as long as the monitor is discharged.

Here is my discharge tool that works great for me. Keep in mind there are specialized tools that are more appropriate for this, but it will work to get the monitor hooked up correctly.

I took a power cord for a lamp, and wrapped it around this long screwdriver, using electrical tape to secure it. I then placed an alligator clip on the other end of the wire so I could affix it to a grounded place on the cabinet. You then carefully, without touching the metal of the screwdriver place it over the hole where the anode cap came from. There may be a electrical pop, or no sound at all. As a precaution I usually wait a few minutes after doing this and repeat the process before removing or replacing an annode cap.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2284/3544443296_4244345142.jpg

After doing this you may then put the cap back in. I would never use your bare hands to do this. I'd use a long set of needlenose pliers with an insulated or non-metallic grip. And of course never have the monitor plugged in while doing this.

In the other photo below you can see the needlenose pliers I use.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3626/3549505555_7027892396.jpg

[diskoboy]

No worries - it doesn't mean anything is broken unless the tube broke.

Working around the anode can be intimidating to the novice, but it gets less scary every time you do it. Pretty soon, you'll be discharging monitors in your sleep. Good chances are, if the anode is out of the tube, it's already been discharged.

You can always be safe and try and discharge it again by sticking the blade of the discharge tool (as pictured above) on the metal prongs under that cap (hook the wire up to the chassis to create a ground).

If it doesn't snap, or create a small arc - you're safe. Carefully stick the prongs on the cap back in the hole in the top of the tube. The previous owner may have done it on purpose, to save you the trouble incase it needs capping.

And most likely, if you got it from eBay - it does.