Splicing monitor cables...

  • Thread starter Thread starter shutle
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shutle

HI, this is my first post here because I Guess this is a hardwar
problem indeed and the only sollution I can think of is splicing
I'll cut to the chase..
I've been fidling with the end of my monitor vga cable for a while no
because there was dammage and the only way to get the colors right wa
to move the cable around, sorta like ajusting an antena

Well now the cable doesnt show any color no matter how I twist an
turn it. Its a good 19" monitor and just because of the lows
vga plug it doesnt work. Not only that but the monitor was made s
that the vga cable could not be swapped. :crybaby:

Bassicaly I need to splice it! Any advice..
I already bought a vga cable and checked it out, it has more smal
wires in it then by monitor cable and their all color coded..
 
shutlewrote
Because of damaged wires my monitor VGA plug doesnt work.
Basically I need to splice it! and add a new plug Any advice..
I already bought a VGA cable and checked it out, it has more smal
Click to expand...
wires in it then my monitor cable and this will make splicing i
quite difficult.
I dont realy know what wires to connect to what, even the colors ar
Click to expand...
different..

This isn't what you wish to hear..I know. But you asked for "an
advice"

Don't mess around with doing this because there are a lot of variable
involved that could ruin your monitor or cause feed back to harm you
graphics card. Just search the web and buy an exact replacement cor
for your monitor. (Then if you need to...buy the adapter to conver
it to what ever it is that is needed.
 
shutle said:
I've been fidling with the end of my monitor vga cable for a while now
because there was dammage and the only way to get the colors right was
to move the cable around, sorta like ajusting an antena.

Well now the cable doesnt show any color no matter how I twist and
turn it. Its a good 19" monitor and just because of the lowsy
vga plug it doesnt work. Not only that but the monitor was made so
that the vga cable could not be swapped.
Click to expand...

The monitor consists of several wires and coaxial cables, all inside a
shield braid or foil. The ordinary wires in there aren't hard to
splice by soldering and covering with heatshrink. Each coax cable's
center conductor can be spliced similarly, but then the shield has to
be spliced. The shield is usually made of either copper or aluminum
braid (silver color can mean either aluminum or tin-plated copper) or
aluminized Mylar foil with a bare stranded wire running next to it.
Splice both that foil (aluminum foil works) and the bare wire. With
braid, add new braid and let it overlap at least an inch on each end.

However most monitor cables break right where they enter the monitor
case, making a splice like that impractical because the splice is too
thick to fit through the opening, and the break is usually just a few
inches from where the cable plugs into the circuit board. So it's
usually better to simply cut the cable short and connect it directly to
the socket or even solder it directly to the board after removing the
header pins. New socket pins for the connector can be bought
separately from an electronics supply, and usually the socket pins and
plastic connector bodies are sold separately anyway. You'll have to
dress the ends of each coaxial cable properly by trimming back the
shield and covering the bare stranded wire with heatshrink and then the
whole end of the shield with heatshrink for mechanical strength. If
the cable has no bare wire but only braid, you'll have to connect your
own stranded wire to the braid. The insulator over the coax's center
conductor may be a plastic that melts at a very low temperature and may
even be foam, which can disappear when heated.

Unplug the AC cord before opening the monitor case, and beware that
parts inside can retain high voltage afterward, especially the CRT (do
not touch the thick cable going to its side). Also dangerous is the
glass of the CRT. Don't bump, scratch, or hit the glass (especially
the neck), and don't let the monitor tip foward, where almost all the
weight is concentrated. It may be safest to work on the monitor while
it's face-down

If you decide to use the new cable, you'll have to match its individual
wires to the original one by using an ohm meter connected to each end,
and you cannot assume that the two cables have identical color codes.
 
shutle said:
I've been fidling with the end of my monitor vga cable for a while now
because there was dammage and the only way to get the colors right was
to move the cable around, sorta like ajusting an antena.

Well now the cable doesnt show any color no matter how I twist and
turn it. Its a good 19" monitor and just because of the lowsy
vga plug it doesnt work. Not only that but the monitor was made so
that the vga cable could not be swapped.
Click to expand...

The monitor consists of several wires and coaxial cables, all inside a
shield braid or foil. The ordinary wires in there aren't hard to
splice by soldering and covering with heatshrink. Each coax cable's
center conductor can be spliced similarly, but then the shield has to
be spliced. The shield is usually made of either copper or aluminum
braid (silver color can mean either aluminum or tin-plated copper) or
aluminized Mylar foil with a bare stranded wire running next to it.
Splice both that foil (aluminum foil works) and the bare wire. With
braid, add new braid and let it overlap at least an inch on each end.

However most monitor cables break right where they enter the monitor
case, making a splice like that impractical because the splice is too
thick to fit through the opening, and the break is usually just a few
inches from where the cable plugs into the circuit board. So it's
usually better to simply cut the cable short and connect it directly to
the socket or even solder it directly to the board after removing the
header pins. New socket pins for the connector can be bought
separately from an electronics supply, and usually the socket pins and
plastic connector bodies are sold separately anyway. You'll have to
dress the ends of each coaxial cable properly by trimming back the
shield and covering the bare stranded wire with heatshrink and then the
whole end of the shield with heatshrink for mechanical strength. If
the cable has no bare wire but only braid, you'll have to connect your
own stranded wire to the braid. The insulator over the coax's center
conductor may be a plastic that melts at a very low temperature and may
even be foam, which can disappear when heated.

Unplug the AC cord before opening the monitor case, and beware that
parts inside can retain high voltage afterward, especially the CRT (do
not touch the thick cable going to its side). Also dangerous is the
glass of the CRT. Don't bump, scratch, or hit the glass (especially
the neck), and don't let the monitor tip foward, where almost all the
weight is concentrated. It may be safest to work on the monitor while
it's face-down

If you decide to use the new cable, you'll have to match its individual
wires to the original one by using an ohm meter connected to each end,
and you cannot assume that the two cables have identical color codes.
 
HI, this is my first post here because I Guess this is a hardware
problem indeed and the only sollution I can think of is splicing .
I'll cut to the chase...
I've been fidling with the end of my monitor vga cable for a while now
because there was dammage and the only way to get the colors right was
to move the cable around, sorta like ajusting an antena.

Well now the cable doesnt show any color no matter how I twist and
turn it. Its a good 19" monitor and just because of the lowsy
vga plug it doesnt work. Not only that but the monitor was made so
that the vga cable could not be swapped.  :crybaby:

Bassicaly I need to splice it! Any advice...
I already bought a vga cable and checked it out, it has more small
wires in it then by monitor cable and their all color coded...
Click to expand...

Splicing coax cable, by breaking the shield, would upset the
impedance of the cable. It is supposed to be a constant 75 ohms,
and where you break the shield, there will be a "reflection" that
could affect the picture quality.

It would be better to connect a new VGA cable right inside the
monitor, but depending on how the cable is connected inside the
monitor, it might require soldering. You have two concerns there.
Whether you have the necessary skills to do the repair. And
whether you know what not to touch inside the monitor. The picture
tube of the monitor can carry a substantial high voltage charge,
with an associated health risk.

If you have no experience with electronics, with soldering, or
with the proper installation of coax cables, take it to a
professional. A TV repair shop may be able to help you.

Paul
 
shutle said:
I've been fidling with the end of my monitor vga cable for a while now
because there was dammage and the only way to get the colors right was
to move the cable around, sorta like ajusting an antena.

Well now the cable doesnt show any color no matter how I twist and
turn it. Its a good 19" monitor and just because of the lowsy
vga plug it doesnt work.
Click to expand...

Unless you stomped on the cable with golf shoes, it's broken at the
strain relief, so forget about splicing it.

You can cut off the bad section of cable, but it's much easier to find
another permanently-attached cable from a junked monitor, and rearrange
its wires at the PC board end to match those of the original cable's
(the connectors unlock if you press down on the tabs visible through
the rectangular holes on the side of the connector; you'll need to ohm
out the new and old cables to see which wires go where). This way you
avoid the headache of preparing several wires, including the the 3 coax
cables used by the individual video signals, which can be tricky.

I should tell you that some monitor cables have a section of the
insulation removed in the middle so the shielding braid can be grounded
to bare metal on the chassis. Be sure to ground it similarly, even if
you have to attach a wire to make it reach the chassis. Be sure
there's no possibility that the uninsulated section of shielding braid
will touch any circuitry; either secure it safely away with a plastic
wire tie or cover it with 2 layers of heatshrink tubing.
 
I was hoping to use a vga extension cable to replace the broken
section of my monitor vga cable. As mentionned earlier this can be
done but it is the coaxal wires that might be a problem.
Also I would need to find the ohm of each wire to know where to
coonect it.

Does this mean that every wire has a different ohm? How can I test the
ohms if I don't know which wires go together? and the extention cable
that I thought would be a good replacement doesn't have coaxal wires,
where do I find a good replacement vga cable? Or where do I find a vga
cable that can actually be soldered on the inside of my monitor?
Thanks in advance.
 
HI, this is my first post here because I Guess this is a hardware
problem indeed and the only sollution I can think of is splicing.
I'll cut to the chase...
I've been fidling with the end of my monitor vga cable for a while now
because there was dammage and the only way to get the colors right was
to move the cable around, sorta like ajusting an antena.

Well now the cable doesnt show any color no matter how I twist and
turn it. Its a good 19" monitor and just because of the lowsy
vga plug it doesnt work. Not only that but the monitor was made so
that the vga cable could not be swapped. :crybaby:

Bassicaly I need to splice it! Any advice...
I already bought a vga cable and checked it out, it has more small
wires in it then by monitor cable and their all color coded...
Click to expand...

Your reference to "the lowsy vga plug" suggests that the problem is
close to the connector that plugs into the video card. If that's the
case, get a new HD-15 plug, cut off the vga plug past the problem
area, and solder the wires of the existing monitor cable to the new
HD-15 plug.
 
shutle said:
HI, this is my first post here because I Guess this is a hardware
problem indeed and the only sollution I can think of is splicing.
I'll cut to the chase...
I've been fidling with the end of my monitor vga cable for a while now
because there was dammage and the only way to get the colors right was
to move the cable around, sorta like ajusting an antena.

Well now the cable doesnt show any color no matter how I twist and
turn it. Its a good 19" monitor and just because of the lowsy
vga plug it doesnt work. Not only that but the monitor was made so
that the vga cable could not be swapped. :crybaby:

Bassicaly I need to splice it! Any advice...
I already bought a vga cable and checked it out, it has more small
wires in it then by monitor cable and their all color coded...
Click to expand...

Warning: opening up your CRT could be hazardous to your continued
existance! Electrocution hazard. Take precautions as if you had to
repair Old Sparky while it was zapping an Inmate.

You could find a dead monitor with a good tail, and swap it out. There
is usually a plug in behind the plastic.

Or you could do the sane, rational thing and use this as an excuse to
buy a flat screen.
 
shutle said:
I was hoping to use a vga extension cable to replace the broken
section of my monitor vga cable. As mentionned earlier this can be
done but it is the coaxal wires that might be a problem.
Also I would need to find the ohm of each wire to know where to
coonect it.

Does this mean that every wire has a different ohm?
Click to expand...

You measure the ohms only to find which pins on the DB-19 connector for
the video card side go to which wires at the other end of the cable.
and the extention cable that I thought would be a good replacement
doesn't have coaxal wires,
Click to expand...

I find that hard to believe since coax is virtually a must for good
video signal reproduction.
where do I find a good replacement vga cable? Or where do I find a vga
cable that can actually be soldered on the inside of my monitor?
Click to expand...

A replacement monitor cable, as 2 other people have suggested, is a
better idea than my suggesting of cutting the end off a video cable and
preparing the individual wires for connection to the monitor circuit
board. You can buy replacement monitor cables from electronic
supplies, such as MCM, but it would be cheaper and quicker to simply
get a broken monitor from the trash and take the cable from it.
Actually you may find a perfectly good monitor this way since many
people are throwing out their CRT monitors and replacing them with
LCDs, and in places where monitors are subject to toxic waste disposal
fees, it's common for owners to give them away.
 
shutle said:
At least most new flat screens have replaceble vga cables.
Click to expand...

Better, Flat screens aren't hazardous waste, and can be serviced
safely.

The CRTs fall in to several categories of nastiness.

The Electrocution hazard, though mitigated in most modern CRTs by a
"bleeder resister" which should drain off the charge in a few minutes.
(But why play russian roullette)

The Implosion hazard, where if the glass breaks, the low pressure
inside will suck in the glass shards, which will then fly OUT.

The nasty gasses inside the CRT

THe glass itself is around 20% lead.

Most landfills, and recyclers will charge to accept a dead CRT monitor
for all of these reasons. THe ones that DON'T charge, ship them off to
Asia/or the Phillippines, to recover the copper, and put the rest in a
landfill. This is done by underage and, more importanly, unprotected
workers.
 
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