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Cheap VGA monitors? Used/ New? — Parallax Forums

Cheap VGA monitors? Used/ New?

RavenkallenRavenkallen Posts: 1,057
edited 2011-06-27 09:40 in General Discussion
I have for a long time wanted to buy a monitor for general Propeller experimentation, but i have lacked the funds and the will to use them for something that i probably would not use much. I have heard plenty of forum posts about the usefulness of them and my sister is giving me her old netbook that has a broken screen(It works fine besides that)... So i guess i am in the market for a cheap VGA monitor. I have checked the usual places(E-Bay, Amazon, Wal-Mart, Best Buy...) and i can't find one that is under a 100 bucks. I don't really need anything fancy or even very big(7 Inches is fine), but i do want it to be good quality if it is used. So is there anything in the $30-70 range? Used or New?... Thanks in advance:)

Ohhhh, and i thought i would also mention that i have made great progress on the new C3 OS that i have been working on. It will be ready for a beta release in a couple of weeks. It is going to be really cool if i say so myself:)
My dual servo robot arm prototype is also making progress and i have finished two joints on it so far.. I apologize to anybody if i have neglected them. I have been really busy lately:)

Comments

  • UnknownUnknown
    edited 2011-06-26 14:37
    The company I worked for just threw out 15 of the old box crt style vga monitors because no one wanted them and I didn't think it was worth the trouble selling them on ebay or craig's list. I couldn't give them away.

    There are computer stores in the city that resell computers. Check thrift stores like the Salvation Army or idependent stores.
  • localrogerlocalroger Posts: 3,452
    edited 2011-06-26 14:42
    I suggest trying Goodwill and Salvation Army stores. As Chuckz says, the CRT monitors are so unvalued people aren't even bothering to try to sell them; they aren't worth what it would cost to ship them. But you might find something donated and sold locally in your price range at one of the thrift stores. Small monitors won't necessarily be cheapest; few monitors below 12 inch were ever very popular, so smaller monitors were a specialty item that did not benefit from economies of scale. (The same is true today of LCD monitors bigger than 9 but smaller than 17 inches; I know one company that makes industrial control displays and their 15 inch monitor is almost twice as expensive as the 17 incher.
  • Duane DegnDuane Degn Posts: 10,588
    edited 2011-06-26 14:45
    If you can, you should test the monitor you plan to buy with the Propeller.

    I have a 17" LCD monitor that doesn't work with the VGA circuit used on the Propeller Proto board. The monitor works fine with a computer.

    Duane
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,261
    edited 2011-06-26 14:57
    I bought a perfect 17" Viewsonic CRT monitor for $10 off Craigslist. Bright, beautiful images. It's a shame that people are dumping them for LCD monitors, many which I suspect won't last a quarter as long. Same with TV sets. Lots of very-usable 19"-32" TVs sitting on curbs waiting for the trashman. Consider one of these cheap/free and very capable CRT units if you have the desk space.

    Ravenkallen, you're an enterprising young man. With an eye to the future, some free storage space, and a bit of imagination, you could corner the market on these soon-to-be-vintage CRT TVs & monitors. Everything goes RETRO eventually. I have several 1960 Philco Predicta TV sets that are all the rage now, barely 50 years later. Collect these CRTs, store them, and wait for a considerable return on investment... maybe. :)
    predicta.jpg
    515 x 505 - 52K
  • localrogerlocalroger Posts: 3,452
    edited 2011-06-26 15:21
    As a matter of fact I have a 25 inch CRT TV I have absolutely no use for, and if anyone would like to pick it up in the New Orleans, LA area you're welcome to it.
  • davidsaundersdavidsaunders Posts: 1,559
    edited 2011-06-26 16:34
    You can also often pick up free LCD monitors at tech recycling centers, most of them just need a couple Capacitors replaced and are good to go.
  • Dr_AculaDr_Acula Posts: 5,484
    edited 2011-06-26 17:31
    There are three sitting on the side of my road waiting for the council to pick them up. You should be able to get some freebies somewhere. I get them for $10 from secondhand computer stores. I suspect most computer stores would have a pile out the back that they would be delighted to sell for a very reasonable price.

    Much to the amusement of my kids, my main home computer uses a box style VGA. I have several spare CRT and LCD VGAs in the shed that people have given me over the years.

    I've picked up some LCD TV screens for $15 on ebay. Am now in the process of porting all the Kyedos programs from VGA to TV so now it is truly portable.
  • John A. ZoidbergJohn A. Zoidberg Posts: 514
    edited 2011-06-26 17:42
    You can actually find these VGA monitors on garage sale actually. Many people are selling off their CRTs in favour for the LED/LCD monitors.

    For me, I have two CRTs lying in the storeroom. I had a hard time selling them, not much people want it anymore since LCD monitors are so dirt cheap.
  • RavenkallenRavenkallen Posts: 1,057
    edited 2011-06-26 19:23
    Whoaa. Thanks for all the help guys. I was kinda hoping to get a LCD monitor and not a CTR... I want the machine to be somewhat portable, but if i can find a dirt cheap CRT, i will probably just buy it anyway and forgo portability(for now). I didn't even think of thrift stores? That is a very good idea!:)... Erco, if i knew the vinyl phase was coming back, than i probably would have went out and bought a bunch of old records:). Amazing. One generation's trash, is another one's treasure!
  • John A. ZoidbergJohn A. Zoidberg Posts: 514
    edited 2011-06-26 19:57
    Small 15" LCD monitors are becoming even cheaper. It's priced less than $100.
  • davidsaundersdavidsaunders Posts: 1,559
    edited 2011-06-26 21:21
    Go down to the public tech recycling collection point nearest to you and pick up 3 LCD (X)VGA monitors, check them, replace 2 to 4 Capacitors in each, and you have 2 or 3 working good LCD VGA monitors for under $5.00 USD.
  • markaericmarkaeric Posts: 282
    edited 2011-06-26 21:27
    +1 on the CRTs are thrift stores. I picked up a nice 17" Mitsubishi for $15.
  • kwinnkwinn Posts: 8,697
    edited 2011-06-26 22:21
    I picked up a nice 15" LCD monitor with built in speakers for $10.00 last year at a garage sale.
  • RDL2004RDL2004 Posts: 2,554
    edited 2011-06-26 22:26
    Buy one new?

    Hanns-G 19 inch LCD $99.99 Free Shipping


    They have some cheaper, I just picked one that had a lot of good reviews.
  • kwinnkwinn Posts: 8,697
    edited 2011-06-26 22:42
    RDL2004 wrote: »
    Buy one new?

    Hanns-G 19 inch LCD $99.99 Free Shipping


    They have some cheaper, I just picked one that had a lot of good reviews.

    The 15" one I got was also a Hanns. It has worked very well so far.
  • RobotWorkshopRobotWorkshop Posts: 2,307
    edited 2011-06-27 06:06
    You may want to check to see if there is a Freecycle group in your area. Most of the Freecycle groups were hosted on Yahoo groups. I've seen monitors show up there and I have donated several working CRT monitors on Freecycle as well. I'd also suggest Craigslist as a source for cheap monitors and reasonable LCD's.

    If there are any Flea markets in your area that is another place to check along with garage sales. If you think the prices are too much don't be shy about asking if they would take something else. If you're prepared to walk away anyway you have nothing to lose by making an offer. You'll either still walk away with nothing or a nice deal on something you want....

    Robert
  • TorTor Posts: 2,010
    edited 2011-06-27 06:35
    At work we disposed of a lot of 17" LCD monitors a couple of years back. Now we seem to be getting rid of 19" monitors a well (everyone use at least 24" monitors now, except for a few with multiple 19" monitors). I'm located on the wrong continent for the OP, but I can't imagine we're the only company just dumping this stuff.
  • UnknownUnknown
    edited 2011-06-27 08:10
    RobotWorkshop wrote: »
    You may want to check to see if there is a Freecycle group in your area. Most of the Freecycle groups were hosted on Yahoo groups. I've seen monitors show up there and I have donated several working CRT monitors on Freecycle as well. I'd also suggest Craigslist as a source for cheap monitors and reasonable LCD's.

    There is also a company called "Surplus Asset Sales" and they sell old computers and stuff. You could get something there.
  • RavenkallenRavenkallen Posts: 1,057
    edited 2011-06-27 09:18
    Thanks again for all the ideas... I will definitely look at all the options:)
  • RavenkallenRavenkallen Posts: 1,057
    edited 2011-06-27 09:40
    Huh, maybe my Amazon search was not as thorough as i thought it was... I just found this little baby for $60. It should work with the Propeller right?
    http://www.amazon.com/IK141ABB-1366-768-500-Widescreen/dp/B003QSWOXO/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1309192450&sr=1-1
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