Bits&Terminal JeffI'm still amazed at how CGA monitors from the mid to late 80s are generally reliable aside from minor issues. I've had three in the past year and a half and all three just worked. They all needed a little love but that's it. My early 80s monochrome monitor is causing me far more headaches.
gloriouscow@jf_718 I wish I could find it now but I read a very detailed post once about how the IBM 5153 monitor was built like a tank and the 5154 far less so.
Maybe thats why the 5154 goes for so much money today, fewer survived :D
@gloriouscow Oh, hadn't thought of that when I was looking for EGA monitors (gave up because too expensive).
@jf_718 Found it.
The IBM 5154 monitor solves this problem, being a dual standard monitor that fully supports the EGA scan rate and EGA color system as well as CGA. However the 5154 is rarer and more expensive than a 5153. Also, not enough attention was paid to thermal management and ventilation of the cabinet in the 5154 and a number of the components get thermally stressed and overheat the phenolic pcb’s, especially in the region of the video output stages and the vertical deflection output IC in the 5154.
The 5153 is constructed from high quality components. The pcb’s in the 5153 were made by Tatung and use many quality made Japanese components.
Also, the 5153’s internal metalwork is better quality than the 5154; it has a better thickness and electroplating than the metalwork in the 5154. The 5153 had additional ventilation slots in the rear of the cabinet and the heat generating resistors were kept well clear of the pcb surfaces. The physical build of the 5153 was better in my view than the 5154 even
though the 5154 had much more utility value.
https://www.worldphaco.com/INCREASING_THE_UTILITY_OF_THE_IBM_5153_COLOR_MONITOR_TO_AUTO.pdf
@gloriouscow Very cool. Thanks!