Trying to find an old CRT monitor from my childhood. Very distinct and strange design.
Posted by darkenraja@reddit | vintagecomputing | View on Reddit | 48 comments
I'm trying to find the old CRT for my very first PC, back in late 90s. I have nothing else to go by, other than it had a very distinct design, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't a big name brand - which might make it tricky to find. Ive included an image for what it looked like. I also am pretty sure the buttons or text on the monitor was turquoise ( I could be mistaken).
maddogg42@reddit
https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/64880050858632096/
Satur-night@reddit
Comparq presario
Disastrous_Emu_800@reddit
Da monochrom: SM124 oder Mac🤓
JudasFace@reddit
Samsung 900ift
DependentFrame8082@reddit
Packard Bell made CRT's with turquoise buttons, and they also had some "unique" design CRT's.
Raintitan@reddit
It's probably an NEC.
deewaR@reddit
Maybe a Hyundai ImageQuest Q[something]? Those had some distinct desings.
n00sh@reddit
I just wanted to chime in and say I feel like I have a core memory of this crt as well
roombarf@reddit
No affiliation, just found this site which may help track it down https://crtdatabase.com/
darkenraja@reddit (OP)
Just had a very good look at this tonight! Unfortunately couldn't find it on there.
guitpick@reddit
Was it a Hyundai or Daiwoo perhaps? I found some 2-tone ones from them, but the gray comes all the way to the front. https://www.reddit.com/r/Hyundai/comments/1sasme6/hyundai_crt_monitor_repair/
darkenraja@reddit (OP)
Nope. Can very much rule this out.
amartincolby@reddit
Weird idea if you have not yet tried, check out old catalogs online from the era. There were tons of off brands back in the day. Not as many as now thanks to Amaslop, but still a lot. I found this TigerDirect catalog from 1997, for example: https://archive.org/details/tiger-direct-pc-price-blitz-catalog-nov-1997
I shouldn't have looked at it. I am now crying with nostalgia.
darkenraja@reddit (OP)
This is a very novel approach! The issue is that I can't see the side of these monitors, so they don't show the main feature - the odd trim on the rear/bottom of the monitor.
T-SquaredProductions@reddit
That looks like an HP Pavilion monitor.
darkenraja@reddit (OP)
Really? It definitely wasn't HP - I remember it was not a big name brand.
CoffeeSnakeAgent@reddit
example
darkenraja@reddit (OP)
Nah not that extreme. The design was relatively subtle.
hay_den9002@reddit
Was it colored
darkenraja@reddit (OP)
It was colour, yes.
This-Requirement6918@reddit
I always love seeing British spelling. The Coloured Tyres Centre my favourite.
No-Succotash-9576@reddit
u/hay_den9002 is asking whether the plastic was beige or another colour
darkenraja@reddit (OP)
Oh! Yeah - so the outer shell was beige. But the "grill" trim at the bottom back (the bit with the lines in the picture) was a light grey.
L0gan17@reddit
KDS made monitor’s around the time period that were gray in the back.
https://ebay.us/m/Awemj2
blakespot@reddit
Damn - KDS. Very inexpensive and sporting aperture grille tubes that were super sharp, but they seem to have made the controller circuitboards out of graham crackers. Everyone I knew with one (including myself) had them fail very soon after purchase. Ugh.
darkenraja@reddit (OP)
Doesn't look like that particular model. I'll check out the rest of their range though.
phdibart@reddit
I put your drawing into Gemini and said the shell was colored how you described in another comment. It suggested either the Gateway EV700, VX700, or VX900 or the Compaq MV700 or MV900.
Do any of those sound right?
frumperino@reddit
anyone can type crap into a LLM and share the excrement without checking but it adds literally nothing to the conversation
wotmp@reddit
Anyone can type crap into their Reddit reply’s and share the excrement even if it adds literally nothing to the conversation.
phdibart@reddit
It gave him a few leads to check out, which does contribute. Your negativity, on the other hand, does nothing to further the conversation. But you do you.
darkenraja@reddit (OP)
I'll look at them individually, but I remember it wasn't a major brand. But it could have been based on one.
darkenraja@reddit (OP)
So I've been doing some more looking. I've found this monitor, the Cordata CMC-1414ADE. This is the closest I've seen to what I'm describing so far. Note the unusual stripped cladding on the back/underside of the monitor. This is what made my monitor unique - except I distinctly remember the atrips being vertical (not horizontal). The brand also doesn't jump out at me, but this is the closest real examp so far.
olifiers@reddit
That shape is very reminiscent of the AOC brand monitors at the time. There were a lot of them, but most had that curve on the back and a few had it in a different colour.
darkenraja@reddit (OP)
On the right track - but not quite. I don't remember the AOC logo. And the under 'cladding' was much more pronounced, and almost reminiscent of scales.
JarodRuss@reddit
Did it have a round base? The Belinea line had some like that, for example: 10 30 xx
darkenraja@reddit (OP)
I don't think it's that.
casparne@reddit
Toms Hardware has a comparsion of some brands, maybe you can find it there?
Viewsonic had a similar grill design:
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/comparison,440-11.html
iiyama had monitors with a distinct design and I remember mine as having turquoise but I might be wrong. This one has a different design but maybe it rings some bells:
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/comparison,440-13.html
Sony also had a distinct design:
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/comparison,440-17.html
Samsung may have a similar grill design:
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/comparison,440-20.html
darkenraja@reddit (OP)
None of those. I should note that the grill wasn't really for thermal venting. It was almost like an 'armor' cladding of sorts. It was really quite sci-fi looking.
zmttoxics2@reddit
Was it an eMachines eOne?
darkenraja@reddit (OP)
Nope. That is closer to an old iMac - this one was a little more traditional.
weagle162@reddit
Samsung Syncmaster 950p or something like that?
darkenraja@reddit (OP)
Nope.
new2bay@reddit
Are you sure it’s just a monitor and not an iMac G3?
Academic_Dare_5154@reddit
Have you tried uploading your sketch to an AI engine?
darkenraja@reddit (OP)
I considered it but I think it would add details that weren't there. I've tried to keep it close to the things I remember.
zmttoxics2@reddit
Lol, that is exactly what it will do though.
PortableGeneration@reddit
Maybe an Apple studio 17” CRt?
darkenraja@reddit (OP)
Definitely don't remember seeing an Apple logo on it.