Tom's Hardware > Forum > Graphic & Displays > TV/Video Cards > [Solved] Does turning a CRT on and off in rapid succession affect its lifespan?

[Solved] Does turning a CRT on and off in rapid succession affect its lifespan?

Forum Graphic & Displays : TV/Video Cards - [Solved] Does turning a CRT on and off in rapid succession affect its lifespan?

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Best answer from jtt283.

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shubham1401   08-27-2009 at 07:13:31 PM

I have a 17"CRT on my secondary comp.It is 9 years old .
Works perfectly.

I download a lot of things and turn it on and off repeatedly .like ~10 times on and off (by the button on its front panel) each day.
Will it affect its lifespan. :whistle:

Its mainly a downloading rig.


Message edited by shubham1401 on 08-27-2009 at 07:14:33 PM
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Best answer from jtt283
The short answer is "probably." The longer answer is, the greatest stress that may be applied to the circuits in an electronic device is frequently the inrush current when it is first turned on. Depending on the quality of the power supply in the monitor, this could be minor, but will still be present. There's also the wear on the switch to consider; there will be a tiny arc of current each time it is opened or closed, which will gradually erode the contacts. I had to rewire the switch in an old Multisync monitor I had because of this. Then there's thermal cycling, as the monitor heats up when on, and cools again when off. Overall, unless it's a real power hog, I'd be inclined to leave it on. Use a screensaver if you are concerned about burn-in.
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jtt283   08-27-2009 at 07:29:07 PM
Best answer

The short answer is "probably." The longer answer is, the greatest stress that may be applied to the circuits in an electronic device is frequently the inrush current when it is first turned on. Depending on the quality of the power supply in the monitor, this could be minor, but will still be present. There's also the wear on the switch to consider; there will be a tiny arc of current each time it is opened or closed, which will gradually erode the contacts. I had to rewire the switch in an old Multisync monitor I had because of this. Then there's thermal cycling, as the monitor heats up when on, and cools again when off. Overall, unless it's a real power hog, I'd be inclined to leave it on. Use a screensaver if you are concerned about burn-in.


Message edited by jtt283 on 08-27-2009 at 07:30:08 PM
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shubham1401   08-27-2009 at 07:43:53 PM

Thanks for your brilliant answer.

Is there any other way so that monitor does not take any electricity and my downloads are done.

Like i move the mouse or press key and the monitor starts .

What about Sleep mode.
If I put pc in sleep mode will my downloads still run.(using windows 7 64 bit).

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Pailin   08-27-2009 at 08:16:23 PM

I switch my 22" Mitsubishi CRT on and off all the time with no worries

and you can pick up nice 17" screens free ( or very cheap ) easilly in your local adds papers, so why worry :)

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amnotanoobie   08-27-2009 at 08:33:19 PM

shubham1401 wrote :



Is there any other way so that monitor does not take any electricity and my downloads are done.

Like i move the mouse or press key and the monitor starts .



On Windows XP.
Control Panel -> Power Options
The Turn Off Monitor field, set it maybe after 15 or 30 mins, but this could get annoying when you're watching movies as video players only turn off the screen saver and not this one.

shubham1401 wrote :


What about Sleep mode.
If I put pc in sleep mode will my downloads still run.(using windows 7 64 bit).



Sleep is almost equal to off, everything stops until you wake up the machine again.

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jtt283   08-27-2009 at 08:39:05 PM

Pailin wrote :

I switch my 22" Mitsubishi CRT on and off all the time with no worries

and you can pick up nice 17" screens free ( or very cheap ) easilly in your local adds papers, so why worry :)



And eventually, your switch contacts WILL erode.
The second depends entirely on where the OP is located; India, iirc from another thread.
===================
If your system goes to sleep, downloads will likely stop with a disconnect. I know my Teamspeak Server goes offline if it is allowed to sleep. A screen saver can be set to blank the screen. The monitor may still use power, but if it is "Energy Star" certified (or equivalent), it should go into a power-save mode when it is not getting a signal from the PC. Another option is to get a KVM (keyboard-video-mouse) switch and share your primary monitor (if it is always on) between this computer and the one to which it is normally attached.

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shubham1401   08-28-2009 at 11:32:43 AM

amnotanoobie wrote :

On Windows XP.
Control Panel -> Power Options
The Turn Off Monitor field, set it maybe after 15 or 30 mins, but this could get annoying when you're watching movies as video players only turn off the screen saver and not this one.
.



Okay i will set it at 5 mins monitor turn off time rather than turning the button repeatedly.

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shubham1401   08-28-2009 at 11:37:36 AM

jtt283 wrote :


The second depends entirely on where the OP is located; India, iirc from another thread.



Yes dude I m from India.(You remember by that Zebronics thread :lol: )
===================

jtt283 wrote :

If your system goes to sleep, downloads will likely stop with a disconnect. I know my Teamspeak Server goes offline if it is allowed to sleep. A screen saver can be set to blank the screen. The monitor may still use power, but if it is "Energy Star" certified (or equivalent), it should go into a power-save mode when it is not getting a signal from the PC. Another option is to get a KVM (keyboard-video-mouse) switch and share your primary monitor (if it is always on) between this computer and the one to which it is normally attached.



I don't know my monitor is energy star certificated or not though On the start up screen it has energy star logo.
(which i think is bcoz of the mobo)

Reply to shubham1401
RetiredChief   08-28-2009 at 03:51:00 PM

+1 to jtt283
Add to that - CRT's have a filament (same is in light bulbs). Excessive cycling will definitely shorten its life span - same as a light bulb. A few cycles per day is except able, but 10 or more will probably result in filaments burning open cutting its life by about half (my GUESS - 10 some years working with vacuum tubes). The main problem is the rapid expansion and contractions.

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mindless728   08-28-2009 at 03:55:39 PM

you could always not use a monitor and use remote desktop or vnc

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shubham1401   08-28-2009 at 08:04:03 PM

RetiredChief wrote :

+1 to jtt283
Add to that - CRT's have a filament (same is in light bulbs). Excessive cycling will definitely shorten its life span - same as a light bulb. A few cycles per day is except able, but 10 or more will probably result in filaments burning open cutting its life by about half (my GUESS - 10 some years working with vacuum tubes). The main problem is the rapid expansion and contractions.




Got it.
Thanx for the help dude.

BTW how many cycles per day are acceptable according to you?

Reply to shubham1401
RetiredChief   08-29-2009 at 01:27:14 AM

That's a tough question and not sure ther is a definative answer, that is one that is based on testing. Some "CRT" based displays (Monitors/OLD Tvs) incorporated a method that left an idle current on the filaments so that were not "Shocked". One lamp circuit (Rotating Beam Ceilometer) alternated the lamp current between 35 Amps (bright 6 Million Candle Power) and 14 Amps for Off.

If I were to venture a WAG, I would try to limit on/off cycles to 2, or three. Like I said this is a wag. I'm sure others have their Ideas.


Message edited by RetiredChief on 08-29-2009 at 01:28:44 AM
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