Greetings. I have both monitors listed above, both are 21" and have Sony CRTs. The Apple has a tired unit and is rather dim and has dark spots. The Dell is much fresher and brighter. My question is: is it feasible to swap CRTs from the Dell into the Apple? As I am now running a Mac, I like the appearance of the Apple monitor much more than the Dell's beige box design. Before cracking both units open and attempting the swap maybe someone out there has BTDT or at least knows if the CRTs are compatible. Also, maybe there is a potentiometer in the Apple that I can adjust to restore the brightness. Looking for help from the wise gurus of monitordom. In return I can gladly offer repair tips for older European cars. TIA.

Mathieu

Well, having had no response, I decided to give it a try. Pulled the covers and checked the CRT model numbers. They were both Sony but different, however the hookups were remarkably similar. So, into the hands of fate I plunged, dissected both monitors and removed both CRTs. The only difference was that two connections on the Apple's CRT were on the opposite side than the Dell's. The Apple's wire for one of these connections was too short to reach the plug in on the Dell CRT. So I used the cable from the Dell only to find where it connected on the board it was a different 2 piece connecter. Removing the wires from the old Apple connectors and repinning the Dell cable proved easy and resolved this problem. So, back together the Apple went, hooked it up and lo and behold it works. All was well after a few tweaks of the "focus" pots. Even the Apple self calibrating system, USB and other goodies are working as well. So, now it is official, these CRTs can be swapped.

Mathieu
www.oldworldauto.com