Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!DMZRZU71.BITNET!Ritzert
From: Ritzert@DMZRZU71.BITNET
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: yet another screen saver question
Message-ID: <900411124545.239107@DMZRZU71-UNI-MAINZ--GERMANY>
Date: 11 Apr 90 12:45:00 GMT
Sender: usenet@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 34

I am the one who asked the original quesiton. I would like to sum up the
answers and thank every contributor.

>...I wouldn't leave monitors on all the time, screen saver or no
>screen saver. The constant heat from the power supply etc will
>eventually dry out the electrolytic capacitors. It happens quite
>regularly with other makes (such as our Phillips-made Apollo 19" mono
>jobs)

Statements like these meet my own experience. I know of an installation
of about 70-80 STs, where the monitors are left on all the time. The
people frequently encounter monitor problems due to defect electrlytic
capacitors. There are a handfull problematic parts especially in the
"horizontal offset controller" (Horizontalablenkstufe). Among them are
C 915 (my own monitor), C 711 (had to be replaced in our old model sm124
in the office) and a few others. Some of these parts could easily be
replaced by non-electrolytic capacitors to increase the long term
stability of the sm124. Hey Atari, this is Your job!

My conclusion from all the contributions:

Switch the monitor off when You are running a long and stable job (like
Metafont or long compilations). The time should be measurable in hours.
Then it will be harmless to both the ST and the monitor.
The argument that switching electronic equipment on and off frequently
could damage the equipment is surely true. But in the case of a tv or
computer monitor frequently means every few minutes, like a screen
saver and not every few hours. So I think it is useful to do both
things: install a screen saver program (something like idle12 or pyro)
and switch the monitor off when You don't need it for a long time.

Thanks,
Michael Ritzert
mjr@dmzrzu71.bitnet