Hitachi SuperScan 812

A kangaroo ponders the meaning of the monitor

The Hitachi SuperScan 812 (CM812U) is my standalone CRT monitor. I use it for all my old desktops.

Features

• VGA connection
• Easily supports 1600x1200 @ 85 Hz
• Protects against bad frequencies with an "INVALID SCAN FREQ." message
• Protects against bad signals (i.e. I messed up the settings on my DB-15 adapter) with a rapidly blinking light
• Has the loudest degauss noise in existence

Quirks

• The image is susceptible to frequent popping at weird resolutions, like when I have my DB-15 adapter set to output at 1152x870. When not at a weird resolution, things are OK.
• When displaying a low resolution at a low frequency like 640x480 @ 60 Hz, the left and right sides of the image are horizontally squished. Messing with the buttons on the front of the monitor doesn't seem to alleviate this. Thankfully, once I get a proper display resolution working, the problem seems to disappear.

Notes

• The flyback transformer's part number is HFL1327RD

History

• Sat in a coworker's storage for years.
• Acquired from said coworker.
• 2022-05-17: An insanely loud pop occurs when turning the monitor. No indications of damage, though -- the picture is OK, the surge protector or circuit breaker didn't trip, and there was no smoke.
• 2022-05-19: The popping has gotten really bad. Thankfully, it's the normal quiet volume for popping. I temporarily stop using it.
• 2022-05-22: I take the case and shield off and clean out the dust and debris. There was a good amount of dust and more little solid pieces than I usually see in equipment. Decided to let it sit for a bit before testing. When testing, the issue was even worse than before cleaning.
• 2022-09-10: Given away at VCF Midwest.

Resources

• Hitachi Displays webpage for the series of monitors