So let me give you all the final resolution to my posts on this topic, and if you are from the vague area of SE PA, you may want to pay particular attention. I just had such a positive experience I feel the need to share on here with anybody who might be in my area and has an old Commodore monitor that may be broken or need some help. I have a 1084S that had the sharpest and most beautiful picture I'd ever seen on a CRT monitor when I got it some 7-8 years ago, but I only had it for a few months when the picture went out, in what was finally diagnosed as a fried flyback.
If you have a Commodore monitor for your Commodore computer, you know these are starting to get old and expensive to replace. 7-8 years ago replace is what I did - I wound up getting a 1084 that I paid around $150 or so for plus $50 to ship. Today you'd be lucky to get a 1084 for $450 with shipping and tax, and I watched a 1084S go for $660 at the end of 2020 on eBay.
My replacement 1084 was starting to have problems with keeping the picture (something must be loose on the inside), and that led directly to me making the original post in this thread, but seeing how much these things were fetching these days made me think about taking another shot at getting it repaired . I first contacted Ray Carlsen, who said he could get a replacement flyback for it (when it had first broken years ago I had taken it to a place relatively local to me then in south Jersey, and was told basically that this part was unobtainium in 2014). So I shipped it off to him, and he replaced it and had it working, and shipped it back. Unfortunately, somewhere in that process, a new problem arose, and by the time I got it it produced no picture and smelled of burning.
I live in the northern Philadelphia suburbs. I called around looking for what I thought must exist, some older fella who must have used to work on these who was still in business, no doubt doing other things, but who would remember enough about the old days to have a poke around. It was hard to find. Finally only one shop even agreed to take a look: Carl's TV & Vacuum in Lansdale, PA.
The guy who worked on it for me (Mike) was extremely patient and helpful, and though he was unsure he would be able to do much with it, he was game. In the end, he got it working again, good as new, with that beautiful sharp old CRT picture. Now it sits on my desk proudly. It was a lot of fun and even he seemed to get a kick out of it.
So here are my plugs: if you have anything Commodore, give Ray Carlsen an email. He is quick, reasonable in his pricing, and knows Commodore like no one else. But y'all knew that already.
But if you live in SE PA or somewhere even within a few hours' drive and you have some old Commodore monitors that could use some repair - and given the prices they fetch, fixing them is worth it! - Carl's TV and Vacuum is a place that will do great work. Ask for Mike!
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