That Dell Optiplex 755 really is perfectly sized to fit in there. Even newer Dell Small Form Factor PCs seem to be much larger than that cute little box.

Too bad dell hasn't made SFF pcs that take full-size expansion cards (via riser board) in quite some time now. You need to be able to use the ArcadeVGA PCIe video card to get the best of both worlds (modern PC but retaining the high- contrast CRT).

I agree with this. That said, if you're running pinbox/Nicore you can still keep your CRT. I have an older version of this card and it works perfectly:
https://www.ultimarc.com/avgainf.html

Correct, except it's PCIe x16.

No drivers required and it lets me keep my CRT. On the older version of the card I have, I still "needed" to add the optional video signal amp mod --basically it's just like people would add to the stock PC. I'm not sure if the newer version of the card is producing higher voltage or not (my guess is not).

Edit:Checked the FAQ. It's 1v so you'd still want the amp even on the new version. https://www.ultimarc.com/avgafaq.html

My version is the 3000 iirc the latest is the 5000.

Use your old monitor with the Ultimarc VGA board (see my post above https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/rfm-hillary-come-here-you-gotta-see-this/page/34#post-4039263) and use a Lepai amp to connect the 1/8" out of the PC to your existing speakers.

I'm telling you: Get the Ultimarc VGA card.
You get to go nucore/pinbox and keep the original monitor. All that lagging in the pops is a thing of the past.

I recently fixed an issue on my skip ramp, which might be useful to others. The skip ramp would get stuck in the up position. The plunger (item 3 in the diagram, below) that slides through the coil/sleeve to raise the skip ramp is actuslly two parts --the bottom is connected to a metal rod using a roll pin (the meral rod is the one drilled with two holes to connect it to the lift bracket). The roll pin somehow managed to work its way almost halfway out and so the plunger could no longer travel smoothly through the coil sleeve.

Pinball 2000 was such an amazing modular design: pull three spade terminal connections off the coil, pull the molex that is connected to the switch, unscrew four screws and then you have the whole skip ramp assembly on your desk to work on. So civilized.

My repair was to push the roll pin back into the center of the plunger. Hopefully that lasts another 18 years.

ade4dd1e8bcc683d9d584689081dcbce8199eceb (resized).jpg

It's probably the problem I described above, where the roll pin is working itself loose and binding in the could sleeve. I also found it odd that there was no spring, but the ramp bracket is heavy, so gravity alone should be enough to drop it.

What is Gun Blue..?

Nevermind. I took the initiative to search, and now I now. This post from vid was the most informative:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/rust-proofing-metal-parts#post-918597

How involved was using the stuff on your flap?

No idea how long the video amp has been sitting in my parts drawer, but I finally installed it today. Seems much Ultimarc 3000 video card and choice of video cable were lucky as the amp worked without the 5v mod. I had wondered if the Ultimarc video card was producing 5v video signal already, but clearly not.

The difference after I installed the amp is really noticable. The best way to describe it is that the picture with the lights on in the room are as bright as they were when the lights were off prior. With the lights off now, it's crazy.

I think replacing the audio amp is a close second (bang for buck). I installed a Lepai 168 in there and, even with the stock speakers, the sound difference is astounding.

Try unplugging your translight flourescent lamp. Might not be it, but I had some pretty crazy buzzing and distortion as mine began to die.

You could also get a ground loop isolator and see if that helps. https://www.amazon.com/PAC-SNI-1-3-5-3-5-mm-Isolator/dp/B001EAQTRI

Could be neither of these and a leaky capacitor on the amp (it's inside the PC case). Give it a look. If you don't want to fix it you could remove it and the Lepai 168H is a bit of an upgrade.

Okay. Double check the capacitors on the sound board amp, and if they look okay I think you should try the ground loop isolator. They have made a word of difference for me in a number of applications.

Inferior with dirty ground is very possible. More to the point, it worked before you replaced it, so it's a good place to start. You might also ensure that the audio cable is not running along/across the high voltage power wires (green and white).

If you don't want to try a different power supply, try the ground loop isolator. It's the cheapest thing to buy to try.

An easy backlight replacement is this USB powered LED strip lighting. Mount it to white foam core and plug it into the PC.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/insignia-4-ft-warm-white-led-tape-light/5777900.p?skuId=5777900
(Notice it's warm white)

It's too expensive today, but once a month it goes on sale for $10.

Would someone be willing to share v1.9? Thanks

For maintaining CRT compatibility on more modern hardware, one known good solution is to find an "ArcadeVGA" graphics card, capable of 15kHz output. This is links just for reference as they are no longer sold (I run this card in my p2k):

https://www.ultimarc.com/arcade-vga-and-video/arcadevga-cards/arcadevga-5000-card-pcie/

I believe if you find the same GPU, you can flash the bios to turn it into an arcadeVGA, but I have no details. There may be more modern cards with this capability, I don't have any information on that either.

Hopefully this information is helpful to someone.

Just be sure you are grounded, you don't want an static discharge taking out something difficult to replace. I made that mistake as a kid and I've never forgotten it. It's a good idea to have a grounding stap on when handling electronics in the dry winter months.