Welcome to the
"Technical Section"
of
Doktor Jons
Guide to Closed Circuit TV (CCTV)

They say a picture is worth
a thousand words ....

Not everything in life is Black and White

Okay so the trusty old Black and White CCTV monitor has been around almost as long as Doktor Jon (well almost!!). Twenty five years ago, hardly any colour CCTV systems were in use, so the numbers of monochrome Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) based monitors being made was quite considerable.

The technology is relatively simple, and unquestionable proven, in some of the most demanding applications imaginable (Doktor Jon was strapping poor suffering carefully ruggedised 9” monitors into rough terrain vehicles at the beginning of the 1980’s .... I wonder if they’re still going?).

Whilst many models could be used or adapted for 12v or 24v DC operation, the bulk of units purchased were either 9” or preferably 12” screen size, plugged into the mains, and plonked on a desk.
There are still a limited number of different size models available including the larger 14”, 17” and 19”, although the smaller 7” and 5” have virtually disappeared from the market in recent years.

As the models all use conventional CRT technology, they all exhibit much the same sort of characteristics, but to varying degrees. Relatively power hungry, they exude noticeable levels of heat (with many longterm failures attributable to dry solder joints and localised heat related component failure); whilst providing a clear high resolution display, with reasonable if not variable levels of screen regularity.

Some specialist models were manufactured with more than one video input, line output camera power supply, integral quad splitter display circuitry, carrying handle, eye catching colour scheme .... and the list just goes on and on!!

Nowadays, (apart from some very basic questionable quality mini monitors) most reasonable B/W monitors are manufactured in the far east, with end users generally involved in domestic or light commercial operations, where the additional cost of colour cannot be easily justified.
Although many predicted the early demise of Black and White, these monitors will undoubtedly be around for some years some years still to come.

Conventional CRT Colour Monitors >>

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