Hantarex 20"

[TuZhao]

Hello people!
Being tired of playing my Saturn on a VGA monitor with a supercheap vgabox with composite input, I decided to buy myself a used good old Hantarex 20" arcade monitor. I wired the scart cable, and it looks AWESOME!
I spent a dozen years (1983-1995) playing coinops (mainly shmups) That's why I think the Saturn is the best console ever.
Anyway, my problem is that I cannot fit a whole arcade cabinet in my room, so I need to "enclose" the monitor in some way, to avoid getting it damaged or getting me shocked to death

If someone has done it before, or has some good ideas, please let me know, thanks!

[NFG]

I had a custome metal box made up with a removable back panel loaded with holes for connectors and such.  Worked well enough, but I prefered the contrast on my JVC TV far more, so I ended up not using it and sticking with Svideo.  AND the case + monitor made the thing heavier than my car.

[ozpass]

Hantarex themselves make a number of monitors that come already enclosed (i.e. same tubes as the arcade monitors, but not specifically for that purpose).  I was lucky enough to pick one up from a school (of all places) but the type I have is commonly used in video walls, so you might be able to track one down using that as a "lead".

If you were making your own enclosure, I'd personally recommend a combination of plywood and MDF as the materials of choice.  You could either screw the ply together with angle joints to make your enclosure (not brilliant) or preferrably make a frame from 1.5/2.5" pine and screw panels made from plywood to it.  It'll be strong, and marginally lighter than a metal equivalent.  If you wanted to go for the ultimate though, and you're handy with a MIG then I'd recommend welding together a frame/chassis using square-section tubular mild steel, fixing the wooden panels onto that.

If you're planning on painting it afterwards, plywood is a better option than MDF.

Good luck with it anyway.    

[TuZhao]

Thanks for the answers. There's a couple of things: how can I fix the wooden structure I build to the monitor's frame? What do MDF and MIG mean?  :unsure:
What if I find an old broke 20" TV and I replace its CRT with my Hantarex? Could this be done? I know it would lose a lot of "coolness", though    

[ozpass]

MDF stands for Medium Density Fibreboard - it's a kind of wood replacement.  MIG stands for Metal Inert Gas and it's a type of welding.

The only part of the tube it's safe to attach to is the bezel around the back edge of the screen.  There should be a metal plate with lugs on it- screw or bolt any frame to that.

I probably should have mentioned it before- be EXTREMELY CAREFUL when handling TV tubes:

1) They implode fairly dramatically when damaged.

2) When powered up the Cathode operates at 100,000's of volts.  The capacitors in the power supplies that generate these operating voltages hold their charge for a long time, weeks even.

Your best bet might be to buy an old Neo Geo MVS cabinet and cut it down to the right size.  It'll look the part as well, then.