CRT TVs

[stj]

Re: CRT TVs

traditional tube amps are rubbish.
what would be interesting is to build a tube amp with modern drive circuits.
for example a current-regulated drive for the heaters to get them up faster without damaging the lifespan
some crt tv's had this.

also, a pre-amp that counters the frequency curve of the tubes so you get a flatter response.

[Agent24]

Re: CRT TVs

I like the whine of a CRT flyback. It tells me my ears are still good!

Tubes and VFDs and neons and Nixies are more fun to look at anyway. MOSFETs might be cheaper but they only glow once.
I have to build a tube amplifier some day....

[momaka]

Re: CRT TVs

For whatever reason I've always had a fascination with CRTs. I think they're much more interesting than LCD units.

Same here. The thing I like the best is the high voltage static noise when the CRT is turned ON or OFF. And the sound of a loud degauss coil

On that note, Sony CRT monitors are awesome for that .

I'd like other members here to throw in their opinion on CRT displays, and if anyone else here is still using them.

I have only one CRT TV left. It is at the countryside house where my grandmother lives. That's it. It's an older Sony from the early-mid 90's (and one of their best, IMO). 23" or 27" IIRC, only vertically flat screen, and made in Japan. It doesn't get much use these days since we don't go to that house too often. Maybe for 2-3 weeks in a year.

My parents bought it in the mid-90's during the major bank crisis in Bulgaria. Basically, there was a huge inflation and money started loosing its value very fast. My parents had some savings worth about two brand new cars. In just about 2 weeks course of time, all those savings lost their value by about 10x the ammount. That's when people started pulling their money and buying whatever they could afford. My parents bought this TV. And it still works today, 20 years later .

Other than that TV, we don't have any other CRT TVs left in the house anymore. I stopped watching TV when I started college so I didn't really care what TV we had after that point. Eventually, my parents wanted to get something newer when the LCDs started getting cheaper a few years ago, and they did so in 2012. But I think we had a good run with our CRT TVs. We bought our 27" Philips 27RF50 in the early 2000's... Sometime in 2003, I think. We used it all the way 'till Summer 2012 - so a good 9 years. It did need one repair, though - a new flyback. This was in 2004-2005 somewhere. The original flyback was made by Eldor, IIRC, and those were known to go bad in Philips and many other CRT TVs. It still worked perfectly when we gave it out on Craigslist, though.

I'll be honest, I'm terrified of working on a CRT display!

Hehe, I was too. And still am when it comes to very old sets that don't have modern implosion protection-equipped tubes. Other than that, they are not much more dangerous than your standard LCD monitor/TV power supply. Just need to be careful and make sure the main cap is discharged and that you also discharge the tube anode, should you need to do remove the anode cap.

But any decent LCD is a better option than a CRT. It's less harmful for your eyes...

Not really.

Light from a CRT display is a lot more natural than CFL-backlit LCD (and sometimes LED, too) and contains much less UV.

The only downside of CRTs is flicker, which tends to give people headaches. But that only goes for TVs, since they refresh at 50/60 Hz. With CRT monitors, if you set it to 72 Hz or higher, you won't get a headache at all. I run all of mine at 85 Hz.

how can any engineer not like something that has an anode cap with a BIG red wire on it!

^ This

It aint so bad, and it'll get better once your loud dubstep damages your ears some more

True. I don't hear too well past 12 KHz, so those pesky CRTs don't bother me .

I still hate them fire alarms, though.

Most of the CRT monitors made after 1997 that I've seen had a blurry picture, along with some other issues.

That's odd. I have many monitors from many different years. Most are really good, and just a few aren't. Usually, it is the cheap brands that tend to be blurry. And those with tired tubes. But most of the time, that is nothing that the focus knob on the flyback can't fix (and if it's a Sony monitor, you usually find separate vertical and horizontal focus). All of my higher-up models (i.e. 19" and 21" sizes) are superb both color and focus-wise.

If anything, I actually dislike how sharp LCDs are. Black text on white background (or even worse, white text on black background) gives me a feeling as if someone is poking into my eyes. Of course, if you have Windows Vista or newer, ClearType takes care of that. But I run XP on a CRT, so I don't really need to waste CPU cycles for that.

After all, CRTs have "natural" anti-aliasing due to imperfect, non-square pixels.
This becomes very nice to have in games. Even at lower resolutions, the game still looks decent. Try that on a LCD, and you'd puke. Anything less than the native resolution on a LCD looks terrible. And even at native resolution, you still need AA, because you can still see the pixels "dancing". With CRTs, it's all good .

CRT TVs are given away free on a daily basis on my local kijiji. Everything from expensive Sony 36 inch WEGAs (200 pounds?) to other brand names like Panasonic, JVC, Sharp, etc.

Most people just want them out of their house to make way for the new thin TV and reclaim some space in their homes.

RPTV (rear projection) are also commonly found for free. Everything up to 60 inches and most in working condition.

Same here in the DC and surrounding metro areas (i.e. Northern VA and Souther MD). I usually see at least 2-3 postings a day.
Moreover, in the last 2 years or so, those postings were mostly for 30"+ size CRT TVs. Saw a few widescreen CRTs as well, but luckily they got snatched up. Would be a shame to see those go in the trash. Also saw a few 40"-42" Sony CRTs as well and really thought about taking one. But I just don't have the space... nor the manpower. Those 40"+ sets are a real back-buster.

Here are some pictures of the Trinitron. It looks surprisingly clear with S-Video, but I have an RGB cable coming in the mail, which I'm guessing will look better than S-Video, mainly because S-Video is limited to 1024x768

KV-27FS120? Cool .

Let me know if it ever breaks and you need parts. IIRC, I have a complete set of boards and wires for a KV-27FS100 (found the TV in a dumpster and decided to take the boards before someone smashes it for the yoke/deflection coils). That set is only 2 years older than yours, but I'm pretty sure the design and parts used are similar. I know this because I also have some (broken) boards from a KV-36FV310 (from the same dumpster, too! ). If anything, I have a MCZ3001 IC, which IIRC commonly goes bad on newer Sony TVs.

This 15 years old Panasonic Quintrix 32" not only refuses to die, but stubbornly insists in working perfectly OK.

http://i.imgbox.com/BDctmB99.png

Nice set!
Keep them widescreen CRTs going. They are amazing and will provide many more years of faithful service.

[lti]

Re: CRT TVs

One week later...

What kind is it?

It's a Sony CPD-15SX1 made in March 1996.

[kc8adu]

Re: CRT TVs

recently repaired a rca ctc40 tv stereo combo.
i saw it 20 years back for poor stereo performance and fully recapped it and replaced a dieing flyback.
this time a worn out crt and main filter caps.
not a bad run for a set bought in 1969!
btw the owner had to put it in her will as the family joked they would have to draw straws or pick numbers from a hat to determine who gets it when she passes!

[keeney123]

Re: CRT TVs

CRTs TV were perfected over the years. When the color ones came out in the late 1950s early 1960's they had problems and had to be degauss and after a period of time the phosphorus would start to flake off of the screen. Also, the early version had tubes which would go out quite frequently. Usually the cathode would burn out because of cold cathode emission. When the tubes were turned off an oxidized compound would settle on the cathode and this resistance had to be over-comed the next time the TV turned on. So I guess the answer was to leave the cathode on all the time. The transistors took over which made the TV much more reliable. They still had the cathode in the picture tube but the cathode was left on and they increased the thickness of the filament and I remember they had better techniques of flashing the tube. By the late 1980's and 1990's many of the picture tubes would last 15 to 20 years. Where in the 1960's and 1970's they would last about 7 years.

[Agent24]

Re: CRT TVs

In my opinion, CRTs are awesome for video and gaming as long as you crank the refresh rate up.

LCDs are better for office\internet or such though.

[goodpsusearch]

Re: CRT TVs

I need dis!

[ReeceyBurger123]

Re: CRT TVs

This 15 years old Panasonic Quintrix 32" not only refuses to die, but stubbornly insists in working perfectly OK.

The dinosaur is so Jurassic that it lacks VGA (not to mention HDMI) headers, so I had to connect the HTPC at left thru a Logilink VG0003 PC to TV converter.

I should have replaced it long ago, but out of mere lazyness (the thing weighs as much as a frigging Tiger tank , you need two strong guys, and preferably three, to carry it) it keeps soldiering on.

Fair play also noticed your technics hifi looks like a decent little set up

[TELVM]

Re: CRT TVs

This 15 years old Panasonic Quintrix 32" not only refuses to die, but stubbornly insists in working perfectly OK.

The dinosaur is so Jurassic that it lacks VGA (not to mention HDMI) headers, so I had to connect the HTPC at left thru a Logilink VG0003 PC to TV converter.

I should have replaced it long ago, but out of mere lazyness (the thing weighs as much as a frigging Tiger tank , you need two strong guys, and preferably three, to carry it) it keeps soldiering on.

[stj]

Re: CRT TVs

http://arcarc.xmission.com/PDF_Monitors/

[stj]

Re: CRT TVs

Ah, why is it that the high voltage caps dry out? Usually it's just the small ones. Is it because they get larger spikes when turning on?

on crt monitors the high voltage caps have signals on them - they arent smoothers.
they are used on the gun circuits for example.

so it's probably just the higher voltage causing more internal stress and heating.

[Pentium4]

Re: CRT TVs

cap failure is not by brand,
it's by voltage.
you can get something 25 years old, any 160v+ caps will be dry - the rest usually o.k.

Ah, why is it that the high voltage caps dry out? Usually it's just the small ones. Is it because they get larger spikes when turning on?

My old Samsung SyncMaster 19" LCD was 10 years old before I re-capped and sold it a couple of weeks ago (only due to replacing it with another monitor with inbuilt speakers). The original caps were CapXons, but surprisingly, they were all still perfectly fine.

Wow, that's almost unheard of. Must have been in a cool room or not used much?

Here are some pictures of the Trinitron. It looks surprisingly clear with S-Video, but I have an RGB cable coming in the mail, which I'm guessing will look better than S-Video, mainly because S-Video is limited to 1024x768

[rievax_60]

Re: CRT TVs

Looks good to me. Do you just use it to watch cable?

I used to watch Austar satellite pay TV on it, now I just watch FTA Digital TV via a STB.
Sort of amusing to see that EMPR have parts for it. Something like $250AUD for a main board and $1200AUD for a CRT. as much as I still enjoy the TV, unlikely that I would spend anything like that on it.

[c_hegge]

Re: CRT TVs

What caps usually fail in them? Even good brands? Yeah I'd say you're lucky if you can get 10 years of solid use out of an LCD set...

My old Samsung SyncMaster 19" LCD was 10 years old before I re-capped and sold it a couple of weeks ago (only due to replacing it with another monitor with inbuilt speakers). The original caps were CapXons, but surprisingly, they were all still perfectly fine.

[stj]

Re: CRT TVs

What caps usually fail in them? Even good brands? Yeah I'd say you're lucky if you can get 10 years of solid use out of an LCD set..

cap failure is not by brand,
it's by voltage.
you can get something 25 years old, any 160v+ caps will be dry - the rest usually o.k.

[Pentium4]

Re: CRT TVs

CRT TVs are given away free on a daily basis on my local kijiji. Everything from expensive Sony 36 inch WEGAs (200 pounds?) to other brand names like Panasonic, JVC, Sharp, etc.

I'm one of these people now! I ended up getting rid of the Zenith. I tried 8 of the remotes in the house and none of them worked, and I really didn't feel like finding one online and waiting for it to arrive. I ended up looking for free stuff locally and snagged a Sony Trinitron Wega, 27" 16:9. I'll upload some pictures later. It's a beautiful TV. It's got better inputs, and much much better speakers. I expect this one to be a lot better overall since it's newer, and it's a Sony.

I bought this refurbished Toshiba 32JW9UA about 7 years ago and still works fine. Although it's difficult to show in a photograph, it shows a picture that amazes me every time I turn it on.
Although I always run it in SD mode, I can clearly notice when the source is HD.
The screen flickers too much in HD mode.

Looks good to me. Do you just use it to watch cable?

I only have one CRT monitor, but it's one of the few good CRT computer monitors I've seen.

What kind is it?

Showing my CRT Love ! Its hilarious that even today they are the superior display.

Imagine if they had kept improving them! Too bad that SED development stopped as well.

just remember this, most crt's will last 30years+ excluding a few caps failing.
how many lcd's will it take to last that long!

What caps usually fail in them? Even good brands? Yeah I'd say you're lucky if you can get 10 years of solid use out of an LCD set.

I had to get a new remote for a vcr last year and it came up for about $30. The originals around here somewhere but I quit trying to find it after a while.

$30, wow! That's steep. A lot more than the VCR is worth.

[rhomanski]

Re: CRT TVs

You'll need the remote to reprogram the channels. If you search for the model number on ebay and add remote to it you should be able to find one. I had to get a new remote for a vcr last year and it came up for about $30. The originals around here somewhere but I quit trying to find it after a while.

[Pentium4]

Re: CRT TVs

Can't seem to get the zenith to do what i want. It didn't come with a remote. I'm trying to use the antenna, but I can't get to it using the buttons on the tv. Channel up or down cycles it to "CH 60" or "AUX" not sure why it won't change the actual channel. Tried 8 different remotes in the house and none of them do anything. Aux works through composite but that's not what I want to use

[stj]

Re: CRT TVs

just remember this, most crt's will last 30years+ excluding a few caps failing.
how many lcd's will it take to last that long!