decasing a TV, advice

[severdhed]

I have a showcase cabinet i picked up a few years ago, and i had installed a 26" TV, i simply took the back plastic shell off of the TV and set it in the cabinet and it fit fairly well.  However it looked a little small in the cabinet, which  was designed for a 32" monitor.    Anyway, today i picked up a 32" Sony WEGA TV cheap and was excited, however upon removing the old TV, i see that there is no way i will get this to fit without removing the tube from the TV shell completely and moutning it directly to the cabinet.  my concern is how do I deal with the circuit boards to the TV?  they are mounted to the plastic shell of the TV below the tub, there are so many wires and things running around back there, it is a little intimidating to think about disconnecting it...how do you guys deal with this?  I know there are people here who have decased TVs and installed them in your cabinet, what did you do with the circuit boards?

I have never discharged a monitor before, when working with the old one, i was just very careful about where i touched it, but if i have to remove the main circuit board, i am thinking that I almost have to discharge it to be safe.  Can this damage the TV?


Thanks.

[capsule]

Sometimes it is possible to decase the tube without disconnecting the circuit board, it depends on the TV. So if you are afraid disconnecting stuff, try that.

Anyway, always discharge it before touching anything, here's a tutorial:


And if you really have to disconnect the board, take pictures and/or put labels so you can easily reconnect everything later.

[sharpfork]

I made a little slideshow of the process as I did it: http://imgur.com/a/ps64D#26

I have to say that Sony TVs seem to have many more PCB boards and general complexity than the Toshiba I have pictured.

Advice not in the pictures:

• take a TON of pictures of the TV internals before you start taking off parts
• mark cables you remove with a sharpie or something to make it clear where each wire goes.  Labels or color coding might be good too.
• Don't scratch the tube glass then you have it face down, I used some old beach towels
• use the plastic from the TV that holds the PCBs (this is in the pics)
• try to make the dismantling and reassmble steps as close together.  I once took a TV apart then tried to reassemble it a month later and it was way harder than taking it apart then putting it in the cab the next day.

After you do your first discharge, it get easier/ less scarry.  I did my first one with a long ass chicken stick = the screwdriver in my pictures with a 6' piece of PVC on the end.

I don't really recommend this but you can cheat on the deceasing like this:

I ended up doing this and pulling the rest of the case a few weeks later.

[thatpurplestuff]

I think I have the exact same TV as you, and if so here was my solution.  -> http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=130287.0



This method may or may not work for you, but it worked very well for me since I need the tv to be facing upwards and was able to attach all of the electronics to the frame without disconnecting anything.  I think the most difficult part of dealing with this TV was the sheer weight of it, as it was incredibly difficult to maneuver without the case on and it would be very easy to damage something... that's where the wooden frame becomes invaluable.  Again, not sure this would work for you but this was my solution with this TV.

[severdhed]

thanks guys.  I removed the back cover from the TV last night to take a look at the insides.  This is going to be quite the project.  I measured the tube which is roughly 18" by 22"...the opening in my cabinet is 19" by 23" so it will fit, but just barely.  This means that i will not be able to mount the tube to a wooden frame and then sit it in.  Due to the way the cabinet is designed, i can mount a piece of wood above and below the tube in the cabinet to mount it to..hopefully that will be sufficient.  This thing is just so difficult to work with.  The main issue is that i don't have a garage or shop area to work on it...the cabinet sits in my family room, and since i have 3 small children, i can't really do anything until they go to bed at night. That makes it late to have someone here to help me, so i have to do most of it by myself.  The old 26" tv i had was heavy (120lbs) but i could stick pick it up and take it in and out of the cabinet by myself...but this one weighs in at 170lbs...so between the extra 50lbs and the added size, there is no way i can pick this up and position it in the cabinet on my own.  my plan right now is:


first i need to get a few boards mounted to the inside of the cabinet above and below where the tube will sit, leaving just enough room for the tube to fit through and so that i can screw/bolt the tube to it.

Then some night after my kids are in bed, i will open the TV back up, attempt to discharge it and then remove the circuit boards so only the tube is inside the TV, then put the shell back on before i go to bed so it will not be a danger to my children.

then once i'm sure the cabinet is ready to mount the tube, i'll have to have a friend come over in the afternoon when my daughter is napping and help me lift it into the cabinet and fasten it.  My boys (4 and 6) are old enough for me to tell them to stay back while we are doing this, but my daughter is only 18 months old, she has proven to me on a daily basis, that if there is something stupid to be done, she will do it.  I cannot open this TV up if she is awake in the house.

I'm not sure how to lift the tube out of the TV housing though..it is hard to grab onto and is very heavy.  i'm assuming the best way would be to place the TV face down on a sturdy box of some kind so that the box supports the tube, but once it is unscrewed, the plastic housing will drop down to the floor, at which point we should be able to grab the tube and pick it up..i'm just worried about trying to position it in the cabinet without breaking the neck off, and holding it still while trying to screw it in.

I'll try to take lots of pics and will probably be back with more questions

[thatpurplestuff]

I feel your pain dude... I spent many hours just staring at that TV wondering how on earth I was going to lift it into a cab.  Until you've felt how heavy and awkward this specific make of TV is it's hard to understand what a challenge this really is.

Maybe take part of my idea: attach a small wooden frame around the front of the TV just to provide yourself some solid handles... the lack of areas to grab on to was one of the main issues I was having.  Then, lay the cab with the monitor opening facing upwards so you can lower the TV in with a few friends, then once it has been lowered you can remove the wooden handles so it is just resting on the cab.

I really don't have a lot of great ideas for this... the weight and awkwardness make it really easy to break the neck off.  Good luck and keep us updated as to what you work out!

[severdhed]

thanks for the advice..although i'm not sure laying the cabinet down is going to be an option...it is a gigantic showcase cabinet, which probably weighs as much as the TV.  plus the TV tube is is deeper than the cabinet,  there is a box that bolts onto the back to cover the neck of the tube, but this tube is so large, that it will stick out past the back of the cabinet, so i'm going to have to modify the the cabinet to cover the neck of the monitor once it is mounted.  but since it is that way, if i lay the cabinet down on it's back, the neck of the tube would hit the ground before the monitor would be in position.

i'll try to post a few pics tomorrow to show you what i mean.

[paigeoliver]

You DO NOT always discharge a monitor before touching anything. You ONLY discharge a monitor if you need to take the suction cup off the tube.

I have a frame for a 32" arcade monitor, if you wanted to build up your TV conversion in a proper frame. It actually came out of a showcase cabinet, I also have the metal rails the frame mounted to in the showcase cabinet.

In fact I just took this picture of the cabinet it came out of this afternoon!

[sharpfork]

The offer of a proper frame is a generous one.  Are you guys near each other?

The burning cab is 

[paigeoliver]

Listed the showcase cabinet on here 3 months ago that I would basically accept any offer. Held it 3 months, never had a single inquiry about it. Today I stripped out all the cabinet hardware and burned it.

[severdhed]

That is tempting...what does this monitor frame look like? how much would you want for it, and roughly where are you located?  i'm in Pennsylvania.

here is the original project thread that has pics of the cabinet..
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,105208.msg1113444.html#msg1113444

[paigeoliver]

Here, I put my frames in the buy/sell/trade section. $20 + shipping.

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,131411.0.html

[severdhed]

cool...im just a little worreid it will not be large enough...this tube is very deep.  I made no progress at all, even though i had a 4 day weekend, because i injured my back on Saturday and i can barely move at all...no way i'll be lifting this TV any time soon.  very dissapointing. 

as for the monitor bracket, how deep is it from the front to the back? and what are the measurements between the bolt holes where the monitor would bolt in?

[paigeoliver]

I will measure it and get back to you. Standard 32" tubes are all the same size though.

cool...im just a little worreid it will not be large enough...this tube is very deep.  I made no progress at all, even though i had a 4 day weekend, because i injured my back on Saturday and i can barely move at all...no way i'll be lifting this TV any time soon.  very dissapointing. 

as for the monitor bracket, how deep is it from the front to the back? and what are the measurements between the bolt holes where the monitor would bolt in?

[severdhed]

i'm finally getting around to working on this, i hurt my back 2 days after getting this 32" tv, so i haven't been able to do much.  I need to do this as cheaply as possible, we just spent alot of money getting one of our cars repaired, so i have a very tiny budget for this.

after looking at the cabinet, there is a wooden strip that runs horizontally above and below where the monitor will sit.. i think the way to go is to cut a rectangular piece of plywood that will perfectly fit the opening in the cabinet, then cut a hole in the middle for the tv to fit in, then bolt the TV to this wood using the four metal tabs in the corners.  there will not be much clearance on the sides of the tube, but there will be a few inches above and below.  I figured that i'd use 3 or 4 bolts above and the same below through the plywood into some T Nuts mounted in those wooden strips in the cabinet. 

i think that if i use some large fender washers on the bolts, this should be sufficient...do you agree?   since it is a showcase cabinet, the monitor will be sitting perfectly upright, not reclined at all.  8 bolts almost have to be enough. 

also, for the plywood...i have half of a sheet of 5/8" OSB flake board in my basement..will this be strong enough?


i figure doing it this way would be as easy as possible.  i can cut the plywood to size, get the monitor hole ready, drill all of the bolt holes and figure out how i will bolt it to the cabinet...then once all that is done, i can have a friend come over to  help me get the tube out of the plastic shell, bolted to the plywood and then help me lift it up into the cabinet.  It should be relatively simple then to run a few bolts through the predrilled holes into the Tnuts, so we don't have to hold it there very long.

does this sound reasonable?



I'm not sure how i'm going to mount the circuit boards yet, i figured i'd get the tube installed in the cabinet, then worry about it. I have easy access through a large opening in the back side of the cabinet...i'm more just concerned about getting everything connected back up properly. 

[sharpfork]

Sounds good other than the OSB.  You need good, old fashioned plywood: 5/8 or 3/4"

I did my cab a simliar way with 3/4".

[severdhed]

you don't think the OSB will be strong enough? 

what if instead of that, i'd bolt the monitor to two 1x4 pine boards (one across top and one across the bottom) and then bolt those to the cabinet instead?

[sharpfork]

I'd consider paigeoliver's proper frame first.  Plan B for me would be plywood.  I wouldn't do 1x wood with that kind of weight.  You might save a few bucks but have stuff break, get hurt in the process.

You could also look for a smaller TV like a 27 on craigslist and build a shelf instead of de-casing and save some $ and time that way.  I see TVs that can be haggled down to like $10 all the time.  People just want to get rid of them.

SIII + Cyanogen + Tapatalk 2

[severdhed]

yeah, i want it to be done right...i just have no money to spend on it right now.  i was hoping to get it done with crap i had lying around the house.  I don't want a smaller TV, i just pulled a 26" tv out of the cabinet so i could install this 32".

[sharpfork]

In any project you get to pick two:

• cost
• quality
• time

If you are looking for high quality and low cost, you are going to have to take your time scrounging for stuff that will make it solid.  You might be able to use some pallet wood or something stronger and harder than pine to build a frame out of.  Pine might work if you use ample construction adhesive to connect it to the tube, it might not.

[severdhed]

yeah, it sucks.  I was all ready to go with this a few weeks ago, then my wife's van broke down, there went nearly $700.  I really want to get this put back together...my kids are bugging me about wanting to play it, and my wife is sick of the gigantic 32" CRT TV sitting on the floor in the family room.  I think i'm going to try to make a few calls tomorrow to see if anyone local has any dead 32" arcade monitors that i could possibly strip the frame off of. 

i did pick up some bolts, washers and Tee Nuts at the hardware store today that i can use to mount this beast, once i find the proper materials.