Removing a CRT television from its case?

[aliveon2legs]

I have a bit of a dilemma with my arcade cabinet.  I have been using a 25" RCA television for a monitor.  Unfortunately, it has developed a 6" diameter circular discoloration in the middle of the screen.  The problem is that these days it's nearly impossible to find a new 25" television.  I really don't want to shell out the money to for a real arcade monitor just yet, and I'm not terribly excited about the idea of having to find a used 25" CRT in the classifieds.

So, I was wondering around Walmart today when I ran into this:
http://shopper.cnet.com/direct-view-tvs-crt/sansui-dtv2760/4014-6481_9-32722198.html?info=review&tag=mncol;lst#info-1 for $188

It's perfect in the sense that the screen is nearly flat and it has component inputs.  The problem is of course, it doesn't fit my cabinet.  I'm assuming that before they box these things up somebody tests them, so it would have to be discharged.  I'm wondering how difficult that is to do, and how difficult mounting a case-less tv might be.  My cab is an UAII.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

[dkubarek]

Check the FAQ. There's a walkthru or two on it. I know nothing about it but from what I hear it is very dangerous unless you know the correct procedure. I guess there's lots of lock away electricity in there or something. So, be careful and read up first! Also, with the digital and LCD shift I'd be checking Craigslist and other sites for used TVs for next to nothing. You'd get a nice set for a lot less than $188.

[protokatie]

Yeah, you could follow others instructions, but there is another PROPER method that many seem to neglect.

IMHO: The only truly safe and proper way to deal with a tube is to hire a licensed and insured television (CRT etc) repairperson, and have them do the work. There are advantages to this:

1. It is guaranteed

2. It is legal

3. You cant get hurt

4. They will often be happy to show you what they are doing (esp if you have an interesting case for it)

5. If they ---fudgesicle--- up, and it burns your house/apartment down, it is THEIR insurance that pays for damages. (This also includes any ---fudgesicle--- ups if they failed to put the case back together properly and someone gets electrocuted)

6. It is the most fail-safe method.

Other than that, learn about how to do it and have fun! (Just dont blame anyone on BYOAC if you lost a finger because you missed a step and happened to place it down on a trace that shorted a capacitor)

[pinballwizard79]

Ive done it a few times.

Red wires go to parts that can kill you..............I think......just dont touch anything other than the metal frame around the monitor & never ever have the tube towards your chest when moving it (meaning a shock to the heart is bad as most deaths from electricity are via heart attacks, not cooking).

Also, there is a board of clutter & crap attached to the set so it will take two people to take it apart, move it & install it unless you want that swinging all over the place.

You will have to make your own mounts in the cab & its not a perfect science, I made one from from studs & then hack sawed threaded rods from a hardware store & then used nuts to bolt it secure.........unless your UAII mounts match up with the set?

Man it sucked, big time.

Go LCD

[aliveon2legs]

...unless your UAII mounts match up with the set?

There are no UAII mounts, there is just a flat slanted surface on which a tv or monitor can rest.

Man it sucked, big time.

Go LCD

I don't know if I can do LCD.  I've never played an LCD arcade, but I just get the feeling that it wouldn't be quite right.

[Blanka]

Why not remove the 6 inch malformed colouring? Just find a TV repairman who can degauss and clear up the magnetic field of the TV.
BTW, what is illegal about decasing your TV? If that is ilegal in the US, the law is really sick.

[AndyWarne]

There really is so much scaremongering nonsense talked about TVs and monitors.
There is no danger at all actually removing the case, provided it has been completely disconnected from the mains for 30 mins or more, if it was a working TV.
Once the case has been removed, and the TV is powered up thats a different matter altogether of course.
I have posted many times about this but again:
All modern TVs discharge the CRT by themselves but putting that aside for a minute... even if it were not discharged, this is like saying a car mechanic must drain the fuel tank before he opens the hood.
On a non-discharging CRT (such as older arcade monitors) the charge is completely enclosed in the CRT and touching no part of the monitor will expose you to the CRT charge except digging under the final anode cap (the rubber cap) which is like a fuel cap on a car.
Having said that, there are other charges on the power supply caps in monitors which can retain charge especially if the monitor has a fault, and these are not discharged even if you do (incorrectly) discharge the CRT. These drain quickly on a working monitor though, when powered off.

[aliveon2legs]

Why not remove the 6 inch malformed colouring? Just find a TV repairman who can degauss and clear up the magnetic field of the TV.

It is a pretty old set, so I assumed it would cost more to repair than it is worth.  Perhaps that is something worth looking into.  I really know nothing about the process.

BTW, what is illegal about decasing your TV? If that is ilegal in the US, the law is really sick.

I was wondering the same thing.

[G1zm0]

i decased a flatscreen 22" philips to fit in a standard woody cab where the old 21" monitor used to be,

i took all casing off but kept the bottom part where the pcb sits.

mounted it on to the "modified" board that used to hold the old monitor, i used 4 bolts with nuts to affix this to the board after cutting it to fit.

then mounted the plastic part to the back of board so pcb could sit on, and it went in like a dream.

the tv had been unpowerd though for 2 weeks.

[daywane]

1st. lets try a simple fix.
do you have a large drill? or a blender?
( the bigger the electrick motor the better)
have TV on. (powered up) lets say blender form now on. (any high speed motor will do) (hair dryer is not that good)
start in upper left corner. in a circular motion ( I mean as close to screen as you can get) go clock wise corkscrewing to center of screen,
once you get to the center , pull electrick motor away.( hold motor and take 3 steps back)
this should fix it.

If this don't  I will answer your question

open TV box from the back. ( TV UNPLUGED!!!)
do you see a red suction cup?
get a large screw driver. some thick wire. strip wire to tape copper wire to screw driver.
strip other end and attach to metal frame of TV Tube.
lift up red suction cup. (see 2 wires under it?) touch screwdriver to the 2 wires under suction cup.
There should be a loud "POP"
now it is safe to handel.

[aliveon2legs]

1st. lets try a simple fix.
do you have a large drill? or a blender?
( the bigger the electrick motor the better)
have TV on. (powered up) lets say blender form now on. (any high speed motor will do) (hair dryer is not that good)
start in upper left corner. in a circular motion ( I mean as close to screen as you can get) go clock wise corkscrewing to center of screen,
once you get to the center , pull electrick motor away.( hold motor and take 3 steps back)
this should fix it.

I just run the motor close to the screen?..I don't have to have anything attached to it?

[protokatie]

Degauss button (if present, or as a menu option) is preferable. Also, would suggest using a speaker magnet as it tends to be strong and not AC. Ive had to degauss a screen with one before, but it took like 20 passes....

EDIT: Just read the last reply, if the problem isnt decoloration, then degaussing will not fix anything. (Degaussing just helps realighn the screen (IE the metal screen that helps focus the "colored" electron beams to hit the proper phosphor.)

[AndyWarne]

A permanent magnet will tend to act as a gausser rather then a de-gausser! AC is the proper way as this produces an alternating field and the important part is moving the magnet away from the screen when done, before switching off, which produces a slowly reducing alternating field.
All TVs and monitors have an in-built de-gaussing coil which does exactly this at power-on. This is a black snake running around the back of the CRT. Sometimes its not powerful enough or simply not working at all.
The de-gaussing coil is fed from AC mains via a component called a posistor which is a type of thermistor. Unfortunately these do fail especially when the monitor has been exposed to damp as the internal elements corrode.

[beastathon]

All modern TVs discharge the CRT by themselves but putting that aside for a minute... even if it were not discharged, this is like saying a car mechanic must drain the fuel tank before he opens the hood.

How modern are we talking here? I have a 1983 (I think) Phillip's CRT, and I'm just interested.