Can flybacks be interchanged?

[menace]

I see people that sell flybacks for a bunch of different chassis and at first glance a lot of them are identical in size and shape. Does anyone know if you can swap flybacks from different brands like you can with car parts or are there vast electrical differences (between two flybacks of equal size and shape)?

[paigeoliver]

There are hundreds of different flybacks. Some are compatible with each other, some aren't.

If you need a new one the easiest thing to do is just drag your old flyback into a TV repair shop, toss it on the counter and say, "I need one of these".  It might cost slightly more than ordering it, but you won't pay shipping, so it will be pretty much the same.

[menace]

Along the same lines--is there a relatively easy way to test a flyback just to determine "good" or "bad"?  Without epensive test equimet that is.

[paigeoliver]

I dunno. I always assumed that the flyback was good if the neck lit up, and it was bad otherwise.

[Ken Layton]

The old way to check a flyback is to eyeball it real good. Clean it off and look for hairline cracks. Sniff it for any burnt smells. Of course Electrohome flybacks generally 'tell' you they're bad by one of two things. First they like to explode (literally) like an M-80 firecracker! Second they'll crack around the middle and you'll see a bunch of fine wire dangling out the side.

As a general rule flybacks are not interchangeable. They are made for a particular make and model of tv or monitor.