Any CRT experts? Decased a 32" Sony Wega Trinitron for arcade

[thatpurplestuff]

Hey there!  Like the title suggests, I discharged/decased a 32" Sony Wega for use in an upcoming arcade cabinet.  I know just enough to be a danger to myself, so I was hoping to get some expert opinions before I fire this thing back up.

I am going to be building a mirror cabinet, and I have already reversed the vertical yoke wires (yellow/brown) in hopes to invert the display vertically.  I haven't tested it yet though because I just wanted to be sure that I am looking at what I think I am looking at, as well as get some advice as to how to properly mount stuff (specifically the degause coils and ground strap) before I try to power this thing back on after it's year-long slumber.  Here is an image of the TV without the back on it, along with labels of what I *think* certain wires are.  I would really appreciate someone who knows what they are doing confirming these labels haha.
 


Here are images of the frame that I built for the TV...  I should be able to just reattach the ground strap back where it was, right?  Can I just attach the degausing straps to the wood frame in close proximity to where they were before without risking damaging anything?  I plan on attaching some very thin wood with venting holes in it to all of the sides once I am sure everything is wire correctly, so once I'm done I'm hoping this thing will be just as safe as the original case.

[Gray_Area]

Why did you decase it and then build a honking box for it?

[thatpurplestuff]

Gray_Area- For a mirror arcade cabinet, the display actually faces upwards as opposed to forward so keeping it in the case isn't an option (the back is basically a relatively flimsy piece of plastic that would stand absolutely zero chance of supporting this insanely heavy CRT).  I also wanted to reduce the excess ~3" on each side of the screen that was there because of the speakers while at the same time creating a frame that would allow me to move this beast easily without having to worry about damaging anything.  This tv is so ridiculously heavy that the idea of having the picture tube vulnerable seemed like a disaster waiting to happen.

Here's an example of a mirror cabinet if I wasn't very clear... the display in this Operation Wolf is actually resting towards the bottom of the cabinet facing upwards, and what you look at while playing the game is actually a big mirror that angles downward.



For any CRT guys that may be reading this, I just thought of another question... will those degausing coils possibly interfere with the computer hardware (mainly the hard drive) if they are a couple feet away?  I know magnets are a hard drive's worst enemy but I really have no idea the power and range of TV degause coils.  Thanks!

[WindDrake]

The degaussing coils are fired up for a few moments on powerup or manual activation, and don't possess enough strength to mess with your electronics. Don't worry about it.

[thatpurplestuff]

WindDrake- Thanks for the info!

[Yenome]

want to come do the same to my 32" jvc i been wondering bout a mirror cab as a possible build. tho i would think with the right orientation and windows rotations you could get it to display right when reflected. tho i have never tested it.

[thatpurplestuff]

So I put everything back together, fired the tv up and my yoke switch worked!  The tv should work perfectly for a mirror cab since the display is correct horizontally, but flipped vertically.  That's the good news!

The bad news is that the TV's colors are pretty jacked up while it's on its back facing upwards (the position it needs to be in for my cabinet).  When I move the monitor into it's standard position (facing forwards, not up) the color shifts to be a bit closer to the right colors, but it's still wonky.

I was hoping that the degauss coils would auto-correct any color issues when the TV is fired up, but no luck yet.  The degauss coils are very close to their original placement but not exactly... is that a potential cause of this?  If so, would removing the degauss coils and just manually degaussing this set be a realistic solution?  Pretty frustrated right now to spend this long prepping the TV/case and then have the colors be so messed up.

If any CRT gurus out there could help me out I would be forever grateful... this is driving me nuts.


Yenome- I didn't have any luck messing with just windows rotations... I don't know of any video cards that let you flip the screen.  From my experience they just rotate it, which will always leave you with a backwards screen unless you somehow used a 2 mirror setup or something.

[thatpurplestuff]

Welp, just bought a "GC Throsen 9317 High Power Degaussing Coil" for $55 shipped... hope it will do the trick. -> http://www.frys.com/product/487898?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

[mgb]

The degaussing coil should take care of your color issue. It's a good
Tool to have. I use a bulk tape eraser.

[Gray_Area]

The width I can understand. Far as I know, the monitors in any kind of cabinet are attached brackets to rails. In your case, you could've made brackets to attach to the tube eyelets, or just go eyelets straight to rails.

[thatpurplestuff]

mgb- Thanks for the input!  I've got a second CRT lying around that will eventually be a cocktail cab, so hopefully I'll get more than one use out of that degaussing coil.  Fingers crossed that it solves the color issues!

Gray_Area- The decased CRT weighs 165+ lbs... There was absolutely no way I was going to be able to safely move/mount this thing directly into a cab without hurting myself or breaking something.  The wooden frame solution keeps all of the CRT components from getting damaged while being maneuvered, keeps humans safe by keeping hands and fingers away from any potentially dangerous areas, and makes it so I can just remove a couple of screws to slide the entire thing it in and out of the cabinet if I ever need to work on it.  The cabinet I've designed has more than enough space to accommodate the frame, so while this setup may not be typical in regards to mounting it should work great (assuming that I get the color issues sorted out.)

[PL1]

I've got a second CRT lying around that will eventually be a cocktail cab, so hopefully I'll get more than one use out of that degaussing coil.  Fingers crossed that it solves the color issues!

After degaussing, be sure to move the coil far enough away from the monitor before you switch the power off.

I've seen guys make the problems worse by shutting off the power to the coil while the alternating magnetic field is too close to the monitor -- accidently leaving the monitor magnetized.     


Scott

[matsadona]

The bad news is that the TV's colors are pretty jacked up while it's on its back facing upwards (the position it needs to be in for my cabinet).  When I move the monitor into it's standard position (facing forwards, not up) the color shifts to be a bit closer to the right colors, but it's still wonky.

My guess would be that in the upward position it gets closer to something that is interfering, like speakers/electronics/harddrive etc.
Try to move around the other internals and see if it helps.

[thatpurplestuff]

PL1- Thanks!  I've been trying to watch some Youtube vids and I think I have the basic idea down, but I appreciate the tips.  Would it be really bad for the TV if the scenario you described actually happened, or could I just start degaussing over again and fix it?

matsadona- I was wondering that too... I've removed the speakers and only moved the electronics for the tv by 2" or so (but the movement did bring everything slightly closer to the back of the TV)... I'm not trying to use it with the computer yet so really the only electronics it is close to are its own internals.  If the degaussing coil doesn't fix it I've gotta assume that the location of the CRT electronics is the problem.

Here's an image of the screen... all the green is supposed to be red so as you can see the discoloration is very pronounced.



 

[PL1]

Would it be really bad for the TV if the scenario you described actually happened, or could I just start degaussing over again and fix it?

You could just start over again.

The coil is producing a magnetic field that alternates North and South pole orientations.

You have to get close enough to overcome whatever magnetization currently exists.

By slowly moving further away, the strength of the magnetic field reaching the monitor slowly decreases until it's too weak to magnetize the monitor.

The only thing you couldn't undo is if you get too near the HDD or your credit cards.   


Scott

[rCadeGaming]

The only thing you couldn't undo is if you get too near the HDD or your credit cards.   

Seriously though, how close would you need to get to do some damage?  Do you need to worry about this with a solid state hard drive?

[PL1]

The only thing you couldn't undo is if you get too near the HDD or your credit cards.   

Seriously though, how close would you need to get to do some damage?  Do you need to worry about this with a solid state hard drive?

Not sure on SSDs -- an alternating magnetic field could theoretically induce alternating current into wires.   

I wouldn't want to bring the coil too close to the HDD and corrupt a few key 1's and 0's in the FAT or OS + have to re-load/re-tweak everything.

I figure better safe than sorry since there are too many variables involved (coil strength, mag field shape, distance to HDD, wiring layout, shielding on HDD, etc.) to say for sure with my somewhat limited experience in this area.


Scott

[thatpurplestuff]

So I got my degaussing coil in the mail and ran it over the TV multiple times last night.  The TV was about 50% distorted before the degaussing coil... after the first pass I would say that only about 5-10% was left.  Second pass, third pass, I could only get the distortion down to 5% or so.  One section on the left hand side would just not clear up... it was significantly better but the color was definitely shifted a bit.

Out of frustration I start tipping the monitor forward and the distortion gets worse... tip backwards and it starts going away completely.  I start thinking for a second and I KNOW for a fact that nothing is moving inside the case, so it's gotta be reacting to outside influences.  Instead of tipping it, I start rotating it and moving it away from the back wall a bit and sure enough all distortion is gone.

I've narrowed it down to two possible things causing the distortion... there's an home A/C unit outside of the house on the other side of the wall (about 6' to the left of the TV) and there's a ceiling fan in the room (about 6' above the TV).  Neither the fan nor the A/C unit were on during testing, but I'd imagine it's the A/C unit throwing things off since it seemed to get better as I moved away from the wall (and the distortion was on that side of the TV) but if any of you know for sure I'd love to hear it.

Either way I'm very optimistic about this build now since although this is the room that I plan on keeping the arcade in, I think as long as I keep it against one of the internal walls it will work fine and with my frame setup if the TV gets wonky after going in the cab I can always slide it back out for some more degaussing love.  The yoke reversal has worked perfectly and this thing is pretty much ready to be placed in a mirrored cabinet setup... I just need to build one now (and finish my Skeeball project at the same time haha).

Thanks for all the input guys! 

[sharpfork]

You are a brave person to be wresting with that honking 32"!  When you get the color issues resolved, it will be well worth the effort.   
I've wrestled a couple 27" CRTs and a 25" for my tate cab and I can say that without a doubt the Sony TVs have the most annoying complex internals.  Your solution for the box is really nice, especially when one considers the weight of the thing and the necessity of having two folks move it around.
Thanks to all that contributed to this thread.  I learned a couple of good tips like the bulk cassete erase and proper ways to degauss and powering sequences.
 

[mgb]

remember when using the degaussing coil, you want to start out in small tight circles close to the screen and swing out into larger circles as moving away from the screen.
the whole thing should take about 3 seconds.
usually one shot does it but it can sometimes take 2 or 3 shots.
 

[thatpurplestuff]

Haha sorry guys... I just re-read my post and I wasn't very clear.  I've actually solved the color issues by a combination of degaussing and moving the TV to a different part of the room.  I'm not sure if it was the A/C outside the house that is directly on the other side of the wall or the ceiling fan above, but something was causing the TV to go wacky.  Degaussing solved most of the issue and relocating it solved the rest, so the TV is good to go and just needs a cab to go in!

sharpfork- Thanks man!  I had been putting off decasing this thing for over a year because it seemed like such a daunting task.  CRT's in general are heavy, but this Sony is in a league all by itself in terms of being unassumingly weighty.  Literally when it was laying on its face in my game room, it took almost all I had just to lift it back up (partially because of the awkwardness of it but mainly because it is so damn heavy).  The frame makes it a lot easier to maneuver since the 2x4's are much easier to grip.  I don't know how well this frame solution would work on a cab with standard orientation, but since a mirror cab just has the CRT facing upwards the box works fantastic.

mgb- Yeah my first time degaussing I did it much longer than that and the coil actually started overheating haha.  With the TV facing upwards it made it a bit more difficult to move away from the screen, but I got it to work fine after a couple of tries.

Anyway thanks again to everyone for the help... I sincerely appreciate it.  Will be starting the cabinet soon and will get a thread going in "Project Announcements" shortly thereafter!