How Common Are 21FJP22 Tubes?

[compucat]

I have been reading a lot of posts about CRT rebuilding lately and I was wondering about the rarity of the 21FJP22 round tube. I just won Harry Poster's auction for the round tube Zenith. I am pleased to know that Hawkeye does rebuild these (I inquired just yesterday.). Are working tubes or good duds easy to find? I know I will want a spare, maybe two for this Zenith after I get it restored. I don't have the set yet. I'm waiting for Harry to get back to me with a shipping quote.

[Charlie]

The 21FJ and 21FB are the most common roundies. They are basically the same exact tube. The only difference is the safety glass of the 21FJP22 is glued to the faced of the CRT. The 21FBP22 safety glass is not glued.

When you see RCA sets with "cataracts", it's a 21FJ with the glue letting loose. On a Zenith, the glue around the edges develops the yellow "halo" affect.

[compucat]

It's good to know these are common tubes. The set I'm getting does have a slight green halo around the edges which I have seen on many Zeniths both round and rectangular. I guess I'll be keeping one eye open for these tubes from now on. I just love the round screen shape. I find it more pleasant to watch than rectangular and especially more appealing than the new 16:9 tubes. Maybe it's because my eyeballs are round.

[bgadow]

These tubes were in production for a long time. While replacements for the 15GP22 were only around from about 54 to maybe the very early 60s, there were variants of the 21" tubes on the replacement market from the late 50s until the early 80s. NOS tubes still show up from time to time. Someday we will no longer be able to have a dud rebuilt; there is a finite supply of replacement guns, and apparently Hawkeye is the only one left willing to tackle these at all.

We should all keep an eye out for spares. If we don't save them, who will? I have yet to find a NOS 21" color tube in my travels but you never know when some small tv shop somewhere might have one stashed in the back. I would not worry so much about having 2 spares, as I doubt you could wear out a replacement unless you used the set as a daily watcher for many, many years.

[kx250rider]

They WILL disappear as Bryan says.... I used to smash & throw away perfectly good ones all the time because they grew like fungus in the 80s (result of junking so many roundie sets). Now, it's hard to get one! I had a hard time getting one when I needed, and I got 3 bad ones in the process. So the moral of the story is; keep an eye open, and you can never have too many extras!

Charles