Crt fading away

[oldtvman]

Just as I suspected, the HDTV revoluntion would be ushered in with the flat panel tv. In a few years those crt based sets will be just a fond memory.

I guess I still have enough roundies to see me throught til the end of my time.

Ha Ha.

[ceebee23]

It is sad to say but it seems to eb a world trend ...the era of the CRT is over....or very close to it. It is already difficult if not impossible to find a CRT PC monitor.

I went shopping for a new TV the other day and in reality except for the chinese el cheapos, there is nothing but LCD or Plasma!!

[botrytis]

One of the issues with CRT's is how they are manufacturered and the chemicals used in tube. Do you realize that there is about 4 ounces of mercury in each 25" TV tube? That is the big one.

Dave

[karmaman]

I completely agree. I am a 15 year old freshman in high school and I'm really into electronics, started when I was 10, and it saddens me I was not around during the heyday of tubes. The way they work absolutely fascinates me, I could read about them all day. When our main TV started having trouble (vertical foldover) I ran across a very interesting read on how tubes work (google "picture tube info", it's the first link) and that really got me into tubes and how they work. The image quality and sturdiness of a quality tube blows anything else out of the water, and it is always interesting to take the back cover of a TV or crt computer monitor off and just look. I really wish I had been around 15-20 years earlier, back when LCD and Plasma were unheard of. Nowadays, when you walk into a store, all you see is crap made by Funai and Orion.

Too bad by the time I have enough money to buy stuff tubes will be a thing of the past.

[rulerboyz]

On the other hand, if you really want a CRT PC monitor, there is no shortage of used ones that you can pick up for free or almost free.

[andy]

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[matt_s78mn]

Originally Posted by karmaman

I completely agree. I am a 15 year old freshman in high school and I'm really into electronics, started when I was 10, and it saddens me I was not around during the heyday of tubes. The way they work absolutely fascinates me, I could read about them all day.

...

I really wish I had been around 15-20 years earlier, back when LCD and Plasma were unheard of. Nowadays, when you walk into a store, all you see is crap made by Funai and Orion.

Too bad by the time I have enough money to buy stuff tubes will be a thing of the past.

I totally agree with you, karmaman. I was in the same boat as you, lol, I missed the great era of vacuum tube electronics by a few years as well. Really about all ya can do is start collecting, and get hooked on it like most of us in here. Have you thought of electronics as a career? If so, you could focus on RF Communications and Broadcast Engineering like I did. The tube theory I learned on my own by messing around with vintage electronics and reading books on the subjects was useful in school and on the job as well. There are plenty of AM, FM, and TV transmitters out there that use varaiations of vacuum tubes in their finals. Theres things such as IPA tubes, IOT's, Klystron tubes, etc. that broadcast engineers deal with. At least it's one area of electronics where everything isn't completely solid state yet.

[karmaman]

Yes, I know for a fact I am going to get into a career involving electronics. However, I really don't know what. I love fixing things, there's just a satisfaction to it you can't get anywhere else, but fixing computers/electronics is pretty much useless now with things like the Geek Squad and the "it's broken, let's just buy a new one" idea that seems to have taken over. Communications and Engineering sounds very interesting to me, do you have a link with any info?

[Chad Hauris]

Yes, broadcast is one of the few places where real electronic repair is still carried out, especially on transmitters. Most of the studio stuff is computers/IT work now except for the microphone though!
I am not in that business anymore but I can remember when tube type equipment was still used in the studios and there was tons of maintenance work that would need to be done in the studios such as cleaning cart machines and reel to reel machines, repairing tube type audio equipment etc. that just isn't around anymore.
A lot of the new transmitters especially AM are solid state now though there are many tube type units still operating.

[matt_s78mn]

Originally Posted by karmaman

Yes, I know for a fact I am going to get into a career involving electronics. However, I really don't know what. I love fixing things, there's just a satisfaction to it you can't get anywhere else, but fixing computers/electronics is pretty much useless now with things like the Geek Squad and the "it's broken, let's just buy a new one" idea that seems to have taken over. Communications and Engineering sounds very interesting to me, do you have a link with any info?

I will send ya a pvt message with some info for you. When I was your age and still in High School, I used to hang out at 4 different local TV shops. (2 were in my town and 2 in neighboring towns) Unfortunately only one of them is still in operation, but back to my point - two of the shop owners tried to talk me into buying their business when I got out of school. I seriously thought about it, but in the end, declined due to the very fact that their business is dwindling because people don't get things repaired as much as they used to. One of the shops was a satellite dealer, and had tons of established c-band and DBS customers, so perhaps that wouldn't have been so bad of an investement, but still, even though I love working on electronics, I couldn't take the plunge. I guess the point i'm trying to make is, that you're better off looking elsewhere in the electronics industry for a career instead of consumer equipment repair. That's just my opinion though, but in reality, there are tons of electronics related fields, and are lots of choices for careers, so even if this particular type of electronics work is on it's decline, don't let that discourage you.

Originally Posted by Chad Hauris

Yes, broadcast is one of the few places where real electronic repair is still carried out, especially on transmitters. Most of the studio stuff is computers/IT work now except for the microphone though!
I am not in that business anymore but I can remember when tube type equipment was still used in the studios and there was tons of maintenance work that would need to be done in the studios such as cleaning cart machines and reel to reel machines, repairing tube type audio equipment etc. that just isn't around anymore.
A lot of the new transmitters especially AM are solid state now though there are many tube type units still operating.

You're right, the IT industry is pretty much everywhere in broadcast engineering work. So many facilities are changing over to an IT based workflow. It's funny how the trade mags that I get offer tons of courses and webinars for the senior engineers who haven't had a lot of computer experience can learn networking and computer fundamentals.

There is a lot of newer equipment at my facility that I can't do component level repair on, because either I don't have service manuals for, simply don't have the time, or that my time is better spent on other projects so it's easier to just ship it off to a repair center.

...Yes there are tons of tube type transmitters out there. Tube type exciters are a thing of the past though, generally what you'll see is older transmitters outfitted with newer exciters. So basically you're IPA and final will be tube. The fully solid state transmitters are great though and truly are an engineering marvel. One of my favorites is the Harris DX series of AM transmitters, and their "digital modulation" scheme.

[radotvguy]

Well i must say i love electronics as well . I wish there was a carreer in tv repair and the tube era was still here but unfortunatly it is not . I mainly fool around with stuff in my basement as a hobby . I am seriously thinking of going to school to learn modern stuff like you guys were discussing .

Its a shame but the tv repair/consumer electronics feild is pretty much a dead feild . There is only one tv repair shop left here in my area . Which is sad becuase i remember the days when there was a lot of them . There was a zenith tv shop here in town that was there for like 35yrs and unfortunatly the guy closed shop becuase people stuck him with many sets becuase they rather buy new ones for what a repair costs .
There was a fellow i met in Michigan who does antique restorations and actually he is very good at it too . He has been trying to do it as a full time buissness however i dont think its working out for the guy . He seems to have a lot of trouble making ends meet . I guess its good as a hobby or side buissness but not more then that .

[bgadow]

oldtvman, you're really good at starting a good, long thread with just a few words!

I had planned on getting into the electronics field in some shape or form when I got out of high school but it just never happened. I was shy & had trouble walking in anywhere and even asking for advice. I passed up offers of an internship at a radio station & a TV repair shop & I don't really know why. In the end I landed in the family business which has nothing to do with electronics. As I have mentioned before, the local TV shop owner made the prediction in the mid-80s that we would all have flat TV sets that hung on the wall, being fed by sattelite dishes the size of dinner plates. Had the revolution came in 1990 the industry might have gone in a different direction. I could have easily gone into the sales & repair business but not in this current marketplace. I actually know of one shop not far from here which has recently moved into a bigger location complete with an ad campaign, promoting a selection of flatscreens. I wonder if they can make it?

[andy]

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[yrly]

Wonder how long Sanyo will keep making the HT30746, has be one of the last US assembled CRT sets around. Certainly has to be the last US assembled 30 inch widescreen HD set. Still was avilable as of yesterday when I saw one at Walmart.

[onwardjames]

Just picked up a CRT Sony Flatscreen HD for 849 bucks, with a 225 dollar gift certificate. Heavy, yes. Mammoth footprint? Yes.

Ass kicking??


YES!