Every time I have to converge a tube and set purity, I feel as if I'm ruining my vision. It doesn't help that i wear contact lenses (or glasses). My vision is pretty miserable to begin with....

Then there's the issue of what the EMF radiation from the yoke and the subtle X-rays from the tube can do to a tv repairman.... Any thoughts on this?

Then there's the issue of what the EMF radiation from the yoke and the subtle X-rays from the tube can do to a tv repairman.... Any thoughts on this?

My thoughts:

X-Ray radiation threat: REAL - with the older sets with HV rectifier tube, regulator and poor shielding. My Dad was a repairman for 50+ years (he's 70 now, still kickin') and was diagnosed in 1987 with intestinal cancer. Two surgeries in '87 and 2000 have kept it in check. My belief is that all that time bent over console sets, staring at a mirror while adjusting convergence and the like perhaps exposed him to more than his fair share of X-rays and possibly promoted the cancerous growth.

Sight damage: Slight - age and other factors come into play here. Poor lighting and sun exposure do more harm in my opinion than trying to get the red/green vertical top convergence just right...

Hearing - what, you say? I grew up in a TV shop, and my audiogram at age 20 showed a discernible "dip" at 16KHz, very near the horizontal oscillator frequency. I can't recall the last time I heard a distinct squeal from a set. I now wear hearing aids due to loss of high frequencies - and I'm only in my 40's! No worry for the casual tinkerer, but for some of us exposed to TV's for 10+ hours a day, a real causal factor...

Musculoskeletal damage: REAL - as anyone who has muscled a combo unit up to a third floor apartment has done.

Jes' my thoughts....


Cheers,

000

Brian, I do feel for your father. I will note that I have not heard of an unusual percantage of cancer cases among tv repairmen...I don't guess a study was ever made. I'd say you would have to work around it full time for many years for it to even begin to be a concern. I wouldn't fret any about the eyestrain. I've never noticed anything myself.

in 1977 many TV set manufacturers were involved in a sort of class action lawsuit here in Italy over alleged X-ray radiations their sets produced.

they were finally cleared as their current color sets had solid state HV rectifiers or triplers and had "below background noise" X-ray radiations even inside the set

along with questions about touching lead solder. I suspect any contact with lead and possibly breathing it will lead to troubles in complex thinking on top of cancer potential.
China put lead in toys and likely all they send to us. Many seem to think these things are unimportant and possibly untrue in terms of harmful effects. It seems that most I talk to even think China does not intentionally put lead in things. China announced that the man who owns the toy company that was publicized killed himself. I bet most people think the problem is solved by that.
I met an elderly man in a shop in St. Petersburg and he was very rude and had no interest in talkin about anything with me. He looked very unhealthy and I think he was affected by such things. It is rare that elderly people do not respond well to me. I'm sure many readers would think I caught him on a bad day or I did something wrong. I just hope not to become like such.

My dad has lead poisoning. Not sure where he got the biggest dose of it. It's a cumulative thing. A simple blood test did not pick it up. For years they thought it was other things. He even went to Marshfield WI where they are supposed to know there stuff and they didn't get it. A local doc noticed my dad did not have vitamin D at all. So they did this special test and lo and behold lead was off the charts. He has to take kelation pills that pull it out of his blood and into his urine. But it takes everything else out too. so he takes all kinds of vitamins. Especially D. He has to get it special from some place. the amount of D he takes is unreal. So every month or so he takes these Kelation pills for about a week and inbetween the lead in the crevices of the body leeks out into the blood. So when they test it goes down but then goes up again when more lead seeps out into the blood from who knows where. Lead poisoning causes major nerve damage and pain beyond belief. I am surprised my father hasn't tried to end it. The pain is so bad he can't sleep which in turn makes him even more tired and causes more problems. So avoid lead at all costs.

Woah, I'm very sorry to hear about your dad's plights, guys. Unfortunate stuff seems to happen to good people.... :sigh:

I did a little more research on the net pertaining to EMF's and health, and boy do the opinions vary. Some feel that cellular phones, wireless internet, and satellite communications will be the ruination of society....While I am certainly not that extreme, I do try to limit my exposure to microwave (wifi) radiation and actually do not own a cell phone (haven't since 2004...) IMO, the whole "wireless world being harmful" debate is still in its infancy and it will likely be years before we find some solid evidence on what these waves can do to human tissue and the brain.

But yeah, lead is somthing to avoid at all costs. As was previously discussed, New York City is mandating the recycling of all CRT devices starting in 2010. Wouldn't want lead leeching into the water table! I'm sure there are enough toxins threathening the drinking water already.

After some thought and research, I am convinced that X-radiation exposure from old TV's is negligible and would only be a concern if you work on old tube-rectified sets day in and day out for years, like Bgadow noted.

Just don't want my poor vision to get much worse....