I have a 1994 Panasonic TV with a bad tube but good circuit board. I want to save the circuit board. From watching videos online, separating the circuit board is simply a matter of pulling the board off the gun, and that's it? It's been switched off for more than a week, so I think there is little residual charge left.

Similarly, I have the same model TV with a good tube and a (occasionally) bad circuit board. I can simply swap in the circuit board as I removed it from the old one?

The board hanging off the ass end of the CRT? Should just be friction fit plugged on, yeah. If so, it really should not require any effort to pull it off. If it resists more than a moderate tug, then maybe I'm wrong. Also, there shouldn't be any residual charge on the board, unless it has some electrolytics on it, and even then, not after a few days.

The board pulls right off the CRT. Discharging the anode is what you need to be concerned with.

When will it be safe to pull the board off?

If the tv is unplugged and you have discharged the second anode connection to ground you should be good to go.

I’ve never discharged an anode. The TV has been off for a few weeks, and it was made in 1994. Is there an instructional video?

You know that big cable that plugs straight onto the side of the CRT? And it has a rubber boot over the connection? Get yourself a screwdriver, wrap the bare end of a wire around the screwdriver, and connect the other end of that wire to a big chunk of metal on the tv chassis (ground). Stick the screwdriver under the rubber boot and fish around until you've touched metal. Careful not to touch the metal of the screwdriver. If it had a charge you'll hear a snap.

But as it's been several days, it's probably naturally discharged by now.

Also, don't let anyone scare you, the high voltage charge on a crt anode is not particularly dangerous. It won't even injure you. It does hurt like a mother, but it's no worse than being zapped by a car's ignition coil.

Thanks, I’ll give it a shot!

You know that big cable that plugs straight onto the side of the CRT? And it has a rubber boot over the connection? Get yourself a screwdriver, wrap the bare end of a wire around the screwdriver, and connect the other end of that wire to a big chunk of metal on the tv chassis (ground). Stick the screwdriver under the rubber boot and fish around until you've touched metal. Careful not to touch the metal of the screwdriver. If it had a charge you'll hear a snap.

But as it's been several days, it's probably naturally discharged by now.

Also, don't let anyone scare you, the high voltage charge on a crt anode is not particularly dangerous. It won't even injure you. It does hurt like a mother, but it's no worse than being zapped by a car's ignition coil.
To add to this a bit if you start to do regular service work on TVs where you need to turn the set off and pull the chassis or main board quickly after power off then you want to put a 1M resistor in series with your screw driver to ground lead. If there was a lot of charge stored in the CRTs integral capacitor (which is the case imediately after power off) shorting to ground without a series resistor can cause the HV charge on the CRT to bounce back in a few moments.

Early on in my TV resto work I didn't know about that and kept getting HV bites from my Silvertone Roundy...Cussed like a pirate over it a bunch then learned about bounce back and made sure to only resistively discharge after that.(though I'll still short discharge if I'm in a situation where I don't have what I need to resistively discharge on hand)

To add to this a bit if you start to do regular service work on TVs where you need to turn the set off and pull the chassis or main board quickly after power off then you want to put a 1M resistor in series with your screw driver to ground lead. If there was a lot of charge stored in the CRTs integral capacitor (which is the case imediately after power off) shorting to ground without a series resistor can cause the HV charge on the CRT to bounce back in a few moments.

Early on in my TV resto work I didn't know about that and kept getting HV bites from my Silvertone Roundy...Cussed like a pirate over it a bunch then learned about bounce back and made sure to only resistively discharge after that.(though I'll still short discharge if I'm in a situation where I don't have what I need to resistively discharge on hand)

I didn't know that using a resistive discharge would prevent the bounceback (dielectric relaxation) - interesting. I wonder if bounceback would be eliminated with a direct discharge if you just held the contact for a few seconds more?

I didn't know that using a resistive discharge would prevent the bounceback (dielectric relaxation) - interesting. I wonder if bounceback would be eliminated with a direct discharge if you just held the contact for a few seconds more?

I've experienced bounce back minutes after disconnecting from IIRC over 10sec long discharge... I've also done multiple discharges and gotten multiple bounce backs on some CRTs. I either resistively discharge, leave the CRT HV connector shorted to ground, discharge immediately before contact, or regret my lapse... assuming the CRT hasn't previously been discharged beyond bounce back.

It is one of life's little annoyances.

I've always liked the SS and hybrid Zeniths that use a resistor voltage divider to obtain focus voltage from the HV since they self discharge fairly quickly.

What would happen if I just pulled off the board without discharging?

What would happen if I just pulled off the board without discharging?

It might bite you. Just follow Madman's instructions above, super simple and takes a second. I usually use the screwdriver to push in the metal prong on the connector to easily remove it from the CRT.

Just wondering, kind of scared. :)

Almost any solid state set will bleed off in minutes through the
focus divider that is usually built into the tripler or FBT.To be sure
hook a screw driver to a clip lead. Attach the other end to the
CRT ground. Usually there is a bare wire across the CRT where it looks
painted black. That is the best ground. slide driver under the boot &
touch arround the middle of it. To unhook slide the boot to one
side at a 90 deg angle to the wire. lift then slide back.
Only trouble with chassis swap is you may have to make a few adjustments.
No big deal.

BTW DO NOT do this with an old Sony. They have a coax lead & must
be handled with care !

73 Zeno:smoke:
LFOD !

Just wondering, kind of scared. :)

Ever on a dry winter day shuffled your feet across carpet and got a really mean zap off a doorknob? The voltage and charges are in a CRT are very close to that.

I've even got bit by CRTs that we're turned off less than 10 sec before the bite, and while it will surprised you the first time it ain't dangerous unless you have a heart condition. It takes 30mA to kill...A flyback transformer when powered should not be able to supply the CRT more than 2uA (0.002mA). The biggest danger is the shock triggering your reflexes and your arm smashing into something full force as it retracts... been there done that had to track down convergence magnets and resolder a ground wire I snapped (though that Zap was the more dangerous AC HV on the yoke of a 60s color set)... Deflection can kill if you mess with it carelessly.

It takes 30mA to kill...
THROUGH your heart, though! Assuming you even make an electrical connection from hand to hand (across your chest area) the vast majority of current travels along your skin, then muscles, and so on. If you manage to get 30mA through your heart, you're really doing something wrong. That's why when you're working on actually dangerous electrical stuff, they say to keep one hand in your pocket.

What would happen if I just pulled off the board without discharging?
Literally nothing, because the board on the crt plug isn't even connected to the anode cable.

Just to be clear, a crt's residual HV charge is NOT dangerous. It'll just hurt really bad for a split-second, you're going to let loose a string of expletives, and then you're going to continue what you were doing.