[Chad Hauris]

Check for any place on the CRT degaussing shield that is bare metal...if you can't find anything on the CRT shield or you can't see the spring, check for any grounding wire or strap that runs from the CRT to the chassis. You probably could connect the alligator clip lead to the chassis at the HV cage if the chassis is still bolted down and nothing is disconnected. When you remove the chassis you should see the strap connecting the CRT ground to the chassis.

To re-discharge before reconnecting the anode lead you just connect your alligator clip lead and probe to whatever grounding device connected the CRT to the chassis or the CRT degaussing shield if there is bare metal on it. Just stick your probe into the anode connector and you should get another spark. Make sure you do this or you could get shocked from the charge that somehow builds back up in the CRT.

You don't have to have terribly high gauge wire to discharge, just make sure the probe handle you are using is well insulated.

The way I have replaced sockets is to take a brand new ceramic or high quality bakelite chassis mount socket and solder about 6" of bare buss wire to each pin. Remove the old pins of the old socket from the board by using a desoldering braid to wick away the solder. You will then have 7 or 9 holes on the board and you can stick in the corresponding wires from the new socket. Solder the wires to the board under the socket and then run the wires along each circuit board trace back to another connection point on the trace and solder them there too. That will help provide a more stable electrical connection.

The end result will have the tube riding a little bit higher off the circuit board but it is a lot better than using another old socket off a circuit board that may also be brittle. The only problem with the tube being higher is if it should run into something like the yoke...check for clearance. If the board appears in really good shape you may be able to get away with using a new PC mount socket but I would not recommend recycling an old one.

You may have shorted out the filament leads on the chroma board and burned a trace open on the chroma circuit board for the filaments...trace the filament leads from a tube back to where the wires for filament power enter the board and check the circuit out.