Using TV with the back cover & high voltage cage cover removed

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by LukeSimon

If the TV is backed up against the corner of a wall with a small gap between the back of the TV and the wall, is it safe to run the TV without the back on AND without the high voltage cage cover removed? X-rays travel in a straight line, so the x-rays that would have been blocked by the cover will just hit the wall behind the TV. No pets or children would be in the room either. The reason why I'd consider doing this is because it would help with cooling the inside of the TV, especially the flyback transformer.

I personally wouldn't operate a TV set, monochrome or color, without the HV cage cover in place, due to the shock and X-ray hazard. X-rays were a hot topic in TV about 30-some years ago, especially with color televisions which apply very high voltage, on the order of 20-30kv or more, to the 2nd anode of the CRT. I remember reading at least one article in an electronics magazine (I don't recall which one, as I write this) from the 1970s which went into some detail as to the X-ray hazard; this article mentioned how dangerous X-rays from color TVs were, and that parents should tell their children not to sit too close to the screen, again due to the very real danger of X-radiation from the CRT and from other parts of the HV plant, including but not limited to the HV regulator tube. The flyback transformer itself can also generate X-rays in a color TV, especially if the HV regulator tube is weak or nearly dead. Operating a color television without the HV regulator tube is dangerous as well, as the flyback will now generate as much 2nd anode voltage as it possibly can before burning out or destroying other parts of the HV plant (until or unless the HV fuse or the television's own line fuse blows first, of course).