[Salvaged] 19" 1980 Panasonic Colorpilot PC-2000

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

There are some people that are paranoid over trash pickers getting a busted set, hurting themselves (god knows how) with it, and suing...

They are not being paranoid. There are many ways a person can be injured or even killed while working on a TV if they don't know what they are doing, or if a young child toys with the open back of a set. The CRT is charged with tens of thousands of volts while the set is operating, that charge will remain on the tube indefinitely until or unless it is safely discharged (the dag coating acts as a large capacitor), and the CRT is heavy and easily broken, leading to an implosion. Sometimes kids will throw rocks at the CRT screen, which is just as dangerous as the screen will shatter. I saw this quite often with old CRT televisions put out for the trash during the last years of the NTSC era, and was amazed more kids weren't injured badly from the broken glass left on the treelawn afterward.

The recycling programs now in place in many cities have reduced the number of old TVs put out for the trash, and some municipal waste disposal services will not even touch an old set, due to the safety hazard posed by the CRT. I live in a very small town in northeastern Ohio (been here 15 years), and have seen very, very few CRT TVs out on the curbs; the safety issue may very well be the reason. I don't know for certain, but there may be an ordinance here against putting used appliances and/or electronics out with normal household trash on our scheduled pickup day. If there isn't, IMHO there darn well should be.