When the Turks first shot their guns they broke their noses. When E M decats....

[Electronic M]

I could not get Earnie Ball guitar string, but was able to get 6 of these steel strings for about 1$ each locally. It was too late/overcast to try today. Maybe tomorrow.


Tom C.

[ctc17]

YES! Thats what I used, will work great.

[bgadow]

When I first read about cataract removal, and this was maybe 8 or 10 years ago, the main method being discussed was nichrome wire and a car battery. If I had some of the wire hanging around I guess I'd try it. I can tell you that I'm in no hurry to do another one. I did several with a heat gun that worked perfectly, before having a down-to-air crt break in half. In my experience, water works better on the Zenith/Sylvania tubes than the RCA.

[marty59]

I've finally got around to doing an RCA 21FJP22 and I started soaking it last night. This is an ideal time with the heat spell that we are having. It's a good tube and I'll let it soak for as long as it needs!

[DaveWM]

if you are soaking esp outside, I would recommend bagging the socket with a plastic sandwitch bag, with a couple dessicant pack in there, all held tightly closed on the neck with a couple rubber bands. I dont know for a fact, but I figure extended time in a humid enviroment cant be good for the pin wires.

[marty59]

Originally Posted by DaveWM

if you are soaking esp outside, I would recommend bagging the socket with a plastic sandwitch bag, with a couple dessicant pack in there, all held tightly closed on the neck with a couple rubber bands. I dont know for a fact, but I figure extended time in a humid enviroment cant be good for the pin wires.

Oh no..it's safely inside a steel building/shop environment. But you would be right to be concerned about the pin wires!

Fortunately the DFW area doesn't suffer from higher humidities than as you would get from being more close to the coast.

[DaveWM]

here in central Florida EVERYWHERE is a humidity problem. I have mine on the back porch (covered and screened) that little kiddie pool is really getting a work out.

[Electronic M]

So close yet so far.


At the end there was a CD sized spot that had wet looking fingers around it like on RCA tubes, that went away when it cooled off (which was before I took the picture).
I burned through ALL 6 of the strings. Some failed quickly. All snapped within 2.5" of the handles. It is bothersome that towards the inside of the cateract the glue seems to dissapate too much of the heat to melt very well, while towards the edges and exposed parts of the wire the wire blackens/burns becomes brittle and weak and snaps a bit too easily.


Part of the reason for the lop sided removal was the glue not melting right at the beginning, the other part was that rocks were some how finding their way from the parking lot to the edge of the glue. Most rocks did not make it any further, but one or more did as you can see below.


Another problem that arose near the end as the shade invaded my work area was that the screws on one paddle pulled out and I tried to do without which cost me some usable wire.



A strange air pocket also formed, and can be seen above the large glare spot.


I will NOT be able to do more for about the next week which makes how close I came to getting it off without sucess all the more frusterating!

When I do get the safety glass off, what should I use to clean the glue?

Tom C.

[ChrisW6ATV]

Tom-

I am not clear; is this a Zenith CRT or an RCA? If it is a Zenith, you may just need thicker wires (and more patience/slower wire movement). If it is an RCA, and you only have a CD-sized remaining bond area, you might as well go ahead with the heat-gun process (after the CRT has been in the sun for a couple of hours, though). Patience has to be the key here; glass cannot break with zero pressure, so any break had to be from higher/faster pressure change than it can handle.

[Electronic M]

This is a Zenith tube (the roundy that is) I'm working on.

I was merely making color commentary on how the ZENITH tube formed a wet looking patch of pva that reminded me of what I've seen RCA types do.

Tom C.

[ctc17]

Let it soak in soapy laundry detergent or salt water to loosen the green stuff up.

[Dennman6]

I have a simple but probably ignorant question on this subject. When these cataracted sets are turned on, do the cataracts show at all? I've seen some older color sets in the Goodwills & other thrifts that had cataracts, but never tried to turn them on. They are usually sitting in the middle of the floor, far from the nearest outlet. My oldest color set is a 1979 RCA ColorTrak mediterannean console with the push button electronic tuner. Still works, doesn't have a cataract. Granted the cataracts look pretty nasty, but is this a cosmetic fix or a functional one?

[DaveWM]

the light green ones are not too bad, esp in a darkened room, but yes you do notice them but I am in no hurry to get rid of them. The RCA white ones can be pretty bad, and the mold spores types are a real problem as the look like shot gun pellets all around the edges. The green tends to be very consistant, so somehow seems less objectionable

[Electronic M]

Sucess!!



I got home from vacation late yesterday and did not waste much time geting back to the task at hand today. I went to the music shop today and they did not have the exact guage I was useing so I went with the next one up and got ten strings this time in antisapation of breakage, but I did not have any breakage or even need to get the wire hot. It just cut through like butter!


I was able to roll the warm sticky layer of PVA off of the lense with my bare hands, and then used windex with ammonia to get the thiner residue off. It only is effective on the thinner residue. The thick stuff is much less responsive, but is affetted by it.


All but the edges of the CRT showed the most dramatic change from repeated cleaning with wnidex.



I'm happy now!

Now on to the next three tubes!

Tom C.

[Sandy G]

Eeeuuuww !! That is Icky-Poo NASTY stuff...