Chinese TV manufacturers using recycled CRTs?

[dr.ido]

This TOBO set looks like any number of $89 14" sets sold in discount stores around here, but it's a bit unusual. The first thing I noticed when saw it sitting in on the ground in the car park was the CRT. It doesn't have a standard TV CRT, it's a 0.3mm dot pitch VGA monitor CRT.



The label on the CRT has been removed, but the yoke has a Panasonic sticker on it. It looks secondhand to me. The plastic is yellowed and dirty. The original leads were clipped off, but the short ends are still hanging off the terminals. Judging by the melted insulation and solder splatters it took them several tries to solder the new leads on.

The chassis appears to be designed so that they can use whatever parts are on hand. Other than the CRT heaters and drive no supply rails are derived from the flyback transformer. There are several links and jumpers to allow different flybacks to be used. There PCB layout also allows for alternative vertical, jungle and audio amp ICs to be used.

The picture looks a bit odd. Despite the higher resolution CRT it doesn't look as sharp as it could be. The scan lines are quite visible and moire patterns are very noticable on some scenes. In the past I'd thought about sticking a VGA CRT into in a TV, now I know it's a bad idea.

Has anyone else seen any of these frankensets?

[mr_fixer]

That is so funny! recycled CRT's in new tv sets. I love the names of these off brand electronic companies, Tobo, Coby, it kinda look likes a name brand. I think I should register some trade names like BCA, PCA, Zeroth, Zilith, Magnomous, and Telephonen. I'm sure some Chinese company will buy them.

[andy]

Maybe the CRT failed and someone replaced it with one from an old monitor? I've done similar things before. Fine pitch CRTs can look excellent in a TV, but not if it's a poor quality TV. Professional video monitors use fine pitch CRTs. The picture does look softer, but I think that's an optical illusion because we can't see the smaller dots clearly.

[Ultra-Hog]

Hmmmmm... A "New" product with used components inside. Is that little bit of information disclosed in the store and on the box? And this comes from where? China? I will have to check it out the next time I am at Walmart.

[radiotvnut]

I've seen some late model Durabrand sets with Hitachi CRT's installed. I wasn't aware that Hitachi still made CRT's. I'll bet they are either recycled or old stock tubes that were bought cheap. BTW, the picture looked like crap on both sets I saw.

[Eric H]

Is this a new set or was it a curbside find?

If it's used someone may have done the swap at some point past.

[MRX37]

"frankensets" sums it up nicely.

If that set was made as is by an actual company, then that brand is like a box of Forrest Gump chocolates: Ya never know what you're going to get.

I really have to wonder how long that set will last...

[fsjonsey]

I found four chinese importers selling used CRT's by the palletload on alibaba.com. Gotta love the Chicoms selling our trash back to us.

http://tntv.trustpass.alibaba.com/of...ished_CRT.html
http://www.alibaba.com/catalog/10894...r/showimg.html
http://joenp.trustpass.alibaba.com/p.../CRT_Tube.html
http://www.alibaba.com/manufacturer/...e/showimg.html

"B grade CRT"
http://inecskr.trustpass.alibaba.com...mal_Flat_.html
http://www.tekxchange.com/Used_CRT.asp

[fsjonsey]

My $100 "advent" 14" flat CRT set seems to built much better than the Tobo. The CRT is a new Irico, china's state run CRT manufacturer, and the only surface mount components are the two philips chips soldered to the underside of the board. Everything else is mounted through the board. It actually displays a decent picture.
Here is the datasheet for the CRT, including the phosphor composition:
http://www.ch.com.cn/en/Products/ProductCatalog.htm
http://www.ch.com.cn/_info/en/content_926.htm

[dr.ido]

It was dumped, so I don't know it's history. It is possible someone changed the CRT, but I doubt it. Anyone who knew enough to change the CRT would have been able to replace the HOT when it failed.

I don't know who actually sells the TOBO brand here. I've seen their sets before on the used/junk market before, but I don't remember any of them having VGA CRTs in them. Most of these kind of sets that show up here (with various brand names) have Irico or Hitachi CRTs in them. I'm intrigued now and will have to have a closer look at any that I see.

I have seen articles in the past about Chinese recyclers. Those articles accused of claiming to recycle monitors while only breaking them down for the scrap metal content and creating a waste problem. It seems there are a few of them that are actually recycling the CRTs though.

[Einar72]

I remember watching in shock and awe as the Corning Glass facility that had made faceplates since the roundie days was packed up and shipped to Red China some years back. The excuse was that most future CRT production was being done over there. I guess there's some irony in the fact that there are many top U.S. companies that simply don't see any future in U.S. operations, considering all the Chinese junk mentioned in this thread. And China's 35% labor-content law has much to do with it as well.

[devoid]

Well I guess better in use than in the dump. Lessens the demand to manufacture more crap.

Originally Posted by fsjonsey

My $100 "advent" 14" flat CRT set seems to built much better than the Tobo. The CRT is a new Irico, china's state run CRT manufacturer, and the only surface mount components are the two philips chips soldered to the underside of the board. Everything else is mounted through the board. It actually displays a decent picture.

I've got one of those too. Use it on the service bench. It does it all for dirt cheap.

[Findm-Keepm]

Available on the market are "universal chassis" that any podunk can match with a CRT and package. I'm having no luck finding any through Alibaba right now (what's Chinese for Universal??), but one of the trade magazines my Dad (A TV dealer) gets has full page ads for Chinese made Universal Chassis. Prices IIRC are about 12-18 USD per chassis, with the lower figure for simple 19-21" (they actually list them by mm) chassis. The chassis come with remotes and batteries! Here's one aftermarket company offering them, albeit these are Sharp chassis:

http://www.lasertec.com.mx/chasis/chasis_universal.html

Funny thing is, you can't readily identify the parts on them. One Chinese chassis has a HOT that reads HY109-19 - nope, it ain't Hyundai. No logo, either. Fix it? I think not...

The same magazines offer portable CD players for about 5 USD in 2K+ quantities. Name your brand and they'll imprint it, adding about 18 cents per CD player.

Cheers

[OvenMaster]

Originally Posted by Findm-Keepm

...Chinese made Universal Chassis. Prices IIRC are about 12-18 USD per chassis, with the lower figure for simple 19-21" (they actually list them by mm) chassis. The chassis come with remotes and batteries!

Well, with prices like that, no wonder there aren't (?) any more TV assembly lines in the U.S.!
Tom

[Arkay]

Thousands of TVs go through the wholesale places I "hunt" in and are shipped on up into mainland China. Many of them get stripped down for recyclable parts. I don't know of any getting passed off as new in new cases, but in China, anything can happen and frankly, often does. It would surprise me just a little teensy bit, but certainly wouldn't shock me if this were true. "Anything to make a(n extra) buck" is the attitude or some (not all) people in China.

In one infamous local (Hong Kong) case, a furniture manufacturer was giving away a free mattress to people who bought bedroom sets. People complained the mattresses --supplied by a low-bidding Chinese mattress company to the furniture company-- were lumpy and smelled bad. When they were opened up, it was discovered that the insides (middle layers) had been filled with rubbish --probably taken straight from the city dump-- to save on cost! Anything is possible in China.