can this picture tube be salvaged somehow?

I just bought a 10BP4 picture tube and it was damaged in shipping... it was sent though USPS and it was insured so hopefully it's not too difficult or too much of a hastle to file a claim but anyway I have 8 photos of the base of the tube at this web page: broken tube base

and I was wondering if any of the resident experts on picture tubes could tell me if this is salvagable at all? and if it is, how in the world would I (a complete know nothing about picture tubes type person) go about fixing it?

it seems that all the pins are still attatched to the tube but I don't want to mess with it too much for fear of ruining it further...

and then if it can be fixed is there a way to tell with my picture tube tester if the tube is still good it's self before going through the trouble of trying to repair the base just to possibly find out in the end that the jaring that the broke the tube base somehow killed the tube also? although I don't see any cracks in the tube it's self, just the base blew apart...

thanks for any help anyone can give me.

Antonio

[Eric H]

If all the wires coming out of the base (5 I think?) are still intact it should be easy to replace the base.

You can heat the pins on the broken base with a soldering iron and gently work the broken base off.

Someone should be able to provide you with a new base, I may have one, i'll have to look.

It's usually not to difficult to slip the new base back on and get all the wires into the pins (low acid Silicone rubber makes a good glue) . It might make it easier to attach some small pilot wires to the originals to guide them in.

It is very important to be careful with the wires coming out of the base, try not to bend them any more than needed, especially try not to bend them close to the glass.

You can then heat the pins and feed some fine gauge solder into the hole on the end, it will flow inside and make the connection.


Eric

[Eric H]

Antonio, on second glance it might be easier to glue your old base back together, it seems that all the pins are still intact.

You could try to put it back into position and glue it with some super glue. It doesn't really matter if it's a little loose on the neck of the tube, you just have to handle it carefully.

Eric

[jstout66]

man... that looks like one shitty job of packing.........

If none of the wires are broken off at the glass it will be an easy repair.Definetly a bad packing job. DOH!!!!!!

[nasadowsk]

Cheer up! It looks like the tube's still intact. Check if the getters are still silver.

Get a 'new' base. I'm sure someone here has one.

Unsolder the old wires from the base (carefully!)

Then, glue in the new base, in the proper position, and with the wires sticking up into the right pins. Then resolder.

And check the tube - it should be ok then.

Hey - is it me, or are there zillions of NOS 10BP4s around? Did RCA just make lots and lots of them, expecting smaller screen sets to be more popular? I swear, i see them on *bay a lot, and I know of a few people with them...

[mbates14]

That tube is still good. I zoomed into the photos a little bit, and the ghetter is still intact. You got really really lucky.

I wasnt so lucky. If all of the phosphor is intact, I know its still under vacuum.

I have a good base I can pull from a dead 12lp4A. PM me with your info.Wow you did get lucky,if the evacuation tube was broken under the base the tube would have been shot.

[mbates14]

well, not really but yes.

if your me, you could melt more glass onto the evacuation tube, and hook it to a vacuum pump. (ones used for air conditioner evacuation)

it would work, but not that great.

i have used them on VFD before. it works, not as bright without ghetter.

[Steve McVoy]

It is almost impossible to fish the wires into the right pins. A better way is to use a 2 inch piece of stranded hookup wire. Unwind the strands and solder one to each wire from the tube, making sure to keep the solder joint small. Then you can fish the strands through the pins on the base, apply glue, and pull them tight. When you solder the pins pull out the strands.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. once I get the insurance claim taken care of at the post office then I will try and see what I can do to fix up the tube base.

anyone know how tvman39 is doing? I see his location is central florida and I haven't heard form him in days so hopefully he's just lying low while the storms are in florida and hopefully he and his family and his antique tv's are all ok

To all that were worried about my well being,
I am ok.Luckily enough we didn't get the full force of the storm.None of my vintage tv's or radios were damaged and none of my freinds or family got hurt .Sorry that it took so long to post on how I am doing but I have been busy.