Alibaba RFP for tubes?

OMG! These LINKS are amazing!! Google FAILS hard on this!

I think creating an "omni-tube" would be amazing, but I fear that these games may have had very specific logic to address refresh rates, etc. I certainly don't know enough about CRTs to have a good suggestion on how to create a single tube to replace everything.
Monitors don't have any logic, it's all analog circuitry. At least in most arcade monitors.
 
I have done some homework on this too, and found 2 Indian companies still manufacturing and selling CRTs as TVs for very reasonable pricing. I tried to contact both and neither responded.

So I'm still hopeful that putting out an RFP would attract the right factory to contact you and make a bid. The catch is quality and testing and I don't know how to do that without bringing an expert with me to China (and I'm no expert).

But I'm subscribed to this thread if you're able to make progress! I would totally buy some if they look good and the price was reasonable :)
 
I'm struggling to understand why we couldn't just run the board video output through a converter box, and into almost any 19 inch tube. Short of some 19 inch tubes not physically fitting into the cabinet space, I would think we could use anything.

I'm trying to read more about this whole scenario because I'm a total novice here. My hope is that I can come up with some way to solve this because I'm an anal retentive nut who just wants to have perfect machines :).
 
Getting the image displayed on the tube requires a chassis that can correctly process the video signal and generate the high voltage for the tube, and create the deflection circuit required for the yoke to operate correctly. It's not as simple as just pumping a video signal into a tube. You need to have a chassis and yoke that will pair correctly with the tube.

For as tiny as the arcade restorer/collector community is, the availability of consumer televisions FAR exceeds the demand for tubes. Just because we can't find TV's at the Goodwill any more doesn't mean they're not out there.

Tube swapping is the ONLY way we're going to get nice clean tubes on our arcade chassis for the foreseeable future. CRT manufacturing is dead. Unless a billionaire with a die-hard obsession gets involved, we'll never see another CRT manufacturing plant that will create 19" tubes for arcade machines again. It's just not viable. Tube swapping from TV's is the only option.
 
Unless a billionaire with a die-hard obsession gets involved, we'll never see another CRT manufacturing plant that will create 19" tubes for arcade machines again.

This is brilliant! I didn't think about this...I'll just become a billionaire and give free 19 inch tubes to the restoration community! :)


Getting the image displayed on the tube requires a chassis that can correctly process the video signal and generate the high voltage for the tube, and create the deflection circuit required for the yoke to operate correctly. It's not as simple as just pumping a video signal into a tube. You need to have a chassis and yoke that will pair correctly with the tube.

While I agree that it's not a straight forward solution, wouldn't it be possible to remove the complexity and take board video directly into a more modern CRT? The way I see it, the entire chassis would be swapped in lieu of something a newer 19 inch tube would use. You would use a video converter to take the composite board video into a newer CRT, then allow the video converter to handle the vert and horizontal sync. The CRT power would also be offloaded to whatever discrete power supply that the newer CRT used.

Again, I'm not trying to pretend like I know what I'm doing here. I have a lot to learn in this arena. I can't help but think there is a gap filler that would allow greater flexibility with modern tubes.
 
Tube swapping? What is that?

We use this website ->

http://junknet.net/donor-tvs

:D

Oh yeah, I'm totally familiar with that site. Problem is, you have to be able to find one of these tubes. I think they are not all that common in Phoenix, perhaps because this cities growth has primarily occurred in the last 15 years.

If I still lived in the mid-west, I could probably find these things at every yard sale I stopped at :(.
 
Oh yeah, I'm totally familiar with that site. Problem is, you have to be able to find one of these tubes.

there are hundreds, probably thousands, of tubes that will work on common arcade chassis (g07, k7xx, k4xxx, ez20, etc) that aren't on that site. just because it isn't listed, doesn't mean it wont work. you will need to do some experimenting to get them to work but its better than using burnt tubes IMO.
 
That site is just the tip of the iceberg. Nearly every 19" consumer television has a tube inside that is suitable for tube swapping. Some tubes require more effort than others to harvest - especially those that have a bonded yoke. But nearly every 19" tube can be used, so long as the tube fits in your arcade frame, and the neck socket matches the neckboard of your arcade monitor's chassis.
 
there are hundreds, probably thousands, of tubes that will work on common arcade chassis (g07, k7xx, k4xxx, ez20, etc) that aren't on that site. just because it isn't listed, doesn't mean it wont work. you will need to do some experimenting to get them to work but its better than using burnt tubes IMO.

No kidding? I pretty much thought that this was "the list" of what works. That's good to know! Does anyone have a definitive list of what works for each one? Or what is required to do a swap?

Thanks for the info!
 
No kidding? I pretty much thought that this was "the list" of what works. That's good to know! Does anyone have a definitive list of what works for each one? Or what is required to do a swap?

Thanks for the info!

Here's what you need to know for swapping 19" tubes. It's very simple.

Be sure that:

  • The tube is ACTUALLY a 19" tube, and not a 20.
  • The mounting "ears" (or tabs) are oriented correctly to fit your arcade monitor's frame. Usually this means the tabs need to be on the back side of the implosion strap.
  • The neck needs to match your arcade monitor's tube neck (22.5mm versus 29mm)
  • Shouldn't have a bonded yoke (makes it hard to harvest).

That's it. Beyond that, nearly every consumer television has a tube inside that runs with a heater voltage of 6.3 volts, and a 90 degree angle on the tube bell. YES, I'm aware that there are some funky ones out there that are not a 90 degree tube. But those are pretty rare, and I've really only ever seen this on 25" and larger tubes, not 19.

The 2nd bullet point about the mounting tabs (or the "ears") is one you may even be able to ignore too, depending on how the replacement tube is to be mounted in the game. You may run into back door or bezel clearance problems if you use a tube with the mounting tabs on the wrong side of the implosion strap, but you can sometimes get around that by using spacers to re-position the tube. YMMV.

The neck size, tube size, and bonded yoke issues are really the deal breakers. Satisfy those requirements, and you're likely to have a tube that will display an image when you hook up your arcade chassis to it. But, there are no guarantees. Some CRT gun assemblies are made differently than others, and they may not play nice with the arcade chassis. I've had a few tubes puke on me when I fired them with the arcade chassis hooked up. In those cases, I cut my losses, put the cooked tube back in the TV, dropped it off to recycling, and moved on to the next 19" TV. I've never had more than 1 in a row that cooked on me. Just an odd 1 here or there.
 
Here's what you need to know for swapping 19" tubes. It's very simple.

Be sure that:

  • The tube is ACTUALLY a 19" tube, and not a 20.
  • The mounting "ears" (or tabs) are oriented correctly to fit your arcade monitor's frame. Usually this means the tabs need to be on the back side of the implosion strap.
  • The neck needs to match your arcade monitor's tube neck (22.5mm versus 29mm)
  • Shouldn't have a bonded yoke (makes it hard to harvest).

That's it. Beyond that, nearly every consumer television has a tube inside that runs with a heater voltage of 6.3 volts, and a 90 degree angle on the tube bell. YES, I'm aware that there are some funky ones out there that are not a 90 degree tube. But those are pretty rare, and I've really only ever seen this on 25" and larger tubes, not 19.

The 2nd bullet point about the mounting tabs (or the "ears") is one you may even be able to ignore too, depending on how the replacement tube is to be mounted in the game. You may run into back door or bezel clearance problems if you use a tube with the mounting tabs on the wrong side of the implosion strap, but you can sometimes get around that by using spacers to re-position the tube. YMMV.

The neck size, tube size, and bonded yoke issues are really the deal breakers. Satisfy those requirements, and you're likely to have a tube that will display an image when you hook up your arcade chassis to it. But, there are no guarantees. Some CRT gun assemblies are made differently than others, and they may not play nice with the arcade chassis. I've had a few tubes puke on me when I fired them with the arcade chassis hooked up. In those cases, I cut my losses, put the cooked tube back in the TV, dropped it off to recycling, and moved on to the next 19" TV. I've never had more than 1 in a row that cooked on me. Just an odd 1 here or there.


This. I think that these guys at looking for plug and play tubes which just isn't possible.
 
This. I think that these guys at looking for plug and play tubes which just isn't possible.

Nah, this is great info. Sure, plug and play seems ideal, but I'm not beyond getting my hands dirty and starting to learn about doing a yoke swap. If what you guys are saying about 19 inch tubes is true, then I'm optimistic that I could find a couple of very nice replacements.

I can't quite tell if the overall goal is to harvest just the 19 inch tube, and retain the G07 chassis, or if you have to try and swap the whole chassis along with the tube.
 
Nah, this is great info. Sure, plug and play seems ideal, but I'm not beyond getting my hands dirty and starting to learn about doing a yoke swap. If what you guys are saying about 19 inch tubes is true, then I'm optimistic that I could find a couple of very nice replacements.

I can't quite tell if the overall goal is to harvest just the 19 inch tube, and retain the G07 chassis, or if you have to try and swap the whole chassis along with the tube.

the yoke must match the chassis...you wouldnt use the chassis from the tv.
 
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