Keep killing tubes during Rejuvenate

coinopjunkie

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Anyone else have a tube with a weak gun and end up with a unusable tube in the end? I'm using a Heathkit CRT Tester/Rejuvenator Model IT-5230 with an adapter I made using this thread http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=114269&highlight=Heathkit+IT-5230 I have yet to make any tube better only worse and killed two monitors now, well one was already dead but it was not shorted and I couldn't fix it. I'm using the instructions printed on the sticker of the lid, maybe there is a better way? I'm not sure if its operator error or what. The last monitor I killed just a minute ago was a G07 from a pacman the red was weak so I hit it with the rejuvenate and cleaned it meters read much better almost perfect. hooked back to the chassie no red at all. Any ideas? Tried it a few times same result.
 
When rejuvenating a tube, you have to make sure you have your heater and G1 voltage set properly. Heater voltage for most tubes (like the G07) is 6.3VAC. G1 voltage for most tubes (like the G07) is 50v. Then you have to read the instructions for your rejuvenator as to setting cutoffs, how long to hold down buttons, etc.

My boss killed up 2 of 3 tubes that he tried to rejuvenate. Using the same rejuvenator - and after reading the instructions - I've only had one be dead, and it was dead to start with.

I have had times when rejuvenating a tube has caused a color to go away, then come back after a couple more rejuvenations. Don't forget that you'll often have to increase the brightness and/or color settings after the rejuvenation.

And there is always the possibility that the loss of red can be due to your chassis or wiring, and not your tube...
 
I'm not crazy about rejuvenating. I always do it as a last
resort and I have a 50/50 success rate. My last monitor
was a 25" K7000. The procedure went perfectly, the monitor
came out looking great. Then after 20-30 minutes the whole
screen would wash out in a white/grey blur. Happened with 2
different chassis.

Some times it will fix one color but make another worse. Most of the
monitors I do are running on location 12-18 hours a day. There's only
so long any CRT is going to last :(

JD
 
Thanks for the info

Thanks for the information I just came back from figuring out what you told me here if only I read this first lol I decided to try another chasie I have like a dozen and it worked so I thought maybe I broke the neck board or something while rejuving but nope it was the pots like you said I thought the color would be to bright not have to readjust to see it. So that was it and I didn't kill it, and like you my first one was dead to begen with I just couldn't fix it. I guess I don't need to buy a new rejuvinator.
When rejuvenating a tube, you have to make sure you have your heater and G1 voltage set properly. Heater voltage for most tubes (like the G07) is 6.3VAC. G1 voltage for most tubes (like the G07) is 50v. Then you have to read the instructions for your rejuvenator as to setting cutoffs, how long to hold down buttons, etc.

My boss killed up 2 of 3 tubes that he tried to rejuvenate. Using the same rejuvenator - and after reading the instructions - I've only had one be dead, and it was dead to start with.

I have had times when rejuvenating a tube has caused a color to go away, then come back after a couple more rejuvenations. Don't forget that you'll often have to increase the brightness and/or color settings after the rejuvenation.

And there is always the possibility that the loss of red can be due to your chassis or wiring, and not your tube...
 
I don't know why but everybody has a thought that rejuvanetion is some magic fix to get a perfect picture.

WHile it can help alot, it is not a thing you just do along with every tube up and cap kit.

A rejuve is essential in tracking down a "no color" or "too much color" concern, or heater concern. You can use it simply to test the tube (gun emissions and heater) and in this regard the tool is worth owning just for that function alone imho.

When you're done all your testing and youve come to the conclusion that the tube is just borked, THEN its time to zap that tube!!! You might end up with a perfect tube that lives for years, it might live for a little while, it might not live at all.

Im at about a 75% success rate. Proper setup is key. too much heater or g1 will kill a tube fast. However, sometimes, it wont rejuve and cranking that up a little is the only way to even get the damn tube to try to rejuvenate after you've tried several times to rejuvenate it normally.

ALso dont forget the old school "rapid tapping on the neck with a screwdriver handle" trick. Ive had that work before in combination with a rejuve. THeres a fine line between a good whack and a oops i necked the tube whack, so be careful( might want to practice on a old tv tube or something)

One last trick i learned from ken layton. Put the tube face down on a pillow. WHen you rejuve youre burning that krap off the end of the guns. In most cabs, that krap drips down around the other guns electrodes so you can get random washout and random colors (because of the krap arcing out between the pins) if you do not rejuve the tube while face down.
 
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I have a Sencore CR7000 and I NEVER use the "rejuve" setting. I always use the "restore" setting which is MUCH safer (not sure if yours has a similar safer setting).I usually do it on the "normal" setting and I have done it to a bunch of my monitors and it IS magical. It ALMOST always makes the monitor better to a degree. Sometimes more drastic than others, and sometimes not much at all. But it always makes it better to a degree. I am a little gun shy to use it, and I only use it if I deem the monitor not-perfect, I never use it if the monitor is good. But when I do I am usually pleased with the results. I have brought some pretty far gone monitors from absolute crap to absolute perfect with the thing. YMMV, I suppose. :)

And, I did destroy one monitor with it, and that's cause the thing was so far gone as it was, I went for it and did the "rejuve" setting one too many times and it killed what life it had left. But I knew I was going for it and it was a lost cause anyways. :D

And, yeah, make sure you have your settings correct!
 
I have a Sencore CR7000 and I NEVER use the "rejuve" setting. I always use the "restore" setting which is MUCH safer (not sure if yours has a similar safer setting).I usually do it on the "normal" setting and I have done it to a bunch of my monitors and it IS magical. It ALMOST always makes the monitor better to a degree. Sometimes more drastic than others, and sometimes not much at all. But it always makes it better to a degree. I am a little gun shy to use it, and I only use it if I deem the monitor not-perfect, I never use it if the monitor is good. But when I do I am usually pleased with the results. I have brought some pretty far gone monitors from absolute crap to absolute perfect with the thing. YMMV, I suppose. :)

And, I did destroy one monitor with it, and that's cause the thing was so far gone as it was, I went for it and did the "rejuve" setting one too many times and it killed what life it had left. But I knew I was going for it and it was a lost cause anyways. :D

And, yeah, make sure you have your settings correct!

Yup. CR7000 is great. I use mine mostly for testing but I have used restore on a few really dim tubes. Worked great. The fact that it automatically cuts off after the correct amount of time during a restore/rejuve is a great feature.

My Lethal Enforcer monitor was REALLY washed out and dim. It looks freaking brand new now!
 
Anyone else have a tube with a weak gun and end up with a unusable tube in the end? I'm using a Heathkit CRT Tester/Rejuvenator Model IT-5230 with an adapter I made using this thread http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=114269&highlight=Heathkit+IT-5230 I have yet to make any tube better only worse and killed two monitors now, well one was already dead but it was not shorted and I couldn't fix it. I'm using the instructions printed on the sticker of the lid, maybe there is a better way? I'm not sure if its operator error or what. The last monitor I killed just a minute ago was a G07 from a pacman the red was weak so I hit it with the rejuvenate and cleaned it meters read much better almost perfect. hooked back to the chassie no red at all. Any ideas? Tried it a few times same result.

I've yet to kill a tube with a rejuvenator... but I've pretty much always used "Clean/Balance" on the BK 470's I've worked with. Everyone once and a while there will be a gun that just won't budge, and I'll hit it with the rejuve cycle for a little bit and that usually knocks the crap loose enough to have C/B work.

I highlighted the text up there because Heathkits are sold as, well... kits. Unless you put it together yourself, then you have no idea what the person who put it together did with it. If it was a Heathkit radio or something like that, I'd have no problem using it... but a high-voltage based device on a sensitive 30+ year old object that uses magnetism to steer photons through a grid onto a tiny grid of phosphor? ... no thanks, I'll stick with the big names.
 
I've never destroyed a tube with a rejuvenator. I have made them work a lot better. When the tubes guns are close to being equal its a lot easier on the board to run it.

I use a BK 470 and as long as you follow the instructions, it should be almost impossible to kill a tube unless the tube is about to die already. I've had tubes I couldn't do much with, but most are salvageable.
 
Wow.. I'm surprised to hear such a high rate of tube killers. EVERY monitor I have in my collection... I've used the 470 and rejuv and never killed one. Normally if the monitor 'doesn't' need a rejuv the needle drops super fast...thus there's hardly anything going on anyways.

I do read and follow the instruction every time...even though I've done quite a few. I wanna make sure I don't miss something that would kill a tube.

I do also flip the tube on it's face...to keep the crud from falling down back in the neck. I only didn't do that once....it was quite light show when I fired it but the tube lived!
 
I have only killed tube that were almost dead or already dead. I normally complete a tube over the course of a hour. I zap one gun then wait for it to cool( 2-5 mins) zap a different color, and wait. I place them on a towel face down and gentely tap with a plastics baseball bat( a little one) or a screwdriver.

-Jake
 
I use a Sencore CR70 and have NEVER had a tube fail because of a rejuve/restore. I just run everything by the book, although on my tubes I've found that running at 7v for the heater (instead of the 6.3v rating) I generally get better results. I always start with the auto restore and then go up from there, but I've NEVER had to use the full "rejuve" function.

I always test the tube first and get all the readings, and compare them with the other guns. The restore functions will cover everything from balancing all of the tracking and gun emissions, to getting a weak color gun back.

I've done about 4-5 tubes thus far (two 25" K7000s, a 25" U5000, and a G07 or two). It's always benefited the tubes.
 
I have done maybe 50 tubes with no problems using bk490. I thought I read the bk490 was safer to use than the older bk models.

Yes, its not something you do with a cap kit, but results on bad weak tubes has been good to excellent.
 
I used a IT-5230 on my Neo Geo and was quite pleased with the result. Tip: Do NOT push the heater voltage higher than the instructions explicitly tell you to. Bringing it up to the right setting and holding it there is key to making this rejuvenator work -- higher voltages will only kill your heater. Another thing I do is when I'm returning to test mode, I turn the heater voltage all the way down, put the rejuvenator back in test, THEN re-set the heater (always exactly 6.3 unless you're presently cleaning/rejuvenating), and let the needles settle before calling it good or bad.
 
I also return the controls to their lowest or off setting when done. Then set them again for the next tube I'm going to work on. It helps prevent accidents.
 
One last thing. The B&K units are relatively automated. The Heathkit rejuve is very, very manual. You need to have a clear head and pay close attention because you have to do everything by hand.
 
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