Manufacturing new CRT GCA monitors?

saltbreez

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Hey Guys,

Been busy getting the family settled in VA; it is good to be home.

Been down for a while from Arcade stuff; My upright Defender and cocktail Stargate and an assortment of smaller arcade stuff is all that made it here from the west coast.

I'm sorry if this topic has been discussed ad-nauseam, but I have been out of the loop. Is anyone selling new manufactured CRT CGA arcade style monitors any more?

Thanks,
Saltbreez
 
It be really nice if they would. Perhaps we should all join a monitor co-op and repro G07 monitors.
 
Short answer, no.

Just gotta find some old stock kicking around.. As no more CRTs are being imported into the US..
Hmmm...does that mean they are being manufactured and are available if somebody wanted to be an importer? Or that they are illegal to import? Or that they just aren't being made anywhere for anyone?
 
You can still get CRT television sets and some other displays, but they tend to be a special order / made in Korea sort of thing.

The actual demand for new CGA crt monitors is so small that it would be nearly impossible to pull off profitably. I would imagine you would have to order 10,000 of them to get them down to a price people would be willing to pay, even then it would be a low quality chinese or korean monitor that you would never be able to sell 10,000 of.
 
Is it possible to make a truly universal monitor chassis (any TV, any size)? Seems like that would be more practical considering there are a bajillion home use TVs still floating around.
 
Is it possible to make a truly universal monitor chassis (any TV, any size)? Seems like that would be more practical considering there are a bajillion home use TVs still floating around.

They already do.. They're called Wei-Ya or Jen-Shin replacement chassis.

You can buy a 14"-20" chassis with 8 pins and it will work with 90% of the tubes made since 1992 -- yoke included on the original tube.

Picture quality and durability may vary but these have been discussed to death in various threads here on KLOV and on BYOAC.

I've tried some and had good results with some, excellent with other.

You can also get 25-27" versions that work on the same time period of tubes. You can also get alternate versions that work on the mid-80's style 13"/19" tubes though there was much greater variation in tube and yoke styles then they're harder to match, and a lot less common to still find being tossed out.

Costs around $50-$90 depending on model for these replacement chassis.
 
Best bet, just get a rebuilt wells/electrohome/etc chassis and get yourself a donor tube. I've been swapping tubes for almost 2 years now, my entire collection has donor tubes.. Also have half a dozen monitors on the shelf waiting to be swapped in when one fails.. 19" and 25" tvs are everywhere..
 
The hard part is that many second hand stores like goodwill are starting not to sell crt monitors either. Its going to get really tough to find these in another ten years.
 
That is why we all need to stock up now. It is easy to find tubes now. Probably won't be so easy in 5 years.

The hard part is that many second hand stores like goodwill are starting not to sell crt monitors either. Its going to get really tough to find these in another ten years.
 
So is there anyone in the chicago/detroit area doing tube swaps for other collectors or willing to show me how? I'd love to get my swapped out while I can. Just really not ready to try to figure out the tech to do it.
 
So is there anyone in the chicago/detroit area doing tube swaps for other collectors or willing to show me how? I'd love to get my swapped out while I can. Just really not ready to try to figure out the tech to do it.

It's a snap. If you're ever in the Detroit area, swing by and I'll show you.
 
The problem I've had is finding the right tube that works with Wells 4900 and K7000 . I collected TV's for awhile and never found any that fit , so I gave up .

Is it better to find an old TV and get a new replacement chassis ? That way most likely it will work ?
 
The problem I've had is finding the right tube that works with Wells 4900 and K7000 . I collected TV's for awhile and never found any that fit , so I gave up .

Is it better to find an old TV and get a new replacement chassis ? That way most likely it will work ?

The 4900 and K7000 don't use the same tube.
 
The 4900 and K7000 don't use the same tube.

Yeah I know , the K7000 has the smaller neck board socket .

What I meant was looking for TV tubes that would fit both those chassis's was difficult . I know you gotta find the older 80's TV's , but those aren't that common . And most TV's are 20"not 19" . I had collected alot of TV's , I think 10 , and non were compatible . BUT if I used the tubes and bought new replacement chassis's , that might be alot easier .

How hard is it to fit a 20" tube into a classic cab like MsPacman ? Anyone done this ?
 
Not worth doing. Seriously? You're having trouble finding 19" TV's where you are?

Man, I'm tripping on them here. Free ones EVERYWHERE on CL, and the local Habitat for Humanity ReStore is loaded with TV's - I get them for $4.00 a piece.

Biggest thing to worry about when trying to find tube swap candidates are what I like to call the 'big 3'


  • neck compatible
  • ears back, NOT forward
  • yoke NOT bonded
Aside from that, if you can clear those 3 hurdles, you should have a tube that will work. It may take some convergence work, but it should work.


My biggest struggle lately is the whole 'ears back' part. So many TV's I grab seem to have the implosion band holding the tube ears in the 'ears forward' position. That's no good, because it pushes the tube's neck too far back in the cabinet and stuff doesn't fit right (like molded bezels and such). Of the last 6 TV's I've grabbed, 5 of them were 'ears forward.'



I've gotten pretty good at spotting what I need now by looking through the vents. Including the tube's ears. The guys at the local ReStore are saving TV's for me now - I stop in once a week to examine the latest crop.
 
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