Vectrex monitor fixable ??

Prepare for disappointment.

Another place which used to have vector tubes is/was:


They seem to have some "240" series tubes still in stock even at $195. Might be worth inquiring if any are compatible with the 240RB4 CRT.

Similar to refreshing common rasters these days, we mainly seem to have to rely on other consumer products for the replacement parts. Keep that in mind.

Good luck. Maybe 2023 will be a good year.
Wow !!!! I definitely did not come across that site before. I'll keep an eye on it for sure. Amazing !! They have a ton of stuff ! Most of the swap candidates are out of stock as well but who knows, they might come around again.
 
VDC and CRT Solutions used to be on Ebay. Probably still are.
For the longest time "NOS" 19" B/W XY monitors (19VARP4 and M50-102W) were in stock.
I only grabbed one for my Star Castle restoration. Now in hindsight ... you know the story. LOL
Quantities slowly dwindled and the prices, of course, started to rise. (Search Ebay for 19VARP4 and see completed auctions if curious).
And then .... there were none. :(
 
VDC and CRT Solutions used to be on Ebay. Probably still are.
For the longest time "NOS" 19" B/W XY monitors (19VARP4 and M50-102W) were in stock.

And then .... there were none. :(
I managed to grab one of the 19" B/W tubes for my Asteroids. Like your post said " and then there were none".
 
somebody paged me? ANY 9" bw tube will work in the vectrex. (but here are some snags you may need to overcome )

#1 it just fits and works congrats
#2 the mounting ears are too far back..............trim about 1/4" off of the plastic mounting towers inside the case. if you find an original tube in the future you will need to add spacers
#3 everything fits but there is no picture. this likely means you found a tube that has a 12v heater. to fix this clip r529 and connect a jumper from ep503 to ep104.

also for those who may be interested i have NOS 9" bw tubes id sell
 
VDC and CRT Solutions used to be on Ebay. Probably still are.
For the longest time "NOS" 19" B/W XY monitors (19VARP4 and M50-102W) were in stock.
I only grabbed one for my Star Castle restoration. Now in hindsight ... you know the story. LOL
Quantities slowly dwindled and the prices, of course, started to rise. (Search Ebay for 19VARP4 and see completed auctions if curious).
And then .... there were none. :(
plenty of space invaders tubes still out there. they are a drop in replacement
 
somebody paged me? ANY 9" bw tube will work in the vectrex. (but here are some snags you may need to overcome )

#1 it just fits and works congrats
#2 the mounting ears are too far back..............trim about 1/4" off of the plastic mounting towers inside the case. if you find an original tube in the future you will need to add spacers
#3 everything fits but there is no picture. this likely means you found a tube that has a 12v heater. to fix this clip r529 and connect a jumper from ep503 to ep104.

also for those who may be interested i have NOS 9" bw tubes id sell
Ooh! I'm interested in a 9" tube! Is it the original tube type or a different but compatible replacement type?
 
somebody paged me? ANY 9" bw tube will work in the vectrex. (but here are some snags you may need to overcome )

#1 it just fits and works congrats
#2 the mounting ears are too far back..............trim about 1/4" off of the plastic mounting towers inside the case. if you find an original tube in the future you will need to add spacers
#3 everything fits but there is no picture. this likely means you found a tube that has a 12v heater. to fix this clip r529 and connect a jumper from ep503 to ep104.

also for those who may be interested i have NOS 9" bw tubes id sell
Excellent info !! Thank you .. incoming PM definitely interested in replacement tube
 
somebody paged me? ANY 9" bw tube will work in the vectrex. (but here are some snags you may need to overcome )

#1 it just fits and works congrats
#2 the mounting ears are too far back..............trim about 1/4" off of the plastic mounting towers inside the case. if you find an original tube in the future you will need to add spacers
#3 everything fits but there is no picture. this likely means you found a tube that has a 12v heater. to fix this clip r529 and connect a jumper from ep503 to ep104.

also for those who may be interested i have NOS 9" bw tubes id sell
Now see that's good info. Mental note to grab the next 9" thrift shop tube I see for the parts stash.
 
Wow !!!! I definitely did not come across that site before. I'll keep an eye on it for sure. Amazing !! They have a ton of stuff ! Most of the swap candidates are out of stock as well but who knows, they might come around again.
Just hit your local:
Goodwill
Antique
Junque
shops. Look around for a Samsung product (or others) with a 9" tube. Look at the Tubular listing.

You might get lucky.

That, or estate auctions.
 
If you were in Omaha, Nebraska, I'd send you to The Imaginarium (on Howard - two locations - one on the south side between 11th and 12th, and one at the corner of Howard and 13th) or to the place down on Jones and around 15th on the southeast corner. Both of those places had a lot of stuff. Or even check Pawn Shops.
 
I have a spare vectrex tube i took out of a working vectrex so that my friend can fix his one that had broken plastics. It was lovely tube. No burns. Its right st the back of my storage though so a bit hesitant on getting it but if ur in need im happy to help. Only kept it in case mine died but i reckon my vectrex will outlive me after restoration and calibration.

Forgot to add im in the uk but ive shipped far more fragile things acriss the globe without a scratch. Just got to think engineering and mine useful materials around the house to build a bomb proof box. Sony Bvm d24 sent to india and spain was piece of cake 🤣 pioneer pdp v402 to france, child's play. Maybe i should go touch something wooden.
 
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somebody paged me? ANY 9" bw tube will work in the vectrex. (but here are some snags you may need to overcome )

#1 it just fits and works congrats
#2 the mounting ears are too far back..............trim about 1/4" off of the plastic mounting towers inside the case. if you find an original tube in the future you will need to add spacers
#3 everything fits but there is no picture. this likely means you found a tube that has a 12v heater. to fix this clip r529 and connect a jumper from ep503 to ep104.

also for those who may be interested i have NOS 9" bw tubes id sell
How sure are you about "clip r529 and connect a jumper from ep503 to ep104"? I just tried this and released the magic smoke from something on the power/video board. I suspect I have no HV now, and hope the flyback wasn't blown. Haven't started debugging it yet.
 
How sure are you about "clip r529 and connect a jumper from ep503 to ep104"? I just tried this and released the magic smoke from something on the power/video board. I suspect I have no HV now, and hope the flyback wasn't blown. Haven't started debugging it yet.
As long as you have a 12v heater I am 100% confident.
 
you could always go with the latest arcade collecting craze.

"upgrade" it to an LCD. :)


seriously though, good luck with it. I love my Vectrex.
 
As long as you have a 12v heater I am 100% confident.
All the sources I can find say the original tube (240RB4) is already 12V (e.g., https://www.mouser.com/datasheet/2/43/CRT_datasheet-180889.pdf), although I haven't measured what the vectrex is actually supplying at the filament (yet). I definitely added the wire from EP503 to EP104, and there were no shorts--the pads for these two spots are super easy to hit. It's _possible_ that something else in this machine is broken that caused a problem with this modification, but I'm not sure what that could be, as it's just bypassing a 3.3R resistor and connecting power from EP104 directly to the filament. I have 4 working machines, and was playing with this broken one to see if I could get a replacement tube working, so it's not a big deal that it's working less now :), but I'm curious what could have happened.
 
All the sources I can find say the original tube (240RB4) is already 12V (e.g., https://www.mouser.com/datasheet/2/43/CRT_datasheet-180889.pdf), although I haven't measured what the vectrex is actually supplying at the filament (yet). I definitely added the wire from EP503 to EP104, and there were no shorts--the pads for these two spots are super easy to hit. It's _possible_ that something else in this machine is broken that caused a problem with this modification, but I'm not sure what that could be, as it's just bypassing a 3.3R resistor and connecting power from EP104 directly to the filament. I have 4 working machines, and was playing with this broken one to see if I could get a replacement tube working, so it's not a big deal that it's working less now :), but I'm curious what could have happened.
You'll need to find which part let the smoke out. Then look at the schematic.

It could be the part couldn't handle the load. Until we get the schematic and see what smoked, it's hard to say.
 
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