What CRT Tester / Rejuvenator Do You Recommend?

KevinSin

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Hello Everyone,

I'm stepping up my repair knowledge and have decided to start repairing my own CRT monitors due to cost and availability. I'm currently researching CRT Tester / Rejuvenators that work well. I have my sights on a Sencore CR-7000 which appears to be the best candidate. Has anyone used this? Which ones out there do you think work best?

Much appreciated as always :)
 

Excellent recommendation! I had my eye on this one as well. I see that you had to make some adapter sockets for this model to repair some tubes. From what I read the CR-7000 comes with adapter sockets for testing all types of picture tubes which may give it a slight advantage. What is a good price to pay for the model your using? I really like it :)
 
I picked up a bk 490 off ebay with 23 adapters for like $175 about 2 years ago. Works great.

The only adapters your going to really use on raster games are 23(k7000, g07, hantrex, I think nintendo monitors too), cr31(some k7000s), and possibly 24 if you have any color xy games..

If you have B&W games, you will probably use a bunch of the lower numbers.. Have not used it yet on a B&W.

Any of the BK's would be good, but the 490 (and 467) have 3 meters and it probably lets you setup a little faster..

If not on ebay, check CL. I have seen them pop up.

Never used a sencore, but I would imagine its pretty much the same. Go with whichever you can find cheapest and with the adapters you need.
 
I've been watching for a B&K 490 on Ebay for a while - nothing short of $400 + now - the secret is out. I settled for something much much cheaper.
 
I have a CR7000 and I love it. It wasn't cheap but I got it as an investment. The money I save by fixing tubes will make up for it. Its done wonders on tubes I considered shot. I really like their online setup database. Any tubes made after the setup book was printed are updated online. You type in the tube number and it tells you how to configure the machine. Really convenient.
 
i decided instead of spending a bunch of cash i'd go for something simple and inexpensive and picked up a Heathkit 5230 off of eBay in nice shape for something like $40 shipped. yeah, it doesn't have a few of the bells and whistles of the other units and came with only about 6 adapters (one of which i changed to a cr-23 style with the help of a busted Kortek neckboard.) but it does have three meters which some of the more expensive B&K models don't and it tests and rejuves tubes just fine. out of the 10 or so tubes i've tried it on i've had only one that couldn't be revived and it had a bad gun which a B&K couldn't fix either.

so "best" might be an expensive Cadillac which gets you there in style but in the end a cheap little Kia might do the same thing.
 
I have used many different ones, and they are all the same in the end. It just comes down to how much cash you want to layout. As Todd put it, "Do you want a Kia or a Caddy?"
 
I have a BK490 at work that I use and like quite a bit.

So, i decided I needed one for the house, but didn't want to pay the bucks for a 490.

Looked on Ebay and got lucky. Found a BK467 - looks and works the same as a 490. It was "untested" and all I knew was that it turned on. So I took a chance, won it for $2.24 + $13 shipping and got it a few days later. Worked perfectly - sometimes better than the 490. Of course, being an older model, it didn't come with the CR-23 and CR-31 adapters that are so popular, so i made my own from sockets off of TV chassis from donor tube sets, and I'm good to go...
 
B&K 467, 470, 480, and 490 are all good, solid models that share the same adapters. The 465 does NOT but you can make an adapter to use them.

CR-23 = most arcade tubes
CR-31 = Matsushita (Pole Position, etc...) tubes
CR-24 = Vector game tubes

Those are the ones to get. If you buy a unit without 'em it's easy enough to make an adapter. I made my CR-31. All you need is a small multi-pin Molex connector, some wire, and a chopped down neck board. I used a Dremel tool to cut mine down.

If anyone here is in the Dallas area you can contact me about bringing over your tube for a quick check/rejuvenation. I've done a few for forum members around here... and one that came up for a repair day from Houston.

RJ
 
If you have any black and white tubes its number 6

Andrew

B&K 467, 470, 480, and 490 are all good, solid models that share the same adapters. The 465 does NOT but you can make an adapter to use them.

CR-23 = most arcade tubes
CR-31 = Matsushita (Pole Position, etc...) tubes
CR-24 = Vector game tubes

Those are the ones to get. If you buy a unit without 'em it's easy enough to make an adapter. I made my CR-31. All you need is a small multi-pin Molex connector, some wire, and a chopped down neck board. I used a Dremel tool to cut mine down.

If anyone here is in the Dallas area you can contact me about bringing over your tube for a quick check/rejuvenation. I've done a few for forum members around here... and one that came up for a repair day from Houston.

RJ
 
B&K 467, 470, 480, and 490 are all good, solid models that share the same adapters. The 465 does NOT but you can make an adapter to use them.

CR-23 = most arcade tubes
CR-31 = Matsushita (Pole Position, etc...) tubes
CR-24 = Vector game tubes


RJ

CR-31 is also used on 19" K7000's, Vision Pro's, Sanyo's, and I think the Nintendo Sharp's (at least the 18" is)...
 
I have adapters 1-10 and some others besides #6 are labeled as B&W tubes...

That's true but #6 is the only one I've ever needed to use with the b/w games so if you have that one you will be in pretty good shape. Works on b/w rasters and vectors
 
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WOW! Thanks a lot everyone, who needs google when you've got KLOV! I'll let you all know what I end up getting...I have a few monitors around the house I'll be testing out. Now I'm excited to get an arcade with a crappy monitor so I can fix it :)
 
I have a Sencore CR7000 and love it. I have nothing to personally compare it to but I like it.
 
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