Gathering data on CRT rebuild value

[jhalphen]

Hi to all,

Hello Nick,

I am worried about one essential step in the CRT rebuilding process: rebuilding the guns. For most of our vintage tubes, NOS ready to install guns simply do not exist, therefore the only way is to take apart the original gun, replace the filament(s) + cathode(s), then reassemble.

This is no mean feat: the entire electrode structure must be taken apart then reassembled in 3D space with perfect spacing & alignment geometry. We're talking fractions of millimeters in all 3 dimensions here. The issue is not only rebuilding a working gun, it must conform to the original specs for it to work perfectly in a vintage TV.

Imagine for instance that an original focus voltage called for 800 Volts but that the rebuilt gun focussed correctly only at 1000 Volts. The TV's circuitry would need to be modified or the CRT rebuilt again. And this is just one parameter among a myriad that can veer off course.

Not trying to be a kill joy here, but just trying to convey how difficult it is to do if you don't have the luxury of just taking a NOS gun out of a bin.

Two years ago, i queried François R. at RACS about doing an inverse operation to Nick's coming to France: if the ETF CRT plant was installed & ready, would he come to the US as a consultant to teach the art of gun rebuilding + iron out the bugs as the facility started to operate? the answer was "why not".

That was 2 years ago. Still i think that someone with 40 years experience in CRT/gun rebuilding would be invaluable to shorten the learning curve of the new facility.

In RACS's 35 years of operation, even when the plant had 30 employees, François R. was the only person who took apart & reassembled guns.

Question:
Would Hawkeye's Scotty accept to do this? his residing on US soil would really make things easier/cheaper.

Best Regards

jhalphen
Paris/France