RCA AU122N Questions
 

I have had this TV for quite some time and went to turn it on last week and, nothing. If found the fuse had blown, so I replaced it. I turned it on and it seemed to work, but I thought I'd go over it to see if there was something obvious as to why the fuse blew. Of course I have no clue if there is something wrong with just a visual inspection.

I do have a couple questions, though. I tested the CRT and it is good. But was wondering why there is no suction cup on the anode. Is this correct? I tried searching for the answer as to whether all anodes had a cap, but found nothing.

Also, what is that bulb attached to the CRT socket? Never seen it before.

Thanks!

Given it looks like there's clear shrink tubing over the connector solder joint it probably never had a suction cup. A lot of monochrome sets never had a suction cup. The Predicta never even had heat shrink they just stuck the wire into the spring clip and soldered.

I don't see a bulb but if it's neon it could be used as a spark gap...That was a somewhat common practice too.

I can see a neon bulb on top of the CRT. Tom C. is correct that a neon bulb is often used as a spark gap.

Cool. I just figured I'd check as I know how some people attempt repairs and leave it worse than when started.

Ah, learn something new everyday. The only spark gaps I've seen are in my Zenith and they are two wires tied together near the top.