You can read about my love-hate relationship with a Predicta barberpole here:
http://antiqueradio.org/philc12.htm
I suppose all pain is relative. I have been following your GE 800 story on ARF and that has convinced me never to mess with one of those. The Predicta board is not the easiest thing to deal with, but this model is a very well known quantity, similar to the RCA 630TS. No matter what problem it may have, someone will know how to fix it.
In hindsight, I wish I had shotgunned every part in sight on that wonderful board the first time I removed it. Pulling it a second time goes faster, since the process is familiar, but in a better world you wouldn't have to keep re-fixing something.
As Eric notes, overall the experience isn't all
that horrible, if you know what you're getting into. When working well, a Predicta makes a nice picture, and you can be sure that visitors will remember it.
The CRTs are not super easy to find.
The CRT cover can get stinky, as well as cloudy, as the plastic breaks down internally. Mine wasn't noticeable for over a decade, but recently started to smell. The latest stuff I'm trying is Plexo, a cleaner for plastic & glass. No idea whether it will cure the problem long term, but at least the smell of the cleaner is different than the smell of the cover.
As I have said many times, owning a Predicta is like dating the head cheerleader in high school. Fun, but high maintenance.
Phil Nelson
Phil's Old Radios
http://antiqueradio.org/index.html