[jmetal88]

This is probably an odd question, but since I insist on keeping a 'modern' CRT TV around for daily viewing (and since I can't afford any kind of HDTV at the moment), I've been on a search for a set with a good picture that isn't too hard to move around. The year before last, I made the mistake of purchasing a Sony KV-32FS120 from a local restaurant for $40. It had a great picture, but the yoke had apparently come loose (of course they didn't have cable hooked up, so all I got to see before I took it home was a screen full of static), and I had to reposition it and re-install the spacers to make the picture look acceptable. But I soon gave the TV away, for multiple reasons. First of all, after I had been using it for a while, I started noticing color purity issues. I adjusted the yoke to sort those out, but couldn't get the problem to completely go away. Second, the thing was just way too hard to move!

So, as soon as I got the opportunity, I purchased another TV set that had the same size tube, but was much easier to move: a Toshiba 32A33 for $30. This one I was not able to test at all, as it was located in a house that was being moved out of, and the electricity had already been turned off. Now this one had the yoke solidly in place, but it was still positioned where there was a slight upward bend in all the horizontal lines, and I noticed that it also seemed to have color purity issues. I was unable to free the purity adjustment rings on the neck of the CRT, so I had to leave them alone, but I was able to free the yoke for adjustment, which didn't really help much at all. In fact, I noticed that when I pulled the yoke back, the 'impure' patches of color were actually the 'opposite' colors of what I see when viewing the TV with the yoke in its normal position. I've tried degaussing the set as well, but it only helps temporarily, and it only helps when I use the degaussing coil 'improperly' (meaning, I try to magnetize the corner of the set with the largest color issue rather than trying to demagnetize the entire set). Another interesting thing is that the picture just seems to be a little dim along the left-hand side of the screen.

So it leaves me wondering, is 32" too big to get decent color purity out of a CRT? Or is it something about these particular sets that was just causing issues from age? I'm tempted to try and find a decent late model 27" CRT soon for comparison.