Quote:
Originally Posted by bandersen
Really ?!? Hawkeye was charging $300. I can't imagine how VDC could do it for only $39. It involves so much time and labor not to mention the cost of the new gun.
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...And I thought $39 was high, considering I used to get them done for $16.95 at Dunbar in West Los Angeles in the 80s (color tubes were $39.50). I know it's all about supply & demand, and obviously the supply was great when there was a CRT oven in the back of half of the small TV repair shops. And now by context, I guess they don't make that gun anymore, so it would have to be re-cathoded. That would explain the $300 for Hawkeye, although I hadn't personally used them.
There really isn't that much time & labor involved at all. I've personally rebuilt a 10BP4 under supervision at Dunbar, and it's about 20 minutes total labor, and the rest of the time is oven time and vacuum pulldown time. You hotwire a tiny hole in the side of the neck, let the air in, then use a hot snare wire to crack the neck and old gun off. Then you weld an extension onto the neck, and cut it to proper length, then weld the new gun onto the neck. Stick it in the oven and hook up the vacuum line, and at the end of the day, you pinch off the vacuum nipple, thread the base on, and watch TV! Of course that's if you're a seasoned pro, which I'm not... But I don't see why anyone couldn't be taught easily and quickly.
I guess I'm just getting old, and time is going by faster
Charles