5Please don't forget about tube swaps in og arcade cabinets fellas. (LCD conversions are sad and pathetic instant gratification. Not to mention what is known as "the jaggies" with the resulting picture). I'm a tube collector/labeled hoarder, been saving/selling off here and there 10~yrs. I live in KY across from Cin, OH and I am even saying now that the curbside finds are drying up now. There's a guy that is my "competition" I guess a few miles away. Big difference though, in front of his garage as recently as this past trash night, there were 2 carcusses with the cases and tubes w/necks smashed
netting him $2 in scrap.
In contrast, the last CRT I found a cpl weeks ago (after 2-3mths of drought) was a Super Scan(neverheardofit)/Funai tube vcr/dvd combo. I had very little hope of it being anything useful. Turns out it is a match (incl h/v ohms) for a k7000 tube
I own upwards of 100 sets, late 60s-fwd (EDIT*-27" and smaller haha). I intend to have a few for me the rest of my days, (turned 51). I am not saying I will ever get rich off doing this, but I do enjoy it. Seems like, imho, the next x-number of yrs will be the time to flip some to the millenials. Just a few days ago, I saw a news piece on one of the networks, with guys in there 30-40s eagerly collecting VHS tapes. They all had tube sets. ****
My whole point of these ramblings: You guys that are throwing away sets, if inclined, may want to pop off the back first and web search the tube numbers and see if in fact there are any that are useful for arcade cabs. If you find any potential matches, check/document the h&v ohms and verify neck type and viola. Those purists will surely appreciate and pay some $ for it, win-win. And also don't forget those "Barcades" are popping up more and more too! One of the Brits I chat with in Discord said that the depot that services the arcades still in existence are importing tubes from the U.S. now. This post wasn't meant as hype, for ex: I junked cars that were almost worthless 2-3 decades ago and if I still had them they'd make me A LOT more money than 99% of any low-risk investments around now.
2nd edit- How could I forget?? This is so good to see for the future/interest.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l6mUYQhgSU - Custom modded new CRT chassis. PLEASE TAKE A STEP BACK BEFORE SIMPLY TRASHING A TUBE.