Using brighteners?

[mattdavala]

Good day everybody!

I know back in the day people use to use brighteners on there weak CRT's. Well how effective was it? I have a 1955 Majestic 21inch console that is getting weak. It takes a few minutes for full brightness, which isn't much. Brightness is set about 90-95% full. Retrace lines too.

Would a brightener help before I can afford a rebuild(hah!) or would it destroy the heater? Check out the photo I have.

Does that look like a weak CRT to you? 21EP4B is what I have and its already a rebuild. Origional was a 21ZP4, this looks like the same tube but the gun in the CRT has handwritten on actual structure 21EP4B.

If a brightener would work does anyone have one theyd be will to give up?
Thanks!

[bgadow]

A brightener can extend the life of a tube and will not destroy it overnight. Sometimes you can run a brightener for a day or so and then take it off-the effects of running at higher voltage will remain even after it as been reduced, if only for a little while. Eventually the cathode will just plain wear out. I have an Emerson 21" that perked up with a brightener but finally, the last time I used it, the picture just faded to a barely visible image. The CRT is just plain shot. Luckily I have a spare. The good news is your set uses a fairly common picture tube so finding a replacement might not be so bad.

[andy]

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[radiotvnut]

I'd suggest getting a later model B&K (like a 467, 470, 480, or 490) CRT tester. These usually do a pretty good job of bringing back a weak tube. Stay away from models below 467 unless you want to fry your CRT. These can often be bought on epay for a reasonable price since the popularity of the CRT is fading.

I've ran into TV's (both B&W and color) with a brightner hanging off the tube. Sometimes, the tube would already be worn to the point where rejuvenation would not work. Other times, I've removed the brightner and they rejuvenated just fine. I've seen a few B&W tubes with open filaments as a result of a brightner. An old TV repair friend told me that he once had a B&W set come in with 3 brightners hanging off the tube. He added that the filament was burned out.

If a decent CRT tester is not possible, go ahead with the brightner. I think you'll have better results with the CRT tester.

[kbmuri]

The user's manual for the Beltron CRT Restorer is pretty clear that using a brightener will severely reduce the likelihood of a successful rejuvenation later. The last few Beltron CRT restorers on eBay went for less than 30 dollars. Every serious vintage TV collector ought to have one. My 2c.

[jpdylon]

ditto on the beltron. They do wonders on weak CRTs, far more than any of the sencore or B&K rejuvenators I've owned. Worth having one if you're going to be in this hobby.

[Tony V]

I agree with Kbmuri and Jordan about Beltrons. After reading about their success with bringing back several hopeless tubes i went out and bought one myself. It brought back several that my other restorers didnt and so far their still working great.
-Tony

[newhallone]

So what do they do different than others? I have a Central Electronics Model RE-1 Multiphase crt Rejuvatube, with a B&K C40 Color & 110 deg. tube adapter and a B&K Cr-4 adapter. I have yet to use it but it's probably not a good unit, right?

[andy]

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[kbmuri]

The 2972-E does not use the 9-pin connectors (if andy's question confused any 2972 owners). All the different crt sockets are all just glommed together in parallel on one big ungainly cable and you use whichever one fits.

The 8080-A is a bit cleaner, the main cable with the octal tube base (that plugs into the 3 octal sockets on the main unit) has a 9-pin Molex-like rectangular female connector at the other end. Then you get a bunch of individual cables with a CRT socket on one end and the male 9-pin Molex-like rectangular connector on the other end. Lets you pick the CRT socket that fits and plug it (and only it) into the main cable. Leave the other cables on the service truck.

I use my 2972-E all the time, with great results.

Case in point: I bought an RCA 721-TS at the ETF convention last spring with a known bad CRT.

So far it's the only "restorable" CRT I've encountered that the Beltron couldn't fix. A "restorable" CRT meaning it has filament continuity and vacuum -- nothing can be done if the filament is burned out or if it's gone to air. Probably goes without saying that somebody before me fried the 721's CRT with a cheapie rejuvenator or ran it forever on a brightener before retiring it. On the bright side (pun intended?) I also bought a well-used 10BP4A at the same time (ETF's silent auction) for a good price, and it responded perfectly to the low-risk "clean" function of the Beltron and shows a nice bright raster on my test jig. Am saving it to put in the 721 when I get a round tuit.

I bought an 8080-A from that ePay place because I was the only bidder and got it for a couple bucks and was curious what the difference between the two was. Not much besides the connectors and an extra switch to power 12V-filament CRTs. Anyway, the 9-pin connector is made by AMP, so I researched it and couldn't find a match. Closest I got was these:

http://www.mouser.com/Search/Refine....38&Ns=P_SField

But I doubt they would plug-n-play. It would be possible to buy a female and then a bunch of males though, and retrofit all the existing connectors and then make new adaptors to your heart's content. I'd be inclined to try that. I need to make a few homemade adapters myself (one for the 7JP4 for sure), so I could go that route if need be.

Back on topic: mattdavala, I think the consensus is for you to NOT run your CRT on a brightener. If it has a dim pic now, without having been abused, it would probably restore to like-new and run for an indefinite period of light use if you got it to a good CRT restorer. Borrow one or buy one from that ePay place next time one shows up. My 2c.

[mattdavala]

I am glad to say that I purchased a Beltron 8080 off ebay. I am not glad to say how much I paid for it. I have been keeping a look out for Beltrons on ebay for the past couple of weeks, and this was the first one that popped up. Its ebay item # 370036091436.

Its complete with 10 adapters and 2 manuals. Can't wait to get it now!

Best regards,
Matt Davala

[Old1625]

The tube may be weak, and a good rejuv and perhaps a brightener may bring it back some. The retrace lines I see suggest that there may be other areas in the set such as the video amplifier stages after the pix IFs that may bear further study to be sure things are as they should be.

[kbmuri]

Yeah, that was a lot to pay for one. It's hard to say what they are "worth". I think the only commercial use left for them is for video-arcade-game repairmen to rejuve CRTs on older games. In a business environment like that, $288 woud be a reasonable expense, as it would pay itself back pretty quickly. For hobbyists like us, maybe, maybe not. I imagine you just wanted one "now". Fair enough. With some patience, I think in the next 6 months probably 4 or 5 Beltrons might have shown up on ePay and sold for $25-$50. Or might not have. They're very hit-and-miss. For the convenience of "now" I guess you did ok. For what it's worth, the one you bought started out at $700 and has been for sale for a couple of years. I always wondered if it would ever sell. On the good side, it looks completely complete and is tested working. You'll want to pull all the light bulbs and check them with an ohmmeter just to be sure. I don't know how many old CRTs you have, but you may want to practice on a CRT that's not important to you first, just to get a "Feel" for using it.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[WISCOJIM]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=310060340941

[andy]

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