That's fair. I thought CRTs usually imploded though? Makes a big mess but not necessarily creating shrapnel.
Quite a bit of shrapnel tends to bounce off stuff. Also the problem is cleaning up little bits of glass is difficult. I have a pretty bad scar on my right hand as a reminder of that
Oh I've slashed a fingertip open with a vacuum tube that I didn't know was broken. NOT fun.
Indeed. It was an ECC82 that gave me this scar. Managed to smash it trying to get it out of a corroded socket back in the very early 1980s. Didn't see the chunk of it on the table that had escaped the clean up and put my hand down on it. Cue "muuuuuuuuum my hand is pissing blood"
Indeed. It was an ECC82 that gave me this scar. Managed to smash it trying to get it out of a corroded socket back in the very early 1980s. Didn't see the chunk of it on the table that had escaped the clean up and put my hand down on it. Cue "muuuuuuuuum my hand is pissing blood"
Yeoowch. Yeah, I was going through a stash of tubes at a local surplus store and there was one that wasn't obviously broken (but it was) and I managed to rake my finger across a very sharp bit of glass sticking out. Luckily they had first aid supplies and I got it cleaned up and bandaged.
Oof that's the worst when that happens. At least I was semi expecting to let some juice out rather than being caught by surprise
In other news, in the same lot, I found 4 RCA high power mercury vapor rectifier tubes. Each one complete with all the little balls of mercury. I passed on that, because while I can deal with broken glass if one of my display tubes breaks, I do NOT want that mess in my lab!
I use these blocks of foam to display tubes. Works very well! The little tubes are out of a bag of random TV tubes I bought at a hamfest. The big ones (from left): Tung-Sol 5998 (working these are worth a lot of money but this one has no getter left) Sylvania JAN 1625 transmitter tube (this type was used in military aircraft radios during WW2, including B-17s), and an RCA JAN 8025 (a very oddball transmitter
tetrode triode).
That looks pretty cool
I wanted to do something similar myself with a display cabinet (which is safe!) when we eventually move house. There are a lot of cool tubes out there.
For sure. My local surplus store has a huge number of tubes of all kinds, so when I get the itch, I'll go pick up a few. I try to go for oddballs.
Now I wouldn't own a used BMW even if you paid me. They may be fine examples of German craftsmanship and engineering but they are maintenance nightmares if something breaks. And unfortunately that happens quite often. And how do I know this little tidbit? My Son is the collision manager at the local BMW dealer.
Owned 2 Audis, back when just out of college. Again, fascinating craftsmanship, but I once made a list of the things which broke on those cars and it was unreal. Multiple voltage regulators, water pump, starter, fuse box, dash and door handles/knobs, light switches, fan belts, air conditioner pump bearings, shift lever boot, tach cable, air induction hose, water hoses, struts, wheel bearings, and more I can't think of right now. More stuff on one car than I've had on six cars since then.
My favorite BMW repair fail is on certain older 5 series cars (including M5), disconnecting the battery improperly would literally blow up the navigation system computer (which also controls other things). The manual did NOT make this clear!
My favorite BMW repair fail is on certain older 5 series cars (including M5), disconnecting the battery improperly would literally blow up the navigation system computer (which also controls other things). The manual did NOT make this clear!
Mine is changing the water pump on the E46 cars and not tighting the fan blade back down properly...they wobble off at high RPM and destroy everything in the way. I blew up a 99 E46 on the road coming back from Nuremberg with my family in the car (headed to Bamberg), in the middle of winter...spun the main bearing and blew a cloud of black smoke so big it looked like the car was on fire.
I love the E46 platform, still have one now, the 05 model, last year they made them and my boy will get it this year when he gets his DL.
note: my HP3456A has no bids and 5m's left. not even worth $200 right now, amazing. Maybe I need to put this stuff away a month or so and wait for people to get tax money or save a bit more.
@mnemeth
I'm a bit flabbergasted about your computer. Is that really for some kid or why did you not use industrial components?
Huh?
mnem
*Off to pick up the kids*
It's just that ... never mind.
I must admit. Back when I was young and stupid I too once committed CRT-micide. It was an older all glass round 561 (no suffix) CRT. I had salvaged the chassis for the power transformer. The rest of it was junk but the CRT appeared OK but I had no use for it. I wrapped it in an old quilt and hit it with a sledge hammer. Made a hell of a popping sound.
I have since begged for forgiveness from the CRT gods, performed my penance, and been given a second chance.
You must say ten "hail high-voltages" and you will be forgiven my son.
That's fair. I thought CRTs usually imploded though? Makes a big mess but not necessarily creating shrapnel.
That's true. Initially the CRT will "implode" due to the high vacuum. But the pieces keep going, especially if it's all glass, and the result is an "explosion" and shrapnel everywhere. If you ever get the chance to see a TV CRT manufactured from the mid 1960's onward you will see a mesh screen built into the aquadag coating on the bell of the CRT. This is to prevent the glass from exploding outward should the CRT be broken under vacuum.
And how do you properly "deactivate" a CRT and relieve the vacuum so it's safe? Simple. Under the base socket is an exhaust tip just like a normal vacuum tube. Break off the exhaust tip and the air slowly goes into the CRT without causing it to implode.
I remember as a kid coming across a few old TV's just dumped in a field with the backs off. Luckily I was aware of the dangers but could not resist smashing one or two of them in the name of public safety of course so I stood quite some distance away and lobbed brick bats at them, never forgot the bang they made when they imploded and I have a healthy regard for any CRT regardless of its size as a result of that experience, I certainly would not want to be close to one when it imploded thats for damn sure.
Breaking the pips on the end is no fun. Specmaster’s brick treatment is the best.
When I was a kid I did a few. It’s a rite of passage. Best was an old Grundig 32” job from the 70s. It wasn’t old but was BER so someone stuck it on the street for the scrappy. Chucked a brick at that and it bounced off. Wasn’t having any of that shit! Then we got startled by a passing police car so moved on. I respect that TV to this day.
My mother was into recycling such that she'd have twenty or so old non working box tvs in a row. My job was to take a sledgehammer and go TV to TV breaking the CRT for safety.
I used to wrap my leftover salvaged CRT's in a canvas tarp for easy cleanup if it all went wrong then break the pip or it is just possible a 1/2 brick may have been used on more than one occasion