8 May
2006
8 May
'06
9:49 p.m.
I've been thinking about some of my machines that have built in CRTs.
I'm wondering how best to maximize the lifetime of the CRTs and the
eventual scarcity of replacements. Does a CRT live longest if it is
used often, or if it is left unused, or somewhere in between?
The cathode will fail faster (lose emission), the phosphor will fail
faster, etc when the CRT is in use. I would guess it's better to leave
them not running.
That said, the CRTs themselves are not likely to be hard to replace. Most
of the monochrome ones used in terminals, etc, are similar to the ones
used in black and white portable TVs, and those don't seem to be in short
supply yet. I would be more worried about finding replacements for
flyback transformers, which are more likely to fail than CRTs anyway.
For most of these machines, it would be possible to route the video
signal to an external monitor and disconnect the power from the CRT
itself. The question is would that prolong the life of the CRT?
Disconnect the power from the complete monitor section. That way you
remove the power from the horizontal output stage too, thus reducing the
risk to the flyback transformer.
-tony