CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

cmjohnson · Joined: 03 Apr 2006 Posts: 5180 Location: Buried under G90s

Not only will I sell sets, I'll sell individual tubes.

I give a price break for selling complete RGB sets, though.

If you buy individual tubes, I'm asking 400 dollars for red or blue, and 500 for green.

Tube condition is comparable to a new tube. NO phosphor wear, damage, burns, or defects.
Tubes are run tested and have normal or better than average G2 and drive level requirements.
Tube bell glass is water clear or has only the faintest traces of early browning.

If you have relaxed tube condition requirements, I have some in all colors that have very faint pattern
wear on them. The wear is simulator type wear, generally shaped like a trapezoid that's close to a rectangle,
and faint, but it is present. These are almost all red or blue. I'll take 200 each for these tubes.

And then we have the "perfect except for a spot" tubes. I have two or three blues that have dead spots or small
deflection burn spots on them. Otherwise they are brand new tubes. Being blue, they'd be the least noticeable
color to have a problem with. I'll take 150 each for them.

Shipping is extra.

Tubes are shipped using fitted protective foam padding very much like VDC's well proven packing system,
suitable for safe tube transport unless some REAL idiocy happens during handling.

Contact me with your needs.

cmjohnson · Joined: 03 Apr 2006 Posts: 5180 Location: Buried under G90s

Here is some of the inventory, tested, potted up for Marquees, and ready to go. I have others that are not potted up
and suitable for other brands of PJ. (You will have to swap them into your hardware yourself.)

The ones shown here are all "grade A" tubes with no defects or wear. I haven't yet started potting up the grade B tubes.

haireez · Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2016 9:59 am Post subject:

Guys,

Just got my lug tubes and the condition is absolutely perfect without any wear on the tube face. After installation, I notice that this lug tubes are way much sharper than LCP and my setting is 35 for both contrast and brightness. I'm a very happy man as the upgrades is worth every penny.

Picture is much punchier, cleaner as I'm not able to detect noise as compared to my old LCP tubes. Thank you Chris!!! Highly recommended!!!

Right now, I'm waiting for my 2nd set of perfect lug tube.

cmjohnson · Joined: 03 Apr 2006 Posts: 5180 Location: Buried under G90s

One recommendation with LUG tubes: You can probably focus to "count the scan lines" sharpness at 1080p. But, once you've seen that you can do this, don't do it. Back off the focus just slightly (electronically) so that scan lines just start to merge. This is
the optimal focus setting, you won't lose definition, and you'll get more phosphor surface area into play, generating more light,
and allowing you to back the contrast down while maintaining brightness, and extend tube life.

Actually this applies to any tube, but LUGs have a reputation for not lasting as long and I think it's because people set them up to
be excessively sharp, with dark lines visible between scan lines, and that's just not the way to make full use of phosphor area.

There is another trick I've experimented with, which I think is helpful for overall resolving capacity.

Using whatever combination of flare, astig, (electronic and CPC ring) and triangularity adjustments you need, try to shape the
beam shape so it is more of a short thin vertical line rather than a round spot. If that short thin vertical line is just tall enough for
one scan line to touch the ones above and below it when everything is at best focus, then you have maximized phosphor usage,
and this very thin (horizontally) beam will allow picture information to be painted on the phosphor layer at the full possible limit
of the bandwidth of the video signal and system. Being a very thin beam, it will not "smear" details in the horizontal direction,
which may result in a visible improvement to overall sharpness.

I encourage you to experiment with this idea. And tell me what you think after you've tried it.

gerni g. · Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 35 Location: Erlangen, Germany

nice array

cmjohnson · Joined: 03 Apr 2006 Posts: 5180 Location: Buried under G90s

To clarify, all my tubes are new manufacture, NONE are rebuilds.

Brands: Panasonics, mostly LCPs, most have no visible wear but based on the back glass, they do have some
hours on them. I have no Panasonics in near new condition.

Clinton, a VDC subsidiary, which if I have my information right, closed its doors in 2008.
Lexel Imaging, another VDC subsidiary, which still makes tubes but doesn't make a lot of the tubes we're interested in.
Mikado, of Japan. They are the current manufacturer of any tubes you would get if you ordered a lot of new tubes from VDC.

In terms of quality, Clinton, Lexel, and Mikado are all first rate, having learned how to make Panasonic design tubes from Panasonic's own tube making masters. The only issue I've found is that some blues made by Lexel have white spots in the phosphor, as seen with the tube running. It's rare, and I don't have more than one, maybe two tubes that are affected.

All these companies use the same electron gun assemblies made by the same OEM and the same glass from the same glassworks,
and the same phosphors from the same vendors, so it stands to reason that with proper training and tooling they should be making
tubes that are identical in performance and specifications. And they do.

**kal** · Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2018 3:36 pm Post subject:

Please note that cmjohnson has been banned from the forum and will not be able to read or reply to any PMs. http://www.curtpalme.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=41307

Kal