CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

xaaroncmx · Joined: 27 Dec 2017 Posts: 35 Location: Australia

Hey guys,

So I was reading the article here about bleeding the glycol on air-coupled projector tubes. I checked my main XG set just sitting flat on the table and I couldn't see any bubble on any tube. I have a second set I haven't even turned on yet laying on the floor so I stood it up vertically so the tube face was facing the ceiling and I still couldn't see any bubbles on any of the tubes.

So does this mean I have to bleed them? I'll upload some pictures at the end of this post so you can see the wear on the tubes. I'm not completely sure but it doesn't look like they've been used much so I guess this helps them keep the moisture. I have a set of remotes on the way from Curt still so I haven't looked at the hours.

I was just hesitant to pulling the tubes out since they carry HV. ~~Do you need to short the anode on the side of the tube to the ground before you pull them out or are they supposed to self discharge?~~ So there's a sticker on the inside detailing how to short the anode to a point to discharge each tube without damaging the control boards. I've never worked with a CRT tubes before.

Edit: Uploaded pictures but you can hardly see the wear.

Tube face: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1WpcUe2ncH6eEOXxve9JqGZzWIt4p54KK

Projector: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1MhyqOw92UiUzVRim5fw0lr4ovAQaWEDO

Pretty happy with how it cleaned up.

Thanks in advance.

gjaky · Joined: 05 Jun 2010 Posts: 2790 Location: Budapest, Hungary

Bleed them!
You can touch the anode connector to any metal part of the frame, also wait 30 mins. or so after turning off the machine.

xaaroncmx · Joined: 27 Dec 2017 Posts: 35 Location: Australia

What about the caps on the boards? Anything I have to worry about in particular? I'd assume everything would have discharge resistors but I'm slightly concerned. Smile

Not that I plan to put myself across any of them. I'll just be careful.

gjaky · Joined: 05 Jun 2010 Posts: 2790 Location: Budapest, Hungary

No, the only concern is the charge held in the tubes.

xaaroncmx · Joined: 27 Dec 2017 Posts: 35 Location: Australia

Is there any trick to getting a conductor under the anode cap? It has silicone holding it down. I don't want to scratch the glass or get my hands too close. Does it just pull off with a pair of needle pliers or something?

I might have a go at it tonight...

Thanks. Smile

gjaky · Joined: 05 Jun 2010 Posts: 2790 Location: Budapest, Hungary

Don't bother with the cap at the tube, instead pull out the connector from the splitter (carefully).

xaaroncmx · Joined: 27 Dec 2017 Posts: 35 Location: Australia

Sorry for all the questions. Are there any tube replacement guides for the XG series? I've found one for the PG but it doesn't take long to get stuck.

I've removed all of the plastic shell, the lens, the 6 brass screws holding the tubes in place at the top and the two black bars that go on each outer tube. Not really sure where to go from here, worried I'll have something collapse and cause damage or something.

Do you think it would be possible to slide them out enough to gain access to the glycol screw without having to remove anything such as the magnets or anode?

Thanks!

xaaroncmx · Joined: 27 Dec 2017 Posts: 35 Location: Australia

Found one:

https://web.archive.org/web/20040415203516/http://jrobbo.com:80/NEC/XG135TubeReplacement.htm

xaaroncmx · Joined: 27 Dec 2017 Posts: 35 Location: Australia

So progress update:

I've removed the red and blue tubes. I left the green one in for now since the astig magnets had their silicon removed, so I put a bit more back on and I'll let it dry overnight but I'm pretty sure I may have moved them a bit.

The only other thing I'm worried about is after removing the neck boards from the CRT and looking at the pins coming out of the tube, they look a little bent. Not sure if it's normal or if I've done damage. It was a little hard getting my hand behind them to pull them out but I wasn't too harsh. I'll attach some pictures.

Any advice would be great. Still feel way out of my league but only one way to learn I suppose.

Thanks!

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1eJzPbjsqF1YA5Ydfa_v-UOmcyfdeZT_1
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1s4TE08a0NRJ9t_TFd3dXvqp15QpXL_Ww

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1EKySy2QQ7ndP9WpAzBquE0SZZFe9wUhF

gjaky · Joined: 05 Jun 2010 Posts: 2790 Location: Budapest, Hungary

I see you like when the life is hard Very Happy

It would have been more practical to remove the tubes with all the yokes attached, because replugging the yokes to the boards is way much easier than do a full magnetics setup...

If you are carefull the neckboards will take up the little bend in the pins, or you can straighten them out gently.

xaaroncmx · Joined: 27 Dec 2017 Posts: 35 Location: Australia

Ah... oh well. So when I boot the projector back up will I have to have the hinged circuit boards raised and rotate the yoke/focus/astig magnets while the unit is running? I found the guide but should I use rubber gloves or anything? Or just be careful and only touch the magnets? How would you do it safely?

I think I got enough glycol out. The red tube sprayed everywhere though... The others seeped glycol as I removed the screw. The red one didn't seep anything until the screw was shot out + glycol all over the walls (and the ceiling). But they're all done now. Lucky I put goggles on from the start.

Picture: https://drive.google.com/open?id=12nglPRzvZnaRGniywXkWMzF21PHWog_M

Look okay? Smile

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Fri Jan 26, 2018 2:53 am Post subject:

when adjusting anything on the yokes put one hand in your pocket so current can't flow acosss your heart to earth. That would be bad.

xaaroncmx · Joined: 27 Dec 2017 Posts: 35 Location: Australia

Think I killed it. Thought some of the black rods were shorter than others. Turns out the threaded part snapped in the metal frame when I removed them.

So only 4 go in now. 2 holes have threaded rod stuck in them. They're the rods holding the CRT tubes in. There's brass screws also holding them in at the top but I doubt I can run it without the main rods in. Green is fine, just the R/B.

So the only thing I can do is remove all the tubes again and try drill them out...

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Fri Jan 26, 2018 3:50 am Post subject:

In the world of the immortal Hommer, DOH!!!

xaaroncmx · Joined: 27 Dec 2017 Posts: 35 Location: Australia

Frustrating... Got a spare set of rods though.

xaaroncmx · Joined: 27 Dec 2017 Posts: 35 Location: Australia

Tried drilling it out, couldn't get it perfect. Swapped bar. Bit of a nightmare but it's all back together, all connections checked. Only thing I'm worried about still is those neckboards. They creek a bit when you try push them on.

I'll fire it up tomorrow morning and hopefully it doesn't let any smoke out. Then it'll be time for all the astig/yoke/focus adjustments I guess... Smile

Thanks for the help so far. Nearly there...

xaaroncmx · Joined: 27 Dec 2017 Posts: 35 Location: Australia

Is it normal for the green tube to stay on?

I needed to adjust those rings so I turned off all the tubes while the projector was running to loosen the lens screws.

Red and blue both don't output any light but the green does. Not enough to see on the wall, only if you look into it you can see it's lit green.

Also the green test patterns always had vertical jitter, before I even opened it up. Not sure if that could be related. I have no idea if the green turned off before I messed around inside it...

But I do have a second projector for spare parts... Any ideas?