CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

betel · Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2008 2:15 am Post subject: What to do now?

Not sure what I want to do at this point.
Here's my situation:
Currently I'm using a G70. Problem is the green has some wear that is showing up on the screen. The red is perfect of course and the blue is still quite good. I also have a perfectly good BG808 and BG808s in storage. IMO the G70 blows away both of those projectors even with the worn green. A couple of weeks ago I came across a Zenith Pro 1200x (or as Kal likes to call it a Barco Cine 8 Onyx) that I picked up for a decent price (Yes it is a disease I think). The Zenith has slightly less than 1000 hours with no discernible wear on any tube and in excellent cosmetic condition. I noticed it was being run in economy mode so that may be part of the reason the tubes are so good. I was going to hang the Zenith but it has to be considerably closer to the screen than the G70. Also the Zenith does not have scheimpflug (edit: The 1200 does in fact have scheimpflug adjustment). The HD215 lenses are rather "cheap' looking and lack perimeter focus. My perception is the Zenith is inferior to the G70 even though I haven't actually watched it. And a Sony is just a better looking machine than a Barco. As you may know, the G70 uses P16LJE07 tubes. It may be possible to modify the pinout on the neckboard, similar to what is done to use the P16LJE07 or P16LJE06 tubes, to use the Zenith's P16LNP07 in the G70. At this point I wished I had bought a new green tube for the G70 instead of buying the Zenith.

I summary, here are my options:
1. Buy a new green tube for the G70 (yet another $700).
2. Install the Zenith Pro 1200x. --> Maybe I'd be surprised.
3. Remove the Zenith's P16LNP07 tubes and install them into the G70. --> I prefer this option if it proves possible.

I'm looking for opinions and advice.
Does anyone know where I can find the pinout for the P16LNP07 tube or if it's possible to modify the G70 neckboard to use this tube?

Thanks for your help.

draganm · Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 8990 Location: Colorado

why cannibalize the 1200? You can easilly sell it for what you paid or little more then buy the tube for the G70. Personally I would run the Barco, Theyre much quieter and a lot more reliable. personally I don't believe the G70 is superior with all it's geometry issues and gullwing corners with maxed rasters.

Spanky Ham · Joined: 22 Mar 2006 Posts: 5643 Location: Comedy Central

Can you put the G70 lenses on the Zenith? I remember Dave talking about this, but I can't remember if he said if that was an option or not.

Chuchuf · Joined: 11 Mar 2006 Posts: 548

betel · Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2008 1:44 pm Post subject:

My success for "getting rid" of unused machines is not so good. I really need to work on that. You probably know this already but CRT lovers are few and far between. The first expression I always hear is "That thing is huge!." and wouldn't even consider having one. I've never understood that logic since it's not like you have to hold it. This is actually good for us since it keeps the prices down. Not so good for resellers though.

The HD18 lens will not mount on the 1200 although the HD215 will mount on the G70. The G70 allows for the smaller bolt pattern of the HD215 where-as the 1200 only has one set of lens mounting holes. I didn't try to set the geometry up for the HD215 on the G70 so not sure if they would actually work together.

I'll compare the neck diameter. That alone will kill the tube swapping option.
You're correct Chuchuf. Here are the measurements for the necks in inches:
G70: 1.263
1200: 1.440
808s: 1.453 --> Had a loose one so thought I'd include it for reference.