CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

vidikron1984 · Joined: 19 May 2010 Posts: 20

I am pretty happy with what I found...

everything looks great... with this info and the stash of parts I have for this unit... I am expecting around 4-6 years years of worry free usage out of this unit

Red: 9 (like new)

Green: 9 (like new)

Blue: 8 (Light usage - faint signs of wear)

donaldk · Joined: 17 Jun 2008 Posts: 308

9 is new installed/out-of-box, 10 is new never installed. So, any used tube is below nine, even if it is still looking pristine.

vidikron1984 · Joined: 19 May 2010 Posts: 20

Sparky015 · Posted: Sun May 30, 2010 12:18 pm Post subject:

CasetheCorvetteman · Joined: 09 Nov 2008 Posts: 6326 Location: Australia

So does this make my 9PG tubes with zero wear a 9?? I bled them yesterday and took them out in the daylight to check, and there is zero wear at any angle.

CIR Engineering · Posted: Mon May 31, 2010 8:05 pm Post subject:

For me 10 is a new and unused tube. I call a used working tube with no viable wear a 9 every time.

craigr

VideoGrabber · Joined: 09 Apr 2006 Posts: 933 Location: Michigan

> any used tube is below nine, even if it is still looking pristine. <

That is incorrect.

> So does this make my 9PG tubes with zero wear a 9?? <

Yes.

The logic behind rating two tubes, both with no signs of wear, and both rated roughly at 10,000 hours of life is that a new tube still has that full life left. While a used, pristine tube could start to show wear at any point, thus becoming an 8. Its not useful to go from 10 directly to 8.

[added later...]

And just to eliminate some potential confusion... putting a brand new CRT in your PJ and running it for 100 hours doesn't drop it instantly from a 10 to a 9. It's still a new tube, and you still know it's a 10 at that time. The point being that nobody else does. Even the best looking installed tube can't be a 10 to anyone else, because they don't know its history. 9.0-9.9 all rate as a 9.

CasetheCorvetteman · Joined: 09 Nov 2008 Posts: 6326 Location: Australia

Cheers blokes Wink

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

Let's remember that the scale was just a made up measurement device to try to define tube condition. At the end of the day, some overrate and some underrate even with the scale. The best way is to make up your own mind based on looking at the tube.

CasetheCorvetteman · Joined: 09 Nov 2008 Posts: 6326 Location: Australia

So what would you call these beauties eh?

Motobias · Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 12:14 pm Post subject:

pretty much toast Smile

CasetheCorvetteman · Joined: 09 Nov 2008 Posts: 6326 Location: Australia

Yeah, look it dont they. Still looked reasonable on screen though if kept within the wear patern, and still beat a digital portable LCD hands down.

CIR Engineering · Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 11:55 pm Post subject:

CIR Engineering · Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 11:55 pm Post subject:

JustGreg · Joined: 07 Mar 2006 Posts: 3098 Location: Kenosha, WI

ecrabb · Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2010 1:18 am Post subject:

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

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2010 2:55 am Post subject:

Hey my 1252 had 12 000 hours on it when I got it. I still looked fantastic at 1024x768 and 1080i.

VideoGrabber · Joined: 09 Apr 2006 Posts: 933 Location: Michigan

> It is funny that some new guys can get hung up on tube condition, when they haven't even purchased a pj yet. <

Not that surprising. It's the one concrete thing they may actually be in a position to evaluate. And remaining life left on the tubes will be inversely proportional to the visible wear.

> Like you said, even some poor tubes can still look good if set up properly. <

Quite true. That, however, is the thing that's really surprising.

CZ Eddie · Joined: 23 Mar 2006 Posts: 1601 Location: Austin, TX

My 8500 with "8" blue/red and "6" green has a pinkish tinge to an all white field, despite my greyscale calibration using a meter & Kal's guide. So unless I'm missing something, there is a limit to how far you can take a tube.
Sure, the picture looks good and I'm nitpicking since it would be considered white, until you actually see real white. But still.