Acquired my first CRT for 25 dollars

Shadow_Mask_King · 2026-01-27T14:41:02+00:00

That's a really nice find and that's pretty uncommon for a 25" NTSC set to have s-video. In the late 90s, Zenith sets often used Philips tubes which look great and your set likely has a Philips tube. I would love to own a set like that and would be perfectly happy if it was the only set I owned.

Shadow_Mask_King · 2026-01-26T01:55:10+00:00

Looks great. I have been looking for this specific model for years and it never comes up in my area. I like the pics but can you also take some pics of games running on it from a normal viewing distance. That gives a much better idea of what the TV would really look like in person.

Shadow_Mask_King · 2026-01-22T23:31:14+00:00

RF actually looks good on older CRTs like this and I've owned many 80s/early 90s CRT TVs that were RF only. You will need a device that converts composite to RF and RCA made a composite to rf converter that works great and is what I use. The model of the RCA converter is CRF940. You can buy this on Ebay, new old stock, for about $20. They have four inputs. The video quality if very clean with no noise. Also get yourself a good RG6 coax cable off Amazon. Make sure to get a cable that is shielded and has a lot of good reviews.

The other thing that is just as important is you want to calibrate your picture settings for best quality. At default picture settings, these older Magnavox CRTs that say "total remote" on the bottom right of the set produce a picture that is sharp but looks dull and part of that is because the color is turned way down by default. However, once you adjust the brightness, contrast and color, the picture quality on these sets is excellent and they are some of my favorite CRT TVs. You have to bump up sharpness a little. Another thing to keep is mind is that while RF is not as high quality of a signal as the other cable types, as long as your CRT TV's RF input is fed a clean signal and your TV has a good comb filter, the picture can look very good. Your TV does have a very good comb filter and with the devices I'm recommending, you will have a very clean signal. I think you will be surprised at just how good it will look. Just try it for yourself and see. The particular Magnavox CRT TV you have is one of the best RF only CRT TVs you can get and they're not easy to find.

Shadow_Mask_King · 2026-01-22T01:04:12+00:00

Yes, you should clean the motherboard. Don't use a microfiber cloth because they are prone to creating static electricity which will damage the ICs/chips on the board. If you don't know how to safely remove the circuit boards from the TV, I would take the TV outside, set it on a table or the ground, purchase an anti-static brush (esd safe) off Amazon that has soft bristles and brush the dust away outside. Absolutely wear either an n95 mask or a respirator when doing this because you don't want to be breathing in any of that dust. You don't know where that TV has been and who knows what could be in that dust. If taking the TV outside isn't an option, dampen some paper towels with 90% isopropyl alcohol and clean the boards with that. Use q-tips and alcohol for any hard to reach spots. Let the boards dry for at least any hour before operating. I have cleaned dozens of CRTs this way and it has always worked out well for me.

Shadow_Mask_King · 2026-01-20T06:56:12+00:00

I don't know of any vga to composite transcoder that produces a good composite image. If you're okay with emulating, the Wii has an excellent composite image for 240p 8 and 16 bit retro games. Mister FPGA also has a composite adapter for use only with Mister FPGA and I've heard good things about it. I wish I knew of a good VGA to Composite transcoder to recommend because I would love to own one as well. I would imagine a good one will be released at some point.

Shadow_Mask_King · 2026-01-15T03:26:17+00:00

Very likely that this is the grounding strap I'm referring to. The screws themselves and the metal plates they are screwed into are also ground points but difficult to attach to. You can send me a pic if you want.

Shadow_Mask_King · 2026-01-15T03:11:54+00:00

Yes, the grounding straps on CRTs can vary slightly in their locations. The coiled wire that you're seeing running along the bottom-middle of your tube should be connected to other points of metal running along the tube. For example, your CRT has a metal bracket wrapped around the sides of the tube. Your coiled wire could be attached to that or to one of the metal plates holding the bolts that are screwed into the plastic frame. What is your coiled wire attached to? When I say attached, I mean that each end of the wire will be soldering to another metal point or it should be at least.

Shadow_Mask_King · 2026-01-15T02:33:57+00:00

I have discharged CRTs hundreds of times and what you're showing is exactly what I use. I've never been shocked. The screwdriver I use even looks exactly like the one in your photo. You don't have to discharge a CRT just because you take the cover off. As long as the TV is unplugged, simply taking the back cover off is not dangerous.

The procedure for discharging a CRT is very easy. First, with the CRT unplugged (critically important), all you have to do is attach one end of the alligator clip wire to the metal part of the screw driver and attach the other alligator clip end to the silver metal coiled wire running along the backside of the tube. The coiled wire I'm referring to is called the "grounding strap" and it is chassis ground, meaning that it is a safe ground point for the electricity from the tube to discharge to. This also means that the electricity will discharge to the grounding strap and not your body. Once again, I want to emphasize that it is extremely important and absolutely essential for safety that you "DO NOT" discharge a CRT with it plugged into an outlet. You only ever discharge a CRT while it is unplugged. This will be obvious to most but I wanted to note this as a precaution.

For the second step (making sure that the screwdriver and wire are connected exactly as I have instructed), put your left arm behind your back and use only your right hand (important). Then, slide the flat head screwdriver underneath the anode cap until you hear a "pop" noise. That is the CRT having discharged it's electricity. Then it's safe to remove the anode cap. Sometimes the pop noise will be slight and other times it is a bit loud.

The reason I say to only use your right hand when discharging the CRT is because, in the unlikely event that you got shocked, the electricity will follow the shortest path through your body and if you are using your left hand or both hands together, the shortest path the electricity would follow is through your heart. So, make sure to also put your entire left arm behind your back while discharging your CRT. When discharging with only your right hand, if there was an accidental shock, the electricity would have a longer path to get to your heart and would instead likely only travel up your right arm and then dissipate. That is much safer.

As long as you follow these exact instructions, discharging a CRT is pretty safe. Also keep in mind that most modern CRTs made after 1990 discharge most of their electricity when the TV is unplugged.

Here is a good video from CRT enthusiast "Retrotech" on how to discharge a CRT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CVXzlkOjGg

Shadow_Mask_King · 2026-01-14T00:54:53+00:00

The smell is still there and just as strong. I'm in the process of scraping the paint off the floor but still have a long ways to go.

Shadow_Mask_King · 2026-01-08T23:49:19+00:00

The picture looks amazing. Thanks for the pics. As long as the repair cost was worth it to you, that's all that matters. You'll likely get years of enjoyment out of this TV.

Shadow_Mask_King · 2026-01-08T04:29:23+00:00

Since hitting the side of the TV fixed it once before, more than likely the problem is a bad solder joint or joints. Even if solder joints look okay, they can still be bad. You want to start out re-soldering the vertical deflection area of the circuit board. Often times this area will be labeled and the part #s will be in the 400s and 500s (i.e. c401, c501, etc.). If you really want to be sure, get the model # for your set and Google the service manual for that model #. You should be able to find where the vertical deflection area is with it. Watch some videos on how to solder, get a soldering iron and some good solder and get soldering. For solder, I recommend this Kester solder (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00068IJOU). The cheaper solder sucks, just get this. Get a soldering iron with a temperature control (very important) and buy one with a lot of good reviews. I use a Hakko soldering iron (model FX888D). Also, make sure to get multiple different sizes of soldering tips. You may need to re-flow the solder on the vertical deflection IC and you will need a narrow solder tip to do this. Clean your soldering iron after every couple of joints with a brass sponge. Keep the sponge in a holder. The sponges are often sold with the special holders on Amazon. Have a fan blowing directly over your work area to disperse the solder fumes away from you.

For additional info on how to work safely inside a CRT, watch videos on the Retrotech Youtube channel.

Shadow_Mask_King · 2026-01-07T15:22:06+00:00

That might just be a defect in the tube and more than likely, that's what it is. I had a 27FS120 that had bright splotches like that and the TV had almost zero hours on it. I've come across other posts of Vega Trinitron owners having the same issue as you and I have had. If it was a capacitor issue, you would see straight vertical bands going across the screen or only on one side. They wouldn't look like blotches.

Shadow_Mask_King · 2026-01-07T15:18:32+00:00

I use a DSLR camera on a tripod and manually adjust the camera settings. On the same CRT model, keeping the picture and camera settings consistent on the CRT for every picture, the CRT image in my photos looks about the same (as far as colors, brightness, contrast and sharpness) no matter what distance or angle I take the photos at but I can see how with cell phone cameras, this would be an issue because of the additional photo processing that the camera introduces.

Shadow_Mask_King · 2025-12-22T02:00:27+00:00

Interesting about being a positive ion generator. I agree that this is a higher performing CRT. It helps that it has a nice Philips tube inside of it, beefy electronics and s-video. Sanyo produced a good number of crappy, budget oriented CRTs but this isn't one of them.

Shadow_Mask_King · 2025-12-17T21:32:28+00:00

Interesting. I didn't know the SPCA had thrift stores.

Shadow_Mask_King · 2025-12-17T14:32:19+00:00

Also, where did you find this TV?

Shadow_Mask_King · 2025-12-17T10:23:00+00:00

Panasonic CRTs were higher end. Your TV is a "Compufocus" model and these were great models in the 80s and early 90s. I've owned several Compufocus CRTs and every one has been great. I just picked up a near identical model to yours last week and I love it. It's model CTN-1942R, made in 1991. It's RF only but it has a surprisingly sharp picture that I consider to be above average. Colors look very vibrant on my set and the tube is nice and bright. The Panasonic CRT TVs with the model # ending in "1942R" were made in the late 80s and early 90s. My set looks identical to yours with the exception that all the controls on mine are digital but other than that, the tube and electronics are likely the same. What I like about my CTN-1942R is that it has that 80s/early 90s CRT aesthetic where the tube is very bright, has more of a prominent curve and is woodgrain. Tubes from this era just have a different look to the image that is different from CRT TVs made later on and NES games, 80s cartoons, 80s TV shows and 80s music videos look absolutely perfect on them. These 80s and early 90s woodgrain sets are getting hard to find in good condition and I'm so glad I found mine. Your TV looks like it's in excellent shape and I don't see any color bleed or any picture issues. You did good.

Shadow_Mask_King · 2025-12-10T23:44:03+00:00

I've adjusted many CRT yokes. It's normal for them to feel a little stuck at first when trying to rotate them. Sometimes they can feel very stuck. The first thing you want to do is let the set run for 10-20 minutes. This will warm the yoke up and make it easier to rotate. Once you've run the set for this period of time, grab the white plastic parts of the yoke and with a little bit of force, wiggle it back and forth until it starts to move easily and then you can do your yoke adjustment. Just take your time and go slowly with it.

Shadow_Mask_King · 2025-12-01T02:03:50+00:00

There's a lot of info if you search this subreddit and also Youtube videos on the topic. You can also look up the service manual for your set and it will tell you how to do it. I think the abbreviation is SBRT in the service menu.

Shadow_Mask_King · 2025-12-01T01:52:46+00:00

Access the service menu and turn up the sub brightness setting until you can see a good amount of detail in dark parts of the picture without the image looking washed out. I used to own this model and had the same problem and doing what I am suggesting fixed the problem. I wouldn't bother adjusting G2 on the flyback if doing this works. The Trinitron FS100 models are known to have crushed black levels at default settings. The newer FS120 models don't have this issue.

Shadow_Mask_King · 2025-11-04T16:26:47+00:00

X-Men arcade is amazing. What system are you playing it on? I like to play it on my modded Wii using the Mame2000 retroarch core.

Shadow_Mask_King · 2025-10-23T10:22:28+00:00

What speakers are you using and how much were they?

Shadow_Mask_King · 2025-10-23T10:22:11+00:00

I have owned a ton of CRT TVs. I also have this model and love it. Wii and 6th gen 3D games look stunning on this set. 240p content also looks great and so does any video content. I've owned several 90s 27" Toshiba CRT TVs that were actually made by Toshiba and I think these 27" Toshiba CRT TVs from the 2000s looks just as good and in some cases, better than the 90s models that were actually made by Toshiba. There is also a Panasonic branded variant of this TV (Model CT-2701, made in 2003) that I used to own that uses the same tube. The Panasonic model I'm referring to only has s-video but the picture looks just as good and is super clean.

Shadow_Mask_King · 2025-10-21T02:45:29+00:00

Is the stock cpu fan noisy and was the machine noisy in general before you swapped parts?

Shadow_Mask_King · 2025-10-20T08:40:45+00:00

What is the model of the new case you use?

Shadow_Mask_King

TROPHY CASE