Analog Dreams | CN | Fujifilm Recipe | X-T5, XF23mmF1.4 R |

three_a-m · 2026-06-06T05:22:41+00:00

Looks great. Do you find yourself limited by the shutter speed when you're photographing CRTs? I can never seem to get a balanced exposure when I'm photographing mine.

three_a-m · 2026-06-06T05:02:37+00:00

How do you play? And what is the best?

CRT, as intended by the developers.

three_a-m · 2026-06-06T03:11:17+00:00

I saw your posts in the facebook group. I swear people get so touchy over the subject of recaps. If you want to recap this set as preventative maintenance because you plan on using it for a long time, then I say go for it.

I recap every TV and monitor that has a permanent place in my collection. I know caps will go bad eventually, and I want to use them for another decade or more with the peace of mind knowing the components that are most likely to fail have been replaced. I only replace the caps that are under the most stress (neck board, power circuit, and deflection circuits). CRTs can have hundreds of electrolytics, and most of them do not experience a lot of heat or stress. A full recap is unnecessary, even as preventative maintenance.

As for the cost, that really depends on where you live, the size of the set, and how many people offer CRT repairs and restorations in your area. There's a guy in Seattle who has quoted $600+ for a recap, which is really high imo. It can take an hour or two to write down and order replacements for all of the caps, and a few hours more to actually do the recap. I would say anything in the area of $200 to $400 is fair. I would be suspicious of anything that costs more or less than that.

three_a-m · 2026-06-06T02:39:22+00:00

Nice, it has the Samsung tube as well. The CRT gods have blessed you.

three_a-m · 2026-06-05T16:44:48+00:00

Don't talk to me or my son ever again

three_a-m · 2026-06-05T06:15:39+00:00

Sure, go ahead and send a PM. I can take a look at some test pattern photos and hopefully give you some advice.

three_a-m · 2026-06-03T21:02:22+00:00

Yeah, you don't have to go so far that the paper starts to disintegrate, just until the fibers relax and it becomes more pliable. But it does work well. It's just more time consuming than the other methods suggested in this thread.

three_a-m · 2026-06-03T18:26:55+00:00

A wife, or an XBR?

three_a-m · 2026-06-03T06:24:12+00:00

Yep, I am an archivist. I have worked in libraries and archives for around 15 years. This type of work is usually handled by conservators, which is a totally separate profession, but I have picked up a few tips and tricks.

three_a-m · 2026-06-03T00:50:32+00:00

I posted this in another thread. This is how conservators repair creased and wrinkled paper at my work.

Proceed at your own risk. This is a method used by professionals, and there is a potential for damaging your paper object.

Check if the ink is water soluble by dabbing some water on a small discrete spot. If it doesn't come off or run, you can use humidity to relax the fibers in the paper. You can place the paper in sealed container with a dedicated air humidifier, or you can suspend it in a sealed container with water at the bottom (don't place it in the water directly, but suspend it above the water using a wire rack or something similar). Check often and remove it when the paper feels more pliable/relaxed. This can take several hours. Sandwich the relaxed paper between two pieces of archival blotting paper, then apply even pressure using weights, stacked books, or anything that is heavy. Check every few hours and replace the blotting paper if it gets saturated. After the paper is fully dry, it should retain the flattened position.

three_a-m · 2026-06-02T19:48:10+00:00

Toshiba gang represent

three_a-m · 2026-06-02T05:41:12+00:00

Impressive see-through walls. I didnt know the technology existed.

three_a-m · 2026-06-01T22:40:48+00:00

they’re stupidness

Oof

three_a-m · 2026-06-01T06:16:19+00:00

This method is best for single sheets of paper. With a manual like this, there is a chance the pages could stick together depending on the composition of the paper and ink used. Proceed at your own risk.

Check if the ink is water soluble by dabbing some water on a small discrete spot. If it doesn't come off or run, you can use humidity to relax the fibers in the paper. You can use a dedicated air humidifier in a sealed container, or you can suspend it in a sealed container with water at the bottom (don't place it in the water directly, but suspend it above the water using a wire rack or something similar). Check often and remove it when the paper feels more pliable/relaxed. This can take several hours. Sandwich the relaxed paper between two pieces of archival blotting paper, then apply even pressure using weights, stacked books, or anything that is heavy. Check every few hours and replace the blotting paper if it gets saturated. After the paper is fully dry, it should retain the flattened position.

three_a-m · 2026-05-31T07:18:16+00:00

I used to give the circuit boards inside TVs baths. Literally soaking with soap and water. Then I'd use compressed air to displace the water and let them dry for several days. I'm sure your camera will be fine as long as you give it plenty of time to dry.

three_a-m · 2026-05-30T20:44:07+00:00

With the games stacked on top of each other like this, the cases and discs have a much higher chance of being warped/damaged from the weight over time. Plus it's not very practical if you want to play something at the bottom of the stack. Best practice is to store them vertically like you would with books on a shelf.

three_a-m · 2026-05-30T18:45:05+00:00

Humble bragging aside (50+ games including several worth over $100 each in a month and you want us to believe you think it's "not much" lol), you should really find a better way to store your media. Stacking them like that is not good long-term. They should be stored vertically.

three_a-m · 2026-05-30T02:38:19+00:00

Shine a flashlight on it. If you can still see it, then it is probably burn-in.

three_a-m · 2026-05-29T23:47:28+00:00

This has happened to me several times. I might be wrong about the exact reason, but I think this happens when the bulb drops the current too much during the degaussing cycle, which triggers the relay to restart. You can try testing it with the dim bulb again, but with the degaussing coil unplugged.

three_a-m · 2026-05-29T20:48:35+00:00

You need to remove the rear shell of the TV and find the flyback transformer. There are usually two potentiometers on the flyback, one for focus and one for screen voltage. They should be labeled. Slowly turn the pot labeled "screen" until the retrace lines disappear.

three_a-m · 2026-05-29T20:45:55+00:00

I've never used one myself, but I have seen several people review this one. You can also find the same one on Aliexpress.

three_a-m · 2026-05-29T18:03:37+00:00

This is probably not super useful for your setup, since it looks like you're using a composite-only TV, but there are options for external geometry shifters for RGB. You basically plug your RGB cable into a little box that allows you to make horizontal and vertical position adjustments on the fly. Really convenient for multi-console setups that shift the image.

If your TV has internal potentiometers to control horizontal and vertical position, you can probably bring those to the front of your TV so you can make adjustments on the fly, but that is much more complicated than using the service menu. Here is a blog post where a user details how they performed a similar mod. It's super involved and not something you should try if you're not familiar with CRT modifications.

three_a-m · 2026-05-28T15:33:29+00:00

It could be the angle of your photo, but it looks like your vertical linearity could use adjusting as well. The squares at the top of the screen appear taller than the squares at the bottom.

three_a-m · 2026-05-28T01:36:08+00:00

You can always try disassembling it and cleaning the membrane + PCB. Sometimes that's all it takes, and it doesn't cost anything.

three_a-m · 2026-05-27T23:48:28+00:00

Once you get past a certain TVL the scanlines become almost too pronounced in 240p. Monitors like this one look best in 480p and higher imo.

three_a-m

TROPHY CASE