A TV has just died (too dramatic a wording?) in my family where it went funny colours leading up to its not turning on. I’ll need to check the plug fuse for them but it sounds like the CRT died after many years use. Rip it open time!
So it’s got a scart slot, rf jack, couple of front buttons, power display LED and whatever is inside. And this is why I’m here. What goodies are there inside most CRT TVs and IR remotes that I could salvage? Right now I will not know what I’m looking at apart from “oh that looks like a resistor”. I’m aware I could wait and learn but having a big old tv lying about annoys everyone apparently, who knew.
Be careful! There is a
Be careful! There is a flyback transformer inside that can generate around 25kV and 30mA! Capable of some serious damage! Make sure you ground the the output (rubber thing on back of TV) and be very careful. Look for a guide.
I’ve dismantled more than a
I’ve dismantled more than a few TVs and monitors of various types of the years =)
Aside from the above safety warning, here’s what to look for inside a CRT TV:
• High Voltage Flyback transformer. Usually contained inside a black plastic shell, the main body is a stubby cylinder with a few side bits attached. Often soldered to the PCB with a ‘horseshoe’ or circular shaped group of pins, usually has a few white wires and one thick red wire coming out the top.
• Power and isolation transformers. These guys come in all sorts of sizes and made by winding 2 or more sets of wires around a core. The core is often shaped like a square figure-8, with the wires mostly wound around the bar in the middle.
• High voltage capacitors. Watch out, these guys can stay charged for a week even after the TV has been unplugged! They’ll throw you across the room if you don’t discharge them properly. On the other hand they’re quite useful for HV apps. They look like big versions of normal capacitors, and usually have their ratings printed on the outside.
• Inductive filters. They are usually pretty small (fingertip sized or smaller), and look like half a transformer. Probably because they’re exactly like a transformer with only one winding. Go figure.
• LEDs, buttons, dials. Just pull everything that looks like one of these off, they’re small and who knows when you might want them.
As far as the IR remote goes, you typically can’t get much of worth other than the IR LED/s. The circuit board is all encapsulated, the buttons are usually contact type and thus impossible to remove, and the battery holder is usually moulded into the plastic shell.
Editing as I remember stuff: If you pull the cone-shaped cover off the back of the glass unit, you can pull out some big enamelled wire coils, which you can use as-is for electromagnetic sensors/actuators, or you can unwind the wire and rewind it for some other purpose.
I figured that kind of thing
I figured that kind of thing would be a problem. Thanks for your concern 