• CRT Display Fault

    From Cursitor Doom@cd@notformail.com to sci.electronics.repair on Wed Jun 18 18:11:54 2025
    From Newsgroup: sci.electronics.repair

    Gentlemen,

    I have a spectrum analyzer with a display problem. Forget the precise
    make and model for once; this is a common display issue affecting
    *all* CRT displays. Let me describe what I'm seeing...
    At first switch-on, there's no picture at all; just an elongated,
    fuzzy blob on the screen. Over the course of the next few minutes,
    this fuzzy blog gradually expands and reveals the image it should
    display. However, this image, even after an hour or more, never gets
    beyond about a third of the size it should be. I can make out what
    it's *trying* to display; all the information is present there, but
    it's compressed and fuzzy (and a bit twitchy as well).
    I'm sure I've encountered this issue with CRTs many times over the
    past 60 years, but I'll be f***ed if I can remember what causes it.
    Any ideas?

    CD.
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  • From ehsjr@ehsjr@verizon.net to sci.electronics.repair on Wed Jun 18 16:07:05 2025
    From Newsgroup: sci.electronics.repair

    On 6/18/2025 1:11 PM, Cursitor Doom wrote:
    Gentlemen,

    I have a spectrum analyzer with a display problem. Forget the precise
    make and model for once; this is a common display issue affecting
    *all* CRT displays. Let me describe what I'm seeing...
    At first switch-on, there's no picture at all; just an elongated,
    fuzzy blob on the screen. Over the course of the next few minutes,
    this fuzzy blog gradually expands and reveals the image it should
    display. However, this image, even after an hour or more, never gets
    beyond about a third of the size it should be. I can make out what
    it's *trying* to display; all the information is present there, but
    it's compressed and fuzzy (and a bit twitchy as well).
    I'm sure I've encountered this issue with CRTs many times over the
    past 60 years, but I'll be f***ed if I can remember what causes it.
    Any ideas?

    CD.

    Could be a high voltage supply problem,
    maybe a leaky HV capacitor.

    Generic Troubleshooting:
    Rule 1: Check the voltages.
    Rule 2: See rule 1

    Ed
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  • From Cursitor Doom@cd@notformail.com to sci.electronics.repair on Fri Jun 20 18:07:30 2025
    From Newsgroup: sci.electronics.repair

    On Wed, 18 Jun 2025 16:07:05 -0400, ehsjr <ehsjr@verizon.net> wrote:

    On 6/18/2025 1:11 PM, Cursitor Doom wrote:
    Gentlemen,

    I have a spectrum analyzer with a display problem. Forget the precise
    make and model for once; this is a common display issue affecting
    *all* CRT displays. Let me describe what I'm seeing...
    At first switch-on, there's no picture at all; just an elongated,
    fuzzy blob on the screen. Over the course of the next few minutes,
    this fuzzy blog gradually expands and reveals the image it should
    display. However, this image, even after an hour or more, never gets
    beyond about a third of the size it should be. I can make out what
    it's *trying* to display; all the information is present there, but
    it's compressed and fuzzy (and a bit twitchy as well).
    I'm sure I've encountered this issue with CRTs many times over the
    past 60 years, but I'll be f***ed if I can remember what causes it.
    Any ideas?

    CD.

    Could be a high voltage supply problem,
    maybe a leaky HV capacitor.

    Generic Troubleshooting:
    Rule 1: Check the voltages.
    Rule 2: See rule 1

    Ed

    Yes, my thoughts exactly. I'm very much hampered by a lack of decent schematics, however. In particular, expected voltage levels at the
    various test points. With up to 3kV present in this area, I'm not
    prepared to take chances. At this point in time, I shall most likely
    bin the CRT and go for one of those LCD conversion kits. Expensive,
    but worth it.
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  • From pitter_smith@70620b9261c622c2c6443cb36988dd78336be458fd9f13499dd358523b105d91@example.com to sci.electronics.repair on Mon Jun 15 20:45:02 2026
    From Newsgroup: sci.electronics.repair

    That symptom does sound like it could be related to the vertical deflection section. IrCOd also take a close look at any electrolytic capacitors around that area, even if they donrCOt show obvious signs of damage. On older CRTs, dried-out caps can cause some really strange display issues before they fail completely.
    --
    For full context, visit https://www.electrondepot.com/repair/crt-display-fault-4381624-.htm

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