CRT saga updateThanks everyone for your help and comments.
1) HV too high. Yes did cross my mind last night, thinking yeah maybe the electrodes in the CRT are fine it's just the HV too high causing the arcing.
2) Plastic base in bits : it's not hopeless ! It's only in 4 big chunks easily put back together, see below. I could superglue them back. As for the two hacksaw slits I made, 180° apart, I could reconstitute those as well : I kept the plastic saw dust in a little ziplock bag. I could mix it with glue to reconstitute / refill the slits. Common technique in wood working for small repairs.
3) Hollow pins : ah ! so that's how they do it !!! I could not get how they could manage to crimp these pins with the plastic base in place !
![Face Palm :palm:](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/xfacepalm.gif.pagespeed.ic.EBDwh1hCfo.png)
So the wire sticks out of the pin, they cut it flush and solder the end.... yes looking closely at those pins, I could see some have their ends still hollow !
Boy I learned something, one less mystery in the universe !
![Evil >:D](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/xevil.gif.pagespeed.ic.tdrs7Uj5gu.png)
OK, so I touched up all 14 pin ends.
Then I plugged the CRT temporarily as Dragon suggested.
Result ? Well for one there was no sparking in between the pins at base of the neck, so that means even without the base in place, it doesn't spark.. so the base is not vital. I am sure it's better with it, but not vital.
The CRT still does exactly the same shit as before ! no more no less.
Also, if I tap gently here and there on the neck (GENTLY I said, not with a sledge hammer !
![Roll Eyes ::)](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/rolleyes.gif.pagespeed.ce.XcUK202Yqt.gif)
), I notice that... I don't notice anything ! It does not appear to affect the behavior of the CRT in any way shape or form. I find that a bit strange... if the problem was internal damage, a bent electrode in there, or a broken or intermittent weld.. you would thing that taping would have SOME effect... but no.
ALSO, of great importance : I played with the CRT for like I don't know, 20 minutes, and it does NOT make any sound any more, nothing ! Yet the CRT still does the exact same shit on the screen !
And I can't see any arcing inside the neck, nothing.
So... I am now at the point where I think maybe all that crazy shit on the scree, really crazy shit, might not be created by the CRT... just a tiny hope.
So I am now thinking, if just as a sanity check, that it's worth spending a little time probing the scope to see what signals are sent to the CRT. H and V deflection, Cathode voltage, brightness etc.... everything.
I am not used to HP scopes and the CRT is not as easy to probe as a Tek, so it will take me some time to get around that scope that's new to me....
Stay tuned
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