3 Picture Tube Cataract Removals: An in depth look at Zenith and RCA styles and my removal methods

Can you remove a RCA cataract with wire?...Maybe. Watch and see.
This is intended to be my main over view of cataract removal processes. I may split this into 3 shorter videos if requested, but (unless you ask for more standard cataracting videos) I don't plan to film normal cataract removals and future cataracting videos will only show unusual ones.
Sorry I'm a few hours late. This video had the second most raw footage to sort through of everything I have filmed (and is the second video I filmed)...Also I just got back with a literal truck load of antique TVs I bought today.
This process is dangerous and I show blatant disregard for my own safety. I'm a trained idiot, do not imitate me! Do not attempt this without full face shielding and leather protecting your skin. CRT implosions (while I have never experienced one first hand) are no joke!

[@video-cl6nq]

Thank you for excellent instruction. My 1967 RCA CTC35A is now free of cataracts!

[@ricknelsonm]

You make good videos Tom. Thank you,

[@BlondieSL]

Ok, so yeah... this brings back a lot of memories and increased back pain. LOL I can't even count how many of both those models I repaired back in the day. In the day, I was an RCA authorized dealer. I also had Zenith, but it wasn't as an "authorized" dealer. Around the 5 min point, you're asking about that metal bottom plate. You are right. That was a ONE -FITS-MANY base plate. It was indeed used for floor models as you show here (several diff. models in fact) as well as several "table top" models and skinny floor models. What I mean by that, is that there were some models with the screw in legs that sat on the floor, but the cabinet was not "fancy" at all. If I remember correctly, some of those had an all-metal cabinet, using that same base plate. One thing I'll say about the RCA picture tubes. They produced some of the best color in the world at that time. I used to have a good stock of different models of RCA color CRTs. I remember when working on some other brands with the same sized tube, I could replace their picture tube (GE as an example) with an RCA tube. Most of the time the "fit" was not 100% perfect around the edges or especially the corners. But the resulting picture and color rendition was so much better than the original (GE for example) tubes. That was sooooo long ago. Literally, another lifetime ago.

[@swhod2190]

This format worked just fine. I don't mind the speed changes.

[@tomcarlson3913]

Thanks. Almost all of this (except some of the voice overs) was recorded before I ever edited a video for youtube. I basically taught my self several new editing techniques while taking the ~4 hours of raw footage and polishing it into this. When you watch your self while editing a video after several hours on end it starts to become hard to distinguish good content from bad.😄

[@tentacle1984]

I just pulled a 25AP22A from my '66 CTC17X and it is my first attempt. Getting it out of the cabinet (stereo) was the most stressful.

[@tomcarlson3913]

Wait until you get to the heat part of the cataract removal. While removal/installation is definitely the most strenuous especially on a stereo combo (I done 3 combos so far), generally it's hard to screw up bad enough to get it to implode. When a tube is being heated by the sun the risk is greater especially if you're also using a heat gun (uneven heating can cause spontaneous implosion). Be careful picking out coves in the PVA to stick wedges in...If you get too agressive you can crack the safety glass and then the only way to salvage the tube is to carefully chisel the safety glass off without chipping the CRT face (had to do that on a RCA cataract recently and botched it...Quarter size chips in the CRT screen that I don't know what to do with).

[@ATOMSHAMRADIO]

Tv on the left i remember my grandmother had one

[@erickvond6825]

Try a solvent on the wire your using to cut the adhesive. Acetone, isopropyl alcohol, and the like will do. It lubricates the cutting medium and desolves the glue.

[@tomcarlson3913]

I suppose I could try that. I suspect I'd need a pump to keep the wire wet, otherwise the solvent would probably be wiped clean off in the first 1/2" of cutting depth. The wire cuts good enough that I don't really need it to work better to get the result I want from an amount of effort I'm comfortable expending to get it.

[@MrHBSoftware]

you should buy a windshield removal kit...comes with a steel wire but the wire is square section or triangular with sharp edges so it cuts very well without cutting your flesh...and is also very strong. the wire comes with two plastic handles..its very cheap around here, dont know how much it costs in the USA though but maybe its cheaper than guitar wire?? for example for 30€ i buy locally that kit and it comes with a tube of caulking (PU-polyurethane) sealant for glueing the widshield, and that sealant can also be used to glue back the safety glass on the edges...the glue is always black

[@tomcarlson3913]

It's an interesting idea and may be worth trying on especially tough but doable CRTs, though I do have concerns it might scratch the glass. (I can't imagine too many folks want to reuse the old windshield so the removal tools may not be designed with that in mind). Windshield removal tools are not especially affordable compared to guitar string though. It's been ages (I think circa 2012) since I bought several for my purposes (still haven't used them up) so I forget what they cost back then, but a 12 pack of NO18 steel guitar string from a chain store is around $2.60 USD, and I keep spare wood and screws that can work as handles around from home improvement projects so the handles are basically free for me to make.

[@MrHBSoftware]

Maybe try to go to an auto parts store and ask for a windshield glueing kit...usually it has a caulking tube, the removal tool and a bottle of primer....the PU glue is much harder than silicone and its much harder to squish when applied, it also dries hard in a couple of hours....its great stuff.....we do remove lots of windshields to reuse, because an original windshield is very expensive and the aftermarket ones are crap, we use good used ones when possible and when the customer approves so..the cutting wire is sharp but it doesnt cut you or scratch, its weird but trust me you should try it.. i never had to a cataract on a tv , i collect and restore tvs but mostly dutch and german, i am located in Portugal, so we have brands like Philps, graetz, nordmende, telefunken etc and those always come with the safety glass attached to the cabinet and not bonded on the crt...but since i work on the auto industry, i use lots of automotive procucts when i restore my sets...

[@johndodge2188]

Very good information

[@nintendy]

Always fascinates me just how naturally strong men are; they don't need to work out!

[@tomcarlson3913]

I don't often work out, but when I do it usually involves moving TV consoles.

[@nintendy]

@@tomcarlson3913 🙂 You don't need to work out when you've got those big TVs to lug about! You're obviously a very hard work.

[@polaraligned1]

Nice video!

[@greanhare5270]

You need piano wire, not guitar string.

[@brandonbaldwin4535]

I kept the tv hoping it could be fixed I've still got it and ran up on your channel and wanted to ask you if it could be fixed or not because you are a specialist more than I am about this.

[@tomcarlson3913]

Replacement CRTs can be sourced. The Early Television Museum in Hilliard Ohio has some, collectors like me have some, and some CRTs can be sourced from newer less valuable/worse condition sets. Most parts can be sourced with enough patience. The hardest parts to source are Flyback transformers, Vertical Output transformers, and certain other transformers.

[@nintendy]

Tom; you heated my Comment - but I spotted a spelling error - corrected it, and now I lost yr heart... Please could you put another to replace it? I don't often get 'loves your comment' Thanks. 🙂

[@dbridger620]

Great video, Tom. Your comments about your experience with the safety glass removal on the rectangular RCA CRT mirror exactly my personal experience with one I'm currently grappling with. In my impatience, I cracked the safety glass trying to remove it on a cloudy Northern Indiana day. I have chipped away at the remainder little by little and am left with the center, which is still holding tightly. This summer, I will take another crack at it. (No pun intended.) I'm wondering what the harm would be in just reinstalling the CRT in the set (It's a Heathkit GR-295) minus the safety glass? Or is it possible someone might have a spare one I can purchase.

[@tomcarlson3913]

It is possible to run these without a safety glass. Some collectors prefer it and I've had to do it on 2-3 sets that I couldn't readily get spares for (they since have been sold or gotten glass). The difficulty of finding replacement safety glass varies with screen size and whether it's color or not. I'd say the easiest to get would be 25"/23V rectangular color followed by roundy color, smaller rectangular color and all monochrome safety glass is much less common. Most can be obtained with a year or more of patience and diligent searching. Personally I have some mediocre roundy and 23V spares I'd give away to someone in need who could come get them.

[@dbridger620]

@@tomcarlson3913 It is an RCA 25AP22.

[@tomcarlson3913]

@@dbridger620 I do have a couple safety glasses that would fit.

[@dbridger620]

I may have to take a road trip up from Northern Indiana. Have a little fun making a couple days of it. @@tomcarlson3913

[@tomcarlson3913]

@@dbridger620 I typically stop for food in Merrillville IN on my way to the May ETF swapmeet.

[@yolandachapman6082]

Yes it would be a good idea to break it down and do each video slowly

[@brandonbaldwin4535]

I have a old zenith floor tv I got from an estate sale when I got it home I cleaned it up nicely in the back and then cleaned it really good on the front and the cabinet. To my surprise when I turned it on I played with the controls some and wiggled the many different tubes in the back and it started working perfect. Well I got a cable jack put it on it then hooked my vcr with a DVD player on it and vhs it was a combo vcr. I played it every now and then for about a year then one day I turned it on to play it and I walked out the room to get something and came back in and there was a straight split in the screen running from left to right. Is my tube cracked or is it just the safety glass??

[@tomcarlson3913]

That's hard to answer definitively without seeing good close up pictures of the damage. Sets with safety glass usually both will NOT crack in the same exact place so if you can catch your thumbnail on the crack it's probably just the safety glass, but if you can't catch your thumbnail on it / the crack seems like its covered by safety glass then it probably is the CRT face. Some rectangular CRT sets didn't have a safety glass...That was more a post 1972 thing, but many older sets that had a replacement CRT installed later in life got a new tube without a safety glass. (tension bands replaced safety glass) If the screen kept making a picture after it cracked it's probably the safety glass that cracked. If the CRT envelope cracked it would leak air into the vacuum (likely accompanied by a short period of audible hiss) and the CRT would die...When that happens the entire neck will glow purple until so much air gets in that it stops, then the CRT heaters will get very dim compared to the rest of the tubes (maybe even not light) and the neck of the CRT will get 'burn your hands hot' faster than the rest of the tubes. (The round tube from this video had a spontaneous thermal crack between the base lead seal points in operation back in October and I ended up seeing that catastrophe first hand). If your set is a rectangular you'll have an easier time finding a replacement than if it's a round tube. (Heck if you're close enough to Milwaukee to pick up I've got good spare 22J, 23V and 25V rectangular CRTs I could sell and even install.) Rectangular deltagun CRTs over 19" all used the same electron gun, so a 1965 25" TV can use a CRT from a 1978 deltagun set the same screen size* assuming there aren't any serious mounting hardware differences (deltaguns were slowly phased out between 1976 and 1981). I'd look for a mid-70's Zenith Chromacolor II or RCA XL-100 with the same screen size...They're usually can be had for free and usually have compatible CRTs. *Something to beware: in 1968 the government changed the screen size measurement standard from diagonal of the bulb to diagonal of the Phosphored viewing screen (which is usually 2" smaller). An old CRT type ID number is typically screen size in inches (or cm if foreign sourced) 1-3 distinguishing letters and phosphor type (P22 for color, P4 for B&W, P1 for green oscilloscope, etc). Tubes made after 1968 have a V after screen size to designate the new standard...So a 1966 25XP22 would become a 1969 23VXP22. Hope my ramblings help.

[@brandonbaldwin4535]

@@tomcarlson3913 it's at my home I have in the country. I'll be going there to stay some on my days off this week and I'll take some pictures and try to send them to you some way to show you. I was so heartbroken when it cracked. It is a awesome set it's not huge it stands about 4 feet tall and about 3 feet wide and stands on 4 wooden legs but is totally had me shocked that it just spranged back to life and played perfect. It sat in that house for years and years and then I get it and clean all the dust out the back and took out the little glass tubes in the back and cleaned them with windex I had it looking as clean as it did when it was on the sales floor brand-new then I switch on the power and wiggled the knobs some and it came right on like it did back in the day lol. And played perfect for a year then the screen cracks one day and man I was heartbroken. But I said well I'm not going to throw it away I'm just going to keep it and try to see if it can be fixed lol. I'm from north Carolina if I lived near you I would definitely pay you to fix it if it could be fixed. I can not remember exactly the year of it I wanna say he said in the early to mid 60s. It's black and white so it was before whenever they made color tvs. But I loved playing my collection of tv shows like leave it to beaver and Andy Griffith and I love Lucy on it every now and then.. my grandmother passed away 3 years ago and I inherited her big long Motorola 100 floor model console stereo with the record player and AM FM radio inside under the lid on top and it plays perfect too. I want to get my tv fixed so I can make my den area look like the 1960s with the stereo and tv in it I think that would looks awesome. But I'll take pictures of it and hopefully you can see it and tell me if it can be fixed and what year it is. I do know I can feel the crack with my finger nail when I wipe over it. If it can be fixed would you know how much one of the safety glass would cost?

[@brandonbaldwin4535]

@@tomcarlson3913 and thanks for information the long message you sent fine with me it shows me you care to help others unlike some people on KZbin don't even answer you back or they answer with 2 words lol.

[@tomcarlson3913]

@@brandonbaldwin4535 Finding curved safety glass for monochrome sets is difficult. The screen curvature is different from color sets, and fewer parts sets remain. The good thing is if the CRT is okay and only the safety glass cracked you can remove it and run the set without the safety glass (on color sets like mine some collectors prefer to toss out the safety glass). As long as you don't plan on throwing footballs or heavier/harder stuff at the CRT there's negligible risk of implosion on 1960's CRTs. On Zenith sets look at the chassis number and model number they should both have a letter in them indicating the model year. Model number will be on the back cover, chassis will be on a sticker on the back of the HV cage and on the tube chart glued inside a side of the cabinet. They skipped some letters, especially ones that could be misread as numbers. Zenith's longest running monochorme console chassis basically came out around 1958 and got annual revisions until 1966 (I believe that chassis was 14N-something) at which point they decided they couldn't improve on it and kept building 14N chassis until around 1975 when they switched finally the low volume (elderly market at that time primarily) monochrome consoles to Solid State. Because monochrome console circuitry remained fairly constant for close to 2 decades you might get something out of my Zenith Coburg video series. kzbin.info/www/bejne/m3yphnuYnc6dY5o I don't think youtube comments make posting pictures practical. There's vintage TV restoration forums videokarma.org and the TV section of the Antique radio forums antiqueradios.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=3 that are easy to join and allow posting pictures, and are also a good place to get second opinions form other collectors.

[@brandonbaldwin4535]

@@tomcarlson3913 I was going to ask if you could run it without the safety glass but you answered that question lol. The set I have actually looks a lot like the darker color tv you have in this video. It's not exactly the same but it looks a lot like the darker color one in this video. I wish I could find another old set that does not work but has the same safety glass on it and put it on mine. Someone was cleaning out a house below mine 5 years go and it had all kinds of good looking vintage stuff they sat out by the road and one was a old zenith tv but this was way before I got mine from an estate sale. Thinking back now I wish I would have stopped and picked it off the curbside because it probably worked or if it didn't the safety glass probably could have fit mine. Lol. And just thinking that all that vintage stuff was hailed off and crushed just literally bothers me. It will be Thursday when I go up to the country home where mine is. I'll get pictures of it. But it's funny because mine favors the old rca dark color tv in this video and the one I seen on the side of the road looked exactly like the the light colored zenith tv in this video. Lol. If you come upon one that will fit mine I would buy it. I've been looking for the old TV's that has the stereo in it. You the long TV's that had the record player on one end on the top and the radio on the other side on top. I have ran across 3 so far on Facebook marketplace but they said they did not work but I'm hoping to see one soon that the tv and stereo all works on it. I think them combo sets like that are awesome.

[@chetpomeroy1399]

It probably *would* be a good idea to wear gloves in addition to eye protection when using the guitar-string method. You could potentially risk cutting yourself!! Remember, *SAFETY FIRST!*

[@tomcarlson3913]

I'm not too worried about the string cutting me. It's not sharp except for the ends which won't be if I do a good job installing them. I do every bit of automotive maintenance, that I have sufficient tools to perform, my self (sometimes with a friend)...Between that and electronics I'm always getting little cuts and scrapes on my hands and arms. I'm often so focused on what I'm doing I don't even notice light scratches till later and when people ask me how I got that scab I tell them "I dunno". I just splash some rubbing alcohol on to kill the germs and keep on going.

[@jockoharpo2622]

I wouldn't ever work on a concrete surface like that. IF you knock over the tube it's busted but on a flat grassy surface it's less likely to bust and implode. Just a safer situtation I think..Thanks.

[@tomcarlson3913]

I'd need to switch from the 5gal buckets I favor to something wider to work on grass. The bucket is too small diameter to be stable on a surface as uneven as grass, but it's perfectly stable on concrete. I prefer the concrete because I know I can find and clean up all the glass that falls if I crack a safety glass or ever get my first implosion....The grass people will be finding glass with their feet for generations if anything breaks there.

[@jockoharpo2622]

@@tomcarlson3913 Yeah That's true about the instability. Just would hate to see or hear that you got hurt of destroyed a tube had it fallen on concrete. Thanks for the reply.

[@jockoharpo2622]

@@tomcarlson3913 Are you related to Mr. Carleson on Mr. Carleson's lab? I joke about him saying Ive never seen his dog. Have yet to get a response. I guess it's not funny to him.

[@jockoharpo2622]

I live a few miles away from the HIlliard, Ohio museum.

[@tomcarlson3913]

@@jockoharpo2622 If you attend the early television convention we've probably bumped into each other before. I'm not super worried about dropping a CRT on concrete. Most of my spares live in the unfinished concrete floor basement on high shelves. I'm strong enough that IIRC I've never accidentally dropped a CRT(part of it comes to taking sufficient care and remembering you're holding essentially a bomb). Signal tubes on the other hand...Well let's just say there's a good reason I always wear shoes in the basement shop/hoard/collection storage overflow area.

[@aarongunter5582]

Shango066