jeeze people, how many of you acually take these apart (not including the guy who does it for a living). If you want to take apart a crt (ive done it before) you proablly wont get killed. If you discharge it, even less chance. When i took my crt apart i didnt discharge it because i didnt know that i should have. I also didnt go licking parts or poking around. If you want to open a crt, which i recomend (you only learn by doing) then make a discharge rod. Is as simple as getting a large screw driver, wrapping some wire around it, and attaching the other end of the wire to a ground. There, poke around all the metal parts, and get under the big (red) suction cup until you hear an audible sound (the discharge) and then it should be safe. But play it safe by poking around some more until you are certain that its discharged. Also, keep one hand behind your back while your working (and its charged) to prevent electricity from sparking across your heart. If you only happen to be shocked with one ar, you will be fine (yes ive done it, well mains elec) it spazz's your muscles, but you will be fine none the less.
Gotta love the bang ya get when you short yourself on the mains,like someone's just hit your elbow with a mash hammer! I learned my lesson from a power-shower that tried to kill me,always,always fit a RCD (residual current device) before you start working on live gear
I'd agree with the current verdict on this one, buy a discharging rod, etc. However, there are NO X-Rays in CRTs, whoever is telling you there are, knows nothing about CRTs.
Yess...well I'll make sure not to be licking anything with large amounts of voltage thanks for the wonderfull advice about what things I should and should not lick.
To be honest mate...you sound like a muppet. No point joking about with 20Kv- and since when did 14yr olds have enough knowledge to safely construct and use a discharge rod etc? I'm not being rude- just realistic.
Hmm.. a discharge rod is not anything complicated. And if anything, im sure that there are certain 14yr olds who know more than you. Me not being one of them, because im not 14 of course, but how would you be expcted to know that? realistically anyone can understand that to dischrage a monitor you need to get rid of the juice. The juice has to go somewhere, so the ground is a perfect place. After all thats what its there for... and from there its definatley not rocket science.
I dont know how I or anyone could be compared to a muppet of all things so I dismiss that as pure stupidity to say that to anyone. after doing some reasearch a discharge rod looks just as scifi said, not complicated in the least and with proper instructions anyone could do it. Are you implying that 14 year olds are completly retarded or something because I doubt you'd say the same about yourself (if so my apologys to your parents for developing a very hopeless child))
Hey, at 14 I was rebuilding V8 engines. It's nothing new to be a little ahead of the curve. I never said servicing them is impossible, I'm self taught myself. But you have to repect the electricity, as it won't respect you. Look for information on what you wanna do, mods, whatever, and minimize contact with PCBs. That should help you stay safe. I try to never touch a board I don't have to. Most CRT problems have to do with people breaking the power button or the plug to the wall. Those are simple, easy fixes, but for the last one I always have someone on hand just in case. You never know what could happen, even if you think you've taken all the precautions.
Wow. I'm scared now. I took one of these apart like... 4 years ago, when I was 12. I guess I was lucky.
CRTs have step up transformers to up to 50,000 volts. I don't know about how big capacitors they have in them. There aren't xrays. There is a stream of electrons when the monitor is on.
If you read the sentence in context... he is referring to the caps and various components holding enough charge in them for upto a year... meaning that even a year (or month) after the device has been turned off it still has the enough charge left in it to kill you... not that it can kill you for a year... honestly. I will KILL JOO WITH DEATH!
I was actually thinking of removing the case of my monitor to paint it for a mod. Is it safe to do this (for a given value of safe)? My meaning is, when looking through the vents of the case it looks like there is a metal cage holding all the bits together. I'm not wanting to get into the guts of the CRT - just remove the case for cosmetic remodeling. Is it easy enough by only doing this to steer clear of dangerous currents?
Constructacon, sure, why not? If don't go poking around nothing will happen... And I don't see why everyone is so paranoid? Ok, the caps hold leathal charges, but you know that, don't go poking around the places you shouldn't go and you'll be safe. If you think before you touch, why would it be unsafe? and IIRC from electrics class, there should be a discharge cage or something around the "blaster" of the CRgun...
That's why I opened mine a while back. Just avoid anything metal and you'll be okay. If you paint the screen side, discharge the tube as described somewhere above first. I had mine sitting around unplugged for about six months then I covered up all the electric bits with paper and masking tape, but I never formally discharged it. Not a great idea on my part, but I was careful to not actually touch anything.
. . .Thats what I meant constructacon! when I meant gutting..i didnt mean literally ripping apart the innards! I meant taking apart the case! I think we had a huge lack of communication
what if you cut off the two leads on the power cable, and stick the ground plug into the wall? would that discharge the caps? obviously you would ruin the plug, but i'm pretty sure i have at least 8 sitting around my house unused. edit: nevermind, i'm retarded
I once got shocked by unplugging a monitor from a surge protector because I accidentally touched the metal part of the plug. I remember it felt like I ran into a brick wall going full speed on a bike. Ever since then I usually turn off the surge protector when I unplug things (if the computer is off).
