90's CRT

[Dodger]

So i'm trying to go hobo on most of my gear at the moment for short range FPV and so i have a 14" CRT i got from Goodwill. I plugged it in at the store and turned it on to see if it did that much and figured for $10 it wasn't much of a risk to at least try.

So I hook everything up, first testing my receiver on my larger television and it all checks out, and turn on the CRT. I switch to input, turn on the reciever, hear the static but don't see any, then plug power into my quad and the static sound goes away but no video.

I checked the traces going from the composite plug to the TV's IC and they're all fine so i'm wonder if it's the IC or possibly how the reciever outputs the signal. I unfortunately don't have a game system or anything else that could use a composite capable to transmit reliable signals to test the television.

I'm thinking about a cheap Composite to Coaxial converter to do the job. There's also a faint burnt eletrical smell but i can't locate any burnt or bubbling components.

 

[Spastickitten]

Have you checked your vtx?

 

[pressalltheknobs]

Do you have a point and shoot camera with composite video out?
Are you sure you had the TV set to the composite input? It may not switch automatically. You might need the remote to select it.

 

[Dodger]

Luckily this tv was old and direct. there's only one input in the front and a coax in the back. and "INPUT" is a channel instead of a selectable option. remember those days when you had to flip to the channels to get to the input? memories. sweet memories.

anyway. i'm able to get to input without a remote and my VTx is working, I've tested all my FPV equipment on my large tv so blah....

I unfortunately also do not have any cameras or such. You know though....the decoder for the coaxial is more or less an RF decoder/reciever isn't it? i wonder if i can remove that one and just introduce my receiver in it's place.

 

[pressalltheknobs]

Luckily this tv was old and direct. there's only one input in the front and a coax in the back. and "INPUT" is a channel instead of a selectable option. remember those days when you had to flip to the channels to get to the input? memories. sweet memories.

anyway. i'm able to get to input without a remote and my VTx is working, I've tested all my FPV equipment on my large tv so blah....

I unfortunately also do not have any cameras or such. You know though....the decoder for the coaxial is more or less an RF decoder/reciever isn't it? i wonder if i can remove that one and just introduce my receiver in it's place.

Your FPV camera is going to have composite out. That's what gets transmitted unless you have something specialized. So long as it is NTSC encoded then it should work directly. You just need an RCA plug on a cable attached to the appropriate place. PAL won't work on a US TV

However if your FPV stuff is all working and the composite out of the RX works on your big tv but not on the small one then the small TV is likely shot. Electronics are not at Goodwill because they work really well, only because they might still work maybe

 

[Dodger]

well it's working now with an RF Modulator but i do find it redundant that i'm taking an RF signal that's being outputted to a Composite cable that i'm re-modulating into another RF signal to make the TV happy. I guess if i can change the frequency of the tuner i could connect an antenna directly to the tv that would pick up my transmitter's signal. That's something i would like to explore later.

 

[Dodger]

Woot Woot!! finally fitted a sun shield to my CRT and making it a "legit" FPV monitor.

 

[Dodger]

So awesome things I've been enjoying about this setup is it's cheap, large, and blue screen wasn't a thing yet. OH and nostalgia factor.

Down sides:

First the amount of control i have over image quality is nearly nill. control 1 there's a basic brightness control that instead of enhancing the image it either can white out or black out the screen. I think is more or less there to help compensate cathode ray tube out put to maintain the image period. control 2 there's a basic sharpness control which acts more like a focusing nob either direction will make it fuzz out so there's only one sweet spot somewhere in the middle. Again i think this is literally just for tuning your cathode tube rather than enhancing the image.

second the screen is more or less a mirror. I don't know if it's because of the power out put of my vehicle's converter or ifit's just the nature of the television but the sunshade and positioning is imperative to trying to help screen brightness to overcome reflections. If i don't set it properly i'm more likely to see myself in the television then see where i'm flying.

Three SOOOOOooooo gosh darn clunky and awkward to move. But I can more or less position it on the ground like you see above and set my chair in front of it and be good.

Overall this thing has been pretty freakin fun to play with and if you wanted something cheap to play around with on a cheaper setup in an area you're not scared of losing your gear in i'd recommend this lol. Definitely got some nostalgia from playing with this. For roughly $15 for the tele and posterboard/foamboard i think it's worth it.