2. home-theater
  3. 1162181392

Can magnets permanently damage CRTs?

I have a 1978 RCA XL-100 TV that I use in my main HT system. It's obviously a CRT and it's solid state. Without naming names, I'll just say that a demonstration of a magnet's effect on the picture tube was performed. Now the picture remains distorted even though the magnet is far away from the TV.
My question is whether the magnet just temporarily affected the CRT's stability or is the CRT ruined?
hals_den
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
When my CRT computer monitor was on during a power surge related to a thunder storm the picture became distorted and the colors (colours for you Sean) all messed up. I was sure it was destroyed. But, low and behold, turning it off and back on fixed everything. That demag at turnon really works.
hals_den OP
77 posts
 
Thank you guys for your advice. I did "the google" on CRTs and magnets and I will try to degauss the picture tube. I tried a tape head demagnitizer and it changed the color distortion. I think I'll just grab the next discarded TV I find on the street and open it up and see if it has a degaussing circuit I can cannibalize, and make a degausser.
Howell
hals_den OP
77 posts
 
I just bought a heavy duty degausser on ebay for $24.
ellery911
549 posts
 
A long time ago I set a raw car speaker on top of my television. I didn't think much of it until a few days later the picture was looking a little strange...not extremely noticeable...but different...the colors were a bit off.

When I picked the speaker up off the set...BAM...the colors were all out of wack...completely...not to mention the "stretching" of the picture.

Luckily...a good friend was an EE and explained to me that the picture had "aligned" itself with the magnet and within a few days it would realign itself.

He was right...after a few days...it was back to normal.
Post removed 
More to discover