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It is on the list of projects I have to get to. I'll post an update when ready.
 
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My buddy found another APEX TV that had the same tube in it: AT2708S (mfg date is 2003).
 
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Really curious how this tube swap turns out. It has always been a fascination of mine to find an A grade, burn free tube that could be swapped in from a TV. Mostly interested in a good full-curve tube donor for the MS9 chassis, but finding the semi-curve tube that is compatible with the MS293x seems like the much more difficult problem to solve. Hats off to you on these projects, it has been quite motivating during these trying times.
 
Hrm....I was under the impression that a Ms9 would drop into a Blast....interesting. Well...Good new...I've got 4 spare tubes....bad news, they've all got F355 burn in them...but hell....a working tube is better than no tube at all.

Will start the search around here, for a couple of those Apex Tv's and tuck a couple away in the garage, just in case.
 
I did find a suitable donor for the MS9-29. It is from another arcade monitor:
  • Kortek 27" KTMF-R
  • Tube number: A68KVL74X
Yoke swap required but fitment and curvature is perfect.
 
Really curious how this tube swap turns out. It has always been a fascination of mine to find an A grade, burn free tube that could be swapped in from a TV. Mostly interested in a good full-curve tube donor for the MS9 chassis, but finding the semi-curve tube that is compatible with the MS293x seems like the much more difficult problem to solve. Hats off to you on these projects, it has been quite motivating during these trying times.
Semi curved toshiba sets are very hard to find, but I am working on and off on it right now. Getting the purity and convergence is a real pain without a large mirror.
 
The surgery is about to begin!


Clockwise from top left:
  1. Net City to be used for this test because a Blast City is too darned hard to work with
  2. The potentially dead Blast City tube remarked upon in the OP
  3. And the Apex donor TV
    1. Curvature has been tested on the tube with the bezel laid on top of it already
    2. Fitment tested first
    3. No idea about the heater since it isn't posted on atomized.tubular.org
Drum roll please.........


Surgery.jpg
 
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Small hiccup with fitment. Standard tube to frame mounting didn't work. Tube is too deep.


Thankfully, tube was too deep by just the thickness of the frame ear mounts. Reverse mounting the tube to the frame is proof of perfect tube fitment.


Surgery2.jpg



Fits bezel perfectly as shown!


Surgery3.jpg



Here is the tube mounted to the backside of the frame. See the the dogears on the tube? Wouldn't be visible if it was regular mounted. Now to try a less precious chassis (29E31S) to confirm compapatibility before throwing a MS293xx chassis on the tube.


Keep the drum rolling please..........
 
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Looks like it is success. We forgot to install the degauss coil, so we couldn't demag it. But from what was seen, there was a nice sharp image. Proof of concept is good. These tubes work. Now to put it in the Blast and do all the fine tuning.


Surgery4.jpg
 
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Looks like I made a big blunder. These Apex TV's won't work at all. They are 9-pin, not the needed 10-pin. That explains the red screen coloration.

The search continues.
 
Looks like I made a big blunder. These Apex TV's won't work at all. They are 9-pin, not the needed 10-pin. That explains the red screen coloration.

The search continues.
Try finding a toshiba brand tv. The one I found that fits actually has an Orion tube, but the correct neck.
 
Yeah. Same pin configuration. But it is short one pin. Looking at the neck, there is a position for another pin, but it is not there. Possible the pin slipped out?

I checked the Apex tube I have at my house, same thing. Missing the 10 pin. I'll take a snap of it.
 
Here is the pin configuration on the neck. At about 8 o'clock, you can see there is a spot for a 10th pin, but it is missing. I checked the neckboard to see if it got pulled off, but it is not there. Still possible it fell off during the rest of disassembly. I'll ask my buddy if his is missing in the same spot and to check at his office if the pin is stuck to his neckboard. If so, I do have some conductive epoxy and can glue it back on. Not the first time I've had to do that. Also, can sack a pin off one of the other tube candidates I still have laying around and see what happens from there.

The saga with the Apex tubes isn't over just yet.

IMG_1391.JPG
 
On a side note, as I was dumping unqualified donor candidates off at the recycle center this morning, there was a Nice 27" Sharp sitting there just asking to have its organs harvested (if possible) and repurposed. So I snapped it up and will oblige.
 
I have the same tube(from a Magnavox TV) and it definitely does not look like a pin fell off, the plastic is not even perforated.
Mine has even fewer pins..8.
 

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