Re: electrical deaths

On 2024-11-30 06:29, Don Y wrote:

On 11/29/2024 7:33 PM, Edward Rawde wrote:

I don't think the back of our tube-based TV was ever on.
While it was under warranty, service people seemed to arrive monthly.

 It was a routine task for me to be charged with pulling ALL the
tubes and walking up to the corner drugstore (where they had a
tube tester) to check them.  Invariably, one would be "weak",
replaced and then the TV returned to "new" condition.  A fair
bit cheaper than a replacement TV.

What meant "weak"? Perhaps they had lost a bit of vacuum? Or a problem with the cathode?
I remember that we had a B/W TV, and the technician would come to our home now and then, and replace a tube or two. I was a kid at the time.
Also, the thing was VHF only. There was only one TV channel in Spain. At some point they created a second channel, on UHF. We had our TV upgraded, a second tuner control was sticking out on the side. For this operation they took our only TV to the repair shop for some days.
I think we had to install a new smaller antena for this channel to work. It had cartoons at about 20 hours, and sometimes there would be interferences and I would get mad because the only TV program I was allowed to watch was not working.
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Cheers, Carlos.