Arcing at spark gaps and gas discharge tubes on CRT neck board or elsewhere

This is rarely due to a defective sparkgap or gas discharge tube but rather is a safety mechanism like a fuse designed to protect the internal electrodes of the CRT if the focus or screen voltage should become excessive. The sparkgap breaks down first and prevents internal arcing in the CRT. These sparkgaps may be built into the CRT socket as well.

Arcing at a sparkgap or a glowing or flashing discharge tube may be accompanied by total loss of picture or bad focus, brightness or focus fluctuations, or any of a number of similar symptoms. A common cause is a breakdown inside the focus divider (usually part of the flyback or tripler) but could also be due to excessive uncontrolled high voltage due to a failure of the B+ regulator or HOT snubber capacitor, or (ironically) even a short inside the CRT.

• Spark gaps may be actual two or three pin devices with seemingly no insides, part of the CRT socket, or printed on the circuit board itself.

• Gas discharge tubes look like small neon lamps (e.g., NE2) but could be filled with some other gas mixture to provide a controlled higher breakdown voltage.

Therefore, like a fuse, don't just replace or disable these devices, locate and correct underlying problem. The CRT makes an expensive fuse!