[PortugalTV]

Never heard about damaging a good flyback from just powering up a set a couple of seconds with the proper precautions
what i do hear is people damaging output tubes from using a dim bulb on tv sets wich is NOT advisable. if the oscillator doesnt start the tube will redplate very quicly. plate current on the tube will jump from say 50ma to 200 300 or more
just remove the horizontal output plate cap
if the mains smoothing filters are OK nothing will blow or pop, if it does, who cares right-? nothing important will be damaged because no tubes are conducting yet.
if you are afraid just reform and test those caps first. they are the main source of fuse pops and bangs on a first powerup BY FAR
when the tubes warm up, get a screwdriver and touch the plate cap to the horizontal output. make sure brightness and contrast are at maximum
if you dont get a raster quickly or if you hear any weird noise from the flyback "screaming" just take the cap off again. there is NO way you will damage the flyback even if there is a dead short on it or around it. moisture is a problem yes but i like to tackle it only after set's viability is proven. i have seen enough people here and on other forums destroying good flybacks by messing too much with them, just search here and they will show up. the intetion is good but they are old brittle components that should be left alone even brushing off too much dirt can do harm.


i have plenty of restored sets, usually with a good sucess rate, this is a good method and i would not advise it if i would not have proven it. just act with caution to avoid personal injury and also try to avoid frustration and time and money wasting. i know what is like to spend 20 or 30 caps just to have a bad vertical output transformer in the end or a bad flyback etc etc

i have a crt tester and i use it prior to tackling a set but many people dont have one so another reson to go the route "doing the minimal to get a raster" first

after i get a raster first part i replace is the boost filter cap and that is by far the part that can do more damage to a flyback if it leaks or shorts out
very often if you do a bulk recap a mistakewill be made somewhere and it will be VERY difficult to trace. if the set is able to be powered up you can change 3 or 4 caps and keep testing, if a fault appears just go back a couple of steps
VERY often after bulk recapping faults will appear instead of faults cleared. that story is heard over and over again everywhere

for example i had a set that worked perfectly with all the leaky caps and the vertical collapsed with new caps....weird right? reason was the cathode bypass cap on the pcl84 was shorted and the cathode resistor overheated and got open when the set was being used in the past,so the leaky shorted cathode cap was making the turn of the resistor and making the vertical work perfectly. then after replacing it with a new cap it stopped working because the cathode was left floating...just an example. the fault was very easy to find because the recap was made in steps with testing in between... just imagine a number of simultaneous faults that could be a nightmare...

wish you best of luck with your set and will help if i can