With some help on an electronics forum and just running the risc i've found an affordable alternative CRT (also Philips made in Czech republic) sold for around EUR 250,- to the B&O ''solution'' (price of a CRT EUR 700,- therefore not worth it).

A replacement tube for the W76ESF331X44 is the W76ESF021X44/L, but the problems to overcome:

-connections of deflection coils are different, so either solder the wires direct to the connections or replace the little connection board on the tube with the old one (which is what i did).

-Earth field correction coil from the old tube fits on the new one, but the small pcb on the tube neck not since the new tube neck is thinner, i filled it up with some soft material (preferrably low- or inflammable).

-After making the (usual after every tube replacement) necessary re-adjustments the result is really great: these ''cheap'' tubes seem fine: good convergence and geometrie, so ''powered'' by the Avant electronics i doubt if one could see the difference with a B&O selected type.

So your 32"' Avant now doesn't have to go into the ''bin'' anymore, mine is as new !!! :).

I'm still checking for a similar replacement for the 28" Avant because i feel on one hand finding an affordable replacement is good for keeping the Avants going for many people (one of the few tv sets worthwhile spending some money on these days) but on the other hand the solution offered by B&O is never worth it because of the prices they charge for replacement tubes.

Hope B&O can forgive me for trying to prevent older Avants being scrapped because of this, after all they were made for 20 years and not for the average 10 they seem to last....:)

Hi:

 This is very interesting to me as my relationship with purchases of the type that I class B&O as are long term investments. I have a 28" Avant and whilst it only gets occasional use of an evening  and sometimes during the day I do like having it there and I have grown accustomed to it - I am happy that it is there.

 I would like to think that I could keep hold of it for a very long time - so that it moves with me as I buy a house etc - even if it gets shoved into the spare room or lent to someone else.

 If you do find a 28" alternative and I am incapable of wiring it in myself (if and when it breaks) would you be interested in offering a fitting service?

Thanks

Graham


 

thanks for the info paul.

If you find a replacement tube for the 28" I would be very interested as I have one requiring a new tube





 

From the same forum where i just posted this question: the CRT type W66ESF012X44 should do it BUT !! i haven't tried this and it could be it needs some mechanical adaptations (longer or shorter bushings), and probably the connections are different again.

So it would be a next ''trial'' project :), but i don't have a broken Avant at this stage left (lucky me, right ??).

 @Graham: If you wouldn't mind getting me a ticket and a stay for some days, since i live in NL :)....btw, the above applies to the 100Hz Avant 28" T83XX so NOT the 50 Hz types.

That probably wouldn't be a problem. I will let you know in like five years+ (I hope when it will be acceptable for it to break). I have a curvy screen one I think so I doubt it will work anyway.

Well, the replacement is for the curved screen ones but the 100 Hz (just check the label which type you have).

As for the T81XX (50Hz types) i don't think there's a solution because with the replacement tube B&O also changed the deflection board, so even if there's a replacement tube for the T81XX it requires also mods on this board and mechanical work (different bushings for sure) so that's too much.

But a curved 100 Hz might not be a lost case as yet :)

Hi:

Well I have been meaning to find out what exactly my Avant was so:

s/n 11903465

type 8133

s/w 2.1

 If someone could give a rough age that would also be good.

Thanks

Graham
 

So as i see in your other posting someone told you your avant is a 1996 one, in any case it's the first model T81XX thus a 50Hz type and the bad news is if your tube ever goes it's probably not an option to replace (for the reason i mentioned earlier).

However, the good news is it's out of the 1998-2001 range which seems to be the ''disaster years'' for these tubes so you might be lucky.

I have a 1994 T8100 in daily use which still has a very nice picture, so it is possible, just keep saying your prayers :).

I can quite see why you would wish to change a tube if you live in a country where second hand avants are rare or expensive.

However, in the UK they are a dime a dozen and you can buy a fully working avant for £200 with a beo4 on ebay.

Other than the satisfaction of fitting it yourself, why would you do it?

That's true and same here in NL, especially for the T8100 types.

However, (i think one of the reasons why the value is low) there's quite a risk that you buy a ''time-bomb'' if you get one from ebay, so if the tube is still ok at all it might die sooner or later.

Now in my case i bought a broken 32" avant for eur 50,- (also piles of those around) and with the tube and some other minor spendings the set costed me about 270,- euro (of course my own labour not included) and for this money the avant is as good as new !!

(Value of a good 32" vcr avant is still abt 500 - 700,- euro here).

So if the option is getting a worn second hand avant for abt 300,- euro or have your broken one fixed (with a new tube so it'll be as good as new), alternatively buy a broken 100Hz avant and get it fixed for abt 350,- euro imho that's a better option :).

But of course it's all a matter of bouncing off value and what you want or can spend (obviously the $avings trick is to do it yourself if you're able to), after all a great alternative now is get a BV3 32" for around 900,- :)