CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

justtaint · Joined: 21 May 2007 Posts: 191 Location: Chicago

I just got home from acquiring two new (to me) Runco DTV-991's. One of them works perfectly but has worn tubes (according to the old owner), the other one shuts down after switching sources but has better tubes. Both of them have 10/99 listed as the manufacturer date. One of these will replace the Sony 1272 that is currently hanging from my basement ceiling, the other one will be used as a parts machine. I also got a box of lenses, 2 extra tubes (red and blue) and a whole set of boards. Once I figure out all that I have and what exactly I need, I may list some of them for sale. I do have one question to get me started:

What projectors are these?
The cross-reference says they could be either XG75 or XG-85, how would I tell?

Thanks

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Mon Aug 31, 2009 12:03 am Post subject:

What was the final price? I sold one of these, the other was the original one, in a stack configuration. One broke down as you said, and I think the customer switched to digital.

If the unit has 'comp' in the signal entry menu, it's an 85. If not, it's a 75. Both will display identical pix, but the 85 has a built in transcoder.

justtaint · Joined: 21 May 2007 Posts: 191 Location: Chicago

Sounds like it, they had them stacked (or blended, couldn't tell) and the guy was switching to digital. He had a third one that he was using as a parts chassis. I couldn't fit anything else in my car, but as it is I have more than enough parts. Final Price? You mean besides almost breaking my back trying to get these out of my car by myself? (I had to manhandle the 1272 a few years ago, and I just don't remember it being as heavy).

$75 plus a half of a tank of gas.

Two remotes (well, three, if you count the HDTV Runco remote), two mounts one extra set of HD-144 lenses and a ton of boards.
Now I just need to figure out a whole new projector.

justtaint · Joined: 21 May 2007 Posts: 191 Location: Chicago

Thanks for the answer Curt. I'll fire one of them up in the next week or two and figure out which one I have and then I'll have plenty of reading and research to do.

draganm · Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 8990 Location: Colorado

You scored Thomas, the spare set of lenses is worth what you paid for all that, and NEC set-up remotes are always in demand. Hopefully you can combine them into one good working machine. An XG will blow your old Sony out of the water in both sharpness and light output Thumbs Up

justtaint · Joined: 21 May 2007 Posts: 191 Location: Chicago

I finally got a chance to do a rough setup on one of the projectors and the Windows desktop is burned into the tubes (at least 1 tube). It has 7k hours on all three tubes, so I'm not surprised. Unless I want to knock out a wall to mount the projector further back, I won't be able to setup inside the wear. I do have the other projector, which has an unknown problem (I haven't taken a look at it, but the previous owner told me).

Now I have a choice to make, I can either swap tubes (from the broken to the working) or swap boards (from the working to the broken). Any recommendations? I've never done a tube swap or had to diagnose an error. My only previous experience is setting up a Sony 1031 and a 1272.

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 3:03 am Post subject:

I would swap the tubes one at a time. NO sense in swapping all three only to find either one tube is bad or you did something wrong while swapping tubes, then chasing the problem for hours. Been there, done that. It's not hard to do.

The tubes come out the front.. I've got an article here somewhere....

http://www.curtpalme.com/NECPG_tube_replacement1.shtm

That's for a PG, but the XG is similar.

You might as well transfer the yokes and other stuff on the tubes over with the new tubes. Makes alignment easier. Don't bump the astig tabs on the new tubes while taking them out or putting them in. Careful on the HV wire rubber boots so yyou don't tear them.

justtaint · Joined: 21 May 2007 Posts: 191 Location: Chicago

I took a quick look at the guide. Since you're recommending transfer the yokes etc, do I skip step 11? Or do I have to take all those things off in order to get the tube out and then put it back together?

I'll take the lenses off and see which tubes are bad. I have a couple of extras in so-so condition (red and green I think).

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 4:22 am Post subject:

No, just unplug the wires on the various boards, make a note of where they go and where they plug in, and you're good.

justtaint · Joined: 21 May 2007 Posts: 191 Location: Chicago

Took a few hours, but I finally swapped all three tubes. After taking the lens off the red tube and seeing the burn pattern I didn't even bother looking at the blue or green. Almost everything is better now. The focus on the red is perfect, the blue and green aren't as good as with the older tubes, but I haven't done a complete setup yet.

I did accidentally bump the magnetics on at least one tube when I was switching each tube around and I'm wondering what "damage" I could have done. What would it look like if I completely screwed it up?
Also, convergence is really bad. Could that be caused by the magnets? I tried setting almost everything back to zero, but I'm wondering if there's a factory reset I can do.

justtaint · Joined: 21 May 2007 Posts: 191 Location: Chicago

BTW, thanks Curt, for the link and the content in the link. I would never have tackled something like that without a guide to help me through it.