CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

amphion27 · Joined: 29 Sep 2009 Posts: 5 Location: Orange County, CA

Noob to the forum, know near nothing of projectors. But I figured the best place to go is the experts.

I've recently come into the possession of two hand-me-down projectors, a Zenith Pro900 (http://www.curtpalme.com/Zenith900.shtm) and a Runco DRV-852. I fiddled with them a bit but they're really taking up space and I'm looking at finding a way to get them to someone who'd appreciate them.

The Zenith powers up fine. No remote. Bulbs apparently have had quite a few hours on them.
The Runco doesn't power up at all. No clue why (power supply?). Bulb condition unknown.

So my question to the forum is: What is the best way to get these off my hands and possibly getting a reasonable compensation. 95lbs each makes eBay unlikely, and craigslist is dicey.

I live in Orange County, CA. Are there Home Theater aficianados in the area that could take a gander? I've got pics if that'd help.

What are your recommendations of where to go (online, or So. Cal) and to whom I could talk?

Thoughts?

Thanks for any advice you have.

Cheers,
--
amphion27

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2009 2:24 pm Post subject:

At this point you'd be lucky to get $100 each for them, less actually for the dead one. THey were nice sets in the day, but there's zero demand for them at this point, esp with worn tubes and the other one needing work.

secstate · Joined: 20 Mar 2006 Posts: 720

Curt's right (of course) and he is being pretty nice because this could be a stealth for sale ad which for whole projectors is against the forum rules. My advice as somebody who just recent sold a CRT projector is if you want to sell the whole units is craiglist, Ebay (local pickup only) and Videogon. Of these three the only one that I got even a nibble on was Ebay. However the other two are free so you don't have much to lose if you could get one showing a picture from the PC and played up the big screen home theater angle you might actually get some money. Otherwise you might actually be hauling them to the trash yourself. Sad but Curt's right low end CRT sales are nearly dead especially if they aren't working and mint. I don't know if the parts or tubes have any value anymore but parting out the sets might net you a bit more (for more work of coruse).

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2009 3:00 pm Post subject:

THen again, I'm coming to LA in the next 2-3 weeks, so I could always assist in getting the Runco up and running, and get you one of the two sets that could be worth installing in your own theater room for some paltry sum.. Smile

ecrabb · Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2009 3:00 pm Post subject:

You're funny, Curt!

I think Craigslist and ebay (local pick up only) are the best bets. I've now sold three low-end machines on Craigslist - in my relatively non-metro area. Since you are in a large metro area, I would think you could sell them about as easily as I did. Someone will probably want them, but it's all about the price... Unfortunately, it's probably not going to be what you may have been hoping.

In used/as-is condition with no warranty or support, you might get a couple hundred for the pair. If you want to sell them fast, price them at $200, and be prepared to take much less to avoid having to dispose of them. Like Curt said, there's just no interest in these older machines.

SC

amphion27 · Joined: 29 Sep 2009 Posts: 5 Location: Orange County, CA

Whoa, whoa..."stealth sale ad" ... but yeah, I can see that as a worry. I did scan the forum rules, so if I stepped on any toes, my bad.
Curt: In my limited "studies" your amounts seem reasonable, between $300 to $1300 on ebay, but it was a working one. I'm not that interested in "possible price" but in "appreciative person."

Nah, if I was trying to "sell it" flat out I'd do the eBay/craigslist thing and not bother with asking around for info from folks that know. The thing is, these projectors were top-of-the line at one point and my thought was to find someone who'd really appreciate them. I got them for free, so it's no loss if I give them away, chop it up for parts, or sell it. (Well...guess there IS a difference, but you know what I mean.) But yeah, ideally I'm looking for a local who could appreciate it, in the So. Cal area.

Never heard of Videogon...I'll check it out! Gad...I'd hate to chop them up.
Do standard video cables work (in/out, etc.) as for the Zenith I've got it to power-up but haven't projected anything (down own a TV...I know, I know, what am I doing with these things? as I said, hand-me-downs and I like picking up little "projects"...I fixed up some microbiologic incubators once, but that's another story). I'll check RadioShack and see if there's something cheap. I don't really want to "invest" if they're useless anyway.

As for the LA-visit guy (Curt?). I'm responding to the whole thread at once here...and not 100% if this is serious or not.
Errr...yeah, NOPE! No TV, no entertainment room, just a guy who'll take stuff from someone whenever. Either I took these hand-me-downs or they were going to the dump. They looked so cool! Hand to tinker. If you're in the Brea area and want to take a gander at them, let me know...but fee-wise it'll have to be pro-bono bucko! Smile

SC: Yup. Sounds about right. Maybe I should just go with the easy-way-out and stick them on eBay...

Thanks for all the advice guys.

...maybe I'll try and get rid of the Runco and keep the Zenith and try and get it working. Then I can project my computer screen on the wall!

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2009 12:47 pm Post subject:

Funny, I didn't read it as a stealth ad. Maybe 'What's a Runco 1200 worth?' ad, and I'd be all over it.

I am actually coming down to LA on the 13th and 14th. But if you don't have a space for the set, then just get rid of them.

Check out the tubes on the Runco and the Zenith. THe Runco is actually a slightly better set than the Zenith, so if you get ambitious, put the Zenith power supplies into the Runco, I'll bet it will work then if it's dead completely.

There's lots of tech info showing the power supplies on the main site under the 'tech tips' section.

amphion27 · Joined: 29 Sep 2009 Posts: 5 Location: Orange County, CA

Hmmm...if I'm ambitious. Now I'm getting curious as to whether I should just cannibalize one to make the other work. Now I'm getting curious.

Is there an easy "test" to see if the Runco is down-and-out due to the power supply or some other reason? What other reasons (a large range I guess!) might it not power-up.

...guess I'm going to get some cables and try the Zenith out. If I can confirm it's projecting decently then I'd have to decide whether to swap out the power supply to the Runco (if the power supply is its problem), or leave it as is. Either way, I guess I do have a spare set of bulbs.

Thoughts from the peanut gallery?

jkruger · Joined: 24 Oct 2007 Posts: 2435 Location: Carlsbad, CA

You need a vga to rgbhv cable? How long? I may have one you can borrow.

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2009 2:44 pm Post subject:

Chief peanut here. Smile

Check the tubes:

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

That's the most important part on a set. Swapping tubes between sets isn't hard, but is a bit daunting if you're new to CRTs. Work on the set with the better tubes. Shine a flashlight through the lenses to see what shape your tube phosphor is.

Swapping power supplies is easy:

http://www.curtpalme.com/Zenith900_Layout1.shtm

THe RGB input board cannot be swapped between sets, they are different, but all other parts are identical between the sets as well.

donaldk · Joined: 17 Jun 2008 Posts: 308

Or an s-vhs cable as the picture is showing the associated DIN female chassis plug. None of the sync issues of RGB+HV, and standard resolution, so it should always sync-up.

amphion27 · Joined: 29 Sep 2009 Posts: 5 Location: Orange County, CA

jkruger, Curt, donaldk: I'm going to try it. I'll maybe post a "in progress" query / forum thread in the next few days. Thanks for the advice! I think I'll tackle the bulb swap first, and see if they're all good. ... The newbie will be back...

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2009 3:27 am Post subject:

jkruger · Joined: 24 Oct 2007 Posts: 2435 Location: Carlsbad, CA

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2009 2:44 pm Post subject:

Exactly. You shouldn't have to swap bul... errr.. tubes, all you need to do is swap power supplies.