Oscillographic TV Hacking

WHAT YOU NEED:

-

CRT (tube style TV)

Multi-meter or just an Ohm meter (Radio Shack)
Wire (stranded or solid)
Large flathead screwdriver
Clip leads (alligator clips)
Wire cutters
High power sandbar resistors (Radio Shack)
Electrical tape
Wire Nuts
Soldering iron
Terminal mounts, RCA plugs, plugs or any other type of connector
Stereo or audio amplifier
Signal source (music player or tone generator)

INTRO:
This tutorial demonstrates how to hack into the deflection coil of a CRT television to create
visualizations from audio sources. The process can be used as a music visualizer or a tool to
sculpt lissajous type visuals in the style of an oscilloscope. This tutorial will cover the step-by-step
process of how to modify your own CRT. You can find an example video and a signal generator
app that can be used to design your visuals (mac only) here: Oscillographic Generator App. But
before we start please take note of this very serious safety reminder

OPENING A CRT TELEVISION IS A VERY DANGEROUS PROCESS. You will be

handling a device that stores MANY times more electricity than what comes out of the wall.
Though this tutorial explains how to properly discharge a TV so it is safe to use, if you feel
uncomfortable with this DO NOT CONTINUE. If this is your first time opening up a CRT, it
can be a little frightening, but this tutorial will give you the step by step to safely working
inside of one.

INSIDE THE TV:

It is good to familiarize yourself with some of the basic components of a CRT television in
order to not only understand how it works, but what areas you should avoid for safety. All TVs are
laid out a bit different, but they usually share many similarities in the location of these components.
Here are the most essential parts for this hack:
Deflection Coil: Also
called the yolk, this is an
electromagnet used to
guide the electron beam
that draws the image. It
is always located in the
same spot on all TVs. It
looks like a very tightly
wound bundle of copper
wire and is connected to
the back of the tube. This
will
be
the
main
component of this hack.
Anode:
The
anode
usually sits on the top of
the tube and looks like a
suction cup with a thick
(usually red) wire coming
out of it. This is a part
that can carry VERY high
voltages. The only time it
is used is to discharge
the TV, otherwise it is
best to leave it alone.

Flyback Transformer: This component generates the extremely high voltages. It is attatched to
the thick red (usually) wire that connects to the anode. The only reason it should be pointed out is
to know its location so it can be avoided. Even if the TV is discharged, it is best to leave it alone.
Ground Wire: This will most likely be an exposed wire that runs around the outside of the tube. It
looks like picture hanging wire. If that is not there then, it is the metal frame surrounding the tube
(Older CRTs).

FINDING THE RIGHT CRT AND OPENING IT UP

It must be a CRT (tube style) TV, no flat screens will work for this. You can find these at all thrift
stores around the world for dirt-cheap. Though almost any CRT will work, it does make a
difference if you use a color or B+W TV. A B+W TV will work fine if you want to stop the hacking
process at the end of this tutorial, but only a color TV can be used to get the spectrum of color that
can be achieved by adding a DIY electromagnet your hacked TV.
When picking out your CRT, take into account the type of hardware holding it together and make
sure you have the tools to open it. Also make sure that the screws are not challenging to get to.
You can open up any TV, just some are more difficult than others.
Before you open up the TV, make sure it is unplugged from the wall. Remove all the screws and
set them aside. The big back part of the TV will be loose and can now slide off. Sometimes older
TVs will have extra latches in the casing that you may have to use a screwdriver to detach. Be
sure not to touch stuff in there until you really know what your doing. A CRT will hold a very
powerful charge for a very long time. The TV is not safe to operate within until it has been properly
discharged.

DISCHARGING THE CRT

*NOTE* It is important to follow basic electrical safety measures when dealing with high
voltages. Where rubber sole shoes to keep yourself insulated and work on wood floors or
stand on a rubber mat if available. Always keep one hand behind your back when
discharging, as this will prevent the electricity from moving through your body from one
hand to the other.
For this step you will
need to make a discharging tool
using a big flathead screwdriver
with an insulated handle (rubber
or plastic) and a clip lead
(alligator clip). Attach one side of
the clip lead to the base of the
metal of the screwdriver. The
image here shows the tool I use
to discharge TVs that is attached to a clip lead that has
been stripped on one side and
wrapped around the screwdriver
and held in place with heat
shrink tubing. I would suggest
using some electrical tape to
make sure that the clip is
secured to the screwdriver.

First and always, make

sure the TV is not plugged in.
Never work within the TV when it
is powered on or connected to
wall power unless you really know
what youre doing. It is always
safest to be completely isolated
from
everything
before
discharging, just to be safe.
Now, attach one end of the
clip lead to the grounding wire or
plate of the CRT (See INSIDE
THE TV section). The image here
shows the ground wire and how
to attach the clip lead.
Now locate the anode (See INSIDE THE TV section). With one hand behind your back and
while wearing your rubber sole shoes, slide the screwdriver head underneath the rubber of the
suction cup. There is a piece of metal underneath the cap that you want the screwdriver to make
contact with. Once it touches it, you may hear a loud snap or a quick sizzle, but dont worry
because this is a good thing. That means the electricity is discharging. If you dont hear a pop,
dont worry. Some CRTs dont hold as much of a charge so you may not hear it, but make sure
the screwdriver is coming in contact with the metal under the rubber cap and that the clip lead is
attached to the screwdriver and the ground wire.
At this point, leave the screwdriver in place for a couple minutes to ensure that all the
electricity has been discharged. After that, try discharging it one more time just to be safe. Now
you have a safely discharged TV to work with.

*NOTE* Even though

the TV is safe to work
with now, you should
probably still stay away
from the anode cup and
the fly-back transformer.
They are not used in the
process and its best to
be extra safe and just
leave them alone.

THE HACK:
1. Locate and cut the deflection coil wires
The deflection coil or yoke will be the
main component of this hack. It is always
located at the back protrusion of the
cathode tube and looks like a coil of copper
wire (See INSIDE THE TV section). There are
always four main wires that deliver signal to
the coil, two for horizontal and two for
vertical. Each direction needs two wires
because the magnet requires a bi-polar
signal (like and audio signal) to switch the
polarity of the electromagnet from positive to
negative.
This image shows the four
deflection coil wires on a removed CRT
for clarity. They are always in four
separate colors but each TV is different.
All four wires will usually also be going to
the same spot on the TVs circuit board
making them easy to find. They could all
be attached to the top, bottom or both
the top and bottom of the coil. Once you
have found them, isolate them from any
of the other wires or tape that may be
holding them in place, this will make
them more accessible.

The colors for the TV being used in this tutorial

happen to be red, green, brown and yellow (like in the
schematic above). Once you have located the wires,
cut all of them using your wire cutters. Make sure to
cut them with slack for you to work on both the coil
and circuit board ends. I would suggest cutting them
at about their halfway point.

2. Measuring the impedance

Next, you will need to find which leads are connected to each other and their impedance
(Impedance is similar to resistance but for alternating current). To do this you will need to use
your multi-meter.
First, use your wire cutter to strip the ends of the wires connected to the deflection coil
(leave the wires attached to the board alone for now; they will come into use later). Often, it is
easy to see which wires are paired together from their layout, but it can also sometimes be
deceiving. To be sure, we will measure the impedance using your multi-meters resistance
measurement setting. Grab any two wires and connect them to the positive and negative leads of
your multi-meter (polarity doesnt matter, you will get the same readings either way). If you get an
unreadable signal or it is really high, you know the two leads you are testing are not connected.
Drop one of them and try another until you get a reading. Most readings will be between
approximately 1 and 20 ohms. For the TV being used in this tutorial, I found that the red and
brown wires were connected with a reading of 2 ohms, and the green and yellow wires were
connected with a measurement of 6 ohms.
After you find the values, tape the wirers together that are connected and write down their
colors and values to remember for later. Masking tape is useful to make tags to wrap around the
wires with the values written on them.

3. Making the Dummy Coil

Some TVs, especially newer models, are sensitive when their internal circuitry has been
manipulated and can respond by not powering on, or only powering on for a few seconds. Since
the wires that normally deliver a signal from the circuit board to the deflection coil have been
disconnected, this can cause some problems when trying to power the TV. In order to fix this
problem, you must trick the TV into thinking it is working properly by connecting these wires to
a dummy coil made using high-powered sandbar resistors.
Some TVs are more picky than others, while some may not require a dummy coil at all to
operate. So be sure to test your TV without the sandbar resistors first and see if you get
lucky.
A high-powered resistor, or sandbar, is a resistor that can handle high wattage applications.
Fortunately for us, they are very commonly used in powered audio systems to change the
impedance of a speaker setup, and can be readily found at electronics stores like Radio Shack.

Anything rated around 10 - 25 Watts should do the trick. Now is when those values you wrote
down come into play.
Find some sandbar resistors with the same (or higher) ratings as the values you recorded of
the deflection coil. It doesnt have to be a perfect match, just in the ballpark. Strip the four wires
connected to the circuit board and attach the resistors of the appropriate sizes between the
corresponding wires. For example, in the case of the example TV here, I would connect a 2 Ohm
sandbar resistor between the red and brown wires, and a 6 Ohm sandbar resistor between the
yellow and green wires. What this does is effectively imitate the deflection coil by using
components that reflect its values. The TV doesnt know the difference and continues to operate
as normal.
Use wire nuts or tape to attach the resistors for now, but make sure to cover any exposed
leads with electrical tape as a short could very likely fry the TV. Dont make the connections
permanent yet, there is still more testing you will need the leads for on the next step.
*NOTE* If you notice the resistors getting WAY to hot when the TV is powered on, then
replace them with ones at a higher wattage rating. If your TV is larger, then it will most
likely require a higher rating such as 25 50W, as apposed to smaller TVs that could get
away with 10W.
If you are hacking a particularly stubborn TV, there are some more tricks to keep it from
shutting off. Larger value sandbar resistors may do the trick. Otherwise, try hooking up a
deflection coil removed from a broken TV to the wire coming from the circuit board. If the
impedance of the dummy deflection coil is close enough to the impedance of the original coil,
your TV won't know the difference.
Lastly, if all else fails, you can do a half-hack and keep one axis of the deflection coil
connected to the circuit board properly, and control the other. This should give the TV enough of
what it wants to stay powered on, but you may have to experiment a bit to figure out which axis
(if its only one) is giving you the problem. With this method, you wont be able to achieve a full
XY oscillographic hack, but you will be able to turn the TV more of a music visualizer.

4. Finding Vertical and Horizontal

As mentioned previously, the wires going to the deflection coil control the horizontal and
vertical sweep process of the electron beam (the light that makes the image). It can be very
useful later on to know which wire pair controls the vertical deflection and which controls the
horizontal. To find this you will need to connect one of the pairs back to the circuit board and
power on the TV.
First, try powering on your TV as it is; nothing connected to the deflection coil wires, and
your sandbar resistors in place. The result will be a blank screen with a very bright dot in the
middle (see the image titled NO CONNECTION below). What you are seeing is the electron beam
sitting at rest because the deflection coil is not guiding it in any direction. In a functioning TV, this
beam is moving so quickly across the entire screen that it results in a full image. Be sure not to
touch anything inside the TV
while its powered on.
Now, power down the TV,
unplug it and discharge it.
Remember
to
discharge
before every time you go
back inside the TV to work.
Select one of you wire pairs
(doesnt
matter
which),
disconnect the sandbar resistor
from the circuit board wires of
the corresponding colors, and
reconnect them accordingly
using wire nuts. Only do this to
one wire pair, leave the other
disconnected. Again, make sure
all exposed wires are covered in
electrical tape or capped with a
wire nut.
When you power on your TV,
you will notice one of two possible
results, either a horizontal line or
vertical line across the screen (see
images below). This will let you
know if the wires that are
connected control the vertical or
horizontal sweep. If you are seeing
a horizontal line, then you know
the wires that are connected are
associated with the horizontal
deflection of the coil (and vice
versa). At this point, you can label
the wires accordingly using
masking tape. It is really useful to
know the orientation of the vertical
and horizontal deflection for
shaping your visuals later on.

5. Finishing
Now that you know the orientation of the deflection coil, you can reconnect the sandbar
resistor as done previously, but this time it is OK to go ahead and make the connections
permanent. Either solder them in place and tape any exposed wires, or twist on some wire nuts.
Find a spot inside the TVs case that you can glue the resistors to, or strap them down using zip
ties. Just make sure they are clear of any parts of the TV that could cause a short. If you use hot
glue, make sure it is the high temperature kind; the resistors can heat up and could cause the
lower temperature glue to melt.
Next, you will want to make the wires of the deflection coil accessible from outside the TV
once you case it back up. The best way to do this is by using some type of terminal connection
like binding posts, terminal screws, speaker terminal mounts, or even RCA and plugs. I prefer
to use terminal posts (like the plugs for banana jacks) because I find them to be the most
versatile. If you use binding posts or any other single pole type connector, you will require four
connectors (one for each wire). But if you use bi-polar connectors like or RCA, you will only
need two connectors as each one has a ground and positive connection to utilize. Below are
some example photos of a couple options.

Find a spot on the outer case of your TV that has enough space to fit your terminal
connectors. Make sure that the placement is away from any of the internal electronics of the TV,
especially the fly back transformer. You want the connections to be completely isolated from all
the internals of the TV except the deflection coil.
Cut four pieces of wire (stranded preferably but solid will also work fine) long enough to
reach from the end of the deflection coil wires to the terminal connectors. Make sure you plan out
a path that keeps the wires as distanced as possible from the anode, fly back transformer and
the thick wire connecting them. Strip the ends of the four wires and attach them to the four

separate deflection coil wires using a soldering iron or wire nuts. Make sure to cover every bit of
exposed wire with a generous amount of electrical tape.
Now, mount your terminal connectors as needed. If you use terminal posts, RCA or
plugs, use a hand drill to make the appropriately sized holes to install the hardware. If you use
speaker terminal mounts (like the top section of the above left picture), you will most likely need
to rout a section using a Drimmel tool or similar.
If you use or RCA plugs, solder each wire pair from the coil to the separate jacks (one to
ground and one to positive, polarity does not matter). Otherwise, for binding posts, attach each
wire to the four separate connectors using the mounting hardware. Use tape or zip ties to keep
the wires away from any high-powered parts of the TV. Use a marker to label to vertical and
horizontal connectors on the case of the TV for reference. Once done with this, you can put the
case back on the TV and you are ready to start setting up the input.
6. Hooking Up Your Hack
Now is when your stereo amplifier and signal source will come into play. Almost any audio
amplifier will work for this, but I would suggest staying away from anything too hi-fi or advanced.
These are more likely to have safely mechanisms that power down the device if it notices
something wrong. Additionally, these types of stereos can be prone to blowing out if used
improperly. You can find plenty of old stereo amplifiers at thrift stores. Also, plate and car stereo
amplifiers will work as well if you know how to set one up properly. I prefer to use this amp board
pictured below. It is powerful, easy to power with a wall wart, and has 4 channels. You can find it
and ones like it here:
http://www.parts-express.com/Search.aspx?keyword=amplifier board
There are also plenty of 2 channel options that are cheaper but just as capable.

In addition to a stereo audio amplifier, you will need a signal source. Anything from an MP3
player to a function generator will work for this. Here are some things that work best
- Custom signal generator software at Oscillographic Generator App (Mac only)
- Any other signal generator or test tone software (plenty of free ones out there. Google:
free signal generator software)
- Test tone from your DAW like Logic or Pro Tools
- Recordings of test tones or music played out of QuickTime, iTunes or an iPod
- iPhone/Android app signal generator

Hardware function generator

Synthesizers (software of hardware)
Homemade synths (Ex. Nic Collins 7C14 square wave synth. Book: Handmade Electronic
Music)
Next, use speaker wire (or any wire) to attach the speaker outputs of your amplifier or stereo
receiver to the terminals on your TV. Attach the positive and negative outputs of each channel
to the separate horizontal and vertical inputs (polarity doesnt matter right now) making sure
that each output channel is going to a single coil input. For example, attach the left speaker
output of a stereo to the two connections associated with the horizontal deflection, and do
the same with the right speaker output attaching it to the vertical deflection connectors. If you
are using RCA or plugs, you may have to make your own cable to attach from the amplifier
to your inputs.
-

To test your hack, try starting by playing some music. Connect your iPod or computers
audio output to the input of the amplifier but keep the volume all the way down. When you
power on your TV, you should see just the single dot in the center of the screen. Slowly turn
up the volume of the amplifier until you start to see some movement on screen. What you will

see is a visualization of the music being played. As you keep turning up the volume, the
visualization will grow larger as the coil is deflecting the beam with greater amplification. If
you are seeing a full 2 dimensional image, then everything is working right, if you only see a
horizontal or vertical line, open up the TV and check your connections.
To really shape your visuals takes some time and practice. Try using the software:
Oscillographic Generator App (Mac only) to experiment with different possibilities. Basic
waveforms, like from synthesizers or tone generators work best for making more defined
visualizations and lissajous type images. Diving into Max/MSP or Pure Data can help make
the images even more dramatic through FM and AM synthesis.

ADDING COLOR:
If you want to take it one step further and add colorization to the visuals, follow the same
steps found in the Building a DIY Electromagnet and the Hacking a Television with a DIY
Electromagnet tutorials found here: http://crackedraytube.com/textstutorials.html (note that this
can only work with color TVs).
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me at:
yaktronix.online at gmail dot com
crackedraytube.com
yaktronix.com
jameshconnolly.com