The first thing that comes to mind for anyone who still owns an old tube television is to throw it in the trash, especially when compared to the definition, thinness, and low weight of new LED panels.
However, there is a significant number of enthusiasts dedicated to repairing, restoring, and preserving these devices, joined by a handful of professionals like Chi-Tien Lui, an electrical engineer who has shared his skill with institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art and the Smithsonian.
Chi-Tien Lui's Repair Craft
Replacing a couple of capacitors in a power supply is not complicated. All you need is half an hour on YouTube, a soldering iron, a couple of practice sessions, and basic precautions, such as fully discharging the supply before working on it (some do that by themselves, others need help).
But each device has its own demons, and when facing an old tube television... let's say there are many. Geometry problems, high-voltage noises inside, audio loss, individual colors failing, and the classic CRT fatigue are some of the most notable challenges.
Accumulating experience is critical in repairing tube screens (whether common televisions, PVM units, arcade machines, or computer monitors), and that takes us to Manhattan, where an electrical engineer keeps fighting.
Buying a television in the United States in the late 1960s was relatively easy; keeping it running, not so much. Chi-Tien Lui founded his company CTL Electronics in 1968, and since then he has been a privileged witness to television evolution.
Television itself was not only a new medium for distributing information and entertainment, but it carried impressive artistic potential. His repair shop became a kind of electronic temple that every artist had to visit to see the latest of the latest in audio and video.
Names like Andy Warhol, John Lennon, and Francis Ford Coppola passed through there, but Chi-Tien Lui did not limit himself to selling them equipment. There was also a customization process that responded to their desires and demands.
Today, Chi-Tien Lui is the man sought by institutions such as the Smithsonian, the Met, the Guggenheim Museum in New York, and the Museum of Modern Art for conservation tasks.
All his tube-based electronic artworks can fail at any moment, and it is he who brings them back from the darkness, preserving their original appearance. It is evident that Chi-Tien Lui enjoys his work despite the difficulties, and from a certain point of view, I envy him a little for that.
