A new video from Void Electronics walks through installing and driving CRTs, ending with how to bias a CRT to keep the image stable—using an RFT B6S1 CRT as the example.
When a CRT is installed and powered up. the hardest part often isn’t getting an image at all—it’s keeping it steady. A recent video from Void Electronics zeroes in on that moment. running through the steps to make a CRT work in a device and finishing with biasing. the part that helps produce a stable image.
For most people, “CRT” brings to mind a monitor or TV. But the video frames it differently: at its core, a CRT is a special vacuum tube that makes images appear. Whether the setup is a simple monochrome CRT in an oscilloscope or an RGB CRT. the basic steps to make it function in a device remain the same.
The video emphasizes that installation and driving start with the datasheet. As with other vacuum tube types. the CRT comes with practical details you can’t skip—heaters. control grids. and a range of voltages that must be set correctly and kept “happy.” Even if you do everything according to those specifications. the system can still misbehave. and the video also touches troubleshooting when things don’t look right.
The example used throughout is an RFT B6S1 CRT, including how to build a bias circuit of your own. That biasing step is where the story gets more urgent: stable image output isn’t something you guess. It’s something you dial in.
The video also lands on why this still matters. The skill is often dismissed as “obsolete,” but demand for CRTs hasn’t disappeared. They’re still used in vintage lab equipment. arcade restorations. and other niche areas where new CRTs continue to be produced. Even now, CRTs keep characteristics that can make them competitive with flat-screen technologies.
For anyone trying to bring older systems back to life—or keep specialized equipment performing as designed—the takeaway is simple: the hardware may be old, but the discipline around it isn’t.
The video can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sebjjqn732M
CRT vacuum tube bias circuit RFT B6S1 Void Electronics vintage electronics arcade restoration oscilloscopes
So they’re basically saying CRTs are still better than flat screens??
I don’t get why people keep saying “obsolete” like that means it’s automatically useless. If the video shows you how to “bias” it, doesn’t that fix the flicker? Also RFT sounds like a brand I’ve never heard of.
“Keeping it steady”… is that like making sure the TV doesn’t shake? Because my grandpa’s old set would just drift and then go black, so we unplugged it and it worked?? Like, is bias the same thing as turning down brightness or contrast? Sounds kinda like voodoo electronics to me.
Linking a YouTube video doesn’t mean it’s correct tho. Bias circuits, datasheets, control grids, heaters… that’s a lot for a hobby thing. I swear every time someone brings up CRTs it’s just about restoring arcade stuff, and nobody talks about safety or what happens if you set the voltages wrong. Also if “new CRTs continue to be produced” then why does everyone say they’re dying out? Confusing.