I have one annoying quirk left in my reborn SE/30: It seems the anode cap prongs don't always hold a perfect connection inside the hole in the CRT. Subtle bumps or the usual thermal expansion/contraction are sometimes enough to upset the connection, introducing a sort of visual noise where the gun is dimmer on some rows than others. Not a collapse, not noise like snow, and not the usual picture distortion. No noises, no arcing, nothing violent whatsoever, just the tube seemingly not getting enough current. It goes away when I very gently nudge the rubber of the cap. It seems that this one connection is just marginal, and I'm worried whether this is something that can be fixed, or if there is some kind of residue or grime in the inlet of the CRT. Of course, I'm not going to take this as a sign to go haphazardly spraying isopropyl and deoxit, and risk making everything worse.
My AB and neck board are cleaned, reflowed, recapped, and even re-potted with the appropriate neutral cure silicone to match the stock AB. The power supply is the modular Meanwell one and outputs steady, correct voltages with more than sufficient current. The logic board is a brand new Reloaded build. The CRT itself is in very good shape, I can't even see a menu bar burnt in yet and I think it was barely used or NOS when I replaced it around 2017. Nothing being changed about any of those affects the wonky per-row brightness of the gun, so I am almost dead certain it's the anode cap being flaky.
Could the red wire from the flyback be getting interference from somewhere else, like if it's too close to the yoke? That does not seem probable to me as I see them in proximity in photos all the time, but I'd appreciate expert advice from someone who's more familiar with CRTs.
My AB and neck board are cleaned, reflowed, recapped, and even re-potted with the appropriate neutral cure silicone to match the stock AB. The power supply is the modular Meanwell one and outputs steady, correct voltages with more than sufficient current. The logic board is a brand new Reloaded build. The CRT itself is in very good shape, I can't even see a menu bar burnt in yet and I think it was barely used or NOS when I replaced it around 2017. Nothing being changed about any of those affects the wonky per-row brightness of the gun, so I am almost dead certain it's the anode cap being flaky.
Could the red wire from the flyback be getting interference from somewhere else, like if it's too close to the yoke? That does not seem probable to me as I see them in proximity in photos all the time, but I'd appreciate expert advice from someone who's more familiar with CRTs.
