Cathode Ray Tubes
European - One letter followed by two groups of numbers
and one or two letters: Ann-nnAA
| 1st letter |
A |
TV display for domestic use |
| D |
Single trace oscilloscope tube |
| E |
Multiple trace oscilloscope tube |
| F |
Radar display, direct view |
| L |
Display storage tube |
| M |
TV display for professional use, direct view |
| P |
Display tube for professional use, projection |
| Q |
Flying spot scanner |
|
1st figure group: for rectangular screens the diagnonal
in cm; for round screens the diameter in cm. |
|
2nd group of figures is the serial number |
|
Final letters indicate the screen properties: |
A |
Reddish purple, purple, bluish purple |
| B |
Purplish blue, blue, greenish blue |
| D |
Blue-green |
| G |
Blueish green, green, yellowish green |
| K |
Yellow-green |
| L |
Orange, orange-pink |
| R |
Reddish orange, red, pink, purplish pink, purplish red, red-purple |
| V |
Greenish yellow, yellow, yellowish orange |
| W |
'standard white' TV tube phosphor |
| X |
Tri-colour screen |
| Y |
Greenish-yellow, yellow, yellowish-orange |
|
2nd letter is a serial letter to denote other specific difference
in screen properties. |
| Designation |
EIA number |
Colour |
Persistence |
| New |
Old |
Fluorescence |
Phosphorescence |
| BA |
C |
|
Purplish blue |
|
Very short |
| BC |
V |
|
Purplish blue |
|
Killed |
| BE |
B |
P11 |
Blue |
Blue |
Medium short |
| BF |
U |
|
Purplish blue |
|
Medium short |
| GE |
K |
P24 |
Green |
Green |
Short |
| GH |
H |
P31 |
Green |
Green |
Medium short |
| GJ |
G |
P1 |
Yellowish green |
Yellowish green |
Medium |
| GK |
G |
|
Yellowish green |
Yellowish green |
Medium |
| GL |
N |
P2 |
Yellowish green |
Yellowish green |
Medium short |
| GM |
P |
P7 |
Purplish blue |
Yellowish green |
Long |
| GP |
|
P2 |
Bluish green |
Green |
Medium short |
| GR |
|
P39 |
Green |
Green |
Long |
| GU |
|
|
White |
White |
Very short |
| LA |
D |
|
Orange |
Orange |
Medium |
| LB |
E |
|
Orange |
Orange |
Long |
| LC |
F |
|
Orange |
Orange |
Very long |
| LD |
L |
P33 |
Orange |
Orange |
Very long |
| W |
W |
P4 |
White |
|
|
| X |
X |
P22 |
Tri-colour screen |
|
|
| YA |
Y |
|
Yellowish orange |
Yellowish orange |
Medium |
Type GK is used in projection screens. |
CRTs - European - old system
Two letters followed by two sets of figures
|
1st letter indicates type of focussing and deflection |
A |
Electrostatic focussing and electromagnetic deflection |
| D |
Electrostatic focussing and deflection |
| M |
Electromagnetic focussing and deflection |
|
2nd letter indicates the phosphor. |
B |
Blue fluorescence and phosphorescence, short persistence |
| C |
Blue/Violet fluorescence and phosphorescence, very short persistence |
| F |
Orange fluorescence and phosphorescence, very long persistence |
| G |
Green fluorescence and phosphorescence, medium persistence |
| L |
Orange fluorescence and phosphorescence, long persistence |
| N |
Blue-green flouorescence and green phosphorescence, long persistence |
| P |
Blue fluorescence and green phosphorescence, very long persistence |
| R |
Greenish-yellow fluorescence and yellow phosphorescence, long persistence
|
| W |
Picture tube, white screen colour, short persistence |
|
1st figure group is the screen diameter in cm for
round tubes, or the screen diagonal in cm for rectangular tubes. |
|
2nd figure group is the serial number. |
CRTs - American RETMA system
Figure(s), letter(s), P, figure(s)
| 1st figure(s) |
For round screen, diameter in inches; for rectangular
screen, diagonal in inches |
| 1st letter(s) |
Serial coding applying to tubes of the same diameter or diagonal |
| P followed by a number: Screen characteristics |
See Screen Characteristics |
| Suffix letter, if present |
Indicates a later and modified version (A, B, C etc). The letter
W indicates a military type, and preceeds any further suffix letter. |
Mazda TV tube code
Starting with a C, followed by the screen size in mm, the 2 letters and
a number. 1st letter=deflection M=magnetic, S=electrostatic; 2nd letter
is screen colour B=blue, G=green, R=radar long-persistence, W=white. Final
number is sequential.
Screen characteristics
| Designation |
Colour/persistence |
Application |
| P1 |
Green / Medium |
General purpose oscilloscope |
| P2 |
Blue-Green / Green / Long |
Special oscilloscopes and radar displays |
| P3 |
Yellow / Medium |
|
| P4 |
White / Medium |
Television receivers |
| P5 |
Blue / Very short |
Photographic recording equipment |
| P6 |
White / Short |
Originally in TV receivers |
| P7 |
Blue-White / Short
Light-Yellow / Long |
Radar indicators (boue-white short trace leaves yellow long trace) |
| P8 |
Obsolete |
|
| P9 |
Obsolete |
|
| P10 |
Magenta - Dark trace / Very long |
Outside light source. Persistence from seconds to months |
| P11 |
Blue / Short |
Oscilloscopes |
| P12 |
Orange / Medium |
Radar indicators |
| P13 |
Light red / medium |
|
| P14 |
Purple-White / Short
Light-Orange / Long |
Radar indicators |
| P15 |
Blue-Green and near ultraviolet / Very short |
TV pick-up of flying spot scanners |
| P16 |
Violet and near ultraviolet / Extremely short |
TV pick-up of flying spot scanners |
| P17 |
Greenish-Yellow / short and long |
Cascade phosphor, combines P7 and P15 characteristics |
| P18 |
White / Medium |
Low frame rate TV applications |
| P19 |
Yellow / Medium long |
Radar indicators |
| P20 |
Yelllow / Short |
|
| P21 |
Yellow-Orange / Medium long |
|
| P22 |
Red-Blue-Green / Medium |
Colour TV tubes |
| P23 |
White / Medium |
Similar to P4 TV tubes |
| P24 |
White / Short |
Colour flying spot scanner |
| P25 |
Orange / Long |
|
| P26 |
Yellow-Orange / Very long |
|
| P27 |
Orange-Red / Medium |
|
| P28 |
Yellow-Green / Long |
|
| P29 |
Two colour stripe pattern |
|
| P30 |
Not registered |
|
| P31 |
Green |
Fast, used for oscilloscopes |
| P32 |
Blue-Green -Yellow-Green / Long |
|
| P33 |
Orange / Long |
|
| P34 |
Blue-Green - Green |
|
| P35 |
Blue-White |
|
The following screen characteristic codes were used to describe CRTs, in particular those
in the CV datasheets:
| 1st letter (flash) | 2nd letter (afterglow) | 3rd letter (afterglow duration |
| B | Blue | B | Blue | L | > 5s |
| G | Green | G | Green | M | 1s to 5s |
| Y | Yellow | Y | Yellow | S | 0.1s to 1s |
| R | Red | R | Red | N | 1ms to 0.1s |
| O | Orange | O | Orange | K | <1ms |
| W | White | W | White | | |
| U | Ultraviolet | | | | |
An alternate last digit was introduced later replacing the LMSNK code with a number
as follows:
| | Min | Max | Description |
| 1 | - | 10µs | Killed (K) |
| 2 | 10µs | 100µs | Ultra short (US) |
| 3 | 100µs | 1000µs | Very short (VS) |
| 4 | 1ms | 10ms | Short (S) |
| 5 | 10ms | 100ms | Medium short (MS) |
| 6 | 100ms | 1000ms | Medium (M) |
| 7 | 1s | 10s | Medium long (ML) |
| 8 | 10s | 100s | Long (L) |
| 9 | 100s | - | Very long (VL) |
So, BBK became BB1 and BYL became BY8
Afterglow is given as the time taken from cessation of excitation for brightness to decay from
a level of 1 equivalent foot candle to 1% of that valve.
The information in this page has been compiled from a variety of sources
available on the web. As with the rest of this website there are no guarantees
that it is correct or complete.
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