AMoses, that is how you can do it. It is good for someone who doesn't have the right tools. Apple used to make CRT tools, and those were nice. If you can, I'd highly suggest getting a specialized CRT discharge tool, though the act of discharging it (like how AMoses' tool will do) is what matters.

Though the actual tool contains a rubberized handle with a dog clip coming from the handle, which is an extension of the probe. You clip the one end to the metal frame, and then you poke the tip under the rubber cap to make contact.

By the way, if done with proper tools, you NEVER see sparks. In the time that I did pro repair on iMacs, I never saw sparks. That seems a bit dangerous AMoses, and I may suggest investing in one of these tools. It doesn't take much for that high of voltage to jump. Just worried about safety.

I have a 21 inch apple monitor that im bout to take apart. Does the monitor always need to be discharged? It hasn't been plugged in in about a month.

Its a good idea to. Every Apple product with a CRT since the Mac Plus has had auto discharge built in, but circuits can fail. IIRC Apple techs are supposed to discharge the CRT when working inside a monitor, but I know that a lot of hobbyists don't bother. Personally, I think its better to discharge than to get a nasty shock.

I may be doing this on one of my iMacs, so would a car cylinder cancelling probe suffice? If you don't know what it is it looks like a screwdriver with a completly pointed tip and has a lead with an alligator clip on the end which works the same way as a grounding bracelet.

Post edited by: ubergeek89, at: 2004/10/10 11:47

If the aligator clip is attatched by wire to the end of the 'screwdriver end', then yes. You use the pointed end to lift up the CRT rubber cap to discharge the CRT. The clip is supposed to be on something grounded e.g. the iMac frame. I always suggest having the machine off 10 minutes before opening it anyways because they tend to discharge properly 90% of the time, but the other 10% is why you do it. And for safety measures, you should always discharge a CRT before working with it or the power/analog boards that are attributed to it.

I took apart a monitor once before (when I made my performa plus monitor fishtank), an did not discharge it. I would like to say for anybody elses case, I personally would recommend wearing thick leather gloves when doing so. I don't know if it will do aything, but trying to be safe isn't a bad thing.

I just thought I'd let everyone know that I was successful. I moved the heat sink where it needed to be and installed the new board. I did not remove the tube or the board above the Chassis, but I still drilled my holes. I used adhesive tape to catch the shavings and a can of air to ensure I had no stray metal. It's been running for about 3 days now without being shut down.

Good job! I would like to see a couple screenshots, along with a pic of the case too. Sure, a bit unorthodox, but it worked. Congrats on your faster iMac now! It must feel good.

B) :y32b4: :blink: B)

gonpostal, everyone would love to see the mod. If you can post a mod guide it will be reviewed for posting. If it is indeed unique we would love to put this on our site so that others will have something to follow if they are interested in something similar.