Has anyone found a good replacement material for those melting CRT masks on Motorola VT-71 and VT-73's?<P>Thanks much, <P>Tim<P>------------------<BR>

Tim,<BR> I replaced the rubber ring in my VT-71 with that black very soft pipe covering they use on air conditioning tubing, you should find it in a hardware store.<BR>I used a razor blade to slit it down the middle and slipped it over the wood opening, of course you will have to take the front off the cabinet, that is easy, take out the metal plugs and you will see screws one on each side.<BR>You will see a little of the black hose from the front, but heck you will never get the origional stuff that goes in there.<BR>Good luck.<P>Bill<BR><P>------------------<BR>

Thanks for the quick reply Bill. That is interesting as that was the first idea that came to my mind as well. I couldn't think of anything else commonly available today of that consistancy and that size. As you mentioned, the disadvantage is that it is black and not white. Thanks again.<P>Tim<P>------------------<BR>

I cut a mask out of styrofoam, but I don't recommend that approach. The main problem is the small styrofoam particles that break off and get into everything. It doesn't look bad though. I was thinking about making a mold and casting some kind of soft rubber mask.<P>Does anybody know what the original material was? It kind of looks like something that was cast in place. It must have been somewhat flexible when it was new, but it seems to have melted or dissolved and then hardened over the years. The residue is at least partially water soluble.<P>------------------<BR><p>[This message has been edited by Ken Miller (edited 09-21-2000).]

The rubber mask on my VT-71 looks like maybe silicone rubber (the type of rubber that remote control buttons are made of) with some type of filler mixed in (possibly to make it lighter-weight so it wouldn't sag). I'm just guessing though.

On my VT-71, I used rubber cove base molding<BR>(a rubber strip that is glued to the wall<BR>with adhesive where the floor meets the wall, <BR>used mostly in commercial buildings, but<BR>easily purchased at Home Depot, etc). The <BR>"cove" at the base of the molding curves<BR>outward, which allows the molding to fit<BR>nicely around the picture tube, and still <BR>fit snugly into the opening in the cabinet,<BR>for a very nice fit. It looks great and <BR>supports very well. It is available in <BR>several colors; white is a good choice.

Thanks for all of the suggestions of what works and also what doesn't work. There are a lot of good ideas out there.<P>Tim<P>------------------<BR>