At the same time as “needing” a new PI for my workbench I also ran out of space in what has become the Old Tech storage area. It was time for something bulky to either be used or go to the tip.
The bulkiest of them all was a Bang & Olufsen TV from 1987, a Beovision MX1500. Not a truly iconic piece but a nice design for what it was, a 15″ CRT TV. I bought it over three years ago and it’s never worked, but I still didn’t have the heart to bin it. I thought I’d give it one last chance, deciding to dismantle it and see how easy it would be to convert it.
The teardown went swimmingly, just literally a handful of screws and the whole thing came apart. With the CRT tube and the innards removed, all that was left was a perfectly-proportioned front section.
Now I needed to find a replacement screen. This part you literally couldn’t make up – I grabbed an old Dell monitor, held it in place for size and realised it was an exact fit. Not just close mind, perfect to the point that the screen was in the right position and it was held securely in place just by its own friction, no glue or fixings needed.
It only took minutes to connect up a tucked-away Pi and a wireless keyboard, and I was left stunned that somehow I had a fancy new appliance on my workbench less than an hour after taking the cumbersome TV apart.
It just goes to show that sometimes against all odds everything just slots into place! I’d been wilfully ignoring this TV for years but it’s now one of my favourite things. And best of all I’ve cleared space for more old junk, ready for whenever we make it back to the secondhand sales.