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Jeri Ellsworth’s CRT project turns the picture by physically rotating the deflection yoke around the tube neck. A custom slip ring carries power and signal to the moving assembly, while a stepper motor turns it; in the reported setup, a rotary encoder’s quadrature output supplies the motor’s pulse train. This is a mechanical alternative to transforming the image by changing the coil-drive signals.
How rotating a CRT yoke turns the picture
A CRT’s deflection yoke contains magnetic coils that steer the electron beam along the horizontal and vertical axes. The beam’s path across the screen depends on the magnetic fields those coils produce.
Rather than recalculate how the coils are driven to transform the image, Ellsworth’s project rotates the whole yoke around the tube’s neck. The yoke’s physical orientation changes, so the direction in which it steers the beam changes with it. Hackaday describes the idea as a way to “rotate the whole image itself.”
What the reported mechanism uses
- Deflection yoke: The assembly of magnetic coils that steers the beam.
- Electrical slip ring: A custom assembly that carries power and signal while the yoke rotates, maintaining electrical connections across the moving interface.
- Stepper motor: The actuator that turns the yoke.
- Rotary encoder: Its quadrature output supplies the pulse train used to drive the stepper in the arrangement Hackaday describes.
Hackaday reports that the encoder can drive the stepper directly in this setup, without a microcontroller or elaborate driver logic. That is a description of this project, not a general wiring recipe: the article does not give a circuit, component ratings, dimensions, or a tested procedure for reproducing it. It names component categories such as a quadrature rotary encoder, electrical slip ring, and stepper motor, but does not identify particular models or recommend retail parts.
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How this differs from changing the coil signals
| Approach | What changes | What the article establishes |
|---|---|---|
| Rotate the physical yoke | A motor moves the yoke; a slip ring carries its electrical connections as it turns. | Hackaday describes Ellsworth’s mechanical setup. It does not report comparative cost, image quality, reliability, difficulty, or safety. |
| Transform the image electronically | The coil-drive signals are changed using more complicated mathematics rather than rotating the yoke. | Hackaday mentions this as the alternative, but provides no implementation or performance comparison. |
What remains unfinished or unknown
When Hackaday published its article on January 12, 2026, the project still needed a 3D-printed housing, a homing system, and improvements to the DIY slip ring. Ellsworth had posted, “I have big plans for spinny CRT” on January 5, 2026; that statement expresses intent, not evidence that the listed work was later completed.
The article supplies no bill of materials, component models, wiring instructions, measured performance, or later completion update. It also includes no safety assessment or high-voltage procedure, so the story alone is not enough to reproduce the modification.
Rank #2
- 13-inch combo TV/DVD player; measures 14.25 x 15 x 14.4 inches (W x H x D)
- Compatibility with DVD movie, CD audio,CD-R/CD-RW, DVD-R, and VCD discs
- JPEG Viewer enables you to create slideshows with digital photos stored on disc
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CRT compatibility is not established
Hackaday’s comment thread raises questions about possible purity and convergence changes if a color CRT’s yoke is moved. The commenters disagree about how extensive or reversible such effects might be; the discussion is not controlled testing or authoritative repair guidance. Compatibility and alignment effects may depend on the CRT, and the article does not establish that the mechanism works universally across CRTs.
Source: Zoe Skyforest, Hackaday, “Making A CRT Spin Right Round, Round, Round” (January 12, 2026).
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