Emerson SB315
Emerson SpongeBob SB315 CRT RGB mod
The SpongeBob SquarePants 13" Yellow CRT TV is a novelty television set produced around 2005 by Vacom and distributed by Emerson. Bright yellow 13" SpongeBob CRT.
View full CRT details and more mod examples →
Table of Contents
Schematics
RGB, Blanking Traces
Chroma Chip
Contributors
Thank you to everyone who contributed to this guide:
- Jason Lusk — showcase author
- Tinkerplunk — contributor, RGB mod tutorial + YouTube video
CRT safety
Caution
You can die doing this! So read carefully! CRT TV is not a toy. Do not open a CRT TV. If you don't have any prior knowledge about handling high voltage devices, this guide is not for you. CRT TV contains high enough voltage (20,000+ V) and current to be deadly, even when it is turned off.
Plan of attack
Manuals and Datasheets
- Emerson SB315 Service Manual
- Emerson SB315 Service Manual
- Renesas M61266FP Datasheet (Jungle)
- Renesas M37281MAH-066SP Datasheet (OSD)
Specs
- Year: 2005, 2006
- Jungle Chip: Renesas M61266FP
- OSD Chip: Renesas M37281MAH-066SP
- Screen Size: 13"
RGB mux diagram
Prepare the mux diagram. If you are building your own circuit, this diagram should help.
Performing the mod
This mod uses the RGB mux board. This is optional, but will make your mod easier and stable. You can also create the circuit presented in the schematics above without the board. Please also checkout the mux calculator to play with your own values.
| On Emerson CRT Chassis | SB315 |
|---|---|
| CRT RGB inline resistor | 1kΩ |
| CRT RGB ground resistors removed | 180Ω |
| 0.1μF caps replaced | No |
| Add diodes on chassis RGB lines? | Yes |
| Add blanking diode on chassis | Yes |
| RGB mux board | SB315 |
|---|---|
| Mux board RGB termination (R1, R2, R3) | 75Ω |
| Mux board RGB inline resistors (R4, R5, R6) | 180Ω |
| Mux board Audio LR (R7, R8) | 1kΩ |
| Mux board blanking diode (R9) | 1N4148 |
| Mux board blanking ground resistor (R10) | open |
| Mux board blanking resistor (R11) | 1.8kΩ |
Compatible mux boards:
Notes on SpongeBob SquarePants SB313C
While some SpongeBob CRT variants can be RGB-modded, the SB313C is not one of them. I've documented the relevant findings here to save others the time and effort of investigating this model themselves.
The SpongeBob SquarePants SB313C, released in August 2005, uses an M61266 jungle IC and an M37150M8 OSD IC. Although the chassis includes RGB support, it is configured for digital RGB rather than analog RGB, which prevents a conventional RGB mod from being implemented.
This image shows how digital RGB would look like. Colors will be flat and missing a lot of shades (which will be filled with black instead).
Pictures
Photos by Jason Lusk
SpongeBob SB315 was missing the service manual, so we investigated the actual chassis and completed the RGB mod. Fortunately, it was a standard RGB mux mod. Results were fantastic!
Reference Photos