Yep I do have a variac. I was initially going to reform the electrolytic capacitors before powering it up slowly but I decided to risk it as I was eager to see if it works and so I powered slowly up to 240VAC with my variac. Valves lit up and CRT filaments lit up so all good and good there
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Then there was the typical CRT TV high pitch frequency squeal which sounded normal to that of an old TV. I didn't see any illumination on the picture tube so adjusted the brightness and contrast of the tube but nothing comes up so that and the high pitch squeal makes I guess there's no horizontal scan thinking back to what I leaned doing television repair course in college in the early 2000s.
While switched on, a distinct vintage electronics odor was evident and after a few minutes I heard the sound of simmering oil in a frying pan and so I switched the set off and as I expected, a big fat paper capacitor has boiled and leaked its PCB infested oil. So obviously I will go through the process of replacing all paper capacitors and reform the electrolytic capacitors before powering it up again.
Anyhow despite those complications, the monitor is semi-working and all visible valves light up A-OK and nothing went "KABOOM!" so that alone makes me happy!
Anyways will keep you's updated with my restoration progress on this monitor.