for a better understanding of the present invention , together with other and further objects , advantages , and capabilities thereof reference is made to the following disclosure and appended claims taken in conjunction with the above - described drawings . referring now to the drawings with greater particularity there is shown in fig1 a base 10 for a cathode ray tube 12 . the base 10 comprises a circular rim 14 surrounded by a circumferential wall 15 having an outer diameter a and an inner diameter b . a plurality of tube pin receiving apertures 16 extend through the rim 14 and are spaced inwardly from the inner circumference of wall 15 in an annular array . a hollow , substantially centrally located crown 18 is positioned on rim 14 and extends rearwardly therefrom , the internal portion 20 thereof being adapted to receive the terminus of an exhaust tubulation 22 formed at the end 24 of the neck 26 of cathode ray tube 12 . the outside circumference of crown 18 has a diameter c equal to the diameter of the inside edges of the tube pin receiving apertures 16 ; thus , when base 10 is in position on the neck 26 , the inside edges of the tube pins 28 ride on the outside circumference of crown 18 ( see fig2 ). crown 18 is also provided with a plurality of radially extending fins 30 which are located between the apertures 16 forming pockets therefor and adding further arcing protection . the base 10 further includes an electrically insulating soft washer 32 of a suitable material such as sponge rubber or silicone rubber . washer 32 contains a plurality of apertures 34 matching in number and location the tube pin receiving apertures 16 . the diameter of the apertures 34 is larger than the diameter of the tube pins 28 and closely matches the diameter of glass nubbins 36 formed at the base of pins 28 . it has been found necessary for the stated purpose of arc prevention for the diameter of the apertures 34 to closely match that of glass nubbins 38 to eliminate air gaps . when excessively smaller or larger apertures are employed the desired seal is imperfect and arcing will result . while the thickness of washer 32 is variable within about 0 . 010 inch to 0 . 050 inch , it has been found that 0 . 040 inch is preferred . it is also preferred that the internal height of wall 15 is 0 . 010 inch to 0 . 020 inch less than that of washer 32 so that the washer is substantially enclosed and extends above wall 15 so that the washer can be placed in compression . a suitable adhesive , such as rubber cement or an rtv is used to adhere the washer 32 to base 10 and the entire assembly to neck 26 . it will be seen from the above that there is herein provided a new and novel form of arc protection incorporated in a tube base . while there has been shown and described what is at present considered to be the preferred embodiment of the invention , it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims .