View Full Version : FREE! 60's Admiral color TV's!


drh4683
04-27-2008, 06:09 PM
Ive got a couple admiral color sets that I want to see go to a new good home. One is a '67 with sonar remote control. The TV works fine and has a good CRT. Remote receiver works too. Set is in pretty nice shape and clean. Very high end and rare model.

Next set is a later model from '71. Has the newer V tube in it, with cataracts. CRT tests 100% strong. I just picked up this set last week. The guy I got it from said it was left in the front room of the home when he moved in. TV is in decent shape, needs some clean up. I think I was the first to pull the back off, all orignal tubes and all back cover screws were still intact. He said it powered up with sound but no pix. I havnt tried it yet, and havnt checked to see if its the fly or not. Both sets are in my garage and I need space. I have no more room for large sets. Whoever wants them will be pleased with how nice they are. I'll throw in a bonus TV to whoever wants to drive out here and take them.

zenithfan1
04-27-2008, 06:14 PM
Could you hold the '67 for just a few weeks until I can make space? I really wanted that set the first time I saw it.

drh4683
04-27-2008, 06:42 PM
Sure. Id like to get it out asap though. Im getting my '68 Buick out of storage in the next few weeks and need the space for it. Take the '71 admiral too!

zenithfan1
04-27-2008, 07:01 PM
I will! It'll be about two weeks, kay? Lemme see the Buick too! I love the old cars, too bad I don't have room for one....dumb tvs... oh well, they make me happy.

mkoser
04-27-2008, 09:44 PM
Hi,
Not to undercut anyone.... but I would be willing to pick them up monday....

Thanks,

MK

Snade
04-27-2008, 09:58 PM
That '67 Admiral console is beautiful.

A very nice design.

The new owner will love it.

Cheers, Snade

drh4683
04-27-2008, 10:06 PM
I appriciate it MK, but to be fair, zenithfan has first shot at them.

Oldstuff78
04-27-2008, 10:24 PM
Doug,

Do you still have that 1965 RCA Roundie on your site....the one that had cataracts ?

drh4683
04-27-2008, 10:30 PM
I still have it. I think you are reffering to the GG601W. It was the first roundie I found at the estate sales back in '02.

Oldstuff78
04-27-2008, 10:41 PM
Did you get all the problems fixed ? I think that is a nice console. I say it being your first roundie, you would never part with it.

I think that white 69 RCA French provincial is a rare bird. It looks like it was never used.

All the TV's are awesome. The remote units blow me away.

mkoser
04-28-2008, 05:18 AM
I appriciate it MK, but to be fair, zenithfan has first shot at them.

No problem! Saves me from forcing myself to buy the gas for my pick-up anyway. Thanks!

Have a good one.

Matt K

Carmine
04-28-2008, 07:24 AM
I can't believe you are letting that '67 Admiral go. I'd kill for a Zenith roundie in a similar cabinet.

Just for history sake, that set came from a late50s ranch in East Detroit, MI.

Looks like Admiral had a logo change sometime between '67 and '71.

jpdylon
04-28-2008, 09:23 AM
I'd love that 67 Admiral, but you're a little too far away for the shipping cost.

That cabinet style is awesome. Hope someone can find it a home for you.

Oldstuff78
04-28-2008, 10:21 AM
Those Admirals are nice. If he ever decides to sell that RCA Roundie console or one of the remote table units, I would gladly give him a fair price.

zenithfan1
04-28-2008, 11:01 AM
I'd love that 67 Admiral, but you're a little too far away for the shipping cost.

That cabinet style is awesome. Hope someone can find it a home for you.

I found it a good home.....MINE:yes::D:thmbsp:

NowhereMan 1966
05-03-2008, 09:00 PM
Sure. Id like to get it out asap though. Im getting my '68 Buick out of storage in the next few weeks and need the space for it. Take the '71 admiral too!

Beautiful sets there, BTW, a bit OT, but what type of Buick do you have? We used to have a 1968 Wildcat, beautiful car.

zenithfan1
05-19-2008, 05:21 PM
Picked up the Admiral Sonar remote set on Saturday.I didn't have room to take the '71 but the '67 works great! I just have to iron out some of the usual bad caps and resistors in the vertical section. The color is very bright and correct, the reds are not orangey and the blues and greens are also eye popping, nice flesh tones as well. Looks very nice with a DTV converter hooked up and on analog. The CRT is a RCA Hi-Lite and is very strong. There is a story behind that tube but.... I don't want to get into that. I am just happy the set works. I was also informed that the FBT might be a new Thordarson, I'll have to check and see. The only cosmetic issue is the feet are rotten on the bottom, I knew this beforehand but wanted the set anyways. I will post pics soon.

wkand
05-20-2008, 12:09 AM
Anybody know when Admiral quit making TV's? I think about them because a local appliance store is selling Admiral branded washers and dryers. I know those are not really Admiral.

radiotvnut
05-20-2008, 12:47 AM
Anybody know when Admiral quit making TV's? I think about them because a local appliance store is selling Admiral branded washers and dryers. I know those are not really Admiral.

I think '79 was it. I've seen a couple of Montgomery Wards 19" sets from '79 that were built by Admiral. Admiral also built some sets for Western Auto (Truetone) in the late '70's. I think I remember reading where Admiral was owned by Rockwell in the late '70's and Rockwell shut down Admiral consumer electronics production because they couldn't compete with foreign TV manufacturers. I also remember AOC (Admiral Overseas Corporation) sets from the '80's and early '90's. These were made in Taiwan and were not the best quality, IMHO. I don't know how, or if, the AOC name tied in to the original US Admiral. I've seen the Admiral name re-surface on some cheap low end TV's in recent years. I believe these are nothing more than Funai made sets.

drh4683
05-20-2008, 07:09 PM
I still have the '71 admiral for anyone who wants to take it. Glad the '67 was saved alteast.

matt_s78mn
05-20-2008, 10:17 PM
I've seen the Admiral name re-surface on some cheap low end TV's in recent years. I believe these are nothing more than Funai made sets.

Yea one of the big department stores (Montgomery Wards I think) bought the Admiral name a few years ago to put on its store brand electronics and appliances. Its sad though... that a once respectable name is slapped on such cheap junk. Unfortunately Admiral isn't the only name that's happened to.

bgadow
05-20-2008, 10:58 PM
Rockwell kept building the appliances for some time, into the 90s I think. I think Raytheon/Amana may have took them over and then Maytag swallowed them both and now Whirlpool owns the whole pile. I think that's how it worked, anyhow. Admiral and Montgomery Ward were really tight; I'm not sure if anyone kept using the name on electronics after M-W went belly up.

I agree 79-80 was the end of the line for the real Admiral electronics line. I have seen some cheap sets from the late 70s but never one of their later high-end consoles. I have an Era II chassis up in the attic-would be interesting to see the top of the line model with digital tuning, etc. I wouldn't expect it to be a great set but they were unique.

zenithfan1
06-03-2008, 09:13 AM
Here are the pics, I also included the "OOPS! got into the high voltage" pic of my burnt and very sore thumb!:tears: Stupid placement of the Horizontal centering control! Admiral usually has an extender on most of the controls, someone did not replace that when the put in the new FBT. :thumbsdn: You can see the linearity issues when you look at the girls' squished up faces. But who's lookin' at their faces anyway!
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii90/zenithfan1/100_2453.jpg
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii90/zenithfan1/000_0075.jpg
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii90/zenithfan1/000_0071.jpg http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii90/zenithfan1/000_0064.jpg
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii90/zenithfan1/000_0070.jpg
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii90/zenithfan1/000_0062.jpg
You can see where the voltage went in through the tip and out the knuckle!

NowhereMan 1966
06-03-2008, 10:49 PM
Ouch! I bet that hurts! BTW, OT, noticed you caught part of the Stanley Cup game where our Pens won it in overtime. ;)

zenithfan1
06-04-2008, 02:31 PM
Yup, sure did! {still does} This broke my 13 year record of never being hit by a FBT:thumbsdn: I guess it is inevitable to get hit sooner or later.

1980'slover
06-04-2008, 06:13 PM
i remember having one of my 80's console tvs and i took it apart to clean and i accidentaly unhooked the red high voltage wire and i touched the end, i didnt know at the time it had juice in it even though the tvs' unplugged, and i got shocked

N9ZQA
06-04-2008, 06:45 PM
...

N9ZQA
06-04-2008, 06:47 PM
Zenithfan -

I've got the same set as your 1967 but without the remote control and different speaker grilles. I got bit by the horiz. centering control as well - it was the weirdest green spark I'd ever seen and hurt like hell for quite some time afterwards. Really brought home the dangerous part of working on these sets - when it bit me, I heard the horizontal oscillator dip a bit, then return to normal as if I wasn't even there. Fortunately got my hand out without any collateral damage to other parts in the set.

I have the service manual for my set; I think it might cover yours as well. If you want, let me know the chassis number - if it's the same I can scan and email or xerox and snail mail.

-Jim

drh4683
06-04-2008, 07:10 PM
Dang, thats a good zap there. Ive gotten my fair share over the years. I hit the 390 volt B+ on a 20CC50 chassis about 5 years ago. I cant remember what I was doing, but i touched a solder cone above the chassis and the other hand was on the metal cabinet. It was way worse than any 25kv shock.

Those horizontal solid state zeniths can be tricky. They put the pincushion control behind the flyback and if you reach around it, you are about 1/4" away from the HV terminal. I got zapped off that so bad, the arc went through my fingernail and had a pinhole. Later on, I read the service manual and it states "adjust pincushion from under the chassis to avoid shock". You think you are careful but every so often something stupid happens and your lucky to be alive!

The admiral looks great. How is the remote? Never tried it.

mr_fixer
06-04-2008, 07:14 PM
Nice bright picture! Also I recommend that you don't do that again to your thumb, Flybacks are expensive but not as expensive as a new thumb! Logan:nutz:

N9ZQA
06-04-2008, 08:22 PM
Yeah - I would imagine that the B+ would hurt more than the voltages around the flyback - you've got much more current available there, probably a good couple hundred milliamps or so. The flyback and yoke section is good for RF burns though; I think that was the reason for the green spark I saw.

Back when I was young(er) and dumb(er) I had a 4-tube Zenith hybrid that had been worked on quite a bit. The back was misplaced somewhere along the line and I used the set as a bedroom TV for quite some time. For a while, I had a few turns of wire wrapped around the 2nd anode lead that ran to a fluorescent tube - great nightlight... This set also taught me about the neon lamp test for high voltage. Now that I think about it, it amazes me that I never got zapped from that set, what with all of the exposed solder cones and what not.

I know I popped the belfuse a couple times by accidentally dropping the antenna lead onto the chassis. Foolishly, I traded the set to someone who wanted a color TV. I haven't seen one since then, and that was almost 20 years ago.

-Jim

radiotvnut
06-04-2008, 11:04 PM
I've been shocked by charged CRT's in the past because I "just knew" that I could remove (or reconnect) the second anode without getting bit. The only time I got too close to HV while a set was on was when I was working on a 12" GE tube B&W set. My eyesight is not good at all and I have to get very close to what I'm working on. Well, I got too close to the 33GY7 HOT socket and it arced to my nose! I saw the blue arc and just barely felt it.

I had an "unexperienced" freind who thought he could fix a 19" Philco B&W that he found. The 1B3 HV rectifier tube was missing from it's socket. He didn't realize what was on that plate lead and it arced and burned a pinhole in his finger. He then decided that he better bring the set to me for repair.

Back when I was young(er) and dumb(er) I had a 4-tube Zenith hybrid that had been worked on quite a bit. The back was misplaced somewhere along the line and I used the set as a bedroom TV for quite some time. For a while, I had a few turns of wire wrapped around the 2nd anode lead that ran to a fluorescent tube - great nightlight... This set also taught me about the neon lamp test for high voltage. Now that I think about it, it amazes me that I never got zapped from that set, what with all of the exposed solder cones and what not.

I know I popped the belfuse a couple times by accidentally dropping the antenna lead onto the chassis. Foolishly, I traded the set to someone who wanted a color TV. I haven't seen one since then, and that was almost 20 years ago.

-Jim

This is OT; but, I can attest to the fact that those Zenith hybrid's produce one of the best pictures of any 19" set and they are getting hard to find. The console and portable versions used to be common around here in the '90's. A few months ago, I was lucky enough to get a '74 model from an old TV man. Before that, about '99 was the last one I had. I've still got a few minor details to take care of on mine before I put it to use. Needless to say, I don't plan to get rid of mine unless I find a version that I like better.

zenithfan1
06-05-2008, 09:08 AM
Dang, thats a good zap there. Ive gotten my fair share over the years. I hit the 390 volt B+ on a 20CC50 chassis about 5 years ago. I cant remember what I was doing, but i touched a solder cone above the chassis and the other hand was on the metal cabinet. It was way worse than any 25kv shock.

Those horizontal solid state zeniths can be tricky. They put the pincushion control behind the flyback and if you reach around it, you are about 1/4" away from the HV terminal. I got zapped off that so bad, the arc went through my fingernail and had a pinhole. Later on, I read the service manual and it states "adjust pincushion from under the chassis to avoid shock". You think you are careful but every so often something stupid happens and your lucky to be alive!

The admiral looks great. How is the remote? Never tried it.
Doug,
The Admiral or the girls on it?:smsex: I'm going to be extra careful from now on, I've become quite brave sticking my hands into tvs. I AM lucky to be alive, I was home alone at the time this happened, could have been MUCH worse. As far as the remote goes, I haven't tried it yet either. I forgot where you told me to get a battery. I'm thinking of running a 9 volt battery terminal out the hole in the bottom to temporarily hook a modern battery up to see if it works. The remote is clean inside with only a slight amount of corrosion on the negative terminal, no leaking battery damage. Someone used something abrasive to clean the contacts though, I hope they are ok. Oh, and Jim, thanks for the offer, I will look at the chassis number tonight and shoot you a PM. BTW, Your Admiral experience was almost identical to the one I just had, that spark was wierd looking and BRIGHT, oscillator dipped down and the picture went nuts for a second and a half while my thumb was cooking. Burnt flesh smells like burning hair:thumbsdn::puke:

zenithfan1
06-05-2008, 08:02 PM
The remote works!!!! The only thing is that it only works for about 8-10 feet away, I think the remote chassis could use aligning, I have no idea how to do it on this set. I am familiar with Zenith, is this similar? It is usable though the color "up" only works at about a foot away. Everything else works to 8- 10 feet away. I am happy it is working for now but I would like to get it working better.:thmbsp:

zenithfan1
06-06-2008, 09:15 AM
I also fixed the focus problem it was having. I fired it up to check the remote and again, the picture was way out of focus. It has been doing this and you have to adjust it every time it's turned on. I turned out the lights and checked inside the can and out. I could hear slight sizzling. I found that it was where the focus lead is connected to the fiberglass part of the FBT {the terminal}. There is originally a black painted on coating to prevent arcing but that was gone due to the fly being replaced. It seems humidity was making it act up, there was a corona around that terminal inside and out {looked kinda cool} But it was pi**ing me off so I put some dielectric silicone on both sides and on a few other exposed components. Readjusted focus and now the picture is sharper than it has ever been since I've had it.
Posting pics soon.