Picked up an Admiral Imperial 330 at an Estate sale in Schiller Park IL today. This is a Chicago suburb very near O'Hare Airport. It was a two bedroom house that was packed basement to attic. I spotted the set yesterday, and went back first thing this morning and got it for half price: $12.50. The sales people were of course asking "What do you do with these ?"; they had even suggested yesterday that it could make a nice fish tank. The most amazing thing was that the set was still in the small living room. The sales people said they had moved it back just to clean all of the dust from under it. They had even tried turning it on. I heard from two different people that it produced a vertical line. A very good sign of overall condition.
A couple of strange things with this set. First there are signs of a modification. A two position rotary switch has been installed along with an RCA jack. You can see the pencil lines where they punched/drilled the chassis in the photos. Fairly certain this wasn't original. Someone had some electronics training / interests in the early to mid 60's judging by some of the books. Also found a home brew power supply. Second there is a note tied to HV line to the CRT indicating that it is the wrong length (too long) and gives the part number for the correct length. Finally, the set is devoid of any labeling on the back or inside. The chassis is stamped 14E180-3Z, with a date of June 24 1957. It looks to use two 5U4s in parallel for rectifiers. It has an elaborate sound system with separate amp and four speakers. The flyback appears in great shape, no cracks or melting. I've always considered Admiral to be a bit on the 'cheaply made' side. But I'm impressed with this set. It appears to be a full point to point chassis; no printed circuit boards. All the tube numbers are stamped on the chassis. They must of liked Admiral, as there was an old floor model Admiral console radio in the basement along with a couple of 50s table radios.
This is my first color roundie, and fills a real hole in my collection.

They ALWAYS pop up when I'm out of town! But congrats on your first roundie! And a damn rare one to boot! I was talking to a fellow at the convention today about how these don't seem to show up often. Excellent find.

That's not just a score. That is a MAJOR SCORE! I'd like to see it in operation when you get it going.

Is that the estate sale put on through "remember that"? I almost went to that sale!! although, I dont know enough about old tv's to know if that was a good find or not. clearly it is! good on you dude!

---

It's intresting to have an '50's non-"R.C.A." color tv set. I gussed after the 1st look that is a '50's set!
And it's a safe set, since it does have a transformer (so no live chassie!)

WOWowowowow!

That is quite a find, you did well! :yes:

Homina Homina Homina....Give ya $25 fer it....Dubble yer money...(grin) Seriously, that is a MAJOR LEAGUE score !

That's not just a score. That is a MAJOR SCORE! I'd like to see it in operation when you get it going.

I couldn't have said it better... I've never even SEEN an early Admiral, and not to brag but to qualify, but I've probably owned just as many early rare color sets as anyone here, including 3 significant one-off prototypes.

Charles

Excellent find! I'm looking forward to hearing more about it.
-Tony

EXCELLENT!!!! Looks like a sort of CTC-5N style chassis of Admiral design. Lots of vent holes where the power xfmr would be.
I am curious as to where the convergence adjustments are located.
Best of luck with that great TV!
Kevin

Thanks everyone for the great compliments.
When I spotted the set Saturday at the sale, I knew it had to be special. But I was staying with my in-laws and had a bunch of commitments and no way to move it. It was late in the day, so I was fairly hopeful I could get back. Needless to say, I had a restless night of sleep and was back first thing Sunday.
Good observation that chassis was setup to take a power transformer. You can see that there are knockouts for a line cord and cans.
I've been wondering about convergence controls too. I'll be frank, I don't know a lot about round tube color sets. My next oldest color set is a Zenith portable hybrid from about '70. I was beginning to think that roundies didn't require convergence adjustments based on the geometry of the tube. I'm sure somebody here can set me straight. Regardless, I haven't been able to find many service controls. I'm a little concerned that something might be missing, but I can't see anything obvious. This brings up the biggest issue so far; lack of a full model number. I can't even find where a tube layout chart may have been pasted. I've searched Sam's with what I believe to be the chassis number with no results. I've googled imperial 330 and found just a couple of hits. Somebody here had one in their collection and somebody restored one in an antique radio forum. Any help in this quest for service literature / schematic would be greatly appreciated.

I would guess the convergence controls are up front behind a panel somewhere.
Just follow the wires from the convergence coils and you'll find them.

I notice it looks like the convergence wiring plugs directly into the chassis with that squarish plug.
Possibly the controls are somewhere on the chassis then.
About the only place the could be is on the front of the chassis.
Does that fabric strip to the right of the screen come off?

I don't think that's an RCA chassis at all... That's what's so exciting about it.

Charles

It looks somewhat similar to the Sentinel set. These sets are RCA based, not on the CTC chassis design but rather on the RCA reference design documented in LB-962, "A Simplified High-Performance 21-Inch Developmental Color Television Receiver" September 16, 1954. On the Sentinel the convergence panel is on the front of the set and appears it must be behind a front panel on this set as well.

Darryl

wow, congrats on the great find! btw, what are the 6 red squares located above the screen? Is that decorative or are they indicator lights of some sort?

I found the service controls! Indeed they were behind the panel on the right side. I tried prying the panel carefully with no luck. There were already some small pry marks, so I knew I was on the right track. My wife got into the act when I told her about the secret panel. She recalled the estate sale people claiming that they found about 150k in cash hidden in couple of pieces they cleaned out at this sale. She spotted the small wooden screws securing the bracket that holds the panel at the top. Alas no cash. But also no labeling! This isn't anything on the chassis or the back of the panel. It appears that service literature is going to be a must to get very far with this one.
BTW, the red squares are vents. You can get a better view from the servicecontrols pix.

I need to do some digging-I have a factory service manual for a 50's Admiral color set; I can't recall the model off hand. It's late, but maybe I can dig it out before I turn-in for the night.

UPDATE: The manual is for chassis 28Y1; it is transformer powered, but otherwise similiar (at least at first glance.) Dated 11-55. Probably not close enough for this one...I'll double check but I don't think I have any others this early.

This is an amazing find! Anything fifties and color is tremendous; anything fifties and color and not RCA...wow!

At least with having all the service controls on the front, it will make it easier to set up once you find out which ones are what. That will be alot better than trying to set it up using a mirror. I like this set alot. I think alot of it has to do with being so different in styling than we usually see. With it appearing to be a production set and not experimental...someone is bound to have the service literature for it.
-Tony

The manual is for chassis 28Y1; it is transformer powered, but otherwise similiar (at least at first glance.) Dated 11-55. Probably not close enough for this one...I'll double check but I don't think I have any others this early.

Bryan, this one is transformer powered. It is sitting in the bottom of the cabinet next to the other (audio?) chassis that is also seperate.
-Tony

Okay, I should have checked a little closer. The one I have shows the transformer mounted on the chassis. Might not be very different besides that?

A series-string color set at that time would be strange...except that I know the rectangular Westinghouse was, according to the schematic I found.

Kurt

I have an Admiral color tv service manual supplement dated April 1957. This for models using the 29Z1 and 29SZ1 chassis. These sets had two large controls (channel selector and on-off volume) on the top right and left above the screen and look completely different from yours: ETF - Admiral Ambassador
http://www.earlytelevision.org/admiral_ambassador.html. It shows 2 5U4 rectifiers in the tube chart. However the chassis shown is horizontal and yours looks to be vertical. The set up controls are in front under the screen and appear to be similar to yours. There was an Admiral prototype chassis # 28Y1 produced in mid 1956 prior to the regular production 1957 models. Some of these prototypes were sold to the public. Yours may be one of these.

-Steve D.

Kurt:

I did some rifling through my Sams tonight. I found an Admiral B/W set in a mid 1957 folder that has the identical control, vent and logo layout. Folder 394-1. No color sets with that layout though. I could be missing a folder or two however. You mention in the initial post that there was Admiral all over the house. That could mean that the person, or a relative, worked for Admiral and got hold of one of the prototypes that Steve mentioned. Very interesting.

There is an antique mall nearby that has a B/W Admiral that is just about identical,
even has the vent holes along the top and the cabinet is the same except in blonde.

This is my first color roundie, and fills a real hole in my collection.There's a decent chance that yours is the only collection that has this hole plugged!

I'd be curious to learn what that RCA connector is/was used for. I suspect either audio or composite video in.

Pete

There was an Admiral prototype chassis # 28Y1 produced in mid 1956 prior to the regular production 1957 models. Some of these prototypes were sold to the public. Yours may be one of these.

-Steve D.

The excitement builds!!!!!!!!!!!!

My wallet and I can be in Illinois in 31 hours!

Charles

I wonder why convergence controls on the front of sets didn't catch on. It would seem better than sitting in the back of the set with a mirror. I used to have this small mirror taped to the end of a broom handle for that, recently I picked up a larger mirror I can sit on the floor infront of the set, but I'd much rather just have the controls infront.

That is a cool set, it looks like a high quality unit. It is true that I do just tend to think of color roundies as being RCAs and Zeniths. I had a Magnavox once, but it had a shorted flyback and an open filament in the green gun, so I parted it out.

Not to change the subject but I have wondered the same thing about the convergence controls. I have a 1968 Zenith that the speaker grille comes off and has them behind it. It is very convenient and you would never know the grille pops off just by looking. The excitement is building on the Admiral, I really want to know if its a prototype or not. Either way Kurt, you definitely filled a hole in your collection that most can only dream of. Luck is everything in this hobby, be at the right place at the right time. You have some darn good "Karma"!

On my 1974 K9 Philips set the whole tuner/control panel is hinged and comes forward revealing the complete convergence/purity controls.

Sure makes it easier to manage than having them tucked away at the back!

And a nice one too!

Found the first major issue tonight. The 3.579 resonator in this set is in a tube envelope, and the tip is cracked off! I've never seen anything like this. Check out the pictures. The insides look a lot like a piezo element. But it must have been designed to be under vacuum. There is nothing else in there, not even a getter. It is labeled 3579545KC. I think the socket on the chassis is stamped XTAL93B34.
The shield for this 'tube' is missing. So I suspect that it has been broken for a long time. Has anyone seen something like this? If I can't find one, I'm hoping that a standard crystal can be placed under chassis. Who knows, maybe somebody has already done this.

Kurt,
The glass envelope on this crystal was used as a hermetic seal same as on a metal can crystal. The quartz element you see inside is the same as what you would find inside a metal can if you opened it. A standard HC18 metal crystal will work fine.

---

Most all early color sets had those, and they were soldered under the chassis. I may have some, but don't hold breath. It could be a decade of digging to find one :) But I'll keep an eye out. Meantime, I'd just put a blob of clear silicone over the broken off tip hole, and hope it didn't get dirty in there. Should be fine.

Charles

And it's a safe set, since it does have a transformer (so no live chassie!)

With 115v line voltage, you MUST use a transformer to generate the 250-300 volts B+ needed by a color set.

Our 230v line voltage allows us to generate the B+ with just a rectifier and a filter can, and that's one of the reasons why the live chassis technique is so popular in European sets.

Anyway, live chassis sets are safe to use, provided that the back panels, plastic head screws, correct knobs, antenna coupling capacitors etc are all in place and in good conditions.

---

There were lots of live chassis tube color TVs made. They just used a voltage doubler to make up for the lower line voltage.

The General was known for those sets, I have a few and they work great.

It would be interesting to see a transformerless color set of this vintage. With as many tubes as this set has, it would probably require a couple of tube strings. Personally I'm always happiest when a set has a transformer, usually a sign they weren't trying to cheap it out.
I've started going through the tubes, making a list. The horiz. out (6CB5A) and focus regulator (6BK4) are still Admiral tubes. They are stamped 'Made in USA for Admiral by RCA'. It makes sense that this would be some sort of RCA reference design. But what is missing is all the RCA patent info.

I found the schematic for the Sentinel set mentioned and have been checking the tubes against it. The horiz / HV section match, probably no surprise there. But I'm seeing differences in the signal tubes. I like the theory of the original owner working for Admiral. I know that Admiral was in Chicago. Given how expensive these were new, and the modest house this came from, some inside Admiral connection makes sense. I’m really beginning to think this set was a prototype.

The 22" rectangular Westinghouse ca. 1957 was a live-chassis set.

http://www.earlytelevision.org/images/Westinghouse_22.jpg