I won this set in the silent auction at the ETF convention this year. I also won a set identical to it in the live auction, it is in rough shape but I'll repair it to working condition but the case is really torn up. I have to switch the CRTs as the crappy set has the bright and sharp tube. It's an RCA while the softer tube is a Sylvania, both have good emissions though. Right now, the softer tube is in the set and the better one is seen in the pics of the chassis in operation. Those are the first pictures it greeted me with when I powered it up the first time, a hot blonde dancing, hell yeah. I think the set likes me.LOL. I'll switch the CRTs this weekend and post a pic of the finished project. I also plan to get a hold of a few spare 7JP4s as these little sets are fun to work on and I might get a few more later on. The pics were taken before the last 5 wax caps were changed, those have been replaced now. I didn't order enough somehow. All old leads were removed unless they couldn't be. Some of the old caps went a few inches from terminal to terminal and the new caps couldn't reach. I think a total of 5 "J" terminals were made. I prefer none but oh well. All 6000v caps were insulated with blue heat shrink to prevent any accidents or arcing. The electolytics have been restuffed as well, I didn't replace the seleniums with diodes but might later on. I'll add terminal strips to the bolts that mount them and leave the selenium rectifiers in for looks. The case cleaned up well, it really surprised me how nice it came out. I'm looking for some rubber feet that are brown but will probably have to settle for black ones. I used white rubber cove base for the CRT bezel, the original gasket was black but the white looks better, I have a black piece too. I plan to make one out of it and see what happens. That's on the to-do list this weekend as well. Instead of just wrapping it around the tube, I tried for a more factory look by cutting it and making a bezel to attach to the tube and spacers to secure it . Anyone not told what it is might not notice, we all know of course. It would seem that the reproduction masks are only available for the VT71 and 73s, I see nothing that will work for this model anywhere so the cove base is good enough. Eventually, I would like to make some homebrew ballast tubes for these, I was lucky enough to have a good one in this set. I have studied how to do it and it's no big deal, I might go with Phil Nelsons idea but haven't decided yet.
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii90/zenithfan1/100_4582.jpg
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I repainted the Moto emblems with Rust-Oleum metal flake gold and clear coated with Krylon clear coat, I repainted them on both sets. Here is an original compared to my repainted one. It is not clear coated yet though in the pic.
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii90/zenithfan1/100_4638.jpg

Bravo!

Wow! Thats a great picture! Nice and tidy work underneath too. Nice job!
-Tony

I like those sets,, congratulations!

Awesome job :thmbsp:

I'm in love...(grin)

cute set I should of got one of those instead of the console....easy to store and saves space. Is this set easy to find? I founf my Tv by placing a wanted ad on craigslist only took about a week.

There are several variations of this model. Mahogany and blonde wood, bakelite and this one (the suitcase).

The mahogany show up on eBay all the time. Just don't pay $310 for an empty case (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&item=320375287686) ;)

Try searching on eBay or craigslist for 'vintage motorola tv' or 'golden view'.

I found my blonde (in fair condition) on craiglist for $50, mahogany (in great condition) on eBay for $130 and a smashed bakelite on eBay for $30.

Seems that a suitcase in good condition is less common. I haven't acquired one yet.

They are a lot of fun to work on. Just make sure you use an isolation transformer as these sets are transformerless.

Thanks for the compliments guys! This one was fun.
sansui200A, these sets are less common than the table model, the more common ones are the table top models such as the VT-71 and 73, those are a dime a dozen and can be found for pretty cheap most of the time, although ebay prices are a bit overboard. They were quite popular back then and a lot were made due to their affordability. I think they were about 180 bucks new IIRC. Now the red one like mine is a bit more rare, and the blond table models are too.
Edit: I was in the middle of typing this and had walk away for a while, bandersen said about he same thing I did.:yes:

Finally, I get time to sit and mess with pictures. Here are the pics of the completed project, minus new rubber feet on the cabinet. I installed the better CRT and put it a bit closer to the picture window, it looked funny with a half inch gap between. Now it has a quarter inch gap(roughly) it looks like more at the edges. The CRT was nicked and scratched on the face, I worked them out with automotive rubbing compound. It took a few hours of polishing, I took breaks to do other things too or my hand would have fallen off. Also, this is the only set like this that I have seen with the cloth straps intact for the back cover. I thought that was pretty neat. All old caps are gone now too.
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii90/zenithfan1/000_0284.jpg
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My Daughter watched Spongebob on it :)
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii90/zenithfan1/100_4658.jpg

You really do outstanding work and the screen caps testify to that! Did you stuff the electrolytic cans? If it were me I would have just put the caps and diodes on terminal strips where the seleniums are now. Clod, I know :p:

Speaking of seleniums, they look like they're still in the circuit, are they?

Thanks for the update and great pictures! You did an excellent job.

...If it were me I would have just put the caps and diodes on terminal strips where the seleniums are now....

That's exactly what I did on my last set. I'm just getting starting on a TS-18 chassis and I think I'll give stuffing a try. It does look a lot neater :yes:

dangit, now I gotta find me one of these. :thmbsp:

Thanks guys! David, yes, I re-stuffed the cans. I also left the selenium rectifiers in circuit, I don't plan on using the set much. I was also restoring a '68 Zenith color set (watching a DVD on it now) at the same time and skipped that step for now. I'll go back in on a rainy day when I get bored. I'll add terminal strips on to the end of the mounting bolts and leave the seleniums in for looks. Everyone, thanks again for the kind words.

Was the ballast ok in this one or did you have to repair that also?
-Tony

I was lucky enough to get a good one, I plan on making a new one like Phil Nelsons general idea but am toying with other ideas as well. I spaced on an auction for a NOS one a few weeks ago, I remembered it about two hours after it ended. Oh well, more will turn up and I probably just use a home made one if I plan on using it more than I do now. (not much)
One of these days, I'll restore the ratty basket case that I won in the live auction. It is the same exact one as this and they were made about month apart. BTW, the one here was "born" November 4th, 1949.

I missed out on that auction too :(

I'm currently restoring two more Motorolas - a TS-4H and TS-18 chassis. The TS-4H ballast has at least one dead element. The TS-18 is missing the ballast entirely.

I just received a bunch of power resistors from surplussales.com that I'm going to experiment with. I'll let you know how it goes.

Do you have any tips for restuffing the caps?

Did you slide off the cardboard and cut the metal tube or work out of the bottom like a 'ship-in-a-bottle' ?

I'm about to give that a try for the first time :)

I did slip off the cardboard and set it aside while working. First, I take close-up pictures of the area under the chassis at different angles so there can be no confusion of what hooks where, sometimes the cap is out for a day or two and it is easy to put one lead in the wrong place and have it "look right". I suck up all the solder on the terminals and tangs with a wick and carefully straighten the tangs that hold it to the chassis. Then it pops right off. There is that lip around the bottom that is knurled over, use a cutting wheel on a Dremel and cut that lip into little sections that can be bent outward like an onion blossom. Or, you can slice most of the lip off and leave no less than 4 tangs to bend over. Either way works, the second method is not recommended for tall caps because it is weaker. Pull out the terminals and fiber disc and save it. Then you can heat it up with a heat gun, while holding the hot cap with an oven mitt, stab some needle nose pliers into the electrolytic goo/foil wrap and pull it out, most of the glue that holds it is in the other end so heat the top thoroughly. If it don't come out tie a string around it on both ends to make a "handle" and hold it horizontally in a pot of boiling water for about ten minutes, it WILL come out after that. Make sure not to let it rest on the bottom of the pan. Then to start installing new caps, put any original terminals that came all the way out back into the disc, they will fit loose but there is usually some of the aluminum lead left on the inside part of the terminal from the old connection, bend that over to make it fit tighter. If the whole thing is loose when done assembling, use a small amount of epoxy on the inside to hold the terminals into the disc. All caps aren't the same inside so you have to just do whatever necessary to make it work. The last ones I did were on this set and most of the lead inside the cap was aluminum so I couldn't solder to it. I used a 1/16 drill bit and added an extra hole to put the new lead through on the OUTSIDE of the cap, it is soldered with the outside leads and cannot be seen after installation. The leads on the new caps slipped right past the terminal to the outside. I usually drill those holes on the part inside the can. Attach all grounds together and run a small wire outside the bottom of the cap, there is usually a handy little hole in the disc but just drill one if not. Tape all connections inside or use heat shrink. Check for fit in tube after each cap is installed and when done, bend the tangs over and reinstall on the chassis. Your ground wire goes to one of the tangs with a hole and then soldered in place, try to make the wire go the tang right next to it and the wire is then almost undetectable. Hook up all other connections as per the symbol chart on the can. Be really careful to put the correct value cap inside the can to the correct symbol or you are screwed. The first three are this set.
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii90/zenithfan1/100_4602.jpg
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii90/zenithfan1/100_4603.jpg
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Below:This is from a '65 Admiral color roundie.
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii90/zenithfan1/100_3931.jpg
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Below:These two pics are from a '65 Zenith being restored at the same time.
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii90/zenithfan1/100_3900.jpg
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii90/zenithfan1/100_3901-1.jpg
Let me know if I don't make sense I've been up 22 hours and it's 12:47am now.:)

Wow - I didn't realize how tricky it was to open those up! I've only re-stuffed the old Philco bakelite blocks before. All you need to do with those is melt out the tar.

You just saved me loads of time and who knows how many mistakes.

It all makes perfect sense to me and I'm wide awake :yes:

Thanks for the detailed photos. I bet this will be a great help to others too.

Bob

Did you end up replacing the selenium rectifiers?
Any thoughts on using a series resistor with a silicon diode and what value and wattage it should be?

No, I never messed with it. I don't think I'll use the set enough to worry about it. It would take a 1N4004 or close and I'm unsure of the resistor. Hopefully someone will chime in that has done the mod to one of these.

Here is the new ballast tube! Looks and works so much better than the ugly 'ol metal one. I'm just keeping that as a spare or for that crappy set I have like this. I'm hoping the seller will let me ship back the bad one for an exchange, I want a spare glass one. He seems nice so we'll see.
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii90/zenithfan1/000_0388.jpg

Awesome :thmbsp:

I'm glad you got it working in this set (one anyway).

Does it start up 'smoother' now i.e. the filaments warm up evenly ?

Yes, it does.:D They used to come on with a bright flash when the current rushed in, now they tend to 'come up" all at once more like a transformer chassis set. Looks much safer for it. It also puts out less heat.:thmbsp:

Yes, it does.:D They used to come on with a bright flash when the current rushed in, now they tend to 'come up" all at once more like a transformer chassis set. Looks much safer for it. It also puts out less heat.:thmbsp:

Excellent - that's exactly what I experienced.

It's great, she's been on for over an hour and the area around the ballast feels about 20 degrees cooler, feels cold compared to what it did. I was burned on the side vent there a while back, now that is barely warm. The tubes are all lit very even and not a one too bright. Those metal tubes are for the pits, these glass ones are the cats ass.:thmbsp: Get 'em while you can fellas, just make sure you leave him one to replace my dead one:D

That seller is very nice, he said "throw out that ballast tube, another is on the way already" What a nice guy. The listing says buyer to pay return shipping on returns.

I was just poking around my suitcase set and noticed several labels specifying the use of this ballast tube even though it's a TS-4J chassis which normally uses the 17A470303 tube. I wonder if they had heat issues back then too?

Question for you TV guys- I've read this thread & a bunch more like it here over the years, & it occurs to me that there were a fair number of "faults" w/the circuits of these early sets, that now, w/the benefit of 60 years experience, we can correct easily enuff... Was part of it inexperience w/the then-new medium of "television", and was it that these things were operating at the edge of what was possible to achieve then ? Or was it an attempt to use the cheapest parts possible, to keep the price low ? These things were fairly "big money" for back then, even at $175-200..., which is comparatively not much now. Seems like you always hear about how much trouble they gave...Like this heat issue, which seems to have been at least somewhat settled by a simple substitution of parts...Or am I talkin' out my hat, as usual ? (grin)

I brought up this specific example because I have two Motorolas with the same chassis but different cabinets. The suitcase model specifies a ballast with a higher resistance for the series strung tubes which causes them to run cooler.

The 7" Motorola sets definitely evolved - both to improve performance and reduce costs I think. I expect it was the same with other manufacturers, but maybe not so much with the higher end sets.