I took a break from antique radios for a while and popped open my GE 810. It's the set I picked up recently in Cincinnati, OH.

The cabinet is in decent shape. Just a few worn spot and a couple chips. Otherwise just needs some stripping and refinishing.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2614/4197022576_2cc9db1891_b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4050/4212504498_84571c8f26.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2790/4211742319_69b63dd807.jpg

As usual, a couple knobs are missing too :grumpy:
Interesting channel lineup 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8-9, 10-11, 12-13.
I suppose you can tune in either station using the fine-tune at those higher frequencies.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2753/4212505294_7918ece989_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2656/4212505592_06ceb39ffd_b.jpg

So nice to have the original back with all the labels.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4049/4212504254_bee25c61db_b.jpg

I popped the back off and tested the 10FP4 CRT - it's good!
I then cleaned up the chassis, popped out the 6BG6, and set the channel selector to 6. We have a low power analog station on channel 6 that plays light jazz and shows still images of the city.

I slowly powered it up with a variac.

All the tubes lit except for the 5U4. I replaced that and tried again and was treated to some nice smooth jazz :music:

Finally, I popped the 6BG6 back in and got a picture of sorts :banana: The hor sync, vert sync, and vert height are all off. Not bad at all considering I haven't replaced a single component yet!

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4009/4211742555_a9755c14fe.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2743/4212506402_1e2ac9c95f.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4039/4212505884_a864786b4a.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2525/4212563338_9c9d72d9ff.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2504/4212563286_4f28f6d358.jpg

I record a 3 part youtube series on this set.
Skip to part 3 if you'd like to hear and see it play.

GE810 Vintage TV (Part 1 - First look inside) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmPf9I1taWg)
GE810 Vintage TV (Part 2 - CRT testing) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpAlXOz13qA)
GE810 Vintage TV (Part 3 - Does it work ?) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=druQ1AbX8o4)

That is a sweet little set. With all that brass trim, it could look like a million bucks if you were to restore it to "like new" condition. If it was mine, I would take all the brass trim off and restore it bright and shiny like new, and do color fill in the embossed letters. Then refinsh the cabinet to "better than showroom" and that set would be just beautiful.

That's a nice looking set. I'll be anxious to see how the cabinet turns out. I'm amazed that it works without re-capping.

John

Man, I wish you fellers lived closer ! I have a guy & his wife who restore furniture for a living, they could make that cabinet look like a million bux, guaranteed. And they DON'T charge the moon, either, nor do they take 3 months from next St. Swithin's day to get stuff done...They LOVE re-doing simple boxes like TVs & radios...

Hey sandy - they any good at Jukebox cabinets? My dad's got a Wurlitzer 61 that's in need of serious help :(

Complication: We're in NY

That is a sweet little set. With all that brass trim, it could look like a million bucks if you were to restore it to "like new" condition. If it was mine, I would take all the brass trim off and restore it bright and shiny like new, and do color fill in the embossed letters. Then refinsh the cabinet to "better than showroom" and that set would be just beautiful.

Good ideas. The brass seems to be two-tone with some areas brown. Like the inner side of the screen bezel and the top portion of the control area. Probably paint.

I think I'll strip all the metal down, polish it up, mask off and paint those areas. Then color fill as suggested.

That's a nice looking set. I'll be anxious to see how the cabinet turns out. I'm amazed that it works without re-capping.

John

So am I! This set is really well made with some interesting twists. Like supplying one leg of a 12AT7 filament with DC from a little selenium rectifier. Maybe for better oscillator stability :scratch2:

I wish I had a dozen 10FP4s for all my other 10" sets :D

Nice project. It's good that it's "working" and a recap should be 95% of the resto, as far as the chassis is concerned.

I saw, and liked, your Video Series on powering up the Set. Looking forward to more...

Nice project. It's good that it's "working" and a recap should be 95% of the resto, as far as the chassis is concerned.

I saw, and liked, your Video Series on powering up the Set. Looking forward to more...

I may have those two knobs, I will look saturday for you. If I have them there yours.

I picked up one of these but in much worse condition than this one. Very ratty, but could be brought back. I can tell that it would look great restored. My crt is pretty weak, too. So, I may just part it out...not sure yet. Now, this one, it looks to be an easy restoration!

That is a nice set. I have one, but it developed a problem with the early sychroguide oscillator, and I put it on a shelf, and there it sits awaiting my attention. The 10FP4 has a nice black and white color, not as blueish as 10BP4.
I restored it in the early 70's, and the chassis and cabinet need work. Just don't have time right now....
Good luck with your 810! They do perform well when they are working properly.
Kevin

Hey Bryan
I've got one that is in good shape but is missing the round GE logo. If you part your set out I'd like to get that part.
Tnx
Terry

Nice project. It's good that it's "working" and a recap should be 95% of the resto, as far as the chassis is concerned.

I saw, and liked, your Video Series on powering up the Set. Looking forward to more...

Thanks! I think I'm slowly getting better at recording videos. I'm going to pickup a tripod so I can record more easily while working on sets.
It's tough to do it one handed :yes:

Lucky dog! You've got most of the knobs and the back panel as well. I had to "fly blind" with mine, and make a guess as to what missing tubes to be replaced with what and where. I got my 810 working to an extent after subbing in electrolytics and R&R-ing obvious leaky bypass and blocking caps. But with no tube chart (musta been on the inside of the missing back panel), and no schematic, it made the work kinda interesting at best.

Good luck with your project.

Thanks. Luckily I have this model in both a 1949 Beitman TV Servicing guide and a GE 1947-1951 Wallace Telaide :)

I had after experimenting as I had posted before obtained the Sams folder for this model, but a page or two "grew legs" and walked off on me. If you have access to a scanning bed, and could send me the schematic that would be great.

I had after experimenting as I had posted before obtained the Sams folder for this model, but a page or two "grew legs" and walked off on me. If you have access to a scanning bed, and could send me the schematic that would be great.

Sure. Here are a few scans from Beitmans's. I'll scan the other pages when I get a chance.

http://www.bobandersen.com/images/schematics/ge/

While I wait for my Philco 49-1040 cabinet to cure, I'm diving into this one. I expect it to go a lot faster.

One side is fine, but the other needs a little help. I hope that blemish fades after stripping. I'll use scraps from the top as patches.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4146/5042772479_e86da6443e_z.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4108/5042772847_88e1d00fc1_z.jpg

Here's the nice new sheet of face cut Mahogany veneer. I'll be using Mohawk Brown Mahogany toner lacquer.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4127/5043396170_35fdfe74db_b.jpg

The old veneer is peeling off very easily :)
I only needed to use the heat gun in a few stubborn spots. I hope the new stuff stays on a lot better!
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4130/5042773427_70c510e76d_b.jpg

Weird how the front few inches of the substrate are different. Seems to be slightly lower than the rest with a filler making up the difference.
I'll need to use some new filler and sand it smooth.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4133/5042775005_e2c8d9bfec_b.jpg

I'm curious-are you still using shellac for grain filler? The reason I ask is that I have been as well, although I switched from using many sprayings from a can to using the brush-on kind. It is much cheaper and far faster using that to fill in the grain, and you can be pretty messy at it as you'll just be sanding it all back anyway.

I'm in the rush to do a few cabinets this weekend as well-I have a Philco 60, filled the grain today and will begin lacquering tomorrow. After that, I have a teeny Emerson mantle radio that needs done. We've been getting lots of rain on the East Coast, so that has slowed me down considerably! Hopefully you won't get frozen out of finishing these cabinets. Keep up the good work!

I have use brush-on shellac for the last couple projects. Definitely better (and cheaper) than spray for grain filling. I do have some Behlen water based grain filler and I plan on using it this time on the top. Messy, but faster on really open grain like this new veneer. I'll still use shellac on the sides I think.

I suppose to go down into the 40s this weekend but back up to the 70s later next week. Good luck!

The inside of the cabinet is in good shape.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4088/5046195477_35f28566a4_z.jpg

I was pleasantly surprised that it comes apart quite easily. Just a bunch of phillips wood screws and 1/4" nuts.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4083/5046839480_87f5649807_z.jpg

The grille cloth peeled right off too. The old adhesive had really dried up.
Does anyone know if there's an good cloth match available ? If not, I'll just clean this old cloth up and glue it back on.
I'll try to find a good match for the light green paint around the screen.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4092/5046195649_8a7c74a883_z.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4108/5046196007_0a205d45de_z.jpg

The only problem I've found so far is bubbles in the safety glass :tears: Perhaps I can get a new piece cut somewhere - or maybe use lexan or plexiglass :scratch2:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4111/5046818444_e02150561d_z.jpg

I've got one of these sitting out in the garage, it's in so-so shape and the CRT is weak though I should have something to replace it with.

I dread working on GE sets for some reason, they just seem weird and hard to get working right, my 803 has been sitting half finished because the tuner and i.f. section was so weird I didn't want to deal with it. :scratch2:

I've wondered about that strange hole where the CRT socket is, they all seem to have it and I've never seen one with a cover, did they originally have something to plug the hole?

Won't the bubbles in the safety glass be hidden when it's installed?

John

That is a nice looking set. I only wish that the previous owners of sets had stored them in better conditions. Not having to do a cabinet is certainly a plus but it is all part of the equation. Since you have sound, and picture of sorts, you know the main components are good: Power Transformer, Yoke, Flyback and CRT. It is all good from here. Waiting to watch this restore...

I've got one of these sitting out in the garage, it's in so-so shape and the CRT is weak though I should have something to replace it with.

I dread working on GE sets for some reason, they just seem weird and hard to get working right, my 803 has been sitting half finished because the tuner and i.f. section was so weird I didn't want to deal with it. :scratch2:

I've wondered about that strange hole where the CRT socket is, they all seem to have it and I've never seen one with a cover, did they originally have something to plug the hole?

Dunno. I have a few reference pictures of other 810s and they all have that hole too.

I think the 803 is pretty cool looking. I had a shot at one recently with a cracked dial face, but the bidding went over my limit. Something like $300 I believe.

Won't the bubbles in the safety glass be hidden when it's installed?

John

Unfortunately no, the bezel only covers a thin edge of the glass. Not that big a deal I suppose.
http://www.bobandersen.com/images/GE810/bezel.JPG

I stripped off a portion of the old finish and was surprised at the color difference. I wonder why they used Mahogany only to cover it with a heavy walnut finish ?

I coated a test strip with Brown Mahogany toner, Golden Mahogany stain and Medium Brown Walnut toner. None are close at all :(
http://www.bobandersen.com/images/GE810/Toner%20comparison1.jpg

I reviewed the Mohawk color chart (http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CCcQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mohawk-finishing.com%2Fmhk_cds%2Fcolor_chart%2FColor%2520 Chart.pdf) and I think Van Dyke Walnut or Universal Walnut is a good match.

Here's a Philco 37-630 radio which I think is van dyke walnut for comparison.
http://www.bobandersen.com/images/GE810/Toner%20comparison2.JPG

I don't have any on hand, but luckily it's on sale at Pond Cove Paint. I hope it gets here soon.

I dread working on GE sets for some reason, they just seem weird and hard to get working right, my 803 has been sitting half finished because the tuner and i.f. section was so weird I didn't want to deal with it. :scratch2:

I've wondered about that strange hole where the CRT socket is, they all seem to have it and I've never seen one with a cover, did they originally have something to plug the hole?

The only other GEs I have worked on are Locomotives and similar models with the same chassis, and I do find those a bit strange -- especially the particular split power supply scheme they use.

The 810 is a much more conventional design. I have one here that is electrically restored, and performs very nicely. Can't think of anything off hand that I found strange in its circuitry.

The cabinet on mine is in a bit tougher shape than the one being discussed here. Sometime in the next month or two I will get into the cabinet restoration on that one.

Interesting you mentioned the strange hole in the back cover where the CRT socket is. For some reason, I had not really noticed it before! I imagine there must have been some kind of flimsy plastic cover made of something that completely disintegrates in less than 60 years!

Tom

That is a nice looking set. I only wish that the previous owners of sets had stored them in better conditions. Not having to do a cabinet is certainly a plus but it is all part of the equation. Since you have sound, and picture of sorts, you know the main components are good: Power Transformer, Yoke, Flyback and CRT. It is all good from here. Waiting to watch this restore...

I plan to start on the recapping while I wait for the lacquer to arrive. I think I have most of the parts on hand. The only odd thing I've seen so far is a giant domino mica cap.

I purchased a GE 810 restored and working, only to find the soldering and terminal work sloppy, messey and quite ugly.What caught my eye was the modifications, a whole mit full of extra parts around the horizontal output socket, the poor soul must have really fought with the bias circuit, albeit the set
worked but how?. My instinct was to check and verify that the tubes are the correct ones, well the horiz out is a spanking N.O.S. GE 6GB6, but wait a minuit
this tube has all the pins connected on the base, the schematic and my RCA receiving tube manual shows a 6GB6 with two pins not connected and on the tube base. When you have a manufacture that saves money and space by using unused terminals on a tube socket for a convenient hookup post and a revised tube is installed you can see where this can go. So i reduced the part count to what the diagram called for and put in an earlier 6GB6, suprise suprise the average plate is current RCA tube manual text book perfect. a quote from Ronald Regan "Trust with verification"
my quote "Get your hands on a RCA receiving tube manual!".

Yeah, these early GE tubes sets seem to be troublesome- Eric, I don't blame you for not working on that 803's tuner. I believe it has the same as the 802 that I worked on. After going through so much grief to just get that set running, I wasn't too happy to power up the tv/fm audio section only to have it fizzle out less than a minute later. Then I found out that whole section of the tv is basically a sealed unit-yey!

I also recently recapped a GE locomotive, and while all the voltages are in line, it has terrible signal problems, and EVERYTHING about that chassis is HOT! Probably one of the most dangerous hot chassis sets I've worked on as it is all so crammed in.

I'll be curious to see how this 810 looks/performs. I already know how the cabinet will turn out, though......

Here's the one capacitor that has me a little puzzled. It's shaped like a big mica cap, but I think it's molded paper.

I downloaded the Rider's from the ETF and there's no capacitor listed as 0.05 @ 400v.

However, under the "specialized replacement parts", there is a 0.047 @ 600v molded paper cap listed. I need to trace out the wiring to confirm if this is the cap I'm looking at.
I wish Riders's had the handy component location pictures like Sams does.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4112/5053370702_e12584888e_z.jpg

Yeah, that's a molded paper cap. Typically, if I see one of those with a value of say, .001 mfd, I go ahead and replace it during recapping. I never understood that-why they made paper caps in the shape of micas-then you see things like molded paper .001 and a tubular .001 in the same set, same voltage rating. Wouldn't it have been easier to go with a single vendor for that one cap value?

Upon closer inspection that appears to be a replacement so maybe it was a tubular to begin with.

It's C37 - part of the vertical integrator along with C38 just above and to the left. Both are 0.01 on the schematic. Unfortunately, C37 is missing from the Riders parts list. I suppose 600v is a good guess for the voltage.

I bet 0.05 instead of 0.01 wasn't doing the vertical any good!

It turns out that what they call 'molded paper' caps in the parts list, are the bumblebees.

I did more poking around and found a few more replaced caps. The soldering job was good, but most of the values are off. For example a 0.062 uF in the vertical sweep was replaced with a 0.05 and an associated resistor changed from 82K to 47K.

I plan to put everything back according to the schematic. Parts are on the way from Mouser...

Thanks. Luckily I have this model in both a 1949 Beitman TV Servicing guide and a GE 1947-1951 Wallace Telaide :)

Are the 810 and 814 "Hexagon" similar electrically? I have a beautiful 810 cabinet that came with nothing else, and a battered 814 whose front bezel is beyond redemption, but has a chassis, although it looks very battle-scarred as well. I was hoping to stuff my Philco 49-1040 chassis in it, but that looks unlikely to fit...

The 814 chassis is pretty similar. Tonight I'll take a look at my Sams for the 814 and see how similar it is. You may well be able to put the 814 into the 810 cabinet.

If for any reason that doesn't work, I've got a great 810 chassis that I have already fully restored and works perfectly, and a very crummy cabinet that I'm thinking of restoring. If for some reason your 814 won't go into your 810 cabinet, it would sure seem to make sense discussing whether my 810 chassis and your 810 cabinet shouldn't find their way to each other, either under your ownership (I'm perfectly happy to sell my working chassis) or mine (if you want to sell your cabinet). Interested?

Tom

Let's discuss it! Sending a PM in a few minutes...

Fedex managed to lose my package of parts from Mouser :dammit:
I order from them all the time and have never had a problem before.

The refinsihing supplies were also shipped using Fedex and are supposed to arrive Saturday. Hopefully, they'll make it here otherwise I'll move onto another project...

How bizarre. The guy who lives below me just rang my doorbell and handed me my package.

I had spoken to him a few minutes earlier and he didn't have it. He says he opened his door to let a friend in and it was sitting on our front steps.
Maybe it was delivered to the wrong address and someone just dropped it off without ringing either of our doorbells :dunno:

These UPZ series Nichicons will fit inside the old cans nicely :) Small size, high capacity, high voltage and rated for 105C.
One of them should be 10uF, but Mouser was out so I went with 18uF.
The two black ones are low voltage higher capacity so I used a different series of Nichicons still rated for 105C though.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4130/5061746324_22ea735bc5_b.jpg

Hmmm. I wonder if I'm missing the HV cage ?
I can see tapped holes around the HV area that might secure one. No obvious discoloration or marks though.
Perhaps it was removed long, long ago ?

Yes, your HV cage is missing. I parted out one 810 chassis several months ago, but didn't save that part...

Aw, nuts! I posted in the classifieds - hopefully someone has one. Otherwise, I'll fabricate something.

Here's a dry run of the new veneer.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4129/5063359513_e59631e608_z.jpg

I'll let this diluted glue dry overnight and iron it on tomorrow.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4130/5063359069_8c604b79d1_z.jpg

I'm making good progress on the cabinet this weekend.

First up, I stripped it using a citrus gel stripper by Zinsser.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4088/5067255968_82f88df7f3_z.jpg

Then, a liquid stripper and steel wool to get any remaining finish.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4111/5067256136_6d8c1dc18a_z.jpg

Than, a neutralizer.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4097/5067256316_673bedc457_z.jpg

I coated both the top substrate and the new veneer with a couple layers of diluted Titebond II wood glue. After it dried overnight, I ironed it on and trimmed the excess.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4113/5066646403_09806be4f7_z.jpg

I'm going to use grain filler this time. I've used multiple coats of shellac and sanding before, but this Mahogany veneer has a really open grain and it takes forever.

The Behlen water based stuff is easy to apply, no fumes and cleans up easily.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4108/5066646639_d86fd04532_z.jpg

I worked it in across the grain with an old credit card. I'll let it dry for a while and sand it lightly.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4148/5066646911_7ffef01908_z.jpg

Finally, my toner lacquer showed up. Van Dyke Walnut is a great match as I had hoped :thmbsp:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4132/5067257358_de52fd3547_z.jpg

The logo polished up better than I expected :)
I'm not quite sure what to do about the control panel though. It seems like the top half is darker. Maybe it has some toner lacquer sprayed on it :scratch2:

Any thoughts ?
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4133/5068547427_9b7cc321b6_b.jpg

The top half of the control panel originally had a matte brass finish, which indeed looks a little darker. The rest was originally plated bright. One of my panels is in pretty good condition so it is easy to see what the original state was.

I'll probably use some coarse polishing compount or scouring powder on the matte part of mine, and the mask that off while polishing the rest with some fine polishing compound.

...I'm making good progress on the cabinet this weekend.

I'm going to use grain filler this time. I've used multiple coats of shellac and sanding before, but this Mahogany veneer has a really open grain and it takes forever.

The Behlen water based stuff is easy to apply, no fumes and cleans up easily...


This veneer really does soak up the shellac. I wonder if all paper backed veneers are that way.

John

The top half of the control panel originally had a matte brass finish, which indeed looks a little darker. The rest was originally plated bright. One of my panels is in pretty good condition so it is easy to see what the original state was.

I'll probably use some coarse polishing compount or scouring powder on the matte part of mine, and the mask that off while polishing the rest with some fine polishing compound.

Thanks, that sounds like a good plan.

This veneer really does soak up the shellac. I wonder if all paper backed veneers are that way.

John

I think it's just the nature of the mahogany - mine is a very coarse, open grain.

The control panel is polishing up as nicely as the logo did. It doesn't look like I'll even need to refill any of the recessed red paint :)
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4108/5083272874_b4594760e8_b.jpg

I found some Rust-oleum satin 'green apple' that's a pretty good match for the old paint around the screen.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4145/5083272736_c025c6f61c_b.jpg

I found another dubious repair under the chassis. This is supposed to be 560 7W. It's measuring 412 and I have no idea about the wattage.
Wish I had ordered a new one along with the caps :( It'll just have to do until I place another order for parts.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4090/5082676453_d04ee82082_z.jpg

Great that the control panel is brass plated and will polish up so nicely, and is not some painted fake job made to look like brass.

Better than that even - it's solid brass :D So is the screen bezel.
I've used Mohawk 'lacquer for brass' on other objects after polishing with excellent results. No tarnishing or discoloration months later.

I'd like to do the same here, but I'm concerned about the lacquer reacting with the recessed red paint :scratch2:

Bob, it looks great. I often get a set working and then when it comes to the cabinet, I am ready to move on to another project (A-D-D?) But seriously, I like that green apple color from Rustoleum. I have seen a lot of new colors lately from both Rustoleum and Krylon. There is a color that Krylon makes that is very close to the original color of Tektronix cabinets.

Glad also that the bezel is brass. And I too share your concern that the lacquer may raise the red paint. But guess there is only one way to find out...


(BTW, this is the second time I have tried to respond to this thread and the darn dial-up keeps dropping the call. This time, when I suspected it was going to drop it again, I copied what I had typed onto the clipboard. Then, all of the pictures have to download again... Gotcha!)

Thanks. It's all about the weather. I need to get the cabinet sprayed with lacquer before it gets too cold. Luckily, we are having a warmer than normal October so far :)

Sorry to hear about you dial up woes. I would have thought that the pictures would get cached by your browser :scratch2:

Thanks to VK member 'mikeh', I have a HV cover :D

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4110/5098186272_3c1b0f2524_z.jpg

That set is really coming together nicely! Very nice of GE to go to the expense of using a solid brass panel. It looks like it would be much more fun to polish up the old brass than having to strip and repaint the plated/painted panels found on other sets. I'm glad to see that mikeh had that HV cage for you, too. I think if I was missing a proprietary part like that in my set, I'd be lost! I guess it would be time for some fabrication, hm?

Thanks! It's one of the simplest shields I've come across - just a single sheet bent into a "U" shape. Probably not too hard to fabricate - especially if you have access to a brake.
I'm very happy to have an original though.

I had been using the Riders 810 schematic from the ETF and was getting very confused in a couple spots. Then I took a look at a Wallace Telaide, and it matched mine perfectly. I suspect the Riders covers an earlier revision than my set.

Here's a nice glob of resistors. The schematic calls for 2 X 27K @ 2W, but I discovered 4 x 56K @ 1W.
Maybe they ran out of the correct value on the assembly line ? I suspect a single 13.5 K @ 4W would work fine too.

This chassis is pretty cramped - definitely not my favorite to work on :no:
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1070/5101701698_6ddf9517fd_z.jpg

I had 3 of those 810's in the past 10 yrs, someplace on here is a posting I placed about my first 810 and restoration about 7 yrs ago..
that lower brass part will clean up well and shine like new, I took mine into a metal shop here in madison and they charged 20 buck to polish it and spray a clear coat over so that the brass would not stain again..
and ALL of my 810's had no HV cover.
also all that weird missmatched resistors and caps were the same on 2 of mine..I had found out that GE had a bigtime problem with the HV transformers on this chassis.
The factory mod and fix was to replace the HV Transformer with the round donut type just like you have there, then a whole bunch of resistors and Capacitors had to be changed..I could never get the Horz size and linearity to operate correctly no matter what I did, so I lived with it..
I had rebuilt the filter caps just like you did, but they really overheat and the best way is a fresh stock Cans.

Bob,

Looking good. I am back home now (but in and out for a little while). I can really follow the thread with my FiOS high speed connection. Funny how you get spoiled.

Glad it is going along. I know that I had a similar experience with my Admiral 16" 26R12 set. The Wallace Telaide schematic was very accurate and the only Sams was one for a console with a radio and phono. The Admiral also had a lot of paralleled resistors. From the same era. Maybe a time when resistors were in short supply? I replaced that stuff with the correct value single resistor as well.

Looking forward to continued progress with your GE!

(BTW, this is the second time I have tried to respond to this thread and the darn dial-up keeps dropping the call. This time, when I suspected it was going to drop it again, I copied what I had typed onto the clipboard. Then, all of the pictures have to download again... Gotcha!)


You could try an initialization string to keep your modem in line. My favorite was AT&F&C1&D2S=50. Usually will keep the connection steady.

You could try an initialization string to keep your modem in line. My favorite was AT&F&C1&D2S=50. Usually will keep the connection steady.

Thanks for taking the time to respond, I do appreciate it. I am now home and back on my high speed connection. I really understand how "Spoiled" I was ;)

Couple of points:

Shellac: I have given up on using shellac as a sealer as it goes bad in the can, etc. Now use Deft Sanding Sealer.

Metal Work: using plain or perforated metal available in sheets from home centers, it's not too hard to bend up a box. I've made a number of parts by clamping metal to the work surface with a board across at the bend line, then bending up with another piece of wood sort of hinge style, finishing with a hammer and a block of wood. A brake would make it easier, but good results can be had by hand.

Strange - I've never had shellac go bad. I've been using the Zinsser brand. I prefer it to lacquer for grain and minor ding filling as it seems to shrink less over time. Then I use Deft Sanding Sealer over that.

Speaking of which, I made some good progress on the cabinet this weekend. The weather has been very cooperative - 70F today.

After the sanding sealer, I used a couple light coats of Mohawk Van Dyke Walnut on the old veneer and three coats on the new veneer which was a little lighter.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1156/5112099758_ea7c42d710_z.jpg

Then 3 coats of Deft Gloss. Once that cures, I'll sand it lightly and put on another 3 coats.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1384/5111529705_6c3c5ee0ae_z.jpg

I also polished up the rest of the lower portion of the control panel.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1117/5111499969_cae7bccc96_z.jpg

I'm not sure about the burnished top section though. I tried some Simichrome on it and it does look better, but it's a little splotchy :scratch2:
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1251/5112101410_26ee6da90a_z.jpg

Wow, that's turning out beautiful, Bob.

Hey, Bob.

Don't worry about the red paint in the brass bezel lifting or crazing when you clear coat it. It's so dried out it doesn't matter if it was lacquer or enamel. The clear coat shouldn't react to it.

...and even if it does (highly unlikely) you could squeegee in water based red paint AFTER a lacquer clear coat. I did this with my GE 805 brass escutcheon, and the fresh red paint really made it pop. Wait until the clear lacquer hard dries.

To tell you the truth, I would buff the hell out of the shiny portion, mask it off with a rubberized tape, then lightly glass bead the matte section for a uniform finish. Use fine bead and light pressure. Clear coat the entire brass, let hard dry for a week, and fill in lettering with red paint.

Tamiya Color Flat Red XF-7 is a perfect match for that shade of red, BTW. It's water based, and won't react with the lacquer. Available at good hobby shops...:smoke:

Hi Bob,

Well, I picked a GE 810 and a Philco 49-1040 tonight. So I will continue to follow this thread and the Philco 49-1040 thread with great interest! Nice work so far. I hope I can do as well.

Now that's a bizarre coincidence! Did you have your choice of sets or were those the only two ?

Wow, that's turning out beautiful, Bob.

Thanks! I just have the front frame left to do.

... lightly glass bead the matte section...

Thanks for the great suggestions Lee. I don't have access to a bead blaster right now, but someday...

I did manage to make more progress using brass polish. Not too bad I think.
After a bit more polishing, I'll take a chance with some Mohawk lacquer specially formulated for brass.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1181/5119032193_6e42c6672d_z.jpg

Beautiful restoration. I was admiring the front panel before photo you earlier posted and the after photo above -- its striking improvement in appearance. BTW, where did you get the speaker cloth?

Carl

PS: I enjoy the detailed explanations. Keep them coming.

Now that's a bizarre coincidence! Did you have your choice of sets or were those the only two ?...

Actually, the gentleman went to our local club meeting and purchased them and other sets. No one wanted TV sets. I didn't make it home from Louisiana in time for the meeting.

So I bought those two and a Motorola VT-71 with Channel 1. Now, I have 5 VT-71 sets and I have restored one of them.

Unfortunately, I won't have time to work on any of the sets for several weeks, maybe months. Lots going on with the family and friends.

I'm just about done recapping :)
This one has me a little puzzled though. The parts list calls for a 0.0022 (2200pF) paper cap. What I found is this sangamo cap. It does appear to be 2200, but I'm not sure about the composition.
Micamold or real mica and what do the two green dots mean ?
http://www.bobandersen.com/images/GE810/sangamo.jpg

2200pf... it's a micamold. Get it out of there.

And the 2 below it as well.

edit: all 4.

OK, thanks. I'll use a 0.0022 poly cap.
This is an old reference photo from before I started working on it. All the other caps have been replaced ;)

I wouldn't change that one at all, pretty sure it's Mica, it may have some stability issues if you replace it with Poly.

If I read this chart correctly the first Red dot indicates it a JAN Mica Capacitor,
Red, Black, are the first two digits and Brown is the Multiplier. Teh left side green dot is the voltage, 500v.

Here are a couple charts explaining the dot codes.

http://www.tpub.com/neets/book2/3g.htm

http://www.tpub.com/neets/book2/3g.htm

I've run into problems before replacing the square molded caps with regular Polys, even if they are paper there is probably something special about them, temperature, tolerance or whatever.

I'm guessing it really is molded paper. I had a few of these I've replaced. I think the middle green dot means +-5%. The left dot might mean 500V, or it might be a temperature characteristic.

What do they list fo the voltage rating in the parts list? Time passes... Well I just looked it up in the Riders and I think I bet wrong. The one I see listed there is a Mica like Eric said.

John

Hmm. Eric's linked chart results in a 200 pF cap doesn't it ?

It's C47 in Riders. It's listed as a 0.002 mfd 600v paper cap.
It appears to be a coupling cap between the Clipper and AFC circuits.

They also list C30 and C78 as the same type. Those were tubular paper & paper caps and I replaced them with poly. Heck C78 was even connected to the same tube right next to it. I can't find any evidence that C47 was ever replaced. So why would they use different type caps unless it was important ?

I'll just leave it alone for now.

Guess it doesn't quite fit the standard paper mold. I would interpret it as paper 2200pF, 600Volt and 5% using the colors, but guessing on the order of the dots.

It's strage that none of us have found a catalog or the like that explain these oddballs.

John

Yeah, there seem to be a number of variations on what that first dot represents. Type (paper or mica), 1st digit, or voltage rating.

Here's another curious thing I found in this set. A string of five 1W resistors in the video amp. 5.1K + 5.1K + 5.1K + 5.6K + 5.6K = 26.5 K
http://www.bobandersen.com/images/GE810/five%20resistor%20chain.jpg

The schematic actually calls for three 11K + 10K + 5.1K = 26.1K. There aren't any taps and it's not high voltage so I assume it's to create the oddball value of 26.1 K ?
http://www.bobandersen.com/images/GE810/video%20amp.jpg

The vertical oscillator and amp circuitry was so hacked up I stripped it down and rebuilt it with the correct values. I couldn't find a 0.062 uF in tubular form so went with the boxy PC mount package.

I mostly used new carbon composition resistors and Cornell Dubilier poly caps. I didn't bother restuffing them since most had been replaced anyway.

On the far left there's a 2.2 M resistor that's open and was repaired with a 5.6M dogbone :rolleyes: Most of the other old replaced caps and resistors were the wrong value too.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4112/5053370702_e12584888e_z.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4026/5140659972_d1331ab331_z.jpg

Bob,

I am sure that you figured out the .05µFD at 400 volt molded capacitor is a paper cap disguised in that brown plastic.

As for the resistors that are twisted together, I found the same thing in my Admiral 26R12. It was explained that it was very common to use this kind of resistor combination in the early 50s. It was cited that there may have been a shortage (no pun intended ;) ) of resistors when the TV was constructed. May be true... might be myth. But I removed all of that bogus looking crap too...

Yep, that .05 is history :)

I've seen resistors combined in early 50s sets too, but not in a '48 set and not 5 in series... It's tempting to just stick a 27K in there, but I'll leave it for now and see how it goes.

Wow, this sure is gonna be a beautiful set! I like the style of that cabinet. Can't say that I've seen many like that, with the table legs and all. But man, I know if it were me, I'd be getting clumsy with the soldering iron working on that chassis! It's pretty crowded under there, to say the least. How soon do you suppose you'll be able to power it up?

Thanks. I think you might be confusing this tabletop set with the long legged Philco 49-1040 I'm also restoring. I know my head is spinning working on two sets at once...

I've removed the three electrolytics cans for restuffing. First though, I'm just going to tack the new ones in place and try firing it up. Probably tomorrow :)

Whoops! You're right, I had the Philco's cabinet stuck in my head when I was commenting on this one! This is the GE with the pretty solid-brass control panel on the front. I remember the video you had of it before you recapped it, with the jazz music playing on it. Yep... that's what I get for posting when I'm half-asleep! :lmao:

Alrighty, well I'll be looking forward to seeing how it runs with the new caps! Looking back, I don't recall you posting much about the electronics in the Philco. How far along are you on that one?

I have ordered most of the parts and I've studied the dirty, rusty chassis. I've never worked on a 40's Philco before so I fear it's going to take a while. I think I'll take a break and do a quick radio before I dig into it.

Anyway, here's an update on this set.
The cabinet is just about done. I've refinished the front wood piece and repainted the light green screen surround. The "Green Apple" paint is a pretty good match.

First, I scraped the old paint off then sanded and sealed with shellac.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4092/5046195649_8a7c74a883_z.jpg http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1222/5144539356_f83845394a_z.jpg

Then, I masked off the cabinet and put a box inside to block the paint getting all over. I think it turned out real nice :)
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4044/5144539558_4211d0f37f_z.jpg http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1177/5144539816_6f463ea406_z.jpg

Next I'm going to very, very carefully try to clean the old grille cloth.

Did we talk on the phone as to how to clean the grillecloth, Bob?

Did we talk on the phone as to how to clean the grillecloth, Bob?

Yes, I believe so. I sprayed it with some carpet cleaner, let it sit a while then soaked it in warm water and mild laundry detergent with no dye or perfume. I then laid it out on a bath towel to slowly air dry.

Did all the soot leach out of the cloth? Is it still in one piece?

Yes, it turned out well. Any more aggressive and I think it would have fallen apart.
Any thoughts on how to glue it back on ? It's going to be tricky because of the large open area I think. I can't really stretch it.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4041/5147683418_bcc9ab679c_z.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4009/5147081027_fc1e5b25fc_z.jpg

Verrry tricky. I would say use a light duty spray mount that will allow you to GENTLY reposition the grillcloth, if you have to.

I would start with the top edge. Spray, or dab, a half inch wide strip of spray mount along the top of the faceboard. Then, LIGHTLY stretch the fabric along the top, just enough so it fills the frame, and lines up properly.

Then do the LEFT side, the same way, lightly stretching the fabric. Repeat with the remaining sides, being REAL careful with small strips of fabric around the CRT edges.

You could find some thin substrate and spray the substrate with 3M 77 spray glue.
Then put the cloth on the substrate.
Then make cutouts for the opening.
Downside is the cloth may have shrunk and then it won't fit.
Hmmm. Might be tricky to glue that cloth directly to the TV.
I gave up on my Zenith and went to a fabric store for a close enough match.
Let us know how you tackle this.

Carl

OR, you could make a jig out of 1" thick material that follows the frame of the front piece. Maybe styrofoam. Cut it to follow the contours of the front panel, place it on the bench, place the fabric on it, with the to be glued side facing out. Position and pre stretch the fabric on the jig so it lines up perfectly with the front of the faceplate on the cabinet. Do a few dry runs before you use the spray mount. Spray the ENTIRE front mounting surface. Use a light coat of spraymount so it doesn't bleed through the grillcloth.

Then, press the grillcloth into place with the styrofoam jig.

I like the substrate idea as well.

Veerry touchy work here...:smoke:

Indeed very touchy. Spray glue dries too fast in my experience and latches onto the cloth so you can't reposition. Perhaps there is a slow drying stuff. I'm thinking maybe some white Elmer's (not yellow wood glue which dries too fast and is too strong) thinned a bit and painted onto the wooden panel, then the cloth laid on there and stretched and pulled about until in place, and the edges weighted down. Whatever method, the glue has to be slow drying.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Here's a dry run and the cloth has shrunk a little bit so I will need to do some stretching.
I think I'll try gluing the top edge while stretching it across. Once that's dry, I'll work my way down.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1440/5148984909_7910b6b85d_z.jpg

Now back to the chassis. I'm on track to try firing it up tonight.
I gutting the electrolytics and restuffed with the nice skinny Nichicons. Four caps fit into each can with plenty of room to spare :)
I added a glob of hot glue on top to hold them in place.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1197/5149590174_1761181ca8_z.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4149/5149590752_2c9a2ab837_z.jpg

I put little sticky tabs on all the wires with a symbol so I know how to reconnect them.
Even so, I'll double check everything.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1344/5149591018_f26df1acc6_z.jpg

I'd forgotten the AC plug is shot. I'll bypass it for now, but would like to replace it. Anyone know where I can get one ?
http://www.bobandersen.com/images/GE810/AC%20plug.jpg

AES used to sell those plug sockets, I have a few, PM me your address and I'll send you one.

Thanks! PM sent.

I finally finished the recapping. I've disabled the HV by removing the 6BG6 and 5V4 tubes. I'll also be using a 5AXP4 test CRT.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1230/5150321658_78dec0ee32_z.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4052/5150331236_0154744ce6_z.jpg

I slowly cranked up my variac while monitoring B+. The tubes started glowing and B+ rose nicely and I started hearing faint static out of the speaker. I tuned it into channel 6 and heard some distorted sound. I hooked up some rabbit ears and got some clear booming Phil Collins :music:

Time to hook up the HV!

I heard a horrible high pitched squeal as the set warmed up. Some fiddling with the horizontal sync took care of that. Both horizontal and vertical are very touchy, also the contrast control has a huge effect on both the audio and video. I'll have to check the schematic, but I suspect it's altering the gain.
Finally able to lock in on a stable picture :banana:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4148/5149713757_f24bbcfce4_z.jpg http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1244/5150322726_5f8e3b7faf_z.jpg

I suspect the focus is bad because this test CRT is self focusing and the focus coil is messing it up. On to the full sized 10FP4...

The focus is definitely better with the 10FP4 :)
I still have some work to do with centering the picture, vert. and hor. linearity etc. I'll fire up my recently restored Leader LGC-400 for that.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4052/5150497650_4c411b0abe_z.jpg http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1345/5149888033_cb592bd1f4_z.jpg

Here's some Perry Mason I picked up on MeTV using an OTA converter box.
I've been using the sharpnest of the station logo in the lower right as a rough quality indication. This set is one of the best in my collection :)
The audio was lousy, but that's typical of all my vintage split carrier sets when using the AccessHD DTA1010 box.
It's much better with a Blonder Tongue modulator.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4014/5149888605_f2320fa7cf_z.jpg http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1153/5150497280_1a76e3aa8e_z.jpg

Wow, that is a great picture! Seems like it's really showing some promise, especially considering this is your first power-up after recap. As I recall, this set still had a bit of life in it even before you got started. GE must have designed a pretty dang solid set when they built these.

Yes, it did kinda work before I started. The main problem was lack of sync. Not surprisingly the sync circuits were a mess from previous repair attempts. It's working much better now :)

Nice sharp picture!

+1 on all the kudos for Banderson's restoration skills. Outstanding work. On both this GE and the Philco on the other thread.

I bought the GE 810 shown (far left) at last spring's ETF convention:
http://www.earlytelevision.org/images/4555988343_48561ca349_333x222.jpg

It didn't take much to electronically get it going. It was already mostly restored by the previous owner and then seemingly abandoned.

http://www.seniordoors.com/arf/GE-810/GE-810-From-ETF-Auction-2010-Picture.JPG

He did all the paper caps but left the original electrolytics. They were bad when I got it, but maybe they were fine when he restored it. It needed a CRT cleaning (Beltron stage 2) and some loose wires reconnected and the alignment touched up. Other than that, it rocks.

So +1 on the comments about it being a great performer.

I didn't do any cosmetics, the cabinet was basically flawless as-is. FWIW I think the original grille cloth must have been unsalvageable. Anyway, thought you might like to see a slight grille cloth mod that I think looks pretty good.

http://www.seniordoors.com/arf/GE-810/GE-810-From-ETF-Auction-2010-GrilleCloth.JPG

He painted the CRT opening neutral gray instead of green. I don't hate that mod either.

I also have a fairly pristine, untouched, original GE-810 that's museum grade. I've never plugged it in and don't intend to. The only thing I don't like about it is the grille cloth. Seems like they went kinda cheap for such a nice set. Either that or the cloth just ages badly over 60 years. I bet when they were new, the yarn fuzzies filled in the loose weave and you couldn't see through it so much.

If I were doing Banderson's set I think I would try to find a plain cream-colored replacement, to keep it looking stock, but I would try to find a tighter weave and fuller fabric. Would really improve its look. Just my 2 cents.

http://www.seniordoors.com/arf/GE-810/GE-810-From-ETF-Auction-2008.JPG

The pristine one. Notice how you can see the speaker and vent holes. I just don't believe it would have been sold that way, new.

One last thought, maybe stretch and glue a beige pillowcase-like linen over the wood first, then stretch and glue the original grillecloth over that. Would eliminate the speaker and vents from view.

A/C Plug Recepticles:

http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/category/910/A.C.-Plugs-Sockets/1.html

Cheap, too...:smoke:

I would have Bob back up the origional GE grillecloth with a similar color grillecloth, to dense it up a bit.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I'll take a trip over to JoAnn Fabrics and Crafts and see what they have.

Both of your 810s are in fantastic condition!
I like how well it fits on the RCA stand. Now I know where to put mine when it's done :)

It took almost a year, but I finally scored some knobs on ebay! They should be here next week.

I found some great adjustment procedures in Beitmans Most-Often-Needed 1949. Centering, horizontal drive, linearity etc.

I found some great grille cloth selections at Wal-Mart awhile back, so you might try there too. Example:
http://www.radioatticarchives.com/radio.htm?radio=8984

And I made no effort whatsoever to be original here, but everyone who sees my collection flocks to it and says "wow" anyway.
http://www.radioatticarchives.com/radio.htm?radio=8985
So sometimes being creative is a way to go. The original cloth was cat whiz and shreds, no hope of rescue.

I didn't show the ETF 810 "finished" because I'm lacking some knobs. They're definitely hard to find.

Trivial item: I notice your front panel has four oval air vents. My sets have eleven round vents. Two other sets I've looked at have 11 round holes too. Just a tidbit, don't know if yours is earlier or later or if it's more or less rare. Just that it's different.

After looking at my photo, I think I might be stressing the 3/16ths plywood shelf on the RCA stand a bit. Would recommend strategically placing a couple of bricks or wood blocks underneath. I will do same asap.

I found some great grille cloth selections at Wal-Mart awhile back, so you might try there too. Example:
http://www.radioatticarchives.com/radio.htm?radio=8984


Like you, I will step away from originality for appearance sake. I've even found the back side of upholstery cloth a close match to speaker cloth.

Carl

The knobs showed up today and I'm a little confused.

The top two rows are the knobs that came with this set and a couple inner knobs I picked up later. Some are grayish, some brown and some almost purple.

The bottom two rows of brown knobs are the set I just received. Unfortunately it's missing an inner knob and one of the outer is chipped up.

Several sets I've seen online and kbmuri's appear to have gray outer knobs and brown inner knobs. It also appears that the two inner knobs on the left have a recessed line pointer while the other two do not.

This set for example: http://www.myvintagetv.com/ge_810.htm

Can anyone clarify what color and type of knobs to use ?
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4029/5159161439_c758582de0_b.jpg

http://www.seniordoors.com/arf/GE-810/GE810-spare-knobs.jpg

The outer knobs on my pristine set are (I believe) what you are calling "almost purple". The inner knobs are Hershey's-milk-chocolate brown. The left two have recessed white indicator lines, the others do not.

The pictured-above spare knobs are all brown. Two distinct shades, Hershey's milk and Herhey's Extra Dark. The two outers in the middle are "milk", the remainders "dark". The middle inner knob is milk, the two others are dark. No "almost purples".

I think the "almost purple" is an aged Extra Dark. It looks like it would polish off. I won't try it on my good set, you might see if it polishes off of one of yours. Maguire's Cleaner Wax works best.

All the pictured knobs above came off GE 810's. My 2nd set and a couple of junkers. I doubt one color is more correct than another. If your concern is that your knobs came off of some other GE product, I would guess not. More likely various production runs, like your oval vent holes. Probably it really matters that they all match each other, else the TV will look kluged together. If I can help you attain a matched set with any of the above knobs, let me know. As you know, some of them have different inner diameters than others. I have most of a set for my 2nd set, but not quite.

I'm almost positive Steve McVoy has an 810 in the museum, as nice or nicer than mine, but I don't see it on his website. I pretty clearly remember it in person. An oversight perhaps. If you're out there Steve, perhaps you can check yours for the white indicator lines and what colors you have.

As for the color of the knobs, it may well be that, as long as the color on any one set was consistent, they may not have worried much about it. A production manager may find a few thousand of last year's knobs in storage, and have the workers use them up on the next several hundred sets they build.

The Sams sheet (53-12) cover shot clearly shows only the left two inner knobs have white indicator lines. The other two inner knobs do not.

Thanks for all the info. I guess I need a milk-chocolate inner knob without an indicator line to match the other seven I have. I'll just use a dark brown one for now.

The grey / purple knobs are indeed dark brown on the backside. I suspect it's some sort of reaction with air or sunlight over time. I buffed them with some Novus #2 and it doesn't come off.

I took the plunge and lacquered the brass. I did a very light pass over the emblem first to minimize the reaction with the old red paint. Even so it did seem to melt a bit under subsequent coats, but it hardened along with the lacquer so no harm done.

I used Mohawk "Lacquer for Brass". I've tried cheapo Watco lacquer on brass before and it instantly discolored. This stuff is much better.

Check out this list of ingredients. That's some potent stuff!

n-butyl acetate, ethyl acetate, propane, pm acetate, isopropanol, isobutane, isobutanol, acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, cellulose nitrate, cellulose ester, alkyd resin solids, polyketone resin, ethylbezene


http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4035/5159767284_17d73c2d5d_z.jpg http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1165/5160632604_377d0e6321_z.jpg

Amazing. I will have to polish and lacquer my 2nd set.

Hope you weren't smoking when you sprayed that stuff. I probably would have seen the fireball from Indiana.

PM me a mailing address and I'll drop the one chocolate brown inner I have into a padded envelope for you. No indicator line on it. No significant defects. If you'd send me back one (or both?) of your indicator-lined dark/purple inner knobs, it would be most appreciated.

Hope you weren't smoking when you sprayed that stuff.
I'd open all the windows and run an exhaust fan. MEK is bad medicine.

Phil

Amazing. I will have to polish and lacquer my 2nd set.

Hope you weren't smoking when you sprayed that stuff. I probably would have seen the fireball from Indiana.

PM me a mailing address and I'll drop the one chocolate brown inner I have into a padded envelope for you. No indicator line on it. No significant defects. If you'd send me back one (or both?) of your indicator-lined dark/purple inner knobs, it would be most appreciated.

Thanks! PM sent.

I'd open all the windows and run an exhaust fan. MEK is bad medicine.

Phil

Luckily, we're having a nice warn spell this week so I was able to spray on the back porch. After this week, I probably won't be able to until the spring.

Here is some info on MEK health concerns (http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/chemicals/chem_profiles/mek/health_mek.html) I believe it's also a common ingredient in paint strippers. That's one reason why I like the Citrus based strippers.

http://www.seniordoors.com/arf/GE-810/Silvertone-Lens.jpg

FWIW, I lightly polished this 1937 Silvertone console radio bezel and then sealed it with Dupli-Color Truck and Van Clearcoat Lacquer. It didn't discolor and it's been several years now with no changes. It's more copper than brass, was bright green when I found it. I didn't polish it clean, tried to leave some of the character. Came out well.

Don't know if Duplicolor paint has MEK in it, will have to check...

Bob, PM received, the knob will go out Tuesday.

Enjoy the hazardous chemicals while you can; so many lacquers today are being quietly removed and dumbed down into "safe" stuff like enamels, that don't work as well or dry as fast.

That TV is going to be beautiful. That cabinet is great!

Ditto on the chemicals. So much stuff is no longer available.

I've used alot of chemicals in my time. Always had plenty of ventilation when using them.

I'm still here.

Thanks. A filter mask / respirator is a good idea too. Especially when spraying larger cabinets.

Eric's AC plug arrived today. After much cursing, I got the old one out and the new one wired in!
I also gave the donated HV cover a couple coats of satin black enamel.
http://www.bobandersen.com/images/GE810/new%20ac%20plug.jpg http://www.bobandersen.com/images/GE810/painted%20hv%20cover.jpg

Although the picture looks fine, the sync has been very touchy. So I checked the sync tubes again and found the 6AL5 was weak. I popped a new one in and the sync is rock solid now :thmbsp:

Won't be long before I can call this one done :)

Don't you love it when it's just a tube swap?

My second Admiral 24A12 would not synch in the Hor. axis. I had checked all components up and down the line.

It's over at my good buddy Dick Slade's house. He's a Renssalaer Poly Tech grad from the 50's. He found the problems. The Hor AFC Slug was broken. Turning it had little effect. A dab of JB Weld fixed that. Also, A 82K 1/2 watt resistor measured 95k, and that was enough to keep the Hor. Hold from locking in. I had checked it and figured it was close enough, given vintage TV's "wide variances" in components.

Guys like Dick Slade are worth their weight in gold. "The Professor" on Gilligan's Island has nothing on this guy..:smoke:

That's some fine troubleshooting. I'd never think to look for a broken slug.

I received kbmuri's inner brown knob and it's a great color match so I've got a complete set finally :)

I hooked up a test pattern generator and have been tweaking the picture.
This is what I have so far. The squares are larger in the middle than around the edges. I can make the top or bottom rows larger with the vertical linearity, but I need to make them both bigger (or the middle smaller). I've been fiddling with both the size and linearity and this is the best I can get.

Any thoughts ?
http://www.bobandersen.com/images/GE810/test%20pattern.jpg

Well, the height and linearity are usually somewhat interactive, so I go back and forth between them until I've reached the best compromise. Yours doesn't look that far off. When I get tired of fussing with this kind of adjustment, sometimes I take a break and watch a movie for a while. You may discover that the discrepancy isn't noticeable unless you're looking hard.

Phil Nelson

Some random thoughts.

I asume the squares should all be the same size. If so, the fact that both the horizontal and the vertical behave the same way might indicate a soft power supply. But, since you changed all the electrolytics that doesn't seem likely.

It has the correct yoke? The HV isn't too high requiring you to overdrive the deflection?

John

Good points. Yes, they should be the same size. The yoke sure looks like the original. I'll pull out my HV probe and check the HV and all the other voltages for that matter.

I tried watching it for a while and the distortion is pretty noticeable on the taller actors.
http://www.bobandersen.com/images/GE810/bad%20vertical%20linearity%2001.jpg http://www.bobandersen.com/images/GE810/bad%20vertical%20linearity%2002.jpg

I just remembered something. When I picked up this set I, found this cardboard piece loose on the CRT neck. The focus coil is a little loose, but this is too big to fit inside it :scratch2:
http://www.bobandersen.com/images/GE810/bad%20vertical%20linearity%2003.jpg

Also, check to see if moving the yoke back some might help - my 1956 RCA had a linearity problem, and all I had to do was slide the yoke back a bit. I'm sure there's a trigonometric reason for why it went non-linear with the yoke shoved all the way forward, but I was definitely asleep when that was taught...

BTW, Your set's progress is far and away much better than I could ever hope to achieve. Do ya 'suppose the Smithsonian is envious??

Cheers,

I hooked up a test pattern generator and have been tweaking the picture.
This is what I have so far. The squares are larger in the middle than around the edges.
Any thoughts ?
http://www.bobandersen.com/images/GE810/test%20pattern.jpg

As for the horizontal, many TV sets had a capacitor in series with the horizontal portion of the deflection yoke. Called an "S correction" cap. slows the sweep in the middle, and speeds it up on the sides. Don't know if your set used this. Maybe it went bad?

Yes it did, and I haven't checked it yet. Thanks for the tip.

That could explain the horizontal bulge, but your horizontal distortion and vertical distortion appear very equal. I'll agree with jeyurkon that it's a PS issue.

http://www.seniordoors.com/arf/GE-810/GE-810-Crosshatches-1.JPG

Here's mine. It has a vertical issue so I have it cranked up pretty far, and the boxes are a lot taller than they are wide, but the respective spacing is pretty equal.

http://www.seniordoors.com/arf/GE-810/GE-810-Crosshatches-2.JPG

http://www.seniordoors.com/arf/GE-810/GE-810-Crosshatches-3.JPG

You may notice the same tubular piece of cardboard in front of my set, I couldn't get it to fit either. But even without it, my horizontal sweep is pretty linear. I don't think the lack of it is affecting your sweep.

If I bring the vertical size down to where the boxes are square, the centering is really poor, the top 1/3 of the screen is dark and the bottom is still just off the screen. I think maybe the cardboard tube out may have something to do with that. Or a physical mounting problem with the yoke. But that's a problem for another day. Haven't really worked much on this one, other projects ahead of it.

Glad the knob was a good fit, and glad I could help.

ps. the previous owner bent up the HV cover, not me. I will probably take it off and straighten it on the workbench with proper tools, paint it, and put it back on, someday.

Have you checked the performance of your pattern generator on a set with known good horizontal and vertical linearity? Sometimes test equipment is the problem, not the cure!

Thanks for all the tips. Yes, the pattern generator is working properly ;)

I noticed the old 5U4 glowed blue briefly during startup and replaced it with a NOS Westinghouse.
I also replaced the 6V6 vertical output tube which had a noticeable effect! I had more height and the linearity control was more effective.
Still need to check the horizontal yoke cap.
Here's what I've got now. I think it's pretty watchable :)

Odd that we both have trouble with that Jughead hat shaped tube :scratch2:

Notice that dark speck near the top center? That's actually a bubble of air in the glass! I have some in another early GE 10FP4 too.

Almost forgot - a new 560 10W focus coil resistor arrived yesterday. I'll pop that in and see what effect it has.
http://www.bobandersen.com/images/GE810/better%20linearity%2001.jpg http://www.bobandersen.com/images/GE810/better%20linearity%2002.jpg http://www.bobandersen.com/images/GE810/better%20linearity%2003.jpg

Lookin' GOOD!

Hard to improve on that, Bob. Looking great!

Looks like your changes might have picked up a drive line at the left edge of your set. I don't see a Horiz Drive adjust on this set. Wonder if it can be done...

Good point John F. Here's the output of my generator on the most modern set (a late '80's Sony Mega Watchman) I could find

http://www.seniordoors.com/arf/GE-810/Linearity-check.JPG

Looks like a slight bend on the left side. Might be in the Watchman, too. I guess the only way to be sure is to use a lab-grade o'scope and check for straight sawteeth. :D

For benchtop work, it's more than adequate as-is.

There are trimmer caps for horizontal drive and frequency next to the power connector. I tweaked them a bit and got rid of that line of the left :)

Awesome!

The Sams sheet appears to have left out mention of these two trimmer caps in the Parts List (should have been under "Controls", or at least under "Capacitors"). Also, on the set, they're only labeled on the cardboard back (not on the chassis). My (2nd) set is missing the back.

Thanks for pointing them out.

I decided the original grill cloth is just too ratty and ordered up a square yard of this stuff. The weave is somewhat different, but the color is a good match.

http://www.bobandersen.com/images/GE810/grille%20cloth.JPG

Bob, one small nitpick.

The cardboard back has a round opening for the socket of the picture tube to protrude a little bit. There's no cap on it, by the way. The round hole has a quadrant from 3-o'clock to 6-o'clock that's larger diameter. The purpose of this extra width is to allow the socket wires some room to breathe & less likely to be pinched against the neck. Perhaps also to let a repairman remove the socket and test the CRT without removing the back (?). Anyway, the CRT should be oriented so that the socket wires are at 3-6'oclock so that they'll be visible and accessible with the back installed. You have yours at 6-9'o'clock. You should rotate the CRT about 90 degrees left (viewing from rear). You probably have the anode cap straight up (?). Should be straight left instead, nearest the HV cage.

Unless your tube is a rebuild. I wonder if they made an effort to fuse the new gun onto the old bell with a precise angular orientation...question for the masters out there, I certainly don't know.

Anyway I know I'm picking nits. Excellent restoration to this point.

Like this ?
http://www.bobandersen.com/images/GE810/crt%20orientation%2001.jpg

Unfortunately, if I do that the CRT anode is way down near the chassis :saywhat: I don't think my CRT is a rebuild, but I haven't looked that closely.
I suppose it would work, but I don't like having the HV that near the grounded chassis.
http://www.bobandersen.com/images/GE810/crt%20orientation%2002.jpg http://www.bobandersen.com/images/GE810/crt%20orientation%2003.jpg

If that's the orientation it has to be, you could glue some plastic onto the chassis at that point for extra insulation.

That grille cloth is similar to that on some radios I will need to work on. Mind telling what was the source? Thanks.

Quote: "Unless your tube is a rebuild. I wonder if they made an effort to fuse the new gun onto the old bell with a precise angular orientation...question for the masters out there, I certainly don't know."

I have an NOS 10SP4 (electrostatic focus/aluminized and tinted face) tube that is practically useless as it was meant for some kind of monitor application. However, before Scotty shut down I sent it to him to replace the gun with an electromagnetic type to I can use it in place of a 10BP4 or as a 10FP4 which it (electronically speaking) now resembles. Scotty did orientate the gun as it was placed originally as in the 10SP4, as he made the point to install the guns as they were installed as a rule.

If that's the orientation it has to be, you could glue some plastic onto the chassis at that point for extra insulation.

That grille cloth is similar to that on some radios I will need to work on. Mind telling what was the source? Thanks.

Yes, I suppose I could. First though I think I'll check my GE 806. I think it has a 10FP4 and it might have a base in the proper orientation.

I got the cloth from Discount Guitar Output: http://stores.ebay.com/Discount-Guitar-Outlet

Inventorying my loose round B/W tubes, it would seem that (looking from back) the convention was to position the anode at 9-o'clock, and the center pin of the 5-pin group (pin 12) at 6-o'clock. The overriding majority of my stuff is like this, and I assume it's the norm. Your tube is correct and I guess the wires won't go where I thought they should.

I have 3 tubes that do not follow the convention (with anode at 9:00, they are at 7:30, 3:00. and in one of my GE810's, at 4:30). The two tubes at 7:30 and 3:00 are rebuilds (seam on neck). So at least some of the tube rebuilders out there were not as diligent as was Scotty. No plans to remove CRT from the 4:30 tube to check, but I'll assume it's a rebuild too.

I didn't pull my pristine 810 very far away from the wall and checked behind with a flashlight (as you can tell from the post it was 2am). I must have had my left and right reversed, I checked for the wires and hole clearance, and then wrote my report. But as it turns out on closer inspection someone carved the slot larger to clear the wires, in the 6-9 quadrant, sometime in its ancient history. It looks like the tube in it is normal too.

So I retract my suggestion, lesson learned. :)

Sams (53-12) is somewhat inconclusive, but studying page 3 and page 11 it seems like the intent was to orient the wires over the wider opening. I seem to see a wire at 3:00 on page 11 and the cable as a whole clearly exiting bottom right, on page 3. Maybe they did put the anode that low (?). It's a mystery.

Here's what Beitman's Most-Often-Needed had to say about it.
They show the anode inline with the base key. Seems there must have been some CRTs made with this orientation. None I've checked so far do.
I have a NOS GE 10FP4 that I'll dig out and check.
http://www.bobandersen.com/images/GE810/crt%20orientation%2004.jpg

My GE 810 has a GE 10FP4A in it, and with the anode connection in the right place (straight sideways), the socket key points to approximately 6:30 or 7:00 when viewed from the rear. This seems very similar to what banderson is seeing on his.

Tom

Here's what Beitman's Most-Often-Needed had to say about it.

Well, that would put the wires in the "right" place. I would imagine if GE made the TV and GE made the tube, GE could orient a CRT run to optimize their needs.

I would also imagine that the "normal" orientation probably became the standard, de facto, sometime later than 1949, even for GE. At least for replacement tubes.

The working 810 I've been showing you has an RCA Victor 10BP4 and an ion trap magnet (its original 10FP4 is in the ETF museum's color wheel display). The RCA's keyway is "normal" at 6:30 when the anode is at 9:00. The mint 810, I'll look at more closely when I get home. I have 3 other "parts" 810s, one doesn't have a crt, one has an RCA Victor 10FP4, and the last one has a GE 10FP4. The RCA 10FP4 seemed to be rotated almost correctly but I didn't look for the anode cap in it. These parts sets are buried behind stuff down in the mancave and hard to dig out. I just shined a flashlight at them from a distance the other latenight to get this info.

Glad Beitman's clarifies. Would be fun to find one with the key oriented that way. I guess if I wanted to get really anal, I could make one by insulating the tube wires, lengthening them, and rotating just the cap...

Just to add another data point I took a look at the 10FP4 I recently picked up. The anode connector is in-line with pin 2.

John

Thanks for checking guys.

I checked my NOS GE 10FP4 and two other 10BP4s all have the keyway at about 6:30 when the anode is at 9:00 as well. About 40 degrees apart in other words.

I think I'll just stick with the CRT that's in it now. For all I know the CRT in mine is the original one it shipped with. If you check back to the first page of this thread, you can see the anode is out the the left and the back cover fits on OK around the CRT socket.

That's a good way to put it. The tubes I've been calling "normal" have the anode connector in-line with pin 3.

My RCA 10FP4 is inline with pin 3, as are my loose 10BP4s and 12LP4's and etc.

Looks like the Beitman's diagram wants one that's inline with pin 6.

I have a Farnsworth 160 that's inline with pin 6, but it's a rebuild. So no conclusions there.

My GE 10FP4 is in line with pin 2. Definitely 30 degrees off "normal", but still not at pin 6. Don't know if it's a rebuild. It's in this set:
http://www.seniordoors.com/arf/GE-810/GE-810-From-Craigslist-2007.JPG
Which I'll work on someday if I find (another) set of knobs.

This cabinet:
http://www.seniordoors.com/arf/GE-810/GE-810-From-ETF-Auction-2009.JPG
has an equally dirty chassis somewhere. Not in the mancave, out in the garage. I kept the CRT inside, a GE 10FP4, but it glows pink from air in the tube. Will have it rebuilt someday, if ETF rebuilding happens. Anyway it's a pin 3, like normal, and not rebuilt. So GE made at least one "normal" variety 10FP4.

So not much learned. Am convinced that a truly concours restoration would need a pin-6 orientation. But like I said awhile back, it's a huge nit.

Oh, I see Bob just posted before me, and he agrees. Use the tube as-is and let the wires fall where they may...

Oh, just noticed the fer-garbage cabinet has 4 oval vent holes. Now I kinda want to save it. It was actually in the bonfire stack this summer for awhile, but I tossed it in the garage because I wanted to save the brass -n- glass parts first, after seeing Bob's amazing polishing results.

I haven't tried the iron-on-veneering method yet but am really intrigued. This would be a good canvas for that experiment. If I "F it up" I can still bonfire it. Something for another thread, some other time...

Back to the main topic. That grillecloth looks great, can't wait to see how it looks on your restored set! If you ordered a square yard, you'll have a little left over. Hang onto it, I have a suggestion for your next project.

Yeah, don't burn it up :no: There's really no way you can mess up iron on veneer. Just heat it up again and the glue softens. Either reposition or peel it off and start over.

Assuming I don't screw it up, I'll have over half the cloth left. Reece has already staked a claim on it.
Not sure what you have it mind. I've left a trail of partially finished projects behind me that I really need to finish off :yes:

http://www.seniordoors.com/arf/GE-810/GE-810-Companion-Radio.JPG

The companion piece. Same year, same grillecloth, same brass logo, same veneer, similar brass trim too. You could use up your scrap cloth, wood, leftover stains to make a perfect match. The two would look nice together in your display. Or mine. This one, the dufus before me put a power sander to the wood and sanded right thru the veneer. So it's fairly "disposable". Fodder for the iron-on experiment too.

Google GE 212. They're on eBay every now and then. Cheep usually. Extremely well-built chassis, big speaker, and sounds great.

Neat! At first glance I though that was a UHF converter, but a radio is cool too.

A quick search turned up just one on ebay with a reasonable BIN and free shipping. I hope it makes it to me in one piece.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1298/5180700609_9d247bc491_o.jpg

I don't need all that cloth! Take your time and use what you need. I have about three radios that could use it but I've got some similar for one of them so don't need much and not until next summer, probably.

Well the "cloth" arrived today and it's a disappointment. It's actually some sort of woven plastic fiber - not cloth at all! It also doesn't match the sample picture.
Reminds me of the filter in my air conditioner. I sent the seller a note - maybe they sent me the wrong stuff ?
http://www.bobandersen.com/images/GE810/plastic%20grille%20cloth.jpg

That was for guitar amps, right? Industrial strength. Try holding it tight against a black backround. Usually speaker boards are black to lessen the contrast between the board and the cone.

Another source might be the cloth sold for a lot of German radios.

Some speaker coverings are totally plastic. The "cloth" on my KLH 21 FM radio looks like woven monofilament. You could make a beach chair seat out of it. I cleaned it by scrubbing with a brush and Goof Off!

I wouldn't want that on a vintage TV, though. If you don't want to use this stuff, perhaps the seller would exchange it.

Phil

Yeah, this stuff is like monofilament. I definitely won't be using it on this set.
What really bugs me is that the sellers sample picture doesn't match what I received. I'm waiting to hear back.

I'll move on to other projects in the meantime.
http://www.bobandersen.com/images/GE810/grille%20cloth%202.JPG

Well, that's a drag. :thumbsdn:

I found this at Goodwill a few years ago:
http://www.seniordoors.com/arf/GE-810/GE-810-Possible-Grillecloth.JPG
It's a man's driving scarf and was a dollar. Probably 4 square yards. I have it folded on my Zenith roundie as a dust/scuff protector. It would work well as a GE-810 grillecloth. Maybe try Goodwill and browse around. Lots of old clothes that might suffice.

Yeah, maybe you can cut up a mid 70's Leasure Suit.

I would check around on eBay, on the section selling Tube radios 1930-49. Lots of speaker cloth material sold under that heading.:smoke:

Thanks for the tips - I'll keep my eyes open. Of course, there's still the original cloth.

M3-SRT8 wrote: Yeah, maybe you can cut up a mid 70's Leisure Suit. :lmao:

You could, but those things are flammable!

Edit: Bob, I went back and looked at your before/after pix of the grille cloth. From my house, that stuff almost looks like burlap, although yours does not have the regular weave of burlap. Might be a possibility. There should be a light colored burlap. Dyeing, bleaching, etc. might be part of the process. I used brown once in a former life for speaker grille cloth.

I just happened to have some burlap someone had used in an old Philco console radio.
It was pretty filthy so I gave it a wash in laundry detergent and some bleach and then ironed it.
It turned up better than I expected. Not only did the color lighten, but it shrunk and the weave got tighter.
http://www.bobandersen.com/images/GE810/burlap01.jpg http://www.bobandersen.com/images/GE810/burlap02.jpg
http://www.bobandersen.com/images/GE810/burlap03.jpg

I think I'll go with it and might try gluing the old cloth on top of it too. I can always replace it if something better comes along.

I won't tell anyone that you used burlap for a grillcloth! There's some good suggestions/ideas from Reese.

I kinda' like the way that it's sturdy enough to wash in the machine as well as how nice it shrinks up. I could see me having a use for some burlap "grillcloth" too.

The burlap looks much better after washing, with the tighter weave. I wouldn't have used it without the processing ("What's that -- an old feedsack?"). Now it might pass the six-foot walk-by test.

Phil Nelson

We ain't tellin.

I'm a real scrounge.

Well it's not something I'll be bragging about, but it'll do for now.

I glued the left edge and let it set up. Then applied some glue to the rest and used a pants hanger plus weight to stretch it across.
http://www.bobandersen.com/images/GE810/burlap04.jpg http://www.bobandersen.com/images/GE810/burlap05.jpg http://www.bobandersen.com/images/GE810/burlap06.jpg

Looks great!

Looks good Bob.

Thanks guys. Here it is back together.
I suspect I need some rubber mounts under the chassis. The CRT and knobs seem a little low.
Ugh. A few specks of dirt fell between the glass the cabinet.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4090/5190896103_9afddd65d8_b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4085/5190896329_266a27fdd1_b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4104/5191490590_141abd5bac_b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4106/5191525188_f37dd86470_b.jpg

P.S. the GE 212 arrived safe and sound today :)
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4130/5190896535_70bed65b2d_b.jpg

I got a tip that some European radios have similar grille cloth. I took a look over at grillecloth.com (http://www.grillecloth.com/) and, sure enough, pattern #62 Silvertone, Grundig looks like a good match. 16 X 25 should do the trick.



http://www.grillecloth.com/images/num62.jpg

Bob, that set has a great picture but yeah, that Burlap has to go.

It reminds me of this :D:


http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_h3HborB6LT8/S1vopRukTbI/AAAAAAAAFrQ/Tn5QWHCtPMc/s400/EthelLucy.jpg

Aw...I like the burlap, and the ignition transformer! :yes:

Here it is three years later and a few issues have come up.


The finish on the top of the cabinet developed small blisters. Likely because I ran the set with a radio on top and a small towel between that trapped the heat.

The horizontal and vertical hold became extremely touchy.

The picture became dim.


So I've been re-restoring this set for the past few weeks as some of you may have seen in my YouTube videos.

First I re-refinished the cabinet using Constatine's grain filler instead of shellac this time around.

Then I tackled the hold issue and quickly found the hold control was rotted out. Not the easiest control to find.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7421/9769576335_9e3236cfca_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/9769576335/) http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5512/9782033545_610cbefb4c_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/9782033545/)

Amazingly, I found a beat up "barn fresh" GE810 less than 50 miles away on eBay at a reasonable price :)
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3757/9959978706_7dab5b8953_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/9959978706/) http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7425/9959981946_a812828d9a_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/9959981946/)

I kept my fingers crossed and got lucky. Not only is the hold control good, the 10FP4 CRT is excellent. That's the "new" chassis on the left.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3690/10079036843_89f12c75d9_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/10079036843/)

I was also able to salvage the grille cloth so say goodbye to the bleached canvas :D I also repainted the mask gray rather than green.
Note I'm currently working on that frame and it will look a lot better with all the grain filled it.
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5488/10209999015_bc056e1483_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/10209999015/)

So I swapped out the control and eventually figured out the picture was dim because of a bad 5V4 damper tube.

That leads me to my current (and hopefully last) issue - some wavering at the top of the picture.

I've tried adjusting the horizontal oscillator coil, osc. trimmer cap and hold control. They all have a very minor effect, but not enough to make it go away.

Any thoughts ?
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5538/10314988766_92354974e3_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/10314988766/)

I've been following the saga on youtube (as I do with all your sets) and I do like the cabinet a little better this time around.

Spoiler Alert:yikes:: I know you had lots of issues that turned out to be tube related. How much of all the problems do you attribute to coincidence or do you think that just sitting and aging had something to do with it?

That's hard to say. I think I used some DeOxit on the hold control three years ago and that may have slowly affected the carbon or perhaps it just finally wore out. Likewise, maybe I just had some bad luck with the 5V4 or it went bad at the same time :scratch2:

Very nice re-restoration. That makes good sense that DeOxit could have eaten the carbon track, especially if it was wearing very thin. I'm not too sure how that stuff can decipher between oxide and carbon. Think I'd rather use some sort of wash followed with lubrication spray on dirty carbon controls.


That's hard to say. I think I used some DeOxit on the hold control three years ago and that may have slowly affected the carbon or perhaps it just finally wore out. Likewise, maybe I just had some bad luck with the 5V4 or it went bad at the same time :scratch2:

Thanks. I'll post some photos of the cabinet soon. I'm very happy about the grille cloth :)

I didn't dare try to do anything to the "new" control. Now that the sync is pretty solid I don't think it'll need much adjustment anyway.
My backup plan was to leave the bad control mounted with the knobs for appearance and hide a control somewhere inside ;)

Wonder if that top wavering is some vertical scan leaking into the horizontal waveform, possibly in the yoke or it's lead dress?