I just found a Sylvania 25" superset from '79 that uses the E48 chassis with the dark tinted delta gun CRT and single knob varactor tuner. The cabinet is decent and the TV still works; but, the CRT is getting tired. While watching it, I heard a loud HV arc along with the picture blanking out for a split second. I suspect the cause is either a dirty anode connector, an arcing CRT socket, or an arcing CRT. Maybe it will do it while I'm looking in the back of the set and then I can see what's going on. Concerning the tired CRT, I have a 25V Zenith chromacolor CRT that I could stick in there; but, the Zenith tube won't have the dark glass. Anyway, I'll try to get some pictures of the set tomorrow. I supose I should keep the old dark glass Sylvania tube in the event I can one day find an outfit to rebuild it.

that is the best solid state set sylvania ever made.the black matrix crt usually didnt last too long.they play pretty when they are right.your zenith crt is a great swap.we did many of those.matter of fact,it was our favorite swap.these sets were known for solder joints on the 3rd module where the yoke and convergence sockets plug.triplers and crts.not too much else went wrong.love to have another one of these beauties!

Had a 79 Sylvania console superset from new, don't know the model number now, gone about 4 years ago, was a great set. Replaced the CRT with an Admiral at one point. It was prone to arcing from one of the leads to the case at the potted top of the tripler. I scraped off the carbonization and added silicone to stop it. You might check the tripler for that. I added more cooling fins and heat sink compound on the HOT to keep it from burning out. The socket for the HOT was a problem, too, to keep contacting properly.

I SAW those sets arcing when we were testing them there. If you are looking at the crt socket from the back of the set the arcing is in the crt socket at about the 10:30-11 o-clock position.

The weaker the crt tested the more they would seem to arc

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nice style cabinet.clip your anode to the platic holder on the deflection shield.had a few of those arc also.anode cap should have a little screw holding it down.some did ,some didnt.clean bung on crt and apply silicone to cap before reinstallion.these are really great sets and that zenith crt is a winning swap.please post pics in operation.

Great looking cabinet - I really like the cabinet styles of the late 70's and early 80's - that burl trim surrounding the mask accents that set well - must have been gorgeous when new. Next to the classic Danish modern styled sets they are my favorites. Strange that I have only seen a total of 2 Sylvania Supersets in my lifetime, and both were table top sets belonging to a GTE lineman - must not have been big seller around here.

That is a beautiful set. They are getting rare as hen's teeth around here. I have one that I found by a dumpster in '93 that I still watch at least once or twice a week. The cabinet on mine isn't nearly as nice and there is a chip in the face of the crt, but there is something about the warmth of the picture that makes it my favorite of all my sets...

Here it is in operation. I rejuvenated the original CRT and it looks pretty good now; but, it will see that Zenith tube one day.

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hope it stays up for you.the black matrix crt displays the best picture ever.your zenith crt is also a black matrix,just the grid is not as dark.it is a lighter gray.it will make a good swap.love to have another 48,they are scarce around here.shouldnt be,we had the largest sylvania distributor in the country right here in cloumbus.

It's like in my area, where Zenith and RCA TV's from the '60's and '70's were common everyday finds up until the early 2000's. Then, it was like they all went away. For some reason, Sylvania TV's from the '70's didn't show up that often around here. The main place one saw old Sylvania TV's around here was in the hospitals as that was the brand they used. They had some mid '70's 19" delta gun sets with motorized tuning (E08, IIRC). Then, they had some very early '80's sets that used an inline tube and a single knob varactor remote tuner (E51, IIRC). Finally, they had 19" E32 sets from the '83-'84 era that had cable ready electronic tuning. Now, I think all of those sets have finally been taken out of service.

In that same TV shop where I got this Sylvania, there was another '79 E48 that used a remote controlled motorized varactor tuner. The remote was no where to be found and the CRT was nearly dead. There was a cheaper 1980 model E45 that had a gray faced CRT and standard VHF and UHF tuners. That set had a very weak tube and a short in the horizontal circuit (probably a bad HOT or tripler). Lastly, there was a '76 combo which had a bad CRT, rotten speakers, and a frozen record changer. Unfortunately, there was no room on the truck and the junk man hauled them away. Had the CRT's been good, I would have tried to make room on the truck for them.

I did notice something strange about my set. When viewing the blue menu screen on a VCR, the picture is constantly bouncing up and down. The picture is perfectly stable on a normal picture.

Another thing I noticed is that after playing the set for 3+ hours, the HOT heatsink is barely warm to the touch. On newer cheap made CRT sets, the heatsink is often too hot to touch. That should tell you something about how well they built these older TV's. They obviously were not running the parts up to their maximum operating conditions.

Today, it suddenly hit me to replace the CRT in this set; so, I used a 25V Zenith chromacolor tube that I saved from a trashy looking '79 Zenith chromacolor II console. In this set, it was easy to swap the tube. After unplugging the cables to the chassis, it was then only necessary to remove two screws in order to get the chassis out. After that, I removed the neck components, followed by four screws that held the degaussing shield in place. After that, I had to remove the mounts and the band that actually holds the CRT in place.

I still have to make convergence and purity adjustments; but, I can already tell that the picture is much brighter and sharper with the Zenith tube than it was with the weak Sylvania tube.

I really hate to toss that black faced sylvania tube; but, not having a rebuilder available and not having the cash for a rebuild (even if one was available) helps me make the decision to dispose of the old tube.

that chassis makes a great pic, that was the same chassis I got on my freebe IIRC that I picked up local.

please post screen shots with the zenith crt in it.i cant wait.in the shop days we did hundreds of these swaps and they turned out great.actually,not one came back.we always gave 3 years on the zenith crts.i have known some to still be going 15-20 years later.

Bet it looks nice...I really like Sylvanias. But they're scarce for me too: Out of hundreds of tv finds over the years, I've only had 3 Sylvanias.