Oh yes, it's another Admiral restoration project. This time it's not one of my sets though.
A friend dropped off a couple sets over the summer and asked that I restore them. They both use the 21B1 chassis.
I swear once these are done I'm definitely going to work on some other brands for a while :yes:

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6012/5966132630_3a4a94ff83_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/5966132630/)

First up is the 12R16 tabletop.
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6006/5966132802_89d2115f68_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/5966132802/) http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6024/5994972709_39f3bef887_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/5994972709/) http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6125/5995530374_492eca7ac9_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/5995530374/)

It's filled with W. German resistors.
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6012/5994974067_f69e6e0d37_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/5994974067/)

The Silverama 17BP4B tests like new and all the transformers, yoke and flyback test good :)
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6099/6366715813_8093d03c9f_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6366715813/)

I found a 14 Amp fuse in the HV cage - it should be 1/4 Amp :nono:
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6212/6366715461_ca242ae91c_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6366715461/)

The first challenge was finding the correct schematic. At first I was using the scanned Riders vol 6 (http://www.earlytelevision.org/images/Admiral-21B1-C1-D1-H1-J1-Rider-TV6.pdf) available from the ETF.

I quickly found differences though. For example there are 3 couplates in this set but none are shown in Riders.
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6104/6366716299_698822a7fc_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6366716299/)

Also, these power resistors differ from Riders and I found a germanium diode detector while Riders shows a 6AL5.
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6060/6366717043_63847f0bbc_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6366717043/)

I did some research and it seems they made at least 22 production runs of this set :sigh:
I discovered a faint 'RUN 14' stamped on the back and tracked it down in a Wallace Telaide.

Here's an explanation of those power resistors.
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6226/6366717745_1367015034_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6366717745/)

I restuffed the electrolytics and replaced most of the old caps and out of spec resistors.
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6057/6366718415_0033bcfffe_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6366718415/) http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6229/6366719239_a278d1f4b1_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6366719239/)

The first power up treated me to some nice audio for about 5 seconds then silence and no raster or HV.

I just started checking the tubes and found a 12AV7 in the 12AU7 socket. Also this "TEL-A-SAVE" 6AC7 video output tube has a cathode short and shows no emission on my Hickok.
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6042/6367639731_63961bb05c_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6367639731/)

I found about 5 more bad tubes including the 6AV6 audio preamp. Replacing that solved the fading sound problem. Still no picture though but I do have about 14 KV.

Then I finally noticed that the single pole ion trap magnet is missing :withstpd:

I scrounged one from another set and was treated to this mess :( That's with the brightness cranked all the way up.
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6050/6367951533_fb0df301a3_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6367951533/) http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6110/6367951239_831e43d328_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6367951239/)

I tried a different ion trap magnet. Bingo :D Maybe the first one I tried is weak ?
A little twiddling of the Hor. Lock coil on the back finally got me a stable picture :banana:
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6050/6368222983_00cc5b898b_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6368222983/) http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6227/6368223359_4d44afce2b_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6368223359/)

Just in time to catch the Outer Limits :)
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6046/6368223669_8a47a42a67_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6368223669/) http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6119/6368224127_790d5093a9_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6368224127/)

Very bright picture!
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6234/6368224737_59f76dc7d2_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6368224737/)

There are some faint vertical lines on the left side. The set came with a 6AX4 installed in the 6W4 socket so maybe that's the cause. Or maybe the horizontal yoke cap. I'll try adjusting the Hor. Drive too.

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6224/6368225349_775d209a44_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6368225349/)

I'm glad I can sleep in late today :drool:

Bandersen wrote: I swear once these are done I'm definitely going to work on some other brands for a while.

No you're not. :no: You're the Admiral go-to guy! :yes: Look at how nice a picture almost right away.

This Admiral is going to come up really nice by the looks of things so far :yes:
And such a nice picture too. Is that a young Martin Sheen in one of those image shots?

This Admiral is going to come up really nice by the looks of things so far :yes:
And such a nice picture too. Is that a young Martin Sheen in one of those image shots?

Thanks! I kinda wish it was my set. That 17BP4B tests better than any CRT I've come across.

Yes, that is indeed Martin Sheen :)

Bandersen wrote: I swear once these are done I'm definitely going to work on some other brands for a while.

No you're not. :no: You're the Admiral go-to guy! :yes: Look at how nice a picture almost right away.


LOL We'll see :scratch2: I think I'll let you guys decide which set I work on next.

Congratulation Mr. Admiral LOL :D

That was the ORIGINAL "Outer Limits"-Can't remember the episode, ut the Oriental guy was James Shigeta.

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6060/6366717043_63847f0bbc_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6366717043/)

What are those pink components? I have also on my Westy, but I can not understand what they are ...

What are those pink components? I have also on my Westy, but I can not understand what they are ...

Sand coated Wirewound resistors, (I don't know if it's really Sand but that's what they are commonly called) very often bad because the leads corrode and lose contact inside.

I replaced them right away with some modern power resistors.

The terminals of that resistor in my sets are oxidized but still efficient, but I think I will put it in the list of things to replace..thank you for the info :)

I've been using Vishay / Dale silicone coated power resistors lately like these: http://www.mouser.com/MobileCatalog.aspx?page=726

Bob - I'm working on the exact same set (have to check the run). It's all re-capped and has a great pic. It needs an alignment though as the sound is way out of sync with the channel selected. This is the same set you sent me a volume knob for. I'll share pics if interested.

Mark

The sound is a little out of whack in this set too. They provide a four pin socket on the IF strip to aid in aligning. I bet they had some sort of plug in alignment tool to use on the assembly line. I was a little surprised to see it uses the same tuner as the 3 year older 20X11 and 20X12 I've also been working on.

Sure post some pics if you want. I have two more of these chassis to restore. One with a 16KP4 CRT and one with a 16GP4.

While working on this set, I caught some whiffs of ozone. I was running by B&K 1077B which has a known corona issue so I've been ignoring it.

A few days later my 1077 was off and the ozone smell was even stronger and I heard some hissing so went investigating. I popped open the HV cage, powered up the set with all the lights off and carefully looked around.

Sure enough there were faint blue streamers around the doorknob cap mounted under the 1B3 HV rectifier.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7145/6429403937_67b3355590_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6429403937/)

Turns out it was black with fine dust particles. A little cleaning with mineral spirits took care of that. I made sure to dry it thoroughly with a heat gun on low before powering it back up. No more ozone :)
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7008/6429403619_d133a51f93_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6429403619/) http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7172/6429403901_1f5d3f5f62_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6429403901/)

Just one issue remains - the vertical lines on the left side of the screen. I've tried swapping the damper tube, adjusting the hor. drive and hor. linearity and hor. width.
None of that had any effect so I'm going to check the 47pF the mica cap inside the yoke.


One more thing - I'd been calling this a 16R12 but that's incorrect. The 16R12 is brown bakelite while this one is a black 16R11.

Looking good Bob. Doesn't your set have a 17" CRT in it instead of the rectangular 16" (16EP4.16KP4)? (Doing those CRT numbers from memory)

Yes, this set has an RCA 17BP4A RCA Silverama CRT. The 16R12 set I just picked up has a 17YP4 installed. I don't think either was original. It's fairly easy to fit a 17" CRT into one designed for an early 16".

Hey.!
my 16r12 with this same chassis is healthy (have got two sets !) both crts have held up just fine.
My repairs on one of them was the 1b3 which tested fine on the b/k but killed a 68 ge color tabletop when subbed(long story). i got a new one dirtcheap and then checked resistors for tolerance in circuit..quite a few were far off. It runs nice.

"Killed a GE color set"? As in good before unrepairable after?

Unfortunately, nothing I've tried has had any effect on those vertical bars including what's in this service note.
Anyone have any idea what filter A3459S might consist of ?
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7154/6443227015_021275b180_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6443227015/)

I'm going to move on to cleaning the cabinet then the console version with the same chassis. I figure I can compare them side-by-side once it's running too.

The brass inserts popped out of one knob. A little epoxy took care of that.
I do have the door, but the pins have broken off the ends. I'll try gluing some new ones on.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7152/6443258835_0cd72369d0_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6443258835/)

The cabinet is dirty, but otherwise in great condition. Of course it has little white paint dots like every vintage bakelite cabinet seems to.
I've heard vinegar works well on latex paint :scratch2:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7160/6443226285_ba50c7f446_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6443226285/) http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7157/6443226651_facdcf04dd_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6443226651/)

I scraped of the paint droplets with a plastic spoon. Then buffed it with Novus #2 followed by Magnolia Glayzit.
I haven't had much luck with Glayzit in the past, but I know some guys really like it so I thought I'd give it another try.
I sprayed it on lightly then spread it around with a clean cloth. I let it sit about an hour then buffed it out.
Looks good so far I think. No wet sanding needed on this one :yes:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7023/6445250731_26efe384fc_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6445250731/) http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7027/6445251171_32b78f6305_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6445251171/)

Here's the original label identifying this set as a 16R11.
Look at all the tube lineup variations. They did over 16 production runs of this chassis!
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7169/6485238225_3ce2cea727_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6485238225/)

The control AKA "pencil box" door is damaged on this set as is so commonly the case.
At least I have the door and it's in good condition. Just the hinge pins are broken off and the springs are missing.

I figured if I could bore some holes I could use bras tubing for new pins. I carefully used a long conical soldering iron tip to melt pilot pholes. Then, used a rat tail file to enlarge them.

I salvaged some spring steel from a tape measure for the springs. It's not quite the same action as the original would be, but it's OK. I think slightly thicker spring steel would do the trick.

If anyone out there has some to spare, I'd love to have a few feet. I have lots of knobs in need of some too :yes:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7141/6485230013_b0bb7ef5a6_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6485230013/) http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7166/6485231771_9cf29773e7_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6485231771/)


http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7021/6485233559_2cbf5ef103_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6485233559/) http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7020/6485234957_146e0eaf06_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6485234957/)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7004/6485236585_d1a99f8996_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6485236585/)

I buffed the control panel with Novus and remounted it. Then reinstalled the cabinet.
It's in verry, very nice condition. Too bad I'm not the set's owner :(
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7158/6485239885_85aa5a7f54_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6485239885/) http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7147/6485241523_3241ae72b5_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6485241523/)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7153/6485243265_17221b939c_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6485243265/) http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7147/6485245207_9b9d0557b4_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6485245207/)

Here it is playing some Perry Mason. There are still some faint vertical bars on the left. it just so happens this sets owner also dropped off an Admiral 26R12 with the same chassis for restoration. My plan is to restore that set next and see if it has the bars. If not, I'll compare them side by side and try to pinpoint any differences.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7163/6485246563_0de637c921_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6485246563/) http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7026/6485247987_541135c4aa_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6485247987/)

Bob, I can't look at mine because it is 737 miles away! I took it to Florida already. And those transformers are on the way to Chicago. It is a shame that the 16R12 that I got had a smashed cabinet. I would have restored both of them.

I'm interested to see how you resolve the issue with the vertical bars, I had exactly the same problem with my RCA 8" portable, and never did really resolve it.

I've heard vinegar works well on latex paintAlso mineral spirits. Soak a rag and leave it on until the dots soften, then rub.

Phil Nelson

Unfortunately, nothing I've tried has had any effect on those vertical bars including what's in this service note.
Anyone have any idea what filter A3459S might consist of ?


Bandersen, the vertical bars mentioned in the A2359S service notes are caused by the horizontal output 'transmitting' a stray signal that is picked up by the video. These can happen anywhere in the picture and even on a blank raster.

I'd bet you dollars to donuts, that the "vertical lines" pictured in the left of your two Perry Mason photos posted later, is actually video ringing. Look for loose tube shields and bad tubes (substitute, as a checker probably won't catch it) between the video detector and the CRT.

If no progress there, do a very careful voltage check of those circuits and look especially for any open (test by jumping them) electrolytics in or near the video circuit.

I've also seen overshoot on the AGC line in the IF cause a problem that looks very very similar, but this failure usually also mucks up the grey-scale, so it is a lot less likely suspect.

If you have a color bar-dot generator, use that on cross-hatch bars while testing as the picture will remain constant while you check and the vertical bars should easily trigger the ringing. If they don't I'm barking up the wrong tree.

James

Thanks for the tips. I'll give them a try when I get this set back up on the workbench.

I've been contemplating how to make a replica back for this set. I do have an original metal back from an older 16R12 model that looks like this. Note the AC power plug doesn't lineup. I figured I'd cut one out of masonite, drill some vent holes and cut a hole for the CRT to stick out.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7155/6791913955_aa1f54c389_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6791913955/)

Just before I got started today, unexpectedly the set's owner shows up with a pickup truck full of vintage TVs he was moving from his cousin's place. Between the sets I noticed some lose backs including the one for this set :)
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7017/6791914599_d47bd6a37c_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6791914599/) http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7153/6791915241_579d8e3547_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6791915241/)

I'm so glad I hadn't started drilling any holes yet :yes:
I wonder why they switch form metal to masonite ? Maybe to save money ? Maybe because of the relocated AC power plug ?

If anyone would like a pattern, I'd be happy to trace it out. Looks pretty easy to replicate.

Here's a closeup of the Roto-Scope antenna instructions.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7166/6791915729_d26a573765_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6791915729/)

Almost forgot to mention he also dropped of yet another Admiral for me to restore :drool: I told him he'd have to wait a while. I'm taking a break from these TVs to work on some radios!
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7002/6792118821_e5e2b1e300_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6792118821/) http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7154/6792119321_703d86dd8d_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6792119321/)

While I wait for some rust to dissolve for another project, I decided to do a little tweaking on this set.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8228/8412280117_259e88d638_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/8412280117/)


First, I forgot to re-install the IF cover last time I worked on it :o That cuts down on the vertical bars on the left side of the screen.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8221/8412279655_846ece9bac_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/8412279655/)

Then, I added a vertical retrace elimination mod.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8189/8413378900_9fab96262d_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/8413378900/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8191/8413378456_c73040d799_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/8413378456/)

That's better :)
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8468/8413377992_b2d4af67ff_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/8413377992/)

Finally, I need to reposition the CRT so the chassis will slide all the way into the cabinet so I can attach the back.

I finished all the final tweaks tonight and am finally calling this one done. At least until a problem crops up ;)

It's one of the best performing sets I've worked on so far.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8332/8416400632_6cc53f84c9_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/8416400632/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8088/8416426690_f52c947062_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/8416426690/)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8215/8415306787_098a0287be_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/8415306787/)

Great job! I really like that set. The picture is perfect!