I was quite surprised to find one of these in a vintage shop on the northside. It's not working and they were promoting more as a prop or decoration. They had received a few inquires and offers already, but if I could lay down some cash it would be mine. So I ran over to a nearby bank (paid the $3 cash station fee :rant:) and it was mine :banana:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7114/7024737283_3d683aba72_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/7024737283/)

Now I am taking a gamble that the CRT is good, but I could liberate one from a Holiday if I really had to.
The base is very light. Almost makes me wonder if there's anything really in there!
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7182/7024736643_bfcc452ba2_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/7024736643/) http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7053/7024736833_57a3663f6b_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/7024736833/) http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6226/6878637012_3db66c26bf_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6878637012/)


It's also missing one knob and, as usual, the antenna.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7101/6878637322_b9e976f2fa_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6878637322/)


Now for the worst part. Someone cut and tossed the umbilical cord :tears: :rant: :gigglemad :sigh:

I suppose I can roll my own unless by some miracle there's a spare cable floating around out there.
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6097/7024737119_390c634227_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/7024737119/)

I carefully popped the CRT back cover off.
Interesting how they located the final video amp next the the CRT. I supposed that was due to the long cable.
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6223/6878959880_9b779b8a1b_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6878959880/) http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7112/7025062027_6e22d0ef99_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/7025062027/)


Hurray! We have filament glow at 2.5 volts.
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6236/6878960340_4c500679bf_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6878960340/)

I increased the filament juice until I had 600mA of current and checked the emissions. Weak, but I'll let it cook for a while.
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6060/7025062435_11ffa1062c_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/7025062435/)

I know where there is a complete head and cable but no tv. Craigs list in mass

Hmm. I tried searching around on craigslist in mass, but couldn't find it.

...Interesting how they located the final video amp next the the CRT. I supposed that was due to the long cable.
Yessir. Capacitance of the long cable would have smeared fine detail in the pic, so it had to be fed by a low impedance source (cathode follower), keeping the vid.output stage next to the CRT.

That makes sense.

I popped the back off the set and took a look inside.

Seems it spent time in Philadelphia. Wonder if Fred Mertz is still around ?
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6100/6879378282_a101d75eae_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6879378282/) http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7185/6879378496_939f340948_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6879378496/)

I found a plastic tube from the missing antenna and some service info inside.
I'll scan the info and post in a bit.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7087/7025478981_b844b17688_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/7025478981/)

Looks just like a Holiday chassis except for the big socket.
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6114/7025479233_ebb46e910a_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/7025479233/) http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7273/7025480265_31d1a959f8_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/7025480265/)

Both fusistor and thermistor have blown.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7228/6879379188_66b50b1d40.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6879379188/) http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6215/6879380248_b6e274aaac.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6879380248/)

Odd diode holders. I wonder if these are factory or an old repair ?
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7204/6879379568_5af3442823_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6879379568/)

Flyback is flaking, but looks OK.
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6034/6879380612_8526056c00_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6879380612/)

Nice story and nice score, Bob. Cool set, about as cool as they get.

Its in worcester mass. I was there two weeks ago and bought a zenith 9s 262 for 10.00. My friend bought a 7 incn motorola for 20.00. The zenith needs cabinet work at the bottom. Clean chassis with correct wooden knobs. I was going to take the predicta head but when I checked the crt it was dead. If you want it its under radios and tvs for sale. I could pick it up.

Would that be this guy ? "also i have old parts, tape recorders, up right radios old record players call me ****** lucien"

Thats him. I try not to miss any adds around my area.

Thats a sweet lookin' set and I hope you can find a replacement umbilical cord soon. I'm sure your anxious to start restoring it. I would be :P

Thats a neat looking set Bob :yes: And what stupid 'git' decided to cut that cable??:sigh:
That must be so annoying, are you able to make up something that will do the job ok?

Thats him. I try not to miss any adds around my area.

Ok, I'll try to get him to ship it or maybe find someone in the mass to pick it up and ship it my way.

Thats a sweet lookin' set and I hope you can find a replacement umbilical cord soon. I'm sure your anxious to start restoring it. I would be :P

I am, but I just so happen to have a Predicta Holiday a friend dropped off for restoration. It's a very similar set so I'll practice on his first :)

Thats a neat looking set Bob :yes: And what stupid 'git' decided to cut that cable??:sigh:
That must be so annoying, are you able to make up something that will do the job ok?

Yes, very. When I saw that cut, I almost turned around and walked out of the shop. The price was really good though so I couldn't resist.
As for fabricating a cable, I can try if I have to. I'm a little concerned about matching the impedances and what about that crazy socket on the back of the set? I think I'd have to bypass that and run wires right into the set.

Thats a neat looking set Bob :yes: And what stupid 'git' decided to cut that cable??:sigh:
That must be so annoying, are you able to make up something that will do the job ok?

I have seen a few of these where the cable was brittle, broken and otherwise fried, perhaps this one was in bad shape before it was cut off.

jr

Sure, that's possible. I wish they had left the connector on the set though. I assume it's very non-standard.

I gave this cabinet a little rubdown with Howard's RAF and Feed 'n Wax. I used Novus #2 on the screen.

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6220/6879381324_d598235c37_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6879381324/)

Here's the preliminary schematic I found inside "FOR SERVICE TECHNICIANS ONLY"
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6037/7025660331_3f773dc471_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/7025660331/) http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6120/6879560874_68105da941_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6879560874/)

Hi Bob I will be in worcester sunday to meet Lee for breakfast. I will be a stones throw away from this dude. I live 25 minutes from him.

Hi Bob I will be in worcester sunday to meet Lee for breakfast. I will be a stones throw away from this dude. I live 25 minutes from him.

I would be very grateful if you could pick it up for me :ntwrthy: Just let me know what he's asking, plus shipping plus your time and effort, etc...

Say "hi" to Lee for me and I hope he gets his Andrea working :)

From the schematic, it looks like i misspoke earlier about a cathode follower to give low impedance for the video going into the cable. This version uses a different arrangement.

will call the guy today for you.

This was a great find. It goes to show that sets pop up everywhere... most often when you least expect to see them.

Fred Mertz died when William Frawley passed away in 1966. (I appreciate the opportunity at making the first crack at "I Love Lucy").

I do wonder if a name like Fred Mertz helped his business?

That address leads to this building, looks like it has a basement.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=5818+Lansdowne+Ave,+Philadelphia,+Pennsylva nia+19131&hl=en&ll=39.976232,-75.237443&spn=0.006454,0.013937&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=54.005807,114.169922&t=h&geocode=FSH8YQId6feD-w&hnear=5818+Lansdowne+Ave,+Philadelphia,+Pennsylvan ia+19131&z=17&layer=c&cbll=39.976215,-75.237566&panoid=Qg1K8g3wUrsq21LVQufQNA&cbp=12,135.54,,0,-3.49

Nice find, Bob.

These are the type of diodes that were intended to fit in those fuse like sockets. Although the diodes in your set sure look like a factory solder job.

will call the guy today for you.
Thanks!

This was a great find. It goes to show that sets pop up everywhere... most often when you least expect to see them.

Fred Mertz died when William Frawley passed away in 1966. (I appreciate the opportunity at making the first crack at "I Love Lucy").

I do wonder if a name like Fred Mertz helped his business?

LOL - I was hoping someone would pick up on that name :)

That address leads to this building, looks like it has a basement.


I suppose that's all one needs to run a home TV repair business.

Nice find, Bob.

These are the type of diodes that were intended to fit in those fuse like sockets. Although the diodes in your set sure look like a factory solder job.

Thanks. I don't think I've seen that type before.


I found the set at Broadway Treasure Hunt (http://www.yelp.com/biz/broadway-treasure-hunt-chicago). It's a crazy place and I plan on going back to poke around some more. They have lots of 50s-70s pop culture stuff.

http://s3-media2.ak.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/Mj3tz_y_HR2el9Qj2Aw0nQ/l.jpg http://s3-media1.ak.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/DTZodSthaL1OdJkg0GHoBw/l.jpg http://s3-media4.ak.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/xY02Atcf0RCd4rQukvWRdw/l.jpg http://s3-media3.ak.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/ZdpEbw4-TPY2gyv5Rjh_qw/l.jpg http://s3-media3.ak.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/Q_NOn0Mi1RABATb597Nlfw/l.jpg

will call the guy today for you.

Any news :scratch2:

Good catch, Bob !

With todays gee whiz electronics I wonder if it would be possible to create a wireless video interface between the original CRT and the Chassis?

Well one would have to make a whole new sweep system for the CRT end, a power supply for it and then a transmitter to connect it to the chassis.........When all is said and done you wouldn't really have any use for the original chassis at that point....

Getting the video signal to the CRT via wireless would be the easy part.

Getting the sweep signals, HV, and heater voltage over wireless would be a bit tougher...

Hmm, yeah, I hadn't thought about the sweep needed.

[QUOTE=Eric H;3030973]That address leads to this building, looks like it has a basement.

Eric, Hop on over to Tioga and C street, Philadelphia 19134. That is where the factory IS today. Philco moved north of town to Blue Bell, PA in the 60's...maybe.

Eric, Hop on over to Tioga and C street, Philadelphia 19134. That is where the factory IS today. Philco moved north of town to Blue Bell, PA in the 60's...maybe.

Fred's address should have been
625 East 68th Street
Manhattan, New York

Same as Lucy & Ricky's. :D

Philco has many plants in the SE PA area. Spring House, Lansdale, Watsontown, Willow Grove and many in Philadelphia. Blue Bell was the Government and Industrial Division relocated from 4700 Wissahockin Ave in Philly.

TVs were made at Plant 3, C and Tioga until the plant closed in 1975. That was shortly after after the Consumer Electronics business was purchased by the Phillips Group.

Thanks to tvdude1 and M3-SRT8 I have a cable :yes: :banana:
Spare yoke, video amp etc. too.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7107/6993540640_95a6917c12_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6993540640/)

...

On my similar vintage car, I've had good luck cleaning wiring insulation with Gojo hand cleaner in the orange bottle. No water, just the stuff, and rub it in, then wipe it off with a damp paper towel.

Chip

Yee-ha! You'll be able to get cracking on with this one then?!?!? :D Like you ain't got enough on yer plate!:banana:

LOL - All in good time :yes: I'll do my friends Holiday set first. Virtually identical chassis, but no cable assembly to deal with.

I tried both cable cleaning suggestions and they work quite well. Thanks!
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8022/6994768780_eab06ec10c_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6994768780/)

Orange "Goop" hand cleaner with pumice was on sale so I gave it a try. It not only worked great, but left the cable smelling like oranges :)
I'm glad that's finally done :yes: I found a few nicks in the outer jacket, but no obvious breaks.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7071/7156419098_e4cb1b761c_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/7156419098/) http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7234/7161785820_cb5e16e50f_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/7161785820/)

I recently stumbled across a NOS Silverama 21FAP4 on ebay. I looked up the specs and it seemed to me it would work perfectly in a Predicta in including a short neck.
I was a little wary of the sellers feedback though. A lot of complaints about receiving the wrong item.

Sure enough, a week later this box showed up. I immediately knew it was the wrong size and weight. Inside I found a plastic hose :(
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3796/11341359644_90cd1a3666_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/11341359644/)

I opened a complaint with eBay and soon heard back from the seller. He claimed his new helper made the mistake and my CRT went to the guy that bought the hose.
He sent new shipping labels to us both, I shipped the hose out and kept my fingers crossed.

A week later a Silverama 24AHP4 box showed up :sigh
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5505/11739437956_9ded08488d_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/11739437956/)

But look what I found inside :) He double boxed it with another Silverama box. So I guess I got a bonus cool vintage box.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7411/11427766894_d7815207e6_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/11427766894/)

It sure is NOS alright. All the original tags and warranty cards are intact.
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5494/11739487546_56e2f2fec6_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/11739487546/) http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5518/11739441866_16c2d26c57_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/11739441866/)

Here it is next the an original, nearly dead 21EAP4 / SF21. It sure looks like a good fit.
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2846/11738948923_3ba4d95f0e_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/11738948923/)

Finally, it tests like new. So I figure it's a good time to get this beast running again :yes:
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5537/11427763856_9105e86be7_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/11427763856/)

It turns out that under all the dirt and dust, the chassis is pristine.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7396/11678760685_ccd9aa2f2a_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/11678760685/) http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7439/11679019133_37a1570a74_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/11679019133/)

Not a single repair and every tube except the two in the tuner is an original Philco and tests good :thmbsp:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7316/11679139394_85ddedccca_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/11679139394/)

Same as with my Holiday set, I replaced every paper cap, resistor and network on the sweep board.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3758/11593517575_51046ec4ee_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/11593517575/)

The new networks very sealed in epoxy and painted for appearance.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7408/11593519495_f647f69b77_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/11593519495/)

Ready to be re-installed.
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5546/11679513346_a3bb631e4b_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/11679513346/)

I didn't bother labeling the wires. Instead, I cleaned the wires to reveal the color and took reference photos. It's not that hard once you've done it a couple times.
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5519/11679566336_8363a00625_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/11679566336/)

Now for the flyback. A lot of the coating has melted off and what's left is loose and flaking.
I assume the copper fins were an attempt at cooling ? Doesn't seem to have worked too well. I suspect Tandem flybacks have to work harder the their counterparts in other 21" Predictas because of the long cable.

It does ohm out OK though so I proceeded to clean and recoat it with RTV133.
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5475/11679153644_d787119929_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/11679153644/)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7423/11678783655_3349f46fe7_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/11678783655/)

It's no thing of beauty but will hopefully hold up.
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2821/11679161354_33204cb4c8_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/11679161354/)

Incorrect, your work is a thing of beauty for sure, you've rebuilt
This machine from the ground up! Do you always replace all of the old resistors like that?

Thanks. I replace them all when they're hard to get at like in Predicta and GE coaxial sets. Much easier to just replace versus lifting up one leg and testing.

It's been fun to follow this restoration thread. When it's all done, I'd send the antique shop owner a pic of it running--people get a kick out of that.

I got some odd readings when testing the tapped filament resistor in circuit so took it out for a closer look.

It turns out that the resistive element inside is fine, but the tap for the UHF pilot light is open.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7355/11814785585_a28c3e6d8a_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/11814785585/)

I got curious and scrapped away the coating around the open tap. Putting pressure on the metal plate reestablished continuity. I noticed some corrosion too.
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5516/11815531206_b74ab61f0d_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/11815531206/)

I'll replace it with some power resistors.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7301/11814784855_3e7f5eb8e5_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/11814784855/)

I checked the push on/off power switch for continuity and wasn't surprised to find it's flaky. I have to push it in firmly, hold for a second and release slowly to get it to stay on. Luckily my supplier has some NOS replacements left :)

I'm done working under the chassis. Next up, I'll reinstall the flyback, hook up a CRT and attempt a power up. I'll have to clear off space on the workbench and squeeze in the 21" CRT unit and 25' foot cable. Not exactly the most convenient setup!

I noticed they have one side of the AC line goes all the way from the chassis AC plug down one 25' wire to a safety interlock inside the CRT and back down another 25' wire. So the set is effectively always running on a 50' extension cord. I assume that's a safety feature so the set can't be turned on with out the CRT plugged in. There must be some losses associated with that setup though. I'm almost tempted to short it out in the chassis.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7300/11865709786_5902a3464b_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/11865709786/)

I'm done working under the chassis. Next up, I'll reinstall the flyback, hook up a CRT and attempt a power up. I'll have to clear off space on the workbench and squeeze in the 21" CRT unit and 25' foot cable. Not exactly the most convenient setup!

I noticed they have one side of the AC line goes all the way from the chassis AC plug down one 25' wire to a safety interlock inside the CRT and back down another 25' wire. So the set is effectively always running on a 50' extension cord. I assume that's a safety feature so the set can't be turned on with out the CRT plugged in. There must be some losses associated with that setup though. I'm almost tempted to short it out in the chassis.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7300/11865709786_5902a3464b_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/11865709786/)


Who knows, that extra 50' might contribute enough of a voltage drop that you don't need to do anything to go from 125 at the wall to 117 :D

OK, here we go! I ended up having to put the chassis on a box I'd have clearance for the CRT cable.

First, I check for continuity at the AC plug when the set was turned on. I got around 500 ohms which seemed reasonable.
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2820/11873996376_93a66d4570_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/11873996376/)

Next, I powered it up without the fusistor installed just to make sure all the filaments would light up.
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2888/11873432973_4a62af9ae7_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/11873432973/)

Finally, I popped in a NOS Workman 7.5 ohm fusistor, crossed my fingers and fired it up. After a little warmup, I was treated to a raster :banana:

I really didn't expect that on the first power up!

Now for the bad. No sound or video is getting through. No response at all to changing channels. I did the obvious things like wiggle the tuner and IF tunes and checked the connections, but no response.

I'll try injecting signals with a B&K 415 at both the input and output of the IF module. I've never even popped the cover off it so there could well be something wrong with it.
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5532/11873161285_70a5728d67_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/11873161285/) http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7342/11873162825_099b14a405_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/11873162825/)

Injecting a composite signal directly into the main board produced this. Funky video and the sync was non-existent. Probably the signal needs to be inverted but there's no polarity switch on the generator.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3786/11875302294_1edf422af4_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/11875302294/)

Injecting an IF signal into the front end of the IF strip proved more successful. Stable video and some sound.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3670/11875141033_abc07cb08a_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/11875141033/)

I also tweaked the vertical height and linearity.

So the problem seem to lie with the tuner. Remember these were the only tubes that had been replaced. I'll do the simple checks first - swap out the tubes and check connections.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3669/11874852095_53bd0cf255_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/11874852095/) http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7435/11875142703_b5486508c9_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/11875142703/)

Looks like you're well onto the problem. FWIW your BK 1077 should have a polarity switch for the video out.

Indeed it does, but I have it packed away up in the attic to make room for other equipment. I need a bigger workshop :yes:

I removed the tuner and swapped in an identical one from another set.
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5537/11901169325_606de2d61d_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/11901169325/)

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2810/11901591454_55e0883cc5_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/11901591454/)

Unfortunately, it made no difference :( Of all the things that might have given me trouble with this set, I never expected it would be the tuner!
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3761/11901592784_120f69678c_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/11901592784/)

I couldn't find any wiring errors and the voltages looked OK and I was running out of ideas when I had a thought about the tubes. Both tubes in the tuner are 9 pin and easy to mix up.

I had been using the tube placement chart in the Sams Photofact as my guide and it shows the 4BC8 RF AMP tube near the IF strip.

So I decided to take a look at the real tube chart in the Tandem cabinet. It shows the opposite :dammit: :bash:

I'm just glad it's finally working and I didn't waste any more time on it!
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3681/11903594786_e0e0c7e582_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/11903594786/)

The sound is excellent and the picture isn't too bad considering it's an original, nearly dead 21EAP4.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7423/11903535516_d901bfbaaa_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/11903535516/)

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5500/11903097924_18ee06c372_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/11903097924/)

The brighter I make the image, the worse the focus gets. I believe that's typical of dying CRTs.
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5500/11902668615_4a468f522d_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/11902668615/)

Wow! Very impressive! I have a Predicata Tandem that looks just like yours and had someone fix it for me, since I'm not a tech.
Now I'm going to buy some orange goop and clean the cable (and the back of the TV where the cable hung for so long unless you or anyone could give me a better option for this) My Tandem is now fully operable--great picture and everything works! I need to sell it to someone who's looking for a Tandem that works well (probably use ebay) but I think I need to go with local pickup only, which would really limit the potential buyers, but even if I had UPS or FedEx pack it, I'm afraid that something will happen to it in transit. I would appreciate any thoughts on this, this you have so much more experience with vintage TV's than I do. Thanks and congrats on having your hard work pay off so well!

I found Novus #2 Fine Scratch Plastic Polish to be very effective on the plastic CRT housing. I would avoid shipping these sets. I've seen several that were sold on eBay, damaged in shipping and the remains put back up on ebay to sell for a fraction of the original selling price.

Thanks for the tip on the Novus. You also confirmed my gut feeling that shipping a set like this could end up in disaster. If no one buys it, I'll keep it. It's great to watch and to blow the minds of guests. And it's great company for my collection of antique radios. Thanks again for your help and your quick reply.

Hey Bob is this the first time a sam's typo messed you up?

I've had work bleeped up by sam's inaccuracies 2-3 times now...At this point if the set is different form the sam's in any way I automatically assume sam's is wrong.

It's been fun to follow this restoration thread. When it's all done, I'd send the antique shop owner a pic of it running--people get a kick out of that.

Don't ever do that! Sending a picture of a set working well.
You'll never buy a set like that for a reasonable price. It's bad enough, those money-grubbers, consult the E-place and price their items, accordingly.
Most of these people, don't have a clue, how much skill and effort, it takes to restore a set of this kind. Also, the hundreds of dollars invested, beside the original purchase price. :sigh:

I removed the tuner and swapped in an identical one from another set.




Unfortunately, it made no difference :( Of all the things that might have given me trouble with this set, I never expected it would be the tuner!






]

I see Philco made their own tuner in that model.
The only Philco sets I worked on, that have a similar chassis, are the Seventeener II's.
I don't remember Philco using the Gated-Beam type of audio detector, in any other chassis. :scratch2:

Hey Bob is this the first time a sam's typo messed you up?

I've had work bleeped up by sam's inaccuracies 2-3 times now...At this point if the set is different form the sam's in any way I automatically assume sam's is wrong.

I've seen minor wiring and component differences before, but this is the first time I got burned by a bad tube chart.

I've seen minor wiring and component differences before, but this is the first time I got burned by a bad tube chart.

Wasn't there a mistake on the Sonora schematic.? :boring:

As I recall, the Sams matched the Sonora perfectly and was very helpful :yes: The mistake was that someone installed the wrong picture tube in it. Perhaps because that's all they had handy.

I switched back to working on this tandem the past couple days.

The power switch has been replaced with a NOS. The original was pretty gunked up inside but looks OK after a cleaning. I suspect it would work alright if I put it back in.

I also re-installed the original tuner and replaced some resistors on the IF board.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7369/12201079094_7e8f3e27a9_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/12201079094/)

It's very handy to have two identical chassis side-by-side to compare.

For example, this set also draws about 23% less power than specified at 117 VAC (140 vs. 180 watts).
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3794/12200664125_1729238bb2_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/12200664125/)

The tube filament current is dead on at 600mA. However, the B+ about 20 volts low, but the HV is fine at 14.7 kV. Cranking the line voltage up to 127 VAC got the B+ up to the specified value, but the current draw didn't go up much.

Bottom line, the set is running fine. Go figure.

Here it is without the tinted plastic cover.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3795/12211707263_9f07d7c653_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/12211707263/)

Note this is not the CRT head unit that came with set. That's packed away in storage and still needs to have the cut cable replaced.
I'm kinda dreading that task but will get to it eventually :yes:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7385/12211707283_a29f980c0d_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/12211707283/)

I've seen minor wiring and component differences before, but this is the first time I got burned by a bad tube chart.

When working on my Hallicrafters 506 I found mistakes in sams from calling a 39 ohm resister a capacitor to the tube chart not matching my cabinet. sams is a great reference but has let me down or confused several times.

I just discovered the Philco Service Pocket Guide is wrong as well.
They show the tuner tubes correctly, but the IF should have 3BZ6s not 6DE6s :no:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7429/12214606545_b1356907f0_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/12214606545/)

What a let down when the factory service information inaccurate. I probably would have been stumped for a while on that stumbling block. I usually put a lot of trust in factory literature. This is why I when ever possible try to have multiple sources of information.

I finally finished off this Tandem tonight. It's been playing a couple hours with no problems :)

I've tried a variety of products to clean the cable and so far denatured alcohol works the best.
This is the head unit with a rebuilt 21EVP4. Eventually I'll get around to restoring the head that came with this set originally.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7404/12847347765_b1489fc3ec_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/12847347765/)

The rebuilt picture tube is very bright and I had a hard time taking a decent photo.
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3825/12847348675_95b14ec740_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/12847348675/)

Although the cable is 25 feet long, I suspect most CRTs ended up on top of the cabinet.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2846/12847350915_53461d9d18_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/12847350915/)

Here's a shot where the geometry defects are apparent on the right side. I think careful placement of a couple small magnets could improve the situation.
https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7305/12847350045_b2a982b71b_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/12847350045/)

Looking really good.

It might be interesting to try rotating the yoke assembly to see if the geometry follows or stays in the same location on the screen. Probably not an easy task with the housing on.

On the audio IF can - you should be able to go down through the top slug and catch the bottom one without rotating the top.

Yeah, the yoke is clamped down and can be moved without removing the housing.
After playing a few hours the audio has drifted off a bit from the video so I'll be tweaking the IF again and will see about that lower slug.