Bob and I picked up this set from the Quad Cities area (Moline) yesterday. CRT was sleepy when we got there, but a quick run on the Beltron brought it back up to like new emission on all 3 guns with a decent life test. It's a smoker set, lots of nicotine on the cabinet. First step is scrubbing that crud off, then I will evaluate the chassis for a parts order.

http://miniman82.4t.com/images/Sylvania/sylvania1.jpg

It's very original, a few tube replacements but the CRT is factory Sylvania 21AXP22. Big unknown right now is the Corotron regulator tube, which is unobtanium. I hear Folsom has a way to test them, so I'll likely send it to him to verify.

You don't run across one of these everyday. "The Saratoga" console in Mahogany sold for $695.00 in 1957. There was also a table model available: "The Granada." Nice find.

-Steve D.

Thats a cool set!

Looks even better than it did in the ad.

man!! i cant find anything in my area ,that's a cool looking sylvania .:yes:

Bob and I picked up this set from the Quad Cities area (Moline) yesterday. CRT was sleepy when we got there, but a quick run on the Beltron brought it back up to like new emission on all 3 guns with a decent life test. It's a smoker set, lots of nicotine on the cabinet. First step is scrubbing that crud off, then I will evaluate the chassis for a parts order.

http://miniman82.4t.com/images/Sylvania/sylvania1.jpg

It's very original, a few tube replacements but the CRT is factory Sylvania 21AXP22. Big unknown right now is the Corotron regulator tube, which is unobtanium. I hear Folsom has a way to test them, so I'll likely send it to him to verify.

your getting to many nice set's for one person,is that why you needed more space for ?,thanks again steve

Izzat one of those "Rectangular" sets from '57 or so ? It DON'T look like Your Typical Fifties' Roundie... Me LIKEY !!

21AX = round. The mask has a softened contour where it transitions from the sides of the tube to the bottom of the raster, which gives it a kind of rectangular appearance. And before anybody asks (somebody always does) it's not a Halolight.

BTW, if anyone has the Sams for this I'll Paypal $10 for it.

And before anybody asks (somebody always does) it's not a Halolight.

Yep, when I first saw the CL ad I thought for sure it was a another late 50's b&w. The color part didn't sink in until I pulled the SAMS folder and saw the 21AX.

That's really amazing that the factory tube tests like new. Apparently was a low hours set.

Nice score. Always nice to see another roundie saved :banana:

Is there a model number visible somewhere?

Never mind, the CL ad is still up...

BTW, if anyone has the Sams for this I'll Paypal $10 for it.I've got a virgin copy for you. (391-4)

Funds sent, Jim.

Another cool acquisition to that impressive early color collection of yours, Nick! And a refreshing change from all those RCAs (a few more of 'em and old Sarnoff is probably gonna start payin' ya visits to see his products LOL.).

Pulled the chassis, it's one heck of a dirtball. Dirt mixed with nicotine, actually. :thumbsdn:

http://miniman82.4t.com/images/Sylvania/chassis1.jpg
http://miniman82.4t.com/images/Sylvania/chassis2.jpg
http://miniman82.4t.com/images/Sylvania/chassis3.jpg


The CRT and mounting hardware didn't fare any better, basically anything with voltage moving through it attracted this crap. The crud eventually soaked up moisture, so anything made of steel has a nice patina on it now. Probably the worst smokers set I've seen yet.

http://miniman82.4t.com/images/Sylvania/crt1.jpg
http://miniman82.4t.com/images/Sylvania/crt2.jpg

Oddly, the yoke cover was almost completely intact. Usually these things are disintegrated, but only the edges on this one were deteriorated. All the same, I decided to replace it with one of the ones Bob made. They fit really nice, just drill 4 holes and mount the old shield to it with non magnetic hardware.

http://miniman82.4t.com/images/Sylvania/crt3.jpg

Another cool acquisition to that impressive early color collection of yours, Nick! And a refreshing change from all those RCAs (a few more of 'em and old Sarnoff is probably gonna start payin' ya visits to see his products LOL.).

That would be fine with me, if he were still around anyway. :D

From what I can tell, this set is an odd combination of CTC-4 and 21-CT-55 circuits. So I still consider it an RCA- in Sylvania clothing. :thmbsp:

God, I hate smokers sets....


http://miniman82.4t.com/images/Sylvania/mask1.jpg

^ That was one wipe with bathroom cleaner. I had already gone over the whole cabinet at this point, and filled an entire trash bag with what used to be white paper towels. Then it dawned on me to just stick the rest of the parts in the tub, and let the cleaner soak in a while.

http://miniman82.4t.com/images/Sylvania/mask2.jpg

:puke::puke::puke:

Don't pass up the dishwasher option to do some cleaning.

That's a helluva nice set.

Are thos red rods like remote control for rim magnets? Never seen that before.

Yep, edge purity magnet 'control rods'. The cabinet is so cramped that it would be impossible to adjust them without those rods, and even with them it's not a perfect solution. It would have been a better idea to do what RCA did with the CTC-5, which has access to the magnets through the front bezel. I think on the 5 you remove the bezel and glass, then tweak the magnets with a screwdriver.

Eeeuuwww ! Dat thing's NAHHHHSTEE... Fortunately, I have EXTENSIVE training in Hazardous Waste Remediation, so I advise you to send it to me AT ONCE w/o fail.....



Well, maybe SOME DAY that Plea will work...(grin)

What's bad for the owner is good for the set.

Just think of that gunk as Cosmoline, it does a pretty good job of preventing rust and corrosion (on metal, not so much in lungs).

What Eric says.

I've seen some absolutely BLACK smoker sets that are totally rust free under all that crap.

Just wait until you fire it up. Your friends will think you are chain smoking, again!!

Just think of that gunk as Cosmoline

Wish that were so- fact is the nicotine is sticky, so it attracts dust. All it takes is the dust to soak up some moisture, and everything gets rusty in a hurry. I was able to get most of the rust off with sandpaper, but the pitting remains. I just hope the electronics are still good...

Holy re-cap-a-thon, Batman.... :boring:

http://miniman82.4t.com/images/Sylvania/chassis4.jpg


And that's only about 90% done with the paper ones, I haven't even started on the power supply lytics. For that, I need the Sams to arrive so I don't f*ck something up. There seems to be a quad a 200uf@300v caps right in the middle of the main chassis, and a slew of others strewn about the chassis. I count 16 or so, not counting the random 4uf ones for the video circuits that I already replaced.

You can tell that Sylvania had to change a few things to avoid RCA running them down for patent infringement. For example the demod driver tube in the CTC-4 is a 6AG7 type, and here there's a 6CL6. In the audio section where the CTC-4 uses a 6AQ5 output, this set has a 6W6GT. It'll be interesting to do a head to head with my Director 21, to see which is the better performer.

Is it an I-Q wide band color demodulator set like the 21-CT-55?

No, for all intents and purposes it's a CTC-4 as far as demodulation is concerned. Only thing borrowed from the 21-CT-55 is the horizontal output transformer.

now that is a filthy set!we used to get the call about dim picture,loss of brightness,focus,etc.most of the time was a smokers set or they were heating with a kerosene heater or wood.just wipe the screen off and presto!new tv!actually had a child paint the screen once.mother was afraid to touch it.heard it would make the "colors"disappear.always carried some 000 steel wool with me.cant wait to see more pics of this restoration and the set in operation.these are always my favorite posts

No, for all intents and purposes it's a CTC-4 as far as demodulation is concerned. Only thing borrowed from the 21-CT-55 is the horizontal output transformer.

I see they used 6AZ8's in that model. I just looked over the Sams a bit, to see what that set was all about. Does the CRT have a EIA274 on it? Just wondering.

I see they used 6AZ8's in that model. I just looked over the Sams a bit, to see what that set was all about. Does the CRT have a EIA274 on it? Just wondering.

No idea, but the base says Sylvania and it's engraved with a serial number. 21AXP22, not 21AXP22A so I know it's original.

Does the CRT have a EIA274 on it? Just wondering.

I'll bet it has a 312 on it somewhere as does my Philco-branded 21AXP22 from my TV-123. Or, maybe Sylvania didn't bother to EIA code their own CRTs?

Pete

God, I hate smokers sets....


http://miniman82.4t.com/images/Sylvania/mask1.jpg

^ That was one wipe with bathroom cleaner. I had already gone over the whole cabinet at this point, and filled an entire trash bag with what used to be white paper towels. Then it dawned on me to just stick the rest of the parts in the tub, and let the cleaner soak in a while.
http://miniman82.4t.com/images/Sylvania/mask2.jpg

:puke::puke::puke:

Simple Green really works on tobacco tar. Believe me. I work at a high-end retail tobacconist/cigar lounge. We use it to clean the collection cell, power supply, and HV leads on our UAS smokeeter, which, being a HV based device loves to attract tar to the power supply and HV leads. I keep a small stereo tube amp down there as well, and it also recieves a monthly simple green wipedown.

I don't see any EIA code on the CRT, I just checked. Just the engraved Sylvania neck, that's it. There were some stickers on the metal bell, but just the same safety stickers they all have on them. Brand neutral.


EDIT: got the Sams folder in the mail today, thanks WISCOJIM!

More recapping tonight, I installed some of the stuff that came in from Mouser. Also had to remove the focus control, it was seized. Took it apart and it's actually in pretty good shape electrically, just the shaft was a little frozen from corrosion. Gonna polish the shaft a little, grease and reinstall it.

Still need the rest of the caps from Allied, mainly the .22uf ones. After those and the new lytics are installed, I think it will be ready for a slow run up on the variac to form the new caps. If things look good from there, I still need to test the Corotron regulator in another set to see if it still works. If not, I'll have to install a 6BK4 regulator mod to control high voltage. Probably won't happen till next weekend though, I have something going on in Wisconsin this weekend.

Very cool. Nice to see this set being brought back to life. Can't wait top see the picture!

"Probably won't happen till next weekend though, I have something going on in Wisconsin this weekend."

Hey Nick,

I think you have something happening in Hilliard, Ohio next weekend.

-Steve D.

Damn, that is this coming weekend! Weekend after next, then! :D

I used to service Sylvanias in the early 70's. Not many roundies back then but I had a few that were newer than yours. Great snag.

Recapping continues, I decided to do all the lytics in the power supply.

Here's the old ones, with cardboard removed. One was already replaced, guess which one was overheating? :scratch2: My guess is the one with the tar that dripped all the way down to the bottom. That same one was oozing crud out the bottom as well.

http://miniman82.4t.com/images/Sylvania/chassis5.JPG
http://miniman82.4t.com/images/Sylvania/chassis6.JPG

For the main quad of filters, I opted to saw them apart and put new Nichicons into the remaining wafers. This method works well when you have cardboard covers to go over the tops like I have here, or when you just plain don't care what the finished product looks like. Pushing the leads through the wafer holds them securely in place, so no glue is needed.

http://miniman82.4t.com/images/Sylvania/chassis7.JPG

With the cardboard back on, no one will ever know by looking at it from the top.

http://miniman82.4t.com/images/Sylvania/chassis8.JPG


The remaining small value caps were soldered in underneath the chassis, since there is ample room on this particular set. It's nice to have some space to work with here, RCA's are typically pretty cramped under the hood.

Here's the video processing side of the chassis, with new caps installed. The only ones I have left are the .22uf ones, they should be coming from Allied early this week.

http://miniman82.4t.com/images/Sylvania/chassis9.JPG

I used the variac to form the new caps today, everything went as expected. Nothing blew up or got hot, and it looks like the power supply is working like it's supposed to. I also have a nice horizontal waveform going to the output tube grid, so next time I power it up I'll likely test HV output and find out if that pesky Corotron tube does it's job. Hope those caps come soon...

Nick, how do you get the cardboard covers off the capacitors intact? I could not figure out how on my RCA 8TS30.

I have usually been able to pull cardboard covers off after softening the tarry adhesive with a heat gun. Some of that tar is really tenacious, but with patience the heat gun usually works. In a couple of cases I got impatient and slit the cover up one side with a razor to speed the process. After restuffing, I glued the cover back together and put the slit side where it wasn't visible.

Phil Nelson
Phil's Old Radios
http://antiqueradio.org/index.html

What is the type number of the Corotron tube? I've got loads of TV tube pulls.

What is the type number of the Corotron tube? I've got loads of TV tube pulls.


It's not a glass tube, it's a metal regulator. Very hard, if not impossible to find. If it's bad, I'll end up doing the 6BK4 mod to control HV.

Just for kicks though, the numbers from the side of the tube are:

13-93967
M125-24

Part number in Sams is:

624-0004

Chris, I got lucky on these caps. Sometimes I can just grasp and twist and they come right off like these ones did, other times I end up removing them from the chassis to do something a little more drastic. One time I placed a cap in a plastic bag and dunked it in boiling water to loosen the old tar, seemed to work out OK. Most times it's a total loss and the tar is on there too good, so you end up cutting them off like Phil said.

It's not a glass tube, it's a metal regulator. Very hard, if not impossible to find. If it's bad, I'll end up doing the 6BK4 mod to control HV.

Just for kicks though, the numbers from the side of the tube are:

13-93967
M125-24

Part number in Sams is:

624-0004

Oh, I see. I wondered why I'd never heard of this before... Hey, If I had found one, You'd been welcome to it!!

Bruce

It's only used on a few sets that I know of, this one and the Philco prototype that Folsom has. Keep your eyes peeled, if you find one I'll definitely take it! :thmbsp:

can you take a picture of that regulator?I would be more than happy to check Fair Radio for it. They probably have a million things that are not in their catalog because they only have one or two of them. I have walked the building for hours and found all sorts of interesting things

Sure, here ya go.

http://miniman82.4t.com/images/Sylvania/chassis10.JPG

It's only used on a few sets that I know of, this one and the Philco prototype that Folsom has. Keep your eyes peeled, if you find one I'll definitely take it! :thmbsp:

It was also used in the my Motorola 16CK1 15" color set, but the one in my Motorola was bad, so I had to do the 6BK4 mod to it.

I found the company on the net and sent an email, but I don't think they will be of much help. These things always seem to end up being a wild goose chase.

The contemporary GE set used a corotron as well.

I have usually been able to pull cardboard covers off after softening the tarry adhesive with a heat gun. Some of that tar is really tenacious, but with patience the heat gun usually works. In a couple of cases I got impatient and slit the cover up one side with a razor to speed the process. After restuffing, I glued the cover back together and put the slit side where it wasn't visible.

Chris, I got lucky on these caps. Sometimes I can just grasp and twist and they come right off like these ones did, other times I end up removing them from the chassis to do something a little more drastic. One time I placed a cap in a plastic bag and dunked it in boiling water to loosen the old tar, seemed to work out OK. Most times it's a total loss and the tar is on there too good, so you end up cutting them off like Phil said.
Thank you both for the notes. I am going to start restuffing the electrolytics on my CT-100, so I plan to try the "untwist the prongs" method on some or all of them.

The Sylvania set is a nice project, I look forward to your success with its restoration.

Sure, here ya go.

http://miniman82.4t.com/images/Sylvania/chassis10.JPG

I talked to the owner of Fair Radio. He has some of those tubes.......somewhere.

The owner is currently working on a project but will keep that tube in mind and if I see'e any he will let me know. I will start looking myself next time I go in.

There are plenty of hiding places for oddball items so they might be found or might not but I will keep you posted. I have seen them there before, but where............

Ran up the chassis to check HV last night, got a solid 21kv so it looks like the Corotron is still good. After making a few checks, I discovered that the B++ line was at only 40 VDC. Tracing it back to it's source revealed an open 1600 ohm 15 watt power resistor, replacing it fixed the problem. Then while attempting to pass a luma ladder through the front end, I also noticed that AGC was really unstable. Finally it quite working all together, and there was no signal. Problem again ended up being a bad power resistor feeding the IF and tuner, this time an 1100 ohm 10 watt job. I don't have one of those laying around, so repairs will have to wait till I can ge that resistor replaced. Apparently they used some pretty low quality resistors in this chassis...

Ran up the chassis to check HV last night, got a solid 21kv so it looks like the Corotron is still good. After making a few checks, I discovered that the B++ line was at only 40 VDC. Tracing it back to it's source revealed an open 1600 ohm 15 watt power resistor, replacing it fixed the problem. Then while attempting to pass a luma ladder through the front end, I also noticed that AGC was really unstable. Finally it quite working all together, and there was no signal. Problem again ended up being a bad power resistor feeding the IF and tuner, this time an 1100 ohm 10 watt job. I don't have one of those laying around, so repairs will have to wait till I can ge that resistor replaced. Apparently they used some pretty low quality resistors in this chassis...

I love it. Wondering here how long the designers of this set wanted it to last anyway? Most of those guys are dead and gone now. We owe it to them to keep these sets operating. This helps to keep them in our memories, and they arent really gone, then, are they?

I look forward to seeing this set producing its first images.

Bruce

I doubt they were meant to last more than 5-10 years, the fact that any are around at all is a testament to good engineering and a bit of dumb luck. This chassis looks like it was really run into the ground- bunch of bad/weak tubes, burnt up resistors, covered in tar and grime... It's a wonder it works at all.

Oh, BTW: Bob has graciously allowed me to borrow his HV cage, so I can have it reproduced. The one for this set was missing, so it's a very lucky thing that Bob who happens to own one of these rare sets let me copy his good one. It's at the metalworking shop right now, instead of drilled vent holes I'm going to have louvers punched into it. Should look pretty nice when it's done.

I noticed the logo looked suspiciously like "Victoreen" which sparked (no pun intended) up my curiosity since I have a cinema projector xenon lamphouse that uses a victoreen spark gap to ignite the bulb and was shorted.

Anyway, Some light googling led me to this page.. is this of any help for people with bad Corotrons?

http://www.logwell.com/products/HV_regulators.html

These are all 'low(er)' voltage devices, the 20+kv ones weren't made for very long.

I located a 1k 15 watt resistor on another chassis, so I harvested it. Installed it and was able to pass a luma ladder no problem, so the resistor appears to have fixed the problem. Plugged the set back in, and I didn't have too much trouble making this happen.

http://miniman82.4t.com/images/Sylvania/sylvania2.JPG

Obviously I haven't aligned or converged it at all, but this proves that all major circuits are now functioning as advertized. I don't want to go too much farther at this point, because I need to take the CRT components apart so Bob can make anode boots for his set. He's going to copy my parts to fabricate the ones his set is missing, then we will both have complete Saratogas.

After this one is back together I will proceed with the front end alignment, chroma alignment, color AFC, and finally all the setup stuff to make a really nice picture. Should take about a month.

Lookin' good Miniman! Next is my 5. Saving the best for last.

Good work, Nick. You amaze me how quickly you can get things done.

Nice work! Seeing that really makes me regret selling mine to Bob :) Oh well, they both have good homes, unlike myself :mad:

love the set.:banana::banana::banana:

Thanks guys. Couldn't resist at least a little tweaking today, after I got off work. Green still needs a touch to get it a little stronger, but this set has great color in it I just know it. :thmbsp:

Now to take it back apart, so Bob can get the templates he needs for his Saratoga CRT boots.

http://miniman82.4t.com/images/Sylvania/sylvania3.JPG

The Bars look great. Can't wait to see an actual picture. Should be fantastic.

Great job Nick as always! The set is looking really good, glad you where able to save this one as well!

Beautiful set. Very uncommon to boot. And a genuinely unusual set in it's circuit design. Everything I like in less common make roundie sets. Beautiful job getting it to play again. Love her styling.

I divorced the HV chassis from the rest of it, to make it easier to take over to the fab shop whenever they get done making my repro cage cover. This way I can make sure everything fits before I pay, and I only have to carry a light little chassis with me. While it's apart, I did some much needed cleaning. The cups on all the rectifiers needed a good scrubbing to get old tar off, and I blew out the remainder of the dust. I hope to have the new cover soon, then my chassis will be complete. Also discovered that the 3A3 rectifier was a little weak, so I put a new one in.

http://miniman82.4t.com/images/Sylvania/chassis11.JPG

Got the repro cage cover the other day, it's very nice though it cost me a pretty penny. Top notch workmanship from Fabricators Unlimited in Grayslake, everything done by hand the old fashioned way. Instead of vent holes, I had louvers punched in the side and top. They also did not use spot welds to hold the 2 parts together, instead they are TIG welded. The metal is a slightly heavier gauge than the original stuff, it's strong enough to stand on top of now. :thmbsp:

All that's left now is to shoot everything in flat black, and affix repro warning labels and tube placement charts to it. Then the chassis resto will be complete, and I'll move on to getting this thing to put a decent color image on screen.

http://miniman82.4t.com/images/Sylvania/chassis12.JPG

They really did an amazing job making that. :yes:

Nick,

I didn't realize the cover was that large. That's military grade construction to be sure.

-Steve D.

That cover looks great, Nick. I especially like how nice the louvers are made. Since there are so many CTC-5s out there missing their HV cage covers (which also have louvers), I bet this company could make excellent reproductions of them. Perhaps if enough were ordered at one time (10? 50 even?), the cost would come down.

That cover looks great, Nick. I especially like how nice the louvers are made. Since there are so many CTC-5s out there missing their HV cage covers (which also have louvers), I bet this company could make excellent reproductions of them. Perhaps if enough were ordered at one time (10? 50 even?), the cost would come down.

So many of those CTC-5 HV cage covers are missing because the TV techs got tired of backing out, and then replacing, that damn 4" ( at least) screw that held the lid on.

-Steve D.

...I stand in Slack-Jawed Awe of yr handiwork on bring this old beauty back to life...GREAT Job, Sir !

I'd go in on a HV cover......the one in my CTC5 is missing.

Thanks guys. The cover on my CTC-5 was still installed on the chassis, but I got lazy and haven't put it back on since the first time I took it off. I think I could possibly come up with a better cover that comes off more easily, any takers? If I did those in quantity, I would have everything digitized so reproduction would be simple. There's a company near my house called Dynacoil that does CAD drawing and steel laser cutting, but it ain't cheap...

HV chassis is now complete. I rattle canned the cage cover with flat black inside and out, then applied the stickers. These were just pictures of the ones from Bob's set that I printed out, then stuck on with glue stick. Time now to put the whole thing back together and see about getting it to play correctly, I hope to be done with a complete run through of all the setup adjustments by the end of next week. Then final cleanup/polishing of any cabinet parts, and final assembly. I think that stuff is going to get interrupted by a flight to France, though. :thmbsp:

http://miniman82.4t.com/images/Sylvania/chassis13.JPG
http://miniman82.4t.com/images/Sylvania/chassis14.JPG
http://miniman82.4t.com/images/Sylvania/chassis15.JPG

Sweet!

a flight to France
Are you going to carry a 15GP22 on your lap in either direction? :D

No CRT carry-on, but the thought did cross my mind to send a 21AXP22 over to practice on... :D

Here's what the completed chassis looks like, all assembled and ready to go back in.

http://miniman82.4t.com/images/Sylvania/chassis16.JPG

And here's the back of the cabinet, just to illustrate how cramped it really is in there.

http://miniman82.4t.com/images/Sylvania/chassis17.JPG

For some reason my camera has a little too much blue in it, so everything has a tint to it. I think I need to recalibrate the white balance or something, it looks a lot better in real life. First shot the yoke was a little skewed, I fixed it in the second shot.

http://miniman82.4t.com/images/Sylvania/sylvania4.JPG
http://miniman82.4t.com/images/Sylvania/sylvania5.JPG

It looks great!

Fantastic restoration job, great pictures!!!:D

That cage and stickers look factory.

Here are the results of the first round of convergence, just a rough touch up really. I had to do some futzing with the blue lateral magnet, but otherwise things seemed like they were more or less in line. As you can see in the picture, green still needs some attention. But it's looking better and better the more I work at it. Not far away from a great picture, I can feel it. :yes:

http://miniman82.4t.com/images/Sylvania/sylvania6.JPG

Round 2 of convergence completed, I don't think there's gonna be a round 3 because anything I try just makes it worse. Slight red fringe on the left, green on the right. This is as good as I was able to get it lined up, which is more than I can say for some of my other sets.

http://miniman82.4t.com/images/Sylvania/sylvania7.JPG

lookin' good!

That looks terrific. I am sure that where you have it is better than most of that model when it left the factory. Even though the assembly technicians did it every day and it was their job, I suspect that they didn't have the dedication that you have.

Good on 'ya Mate!

The set is looking wonderful. :thmbsp:

Couldn't resist tweaking convergence again, I think I got the sides closer than they were. It's never gonna be perfect, so when it looks good I generally leave them alone. Next I have a few brass pieces to polish, and the front bezel to reinstall. Next pictures after these will be the completed set.

http://miniman82.4t.com/images/Sylvania/sylvania8.JPG
http://miniman82.4t.com/images/Sylvania/sylvania9.JPG

:thmbsp: Looks great Nick.

Now that's one mighty fine sharp picture!!!:D Looks so good that I'd almost think someone has stuck a modern 90s perfectly tuned CRT set in side the Sylvania cabinet!!!:D I am guessing some of you are probably gonna take that comment as an insult lol. Anyhow I am totally amazed with the sharpness and clarity of that (I assume) cable TV channel guide, it looks so good!!!:D

Wow...just "Wow"...

Me Likey!!!!

One of these days I'll have the time to start restoring some of my sets.....

Nick,

The Sylvania looks fantastic. You should invite the neighbors over the next time there's a color show on. Opps! Just time warped back about 55 years.

-Steve D.

Nick, Did you finish this one up? The thread was falling down to the bottom of page 2.

great looking color nick i hope mine turns out that sharp,on that zenith . maybe ill look at that silvertone if i get in a parts bind.

Actually, I had to remove the convergence parts to experiment with the prototype. So I'll have to do the convergence all over again, but I haven't messed with it in the meantime. I'm waiting to get some questions answered on the proto set before I get back to this one, but it shouldn't be long.

Now that set looks SWEET!!!!!!

one of the best looking roundies ever!fine restoration and the picture looks as good as it did the day it was built

Every time someone here restores a roundie(including me), I'm always amazed at how good the color is. That is an awesome set! Very unusual and hard to find no doubt. Probably wont see another one anytime soon! Good work Nick!

Nice job. Is'nt it amazing that you have to restore a roundy to see what actual color TV looked like... doesn't compare to today's so called hi Def. Apparently there was some truth in "living color" can't wait to see a YouTube when its finished ..

Nick, I have a couple of friendly suggestions now that you have your 21CT55, CT100 and now Sylvania pretty well restored. All cabinet screen shots look great in your web site and VK Forum photos but the active screens are way too small and exposed to excessive room light. This makes it impossible for the full TV cabinet shots to display fine screen detail with VK’s posting pixel limitation. In the case of your latest Sylvania cabinet shot, the 657 X 623 posted resolution produced a 246 width by 198 height screen shot! Any sense of objective fine detail picture quality is therefore impossible to determine. Maybe you could post additional dedicated screen-shots in total darkness and pull-in your camera field so it captures only the full screen with a resolution of at least 1024 by 768 pixel. Also, it would be swell if all quality conscious VK members acquired the “Digital Video Essentials” SD DVD ($9.75 from Amazon ) if they don’t already have it. Members could then compare posted roundy picture quality with other postings using exactly the same original JPG pics at the same camera resolution. Just a thought….Tom

I don't want to come off like a jerk here, but this set will never have 21-CT-55 quality video. It simply doesn't have good enough circuits, the best it can hope to do is match a CTC-4 since that's where most of the circuits come from. I suppose it might actually do a little better than a 4 though, since there are additional stages of amplification in the chroma chain and additional tuning transformers. But it is still a narrowband set, so matching a '55 isn't going to happen (technically speaking). I still maintain however that a lot of the quality of the picture in these early sets is due to the CRT, and not the circuits driving it. In other words, the only reason my 21-CT-55 'looks' better to me is due to the fact that the colors are more saturated vs a later 21AXP22. I promise that if I put the CRT from the 21-CT-55 in my CTC-4, the results would be quite dramatic.

There is something uber-cool about that big S sylvania used and the placement on this TV. What color!

Final pictures, I'm calling this one done at long last. Still a piece of metal to tack on to the right leg, but whatever. I polished up the rest of the brass, so this is as far as it's likely to go. Very handsom set, if I do say so myself. :yes:

http://miniman82.4t.com/images/Sylvania/sylvania10.JPG
http://miniman82.4t.com/images/Sylvania/sylvania11.JPG
http://miniman82.4t.com/images/Sylvania/sylvania12.JPG

Nice! What kind of speaker system is in this? The dark spots in the grille cloth look oddly asymmetrical.

A midrange speaker and a tweeter, that's all. Has decent sound, just wish there was something that could be done about the missing photo finish.

An oval and a round? The oval looks a little cockeyed; maybe it's an illusion.

just wish there was something that could be done about the missing photo finish.

How about a paint marker, or artists oil's or acrylics with small brush? The artist paints are heavy bodied and you can actually level a chip or scratch with them. At least it keeps the bare wood from showing through. And if you make a boo boo you can wipe it off and try again.

Nick,

I know how meticulous your are w/your restorations. I think Kevin's suggestions in the above post are a good solution to at least covering the nicks in the faux finish. Excellent work on this rare set.

-Steve

Point about early vs later 21AX's well taken, Nick. The CTC-4 may not be broad-band, but I agree that our early tubes do make quite a difference. When I watch my 4, it's in a pitch-black basement area. Not the brightest tube, for sure. The avatar is from the 4.
Kevin

That set looks great. Can we see a picture on it, please?

I know how meticulous you are w/your restorations. I think Kevin's suggestions in the above post are a good solution to at least covering the nicks in the faux finish. Excellent work on this rare set.

Steve,


I know Kevin is probably right on this, but I don't want my OCD getting the best of me. It's hard to find a stopping point when I go to improve on the finish of a set, especially photo finish. As you all know, my solution to bad PF last time was to strip it all off and start over with real veneer (the CTC-7 Anderson). If I touch this one up would I simply go for matching the color of the finish nearby, so the wood showing from under it isn't quite so visible? I've never really seen an attempt at PF 'repair', so it's hard to know what direction to take.

That set looks great. Can we see a picture on it, please?

There are some screen shots back on page 7.

http://miniman82.4t.com/images/Sylvania/sylvania9.JPG
http://miniman82.4t.com/images/Sylvania/sylvania8.JPG

Amazing Kudo's

Looks great. I've never run across a Sylvania this old.

It's possible to touch up photofinish with paints and an artist brush. Forget using stain to color in the scratched-off areas, since the underlying wood (or layer of glue) likely won't take stain as you'd want. The results with paint depend on your level of skill & patience. It's reversible, so get some tiny brushes and assorted colors, and start mixing.

I haven't tried acrylic, but that may be easier than oil because it dries faster. As I understand it, oil never really really dries, it just stabilizes. On one old radio cabinet, I applied lacquer over some oil touchups and all seems well, so perhaps drying isn't a problem if you plan to apply a clear coat when you're done.

My goal in touching up with paint was to blend in the boo-boo so that it doesn't jump out at you at normal viewing distance. Doing a perfect repair is beyond my skill (and patience) level. Of course, it won't have the depth and interest of real veener, but photofinish doesn't either.

BTW, it's nice to see that someone else uses the Comcast Guide screen as a quick 'n easy test pattern :)

Phil Nelson
Phil's Old Radios
http://antiqueradio.org/index.html

My understanding is that oil paints are catalyzed by oxygen in the air, which causes a cure process. So they don't really dry through solvent evaporation, as does lacquer, instead they have a chemical reaction with the air that hardens them. That's why you can't easily dissolve old cured oil based paint or Poly with any solvent, takes more of a caustic stripper. And once cured, it won't readily bond well to itself without physical abrasion to the underlying layer. Same basic deal with acrylics I think - they can't really go back into a solvent once cured.

Agree that a cabinet will never look perfect using paint touch up, but you'd be taking it another step in the direction of presentable. Once those bare wood spots are camouflaged, your eye (or at least everyone else s eye) will easily look past them, especially in photographs. I'd start with the basic background brown, then go back and smudge a little darker brown or black over for a subtle graining effect. The key will be matching the basic background color to the overall cabinet tone. Experiment by smearing it on some paper or cardboard until it's close enough to blend with the cabinet.