I am reconditioning a 1948 Stromberg-Carlson TC-125 television that has been in the family since it was first sold. I already refinished the cabinet and am having the electronics refurbished, but I need to either rebuild my picture tube or get a good working replacement. It's a 12QP4. A 12LP4 will work as well. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Where are you located/
are you certain the picture tube is no good and not even barely useable ?

mike

There are currently no rebuilders of vintage CRTs in business. The last one, in France, closed a year or two back, and the Early Television Museum's efforts to start a rebuilding business are a ways off of even doing test work with the gear they have.

Make sure to test the CRT with a proper CRT tester before declaring it bad...Also CRTs that test mid way in the bad region of a CRT tester's scale can still produce a watchable picture especially if you add a CRT brightener.

On the bright side if your tube is bad it should be easy to find another as many models used that type, though many of those models are very collectable (read expensive) thus a replacement will likely be costly.

Hit it with a stick....

A 12KP4 should work as well, it's aluminized and requires no ion trap. They aren't any easier to find unfortunately.

Where are you located/
are you certain the picture tube is no good and not even barely useable ?

mike

Sorry for the delayed reply, Mike. I live in Thousand Oaks, California (Ventura County) about 20 miles south of Ventura and 40 miles north of Los Angeles. I'm still looking for a picture tube - not finding a 12QP4, 12LP4, or 12KP4 yet. I've been watching the development process of the Early Television Museum rebuilding facility and hope to use that service once it is ready if I don't find a good tube before then.

Mario

well i still have this 12kp4a nos but it can be nerve wracking to ship not knowing if it will make it safely. i really dont think im going to get into another b&w set.

I have a RCA rebuilt 12KP4 still in the box that was never installed that you can use. Will ship.