View Full Version : Got a Dumont RA-103 Dog(mouse)House and a GE monitor.


Electronic M
11-06-2015, 07:32 PM
I went to Olorin67's place today to buy a GE video monitor from him. I find tube era video monitors interesting and like to buy them when the price is good....This one came from my Alma-mater as a bonus factor of interest.

On the way back I picked up a Dumont Dog House at a Habitat For Humanity store, that he had suggested might be of interest to me....Man was that habitat store hard to find! I went past it almost twice before noticing it. The set was easy to find, and when I asked the clerk about the price (since it had multiple tags on it, and had been there weeks) I was asked to make an offer. The set and the 60's stand it was on cost me the 30$ I offered.

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/DSCN0863_zps76dtyyuh.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN0863_zps76dtyyuh.jpg.html)
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/DSCN0866_zpsfogsbspo.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN0866_zpsfogsbspo.jpg.html)

Unfortunately Mom spotted roaches in the habitat store so both sets have to spend overnight (or longer if it don't frost) in the shed.....Mom's policy seems to be if a set comes from a good home it must stay overnight in the garage to quell her fear of getting roaches, if something is in a roach prone area or was likely exposed to roaches even indirectly it gets some shed time....

The tuning shaft on the Dumont is messed up so that will probably be an interesting issue. Both CRTs are untested. I'd assume schematics for the Dumont can be found on the ETF site, but I may have to fix the GE without service data.

Been busy installing hard wood flooring with the folks and have other sets including pay projects in the works that will keep me from really getting into these for a while yet.

Olorin67
11-06-2015, 08:19 PM
Glad both sets went to a good home, I would have grabbed the Dumont, if funds allowed and I had some idea how to fix the tuning shaft.. That set had been there since early August.

ChrisW6ATV
11-06-2015, 09:14 PM
Tom Albrecht repaired one of those tuning shafts on his Crosley 9-407 (with the same Dumont chassis) a while back; you should be able to find his discussion of it. He had an excellent description of the problem and his work.

Electronic M
11-07-2015, 06:03 PM
Brought them in the garage and tested the CRTs. The one in the GE tests excellent. :thmbsp:
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN0867_zpshnl88abg.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN0867_zpshnl88abg.jpg.html)
The CRT in the Dumont had an unplugged brightener on it. It started off bad, but with brightener level heater voltage got almost as good as the CRT in the GE...Dropping back to 6.3V after that got me the bottom edge of the good range.
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN0877_zpsmqyczju1.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN0877_zpsmqyczju1.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN0886_zpsrsx1bkhk.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN0886_zpsrsx1bkhk.jpg.html)

Better pictures:
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/DSCN0879_zpsqtqj97yv.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN0879_zpsqtqj97yv.jpg.html)
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN0878_zpsnpv75avf.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN0878_zpsnpv75avf.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN0882_zpssqc8ilxz.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN0882_zpssqc8ilxz.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN0881_zpslp7ucdbo.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN0881_zpslp7ucdbo.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN0880_zps1nn0gz6s.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN0880_zps1nn0gz6s.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN0883_zps9xjwhx1r.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN0883_zps9xjwhx1r.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN0884_zpswp71u5qv.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN0884_zpswp71u5qv.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN0885_zpsow5dhl96.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN0885_zpsow5dhl96.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN0889_zpsgn5netpg.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN0889_zpsgn5netpg.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN0887_zpsjy2alv0q.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN0887_zpsjy2alv0q.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN0892_zps9h292zqh.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN0892_zps9h292zqh.jpg.html)



Tom Albrecht repaired one of those tuning shafts on his Crosley 9-407 (with the same Dumont chassis) a while back; you should be able to find his discussion of it. He had an excellent description of the problem and his work. Good to know. VK's search function did not find it. Got a link?

Electronic M
11-07-2015, 06:11 PM
More pictures:

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN0893_zps6cs7s1qq.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN0893_zps6cs7s1qq.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN0868_zpsc3mpq0zn.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN0868_zpsc3mpq0zn.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN0890_zpstyikbogu.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN0890_zpstyikbogu.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN0891_zpsvgmefwnh.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN0891_zpsvgmefwnh.jpg.html)

Not having recently looked at pictures of the inductuner mech, the impression I get from the mech is that the dial/knob is connected to the tuner shaft via gearing, and the retainer for the knob shaft is damaged.....If I push it in and turn it feels like I'm engaging gummy gears. I can get some gear grinding feel/noise if the shaft is not pushed in correctly when turning.

dieseljeep
11-07-2015, 06:12 PM
What HFH store was it? The one on 104th and Burleigh?
The parking lot is awful small too! That store is very poorly organized, but at least you got something, that was worth the trip. :thmbsp:

Phil Nelson
11-07-2015, 06:22 PM
Don't crank that inductuner mechanism too hard until you have a chance to pull the chassis and give it a careful cleaning & inspection. This article has some photos of the tuner:

http://antiqueradio.org/DuMontRA-103Television.htm

I've heard of those tuners having a broken ceramic shaft. My RA-113 even had a broken gear in the mechanism. Those things might have happened when lubricant dried up and turned hard, and then someone forced the tuner.

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

Electronic M
11-07-2015, 06:22 PM
What HFH store was it? The one on 104th and Burleigh?
The parking lot is awful small too! That store is very poorly organized, but at least you got something, that was worth the trip. :thmbsp:

114th & Burleigh. The lot is small, but finding it after dark was hard enough to distract me from it.

baursam
11-07-2015, 06:25 PM
http://www.antiqueradios.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=92862&highlight=crosley+9407

Tom's discussion on his 9-407 restoration

Electronic M
11-07-2015, 06:30 PM
Don't crank that inductuner mechanism too hard until you have a chance to pull the chassis and give it a careful cleaning & inspection. This article has some photos of the tuner:

http://antiqueradio.org/DuMontRA-103Television.htm

I've heard of those tuners having a broken ceramic shaft. My RA-113 even had a broken gear in the mechanism. Those things might have happened when lubricant dried up and turned hard, and then someone forced the tuner.

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

I was gentle with it when turning it. If the user shaft was properly pushed in to place it felt as though it was turning other gears (silent mild resistance to rotation)....My hunch is that the tuner shaft is free albeit a pinch gummy, and all that is wrong is the user control shaft. In any event I don't intend to mess with it until I pull the chassis and can see what exactly is going on.

Electronic M
11-07-2015, 06:32 PM
http://www.antiqueradios.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=92862&highlight=crosley+9407

Tom's discussion on his 9-407 restoration

Thanks.

Olorin67
11-07-2015, 06:35 PM
I thought I read somewhere that the part of the shaft is ceramic.

dieseljeep
11-07-2015, 07:07 PM
114th & Burleigh. The lot is small, but finding it after dark was hard enough to distract me from it.

I usually tried to stop there, when I'm in town but haven't found anything, so I didn't bother the last few times.
BTW, I hope to see you at the Landmark tommorow. I have the items loaded in my car, that you were interested in. :thmbsp:

Electronic M
11-07-2015, 08:14 PM
I plan to make it.

David Roper
11-07-2015, 08:32 PM
Nice Du Mont, but where's the refrigerator?

Electronic M
11-07-2015, 10:06 PM
The only GE monitor top fridge I ever had a chance to save hit the dumpster when I was 8 or 9 years old. Grandma had us cleaning out her other house and despite my best attempts at arguing to keep it in existence or offer it to an appliance collector (I knew they existed, even back then) my mom and her sisters tossed it anyway.....Mom sorta listened to me/got what I was saying but did not want to be responsible for trying to do something with it that would take more effort than the dumpster....

Phil Nelson
11-09-2015, 12:11 AM
I thought I read somewhere that the part of the shaft is ceramic.Yes, much of the shaft is ceramic. You can see photos in the article that I mentioned earlier:

http://antiqueradio.org/DuMontRA-103Television.htm

Phil Nelson

Electronic M
11-09-2015, 01:13 PM
When it rains it pours...

I got the 10" Stromberg-Carlson (model TS-10) version of the Dumont RA-103 yesterday for 30$ at the WARCI meet. I always thought the S-C badged version was more stylish. It will probably get priority over the DuMont, and is more likely to be permanently kept.

The tuner seems to be in similar perhaps worse shape. I'll test the CRT after lunch. For now have some pictures:
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/DSCN0894_zpsitdq8cj8.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN0894_zpsitdq8cj8.jpg.html)

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN0895_zpsv8st82an.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN0895_zpsv8st82an.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN0897_zpsqmvi6cq1.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN0897_zpsqmvi6cq1.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN0896_zpsyndsdvpp.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN0896_zpsyndsdvpp.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN0898_zpssfznzwqu.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN0898_zpssfznzwqu.jpg.html)


EDIT: CRT is quite healthy (just like the seller said), and reads 86% on my CRT tester. It should produce a bright picture after a resto.

Radiotronman
11-13-2015, 08:09 AM
Both are awesome sets! Hope to find either one fine day. Post the restorations!!!

Electronic M
11-13-2015, 11:56 AM
Both are awesome sets! Hope to find either one fine day. Post the restorations!!!

Thanks. I've got fellow VK'er Arcanine's CTC-16 on my bench right now and 3-4 other color sets ahead of these Dumonts in line waiting, and some other stuff, but I'll try to post the restos once they reach my bench.

Electronic M
12-29-2015, 02:38 AM
Well I brought the trio in from the garage so the cars can go in there once the winter weather eventually starts, and started noticing the Dumont has musty smell like some 30's radios but worse.....Turns out that smell is mice....I pulled the chassis and had about a basket balls worth of mouse nest and turds. :yuck: The little cretans ate the wiring harnesses, paper caps and peed all over the place corroding much of the chassis....Ooh, and the ceramic tuner shaft is broken.
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/Dumont/DSCN1130_zpsbm3a4gyx.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/Dumont/DSCN1130_zpsbm3a4gyx.jpg.html)
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/Dumont/DSCN1131_zpsx0bdhlfi.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/Dumont/DSCN1131_zpsx0bdhlfi.jpg.html)
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/Dumont/DSCN1134_zpsyl7iljr5.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/Dumont/DSCN1134_zpsyl7iljr5.jpg.html)
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/Dumont/DSCN1136_zpszylx4nk6.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/Dumont/DSCN1136_zpszylx4nk6.jpg.html)
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/Dumont/DSCN1132_zpsoxvyjxwd.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/Dumont/DSCN1132_zpsoxvyjxwd.jpg.html)
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/Dumont/DSCN1137_zps6ztufubs.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/Dumont/DSCN1137_zps6ztufubs.jpg.html)
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/Dumont/DSCN1135_zpsafb9ls2f.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/Dumont/DSCN1135_zpsafb9ls2f.jpg.html)
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/Dumont/DSCN1133_zps6k2zzmyl.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/Dumont/DSCN1133_zps6k2zzmyl.jpg.html)

The unit looks to originally have used a field coil speaker that was replaced with a PM speaker....Initially I thought that 16 (! jeez!) resistor kludge was the work of an idiot, but upon further reflection I think it may be a poor man's power resistor sub for the field coil. There are many poor repairs in it including a rectifier tube socket replacement.
I've about reached the point of declaring the mouse-house a parts set...

I've opened it's Stromberg Carlson doppelganger too, but I'll wait till the afternoon to post that story...

Polaraligned
12-29-2015, 05:21 AM
Yeah, about the speaker. My RA-103 has a 4 wire cable running up to the speaker, yet the speaker is a PM type and only has 2 wires coming from it. I am wondering what the other 2 wires were used for?, but I have not dug in that deep yet. I did get the feeling that the speaker in my RA-103 was not original, as the wires coming off the speaker were spliced.

tvtimeisfun
12-29-2015, 09:12 AM
Hi I have had a couple of sets that had meece nest in them but not that bad sometimes it is hard to clean the pee smell out of these wood cabinets it is a pain to clean the metal as well..Timothy

Kevin Kuehn
12-29-2015, 11:12 AM
Ew! Mice gotta be right near the top of the list for bad housekeeping habits. Lately I've been walking away from messes like that, but it's so hard to let such a collectible set go unattended. It is about impossible to get that pee smell gone.

Olorin67
12-29-2015, 11:26 AM
One of my Setchell Carlson school TVs had a big mouse nest, fortunately it was below the chassis, was able to vacuum it all out after removing modules, didnt find anything chewed up, thankfully. Still smells a bit though.

jr_tech
12-29-2015, 01:14 PM
We brave asbestos, cadmium and a host of other dangerous substances when restoring vintage sets, but I wonder if many here are concerned about hantavirus. I know that I would think twice about working on a set like that, but perhaps the risk is smaller in other parts of the country.

http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2012/08/hantavirus-climate-yosemite-outbreak

jr

DavGoodlin
12-29-2015, 01:17 PM
Tom, I have an RA103 Savoy that was a barn-find. I sold the CRT to GregB and I doubt Ill restore it because the cabinet is missing doors, knobs etc.

BUT I'll look at the tuner shaft and maybe its what you need. Yes, I am concerned about hantavirus but deer mice are not as common as field mice here.

BTW - Who said it best about those bastards?

Jinxy the cat!
"I hate meeces to pieces"

Username1
12-29-2015, 01:18 PM
That neatly tied wire harness is really something ! I wonder if it was made up
outside the tv, like airplane and automotive wire harnesses, and put into the
tv as it was assembled...? The straightness I think would suggest that.....

Anyway, you got a lotta work there restoring that tv..... Bleaching a few times should
get the smell out..... Put it out in the sun and air in the summer too....

.

Kevin Kuehn
12-29-2015, 01:56 PM
Tom, For what it's worth, I had reasonable results using CLR to remove similar mouse goo from my Stromberg Carlson TC-125 chassis. The LCR did not dissolve surrounding cad plating like Navel Gel does. But it's a painfully slow process, and the stuff is so thin it want's to run everywhere. Oh, keep it away from any zinc plating, it'll turn that stuff black. http://s452.photobucket.com/user/Kuehn/library/Stromberg%20Carlson%20TC-125%20Chassis%20Cleanup

Electronic M
12-29-2015, 02:12 PM
It has been mouse free for 2-3 months (assuming the habitat store did not have mice too), but was in cool outdoor temps for the ~2 months I've had it...I sure hope I don't get hantavirus...

I plan to restore the Stromberg Carlson first and use parts from the Dumont as needed. The S-C doesn't even have a tuner shaft. I'm thinking I might be able to epoxy the Dumont shaft back together and do a tuner swap. The S-C chassis is cleaner, but is missing things like the tuner shaft, half the clear dial scale and speaker. When removing the Stromberg chassis there was some weird hangup in the cabinet, that I later found was a loose lytic bending a shield (which I straightened).

Pictures of the Stromberg Carlson chassis.
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/Dumont/DSCN1138_zpskhoyrcsg.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/Dumont/DSCN1138_zpskhoyrcsg.jpg.html)
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/Dumont/DSCN1139_zpsldnvnsle.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/Dumont/DSCN1139_zpsldnvnsle.jpg.html)
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/Dumont/DSCN1140_zpswbzb2q8a.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/Dumont/DSCN1140_zpswbzb2q8a.jpg.html)
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/Dumont/DSCN1144_zpskndk0rh7.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/Dumont/DSCN1144_zpskndk0rh7.jpg.html)
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/Dumont/DSCN1145_zps9ciovupm.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/Dumont/DSCN1145_zps9ciovupm.jpg.html)

Once the S-C is working right I'll decide if I should fix, sell or part out the Dumont.

Kevin Kuehn
12-29-2015, 04:32 PM
Ooh, that looks pretty clean and original on the under side.

ChrisW6ATV
12-31-2015, 02:28 AM
Tom Albrecht did a nice description of his repair of an Inductuner shaft a while back that may help you.

Electronic M
01-09-2016, 03:22 PM
The GE monitor will be the next to get serviced.....It is perhaps the first GE device with a CRT I've opened up that I can honestly say looks very well built.

I'd guess this was a non-standard size rack-mount chassis given that the only way to remove the chassis is from the front, and that the 6 screws holding it were on the face panel.

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN1221_zps5c4utp7w.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1221_zps5c4utp7w.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN1223_zpsrdb184bn.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1223_zpsrdb184bn.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN1224_zpsfdynwpcx.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1224_zpsfdynwpcx.jpg.html)

The four jacks on the back seem to be V sync, H sync, and two bridged video terminals. I've found a switch on top of the chassis for selecting internal or external sync so it would seem it is designed to be capable of syncing to composite video....That will make feeding this set video much easier!

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN1242_zpsnjzn0tsy.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1242_zpsnjzn0tsy.jpg.html)

All the tubular caps are in nice easy places to get to, and of nice common values that my dwindling cap stock is still flush with. The variety of different cap types from Sprague Vitamin Q to those cheap yellow "Astron" caps often found in Heathkits of the era makes me wonder if it was repaired a lot or if GE just used whatever caps were cheap any given day of the week.... There was also a solder splash in it that would support it being serviced at some point.
It says 'GE closed circuit television' on the front so I'd guess it is an industrial, but not broadcast monitor...Still it is built well enough to be either.
This will be my first time restoring an industrial grade tube device.

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/DSCN1226_zpsgmvvsxnl.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1226_zpsgmvvsxnl.jpg.html)

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN1225_zpswzgvlhmh.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1225_zpswzgvlhmh.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN1227_zps9xvoign7.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1227_zps9xvoign7.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN1229_zpszjslxe5x.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1229_zpszjslxe5x.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN1230_zpskpbh3flq.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1230_zpskpbh3flq.jpg.html)
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN1228_zpsx7qsaepk.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1228_zpsx7qsaepk.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN1231_zpsexwpyz2o.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1231_zpsexwpyz2o.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN1232_zpsykw0int1.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1232_zpsykw0int1.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN1234_zpsnijjozuj.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1234_zpsnijjozuj.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN1235_zps3ixspzqd.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1235_zps3ixspzqd.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN1238_zpsvnvasnpb.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1238_zpsvnvasnpb.jpg.html)

Electronic M
01-09-2016, 03:27 PM
More pictures.

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN1240_zpshkbvmpyo.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1240_zpshkbvmpyo.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN1241_zpswzvz5vhm.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1241_zpswzvz5vhm.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN1243_zpszok6h5st.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1243_zpszok6h5st.jpg.html)

Only thing I've had to guess on so far is the missing HV rectifier tube (and the rating of the top fuse)....It is a 9-pin tube with a top cap...The only tube like that I know of is type 1X2, and it's pin-out seems to match the socket (also my 14" GE portable TVs use that tube that way) so I'm going to go with it for now.

David Roper
01-09-2016, 03:41 PM
1AX2 is possible, but not likely.

Kevin Kuehn
01-09-2016, 03:45 PM
That GE monitor is very interesting. So is that a GE 12KP4 CRT?

Polaraligned
01-09-2016, 05:15 PM
It certainly looks aluminumized.

Olorin67
01-09-2016, 08:15 PM
Will be cool to see it come back to life, after I had stored it for 25 years...I don't suppose there's much hope of finding a schematic for something like this?

Electronic M
01-10-2016, 02:44 AM
Will be cool to see it come back to life, after I had stored it for 25 years...I don't suppose there's much hope of finding a schematic for something like this?

Wow, this set has been stored longer than I've lived...
If it was broadcast gear or the right person hung on to the schematic, then it might still exist someplace...Finding it is the hard part...I'm accustomed to flying blind on some projects (as I'm doing here)...

It now basically lives. I was able to test and replace all bad caps (except for the lytics) in 1hour and 5 minutes.:thmbsp: The Vitamin Q style caps were still good as new (as in previous encounters with those great caps) so I plan to leave them in. I proceeded to variac it up and was able to get a picture, but the sync and other things were not as stable as they should be.

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/DSCN1244_zps7ns4aiuw.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1244_zps7ns4aiuw.jpg.html)
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/DSCN1246_zpseqkic2mq.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1246_zpseqkic2mq.jpg.html)
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/DSCN1247_zpszuruikhy.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1247_zpszuruikhy.jpg.html)

I then removed the face and CRT to clean them and the chassis. I found the black mark in the center (that looked like ion burn) was just dirt, and that one of the lytics had got warm and peed it's self...I had time to test and replace (cause they were bad) all but the one insulated can (untested) and a small tubular lytic under the HV section (that tested good) which I may replace just for the heck of it. Tomorrow (well technically later today) those caps will be dealt with, the tubes will be tested and I'll put the CRT back in and give it a retest.

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN1248_zpsh6xvfn9i.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1248_zpsh6xvfn9i.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN1249_zpsu6siagvs.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1249_zpsu6siagvs.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN1250_zpsgcm3ggh9.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1250_zpsgcm3ggh9.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN1251_zpsarm3sapd.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1251_zpsarm3sapd.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN1252_zpsq6izfq7p.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1252_zpsq6izfq7p.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN1255_zps7otxad8k.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1255_zps7otxad8k.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN1253_zpsgkprj3bg.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1253_zpsgkprj3bg.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN1254_zpsodladjdw.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1254_zpsodladjdw.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN1260_zpsmn8xatny.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1260_zpsmn8xatny.jpg.html)

That GE monitor is very interesting. So is that a GE 12KP4 CRT?
Yup! The set has it's (most likely) original GE 12KP4A, still going strong.

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN1257_zpskreeqekb.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1257_zpskreeqekb.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN1259_zpsaxrqw1bj.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1259_zpsaxrqw1bj.jpg.html)

Olorin67
01-10-2016, 09:08 AM
Cool! I found that set around 1988, next to the trash chute in the basement of MSOE dorm RWJ. Wasn't sure what I wanted it for.. but couldn't' see it thrown out. Sent most of the years in my old room in my parents house, then in my storage locker. I wonder what MSOE used it for originally?, must have been an expensive piece of equipment back then.

Electronic M
01-11-2016, 02:35 AM
I wonder what MSOE used it for originally?, must have been an expensive piece of equipment back then.

There are a few possibilities: security camera duty (there were tons of security cameras there when I was getting my degree and they may have had use for one or two back then), 'Chicken stick' remote monitoring of dangerous equipment, TV repair course guinea pig (they use to offer degrees in radio and TV repair in the tube era), etc. Only way to know for sure would be to ask a staff member that was around when it was in service.

I've got it working good enough for my taste now. There is some new pincushioning of the horizontal that bugs me a bit, but I'll ignore that for now. It is easy to get drive lines if the width and drive controls are not balanced.
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN1268_zpsgjnuuraj.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1268_zpsgjnuuraj.jpg.html)
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN1267_zpsjtr3qxtu.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1267_zpsjtr3qxtu.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN1271_zpskgcv61xf.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1271_zpskgcv61xf.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN1272_zps1g0o2rv6.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1272_zps1g0o2rv6.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN1274_zpsteya3ot8.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1274_zpsteya3ot8.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN1276_zps5rynqov7.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1276_zps5rynqov7.jpg.html)http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN1278_zpsf3nl0j2p.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1278_zpsf3nl0j2p.jpg.html)

Most of the tubes have 57-22 and 188-4 I'm guessing that means 22nd week of 1957 and 188-4 is probably GE's EIA code. Given the CRT says 57-30 I'd guess this set was made in mid to late 1957. All but 3 tubes in it were original looking GEs tubes...two were Sylvania one was missing.
There is a part of me that finds it ironic that a monitor that has several desirable audio tubes in it (12AX7 12AU7 12AT7) has no audio section. What is weird is that it seems to use a 12AU7 as the vertical output...It strikes me as sending a kid to do a man's job...
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN1265_zpsrnq1srz1.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1265_zpsrnq1srz1.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN1264_zpsintdha5u.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1264_zpsintdha5u.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN1270_zpsr9kppxek.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1270_zpsr9kppxek.jpg.html) http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN1266_zps98rixmwr.jpg (http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN1266_zps98rixmwr.jpg.html)

Kevin Kuehn
01-11-2016, 11:11 AM
Plenty of sets used a 12AU7 video output, including the Raytheon/Belmont I've been working on. RC 19 lists it specifically for that application at 2.75 Watts plate dissipation. It's interesting how GE chose the 12KP4 in 1957. They must have felt is was a more robust tube than the others available, or possibly they were sitting on a big stock pile of them.

Electronic M
01-11-2016, 02:24 PM
Plenty of sets used a 12AU7 video output, including the Raytheon/Belmont.

I don't know if they used it for video output (that would seem like a normal application to me), but they did use the 12AU7 for vertical output in my GE (and that strikes me as odd).

David Roper
01-11-2016, 03:27 PM
I've also seen it used in Stromberg-Carlson sets as the vertical output, sections parallel connected. Sweeping a 19" tube no less! But yeah, video amplifier, sync separator, oscillator, you name it. 12AU7 isn't exactly equivalent to 6SN7 but is almost as ubiquitous in postwar sets.

Kevin Kuehn
01-11-2016, 05:59 PM
I don't know if they used it for video output (that would seem like a normal application to me), but they did use the 12AU7 for vertical output in my GE (and that strikes me as odd).

I misspoke and said video output(which is what my Raytheon has). But in fact RCA's RC- 19 Receiving Tube Manual list's it's max ratings (each unit) as a vertical deflection amplifier.

Kevin Kuehn
01-11-2016, 06:09 PM
What's causing the jaggedness in your posted pictures, is that your video player doing that?

Electronic M
01-11-2016, 06:20 PM
Interesting that it was used (and even rated in a tube manuals) for vertical deflection service.

I'd imagine tube life is reduced in that application. David, if that S-C is working and in fairly regular service, how often does that tube fail relative to the others?

Electronic M
01-11-2016, 06:28 PM
What's causing the jaggedness in your posted pictures, is that your video player doing that?

It seems to be the set. IIRC it does not do it when adjusted to produce drive bars...

Electronic M
01-13-2016, 01:48 AM
I recapped the Stromberg Carlson TC-10 (RA-103 clone), and was rewarded with raster. I was also able to get synchronised video and sound from it by injecting IF signal from my B&K 1077 analyst (the tuner is missing it's rotating coils so that was the only way to go). A pleasant surprise is that the B+ relay is still working properly (I've heard Dumont owners complain of bad ones a few times).
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1483/24451682945_c0cb05ea9c_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/DfHgsr)DSCN1286 (https://flic.kr/p/DfHgsr) by Tom Carlson (https://www.flickr.com/photos/137849736@N08/), on Flickr
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1661/24083904489_15d301d160_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/CGdiJz)DSCN1288 (https://flic.kr/p/CGdiJz) by Tom Carlson (https://www.flickr.com/photos/137849736@N08/), on Flickr
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1668/24451719645_227b9ee932_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/DfHsnc)DSCN1289 (https://flic.kr/p/DfHsnc) by Tom Carlson (https://www.flickr.com/photos/137849736@N08/), on Flickr
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1646/24343426222_123035b3b6_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/D69qvd)DSCN1291 (https://flic.kr/p/D69qvd) by Tom Carlson (https://www.flickr.com/photos/137849736@N08/), on Flickr
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1536/24425521776_cc264faa02_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/DdpbDN)DSCN1292 (https://flic.kr/p/DdpbDN) by Tom Carlson (https://www.flickr.com/photos/137849736@N08/), on Flickr
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1462/24343448642_73a054c4fb_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/D69xaL)DSCN1293 (https://flic.kr/p/D69xaL) by Tom Carlson (https://www.flickr.com/photos/137849736@N08/), on Flickr
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1477/24083963549_00fef6b584_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/CGdBhR)DSCN1294 (https://flic.kr/p/CGdBhR) by Tom Carlson (https://www.flickr.com/photos/137849736@N08/), on Flickr
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1598/24451780535_9d340de172_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/DfHLt2)DSCN1295 (https://flic.kr/p/DfHLt2) by Tom Carlson (https://www.flickr.com/photos/137849736@N08/), on Flickr


My plan tomorrow (or when I next can) is to attempt to fix the tuner shaft on my Dumont doghouse and then transplant the identical dumont tuner to the Stromberg Carlson chassis.
To that end I have a couple of questions. The front half of the shaft on the dumont has little centering it or holding it in...Should the back half of the ceramic shaft thread to the bolt behind it, and will that make the complete shaft not wiggle about like it does? Also the sliders that contact the rotating coils, what positions should they be in, relative to the rotor being turned to either stop?

Electronic M
01-18-2016, 07:04 PM
I had to steal the tuner, fuse holder, and speaker transformer off the RA-103, but I was able to get the Stromberg Carlson to work again. I've decided to give the work I had to do to fix the Dumont tuner it's own thread so it can be found easier : http://videokarma.org/showthread.php?p=3154349

There is an issue with it wanting to display retrace bars if the picture is about at the right brightness setting to get good grayscale which is annoying. It also seems like focus changes with brightness which is annoying, but otherwise it works well...If someone told me I'd have a tube TV with channel 1, FM radio, weather band and aircraft radio tuning a few years ago I'd have said that I don't believe such a creature exists...
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1601/24344358502_0159f8ab76_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/D6ecD1)[/url] https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1650/24370224961_0455307730_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/D6ecD1)
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1542/24344440602_c7d863a1d2_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/D8vLQr) https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1709/24084958939_9b0f269249_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/D6eC3w)
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1543/23824567824_906478d984_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/CGiHbK) https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1457/24157196810_896dda7b2e_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Cii8YL)







[URL=http://s1095.photobucket.com/user/ElectronicMemory/media/DSCN0889_zpsgn5netpg.jpg.html]http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/th_DSCN0889_zpsgn5netpg.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/CNFWZh) https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1688/24452504155_76de024983_q.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/DfMtze)DSCN1301 (https://flic.kr/p/DfMtze) by Tom Carlson (https://www.flickr.com/photos/137849736@N08/), on Flickr
I'm torn on the Dumont RA-103 Doghouse. It needs all but one knob, a fixable tuner with the dial lamp bracket and clear dial scale, the fuse holder, power interlock, HV cage cover, a speaker transformer with plug or just the speaker plug (and I kludge in my own transformer), and god only knows if the mice ate any coils, or other such unobtanium. It's all there other wise but rusty, scratched, chewed on, it reeks of mice, and it's going to be much more of a pain to get it close to as good as the Stromberg is. I don't know if I should try to track the parts down (I'm sort of broke though) and fix it, sell it whole as a project, or part it out. :scratch2:

One wacky idea I had was to part out the Dumont and transfer over it's mask and CRT to the Stromberg Carlson's cabinet...My Stromberg is a 10" screen model, but they made 12" sets with the same cabinet and chassis so such a conversion would be easy....The only argument against it (aside from giving the Dumont a chance to live) is that I can't find any reference on the internet to another 10" Stromberg with the same cabinet as mine...There are tons of the 12" version out there, but my 10" set appears to be a rarity.

Electronic M
10-14-2017, 01:15 AM
Back at the spring ETF I grabbed a less scary RA-103 chassis with a good tuner for $15....It's been kicking around for a LONG time as has the dismantled set. I finally got sick of all the bits for this thing taking up room and fixed it. The new chassis was also a mouse house, but not nearly as stinky and rusty. It's tuner was good and the HV cage cover was also present. Another benefit of the 'new' chassis was that someone gave it a crummy partial re-cap. They missed all the lytics, and did a lot of stupid things with the papers. I had to re-replace about half a dozen film caps since they did hair brained stuff like replacing .005 caps with .01, .1 with .15, installing a 200V cap to replace a 400V, 600V replacing the 1000V sweep caps, and the like....I left a few goofy but functional things like the series .22 caps (forming a .11) to replace a .1, and the series .01s replacing .005's. The pre-recap was helpful overall. Oddly enough the person who dumped the partially recapped chassis pulled every tube except for the most valuable one: the horizontal output (the HV rect also came with the chassis). The set had a LOT of mouse chewed wires in the main harness and under the 5U4s (which I suspect was part of the reason the previous owner's resto was aborted), and those were a pain to deal with. All the wires that had insulation damaged in the center I ended up replacing with ones from the other chassis, which thankfully had mouse chew on different wires (tisk tisk, the rodent family has such poor consistency :D ) Many of the wires chewed on the ends got heat shrink wrap over the damage....At the end on a couple of lone wires that got munched I just said 'Fu#k it' and bent their bare spots away from anything they could short to. After touching up the old recap and fixing the wires came changing the lytics, and then reinstalling the speaker and eye tube harnesses (previous owner clipped them out for god only knows why). I cleaned the tuner and reinstalled my original Dumont CRT, then remembered I had cannibalized the transformer and plug off this sets speaker to replace the missing ones on the stromberg. I grabbed a Philco split chassis parts chassis and found the right transformer for the output tube, and a plug that was close enough to work and crudely grafted them onto the speaker that came with the cabinet.

I was half expecting a big explosion or electrical fire on power up (it is hard to be sure one's found all the mouse damage), but was instead greeted by the B+ relay working, a horizontal line that bloomed into a raster, followed by sound and picture. Surprisingly it synced without adjustment, and the only major annoyance was the sound alignment not coinciding with clear picture (which I fixed)...Also I accidentally left a resistor disconnected while fixing the mouse damage which left the contrast control inoperative till I found it.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4460/37635712256_8212772174_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/ZkJS3C) https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4478/23831317798_29707a19fd_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/CiTJvC) https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4511/37635706826_acdd03c1b0_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/ZkJQr1) https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4496/23831308148_af13b3166c_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4485/23831305778_b4428ce763_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4465/23831294468_1b930155e7_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/CiTBzo)

It still needs a clear dial scale, all but one of the knobs, a tuning eye tube that works, and a refinish, but I think otherwise it is done. I mannaged to get it in the cabinet, but still need to tweak the sweep adjustments. The CRT has ion burn, don't test great and had a brightener, but it is reasonably bright without it and looks okay so I'll keep it in till it dies (I've got a good 12LP4 waiting). Incidentally I left a sub standard tube in it...See link for details: http://www.videokarma.org/showthread.php?p=3190724#post3190724 :D

Tomorrow I've got to dial in the sweep, replace the power cord, get the back on and hit is with some howards restor-a-finish (this pig needs lipstick, damn it! :D).

I'm debating what to do with the other RA-103 chassis....Sell the parts, dump the whole chassis, or strip the chassis and keep the parts (the smell makes me want to dismiss keeping much of it). I'd be happy to trade my parts chassis or anything currently mounted to it for the knobs and or clear dial scale and or eye tube. Any takers? :D Carcass pic(k)s below.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4484/37426512530_100c056281_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Z2fEfN) https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4456/36974398264_1cc2d5f858_z.jpg

David Roper
10-14-2017, 04:35 AM
Looks great, good job! I just wince every. single. time. I see letterboxing on a vintage set. I only have one device that reliably displays both 4:3 and 16:9 as geometrically correct 4:3. Unfortunately, it only does so connected to my computer. My Roku screws up YouTube formatting no matter how it's connected.

EdKozk2
10-14-2017, 10:07 AM
Hi Tom,
I'll take the carcass if you don't want it.
Those Dumonts and Stombergs have many of the same parts as a Crosley 9-413. I recapped one a couple of months ago.
Ed