A huge thank you to my good friend Danny for finding this TV for me. It's a 1963 (plus or minus one) Admiral combo set. It was the lowest priced combo unit for the year. I don't know when I'll be picking it up, Danny just picked it up yesterday at an estate sale, and there is a lot that has to be done before it can be put into service. I'll post more information as I recieve it. In order to accommodate this TV, I will be forced to rearrange my room and get rid of my desk. My Zenith Chromacolor will take the desk's place.

is there a chassis?

Very nice buddy :)

Joemama, yes, it was taken out for cleaning.

RCA clone or real admiral chassis?

Danny told me last night, but I forgot. I'm pretty sure it's real Admiral chassis.

Dont worry about running out of room. You can always put a mattress on top of it for sleeping:D Nice looking set.

Nice!!!! :D

Congratulations! Roundies are getting kind of scarce. Just hope that the CRT and flyback is good. I don't know if it's an RCA clone or not, but somehow I think it very well might be. Please post pictures of the chassis. That way we will know. Good looking blond cabinet as well. Probably uses a 21FJP22 CRT. If so, hope there isn't any cataract.

Did somebody say cataract? It's so bad, I don't think I'll have any issue getting the glass off.

regarding cleaning, pls don't go overboard on this, its easy to mess things up, I always say check it out as is, monitor the B+, the AC current draw, the HOT current, and the HV. Pull the horz out tube and the vert out tube and do a slow power up on a varic start in about 20vac slowly go up to about 80vac waiting about 10 min every 10v, monitor the can cap heat, watch out for any cardboard covered or chassis isolated can cap, the are used in doublers and will have B+ on the metal can.

Stop the variac if AC current goes over 3 amps, stop when if the B+ gets to 400v (less than full line voltage with no horz out tube installed).

If all that passes put the horz out and the vert out back in and go for a full power start up, again monitor the AC line current and the horz out cathode current, should be about 3.5 amps max on the line and 200-210 ma max on the horz out cathode. IF the HV comes up make sure it does not go over 25kv if so stop.

Often these old sets will be fine as is, the slow power up may make the can caps reform if they have not seen voltage in a very long time. full power with out the variac risk shorting a can cap.

The problem with cleaning is you can do damage that can be very hard to diagnose. if it works before cleaning then go ahead and clean some and test again. That way if you muck up something you will have a good Idea where to start.

It will be several months before I pick this TV up. I haven't seen the chassis at all yet.

Here is the radio amplifier chassis in the Admiral.

I told you you'd find one! That definitely is a beautiful admiral! You will have a lot of fun working on a roundie for sure. Keep us posted!:banana:

Thanks! Yeah, it was by pure happenstance that Danny found this one. It was at a sale he originally wasn't going to go to, but he decided to check it anyway since he was in the area. I already know exactly where this set will go, too. It will be a lot of work to accomodate it, but it will be worth it. This set does indeed have an Admiral built chassis. So that's really neat. I suppose I should change my signature, huh?

I suppose I should change my signature, huh?

Hell no. Why stop at one?:D

Nice looking set. You'll soon discover that having only one isn't enough, space permitting.

Hell no. Why stop at one?:D

I have an idea...

I have an idea...

Perfect :thmbsp:

Here is a picture of the Admiral TV chassis.

Also do we have any information on this seemingly generic RE21FJP22?

Here is a picture of the Admiral TV chassis.
The first generation Admiral chassis. IIRC, they made it for two years. They even made a rectangular set, with that chassis. The color circuit was an RCA design. The next models were cheapened and used the 6LE8 type color circuit. They even made a roundie with the newer chassis, BOTL. :sigh:
The amplifier in your set is respectable. It's amazing how good the SE 6BQ5's sound.

Also do we have any information on this seemingly generic RE21FJP22?

I believe the "RE" indicates that it is a "Rare Earth" phosphor tube.

.

I already knew that. Sorry. What I meant was do we know who made it or if it's original to the set? AEI kind of sounds like Admiral Electronics I????

Tube is a rebuild. Perhaps a rebuild from a local company?
At one time, Omaha had a handful of picture tube rebuilders, so I wonder if there was a local rebuilder in the area this set was found?

Yeah, Danny did say it was a rebuild. I just remembered that. Here is a picture of the AM/FM stereo. Interestingly enough, the "Pull on push off" treble control is just a standard turn-click switch. Oops.

Did somebody say cataract? It's so bad, I don't think I'll have any issue getting the glass off.

Be very careful if you are going to try and remove the safety glass on the front of the CRT. I have never done it myself, as I've always have been afraid of imploding the tube. I know others have done it, successfully though. Read up on the procedures that they used and be VERY Careful. I don't think anyone on this forum wants to hear that your in the hospital getting stitched up from imploding glass. Also test the tube first to make sure it's good, and that is has good emission before even trying to remove the cataract.

I've watched every single cataract video on Youtube about five times each. I'm going to practice on a couple of junk tubes before going to the real deal. One with the water method and one with the heat.

Also do we have any information on this seemingly generic RE21FJP22?

I could be mistaken but it looks like 0479 is stamped in red over the green print on the label. Would that be a rebuild date of April 1979?

Someone could have easily replaced the pull on push off switch with a conventional twist on switch. The twist on switches were a lot easier to come by than the pull on push off switches.

Nope. Pretty sure Danny told me it was original. The radio also has a tuning eye tube - so that's pretty cool.

Nope. Pretty sure Danny told me it was original. The radio also has a tuning eye tube - so that's pretty cool.

You'll see, when removing the chassis, if the control was replaced or not. It really doesn't make much difference. The switch, probably was replaced. The CTS push-pull switches with the black button back, didn't stand up too well, plus they could be fire hazards. I installed many KR8M switches.

Danny sent me a picture of the switch. I'm inclined to agree with him that it's original.

Yep, it looks like an original. It also looks like it is NOT a pull on, push off switch. Also, look at the wear pattern on the front of the panel around the treble control. The wear pattern would indicate a conventional turn on, turn off switch.

I've got a similar set of Admiral stereo guts....And a non combo Admiral TV with speakers on either side of the screen....Hmm :scratch2: That could be a fun project; making a combo out of it.

do not use heat (other than sunlight) to remove the lens. Its not needed for yours. Heat with a heat gun works but is much more dangerous IMHO. The main thing is not to rush it and not to hear or cool rapidly. even in sun heat I put in shade to let it cool down. NEVER use water to clean if tube is hot.

I have a 23V rectangle that has been sitting out in the weather for over a year now, Still in its foam case, with a hole dug out and a funnel in the hole right over the junction of the lens to CRT face. Grease on the pins and anode to prevent corrosion.

I was thinking of putting down a soft towel, put the CRT face down and cover with dirt to let the microbes have a go at it. Low damp area to really get the most out of it.

Congratulations, that is a very interesting round color combo indeed.

That amp chassis and tuner (9M1 chassis?) are the same as the Admiral stereo multiplex console I have except the rectifier tube in yours has a 6CA4 and mine is a 5U4 (chassis 3PA8A)
After recap and several tube replacements, the unit does sound very good for single-ended and has bass to spare. I wonder what record changer you have:scratch2: mines an Admiral that looks like a V-M from the top side.

Good news! Danny got the chassis up and running and producing a picture. Bad news! The flyback is shot. Good news! Another friend of mine (a member of this forum) has a new one that he's going to give me.

whats wrong with the fly?

Yes.. wondering what is shot on the flyback as well if that's a screen shot of said TV.
A flyback either works or doesn't.

It gets really hot and bubbles tar. It will be getting replaced, working or not.

I'd look for and fix whatever may be causing that first, otherwise you may just do the same to the replacement. How much current are you running through there? You get that part of the circuit working correctly, and you may find the original will no longer overheat.

.

You can't just assume it's bad unless you've run through the horizontal setup in the manual, could be as simple as an efficiency coil adjustment or some damper/output tube rolling. HV rectifier could be gassy, or there may be leakage in old HV wiring or conductive dust in the cage. I have a Packard bell chassis right now that overheated the fly first time I ran it and cathode current was only 190, let it cool overnight and when I powered it up the next day it was fine. Moisture in the transformer also causes issues sometimes.

It gets really hot and bubbles tar. It will be getting replaced, working or not.

oops saw miniman pretty much covered what I was typing. I agree with what he said.

That safety glass looks like it will come off with very little trouble.

Here is a fresh picture of my roundie. When I saw this picture, I was shocked that it looked so good.

Got the Admiral home today. I cleaned it up with Gojo real good, and now it really sparkles.

Eye candy. That's what that is. Beautiful set, glad you finally found a roundie.

Thanks, man. I've been looking forward to this day since May 28th.

Nice looking and it cleaned up great!

Thanks!

Nice!

I love old roundie color sets, but just don't have a lot room to store store a bunch of them in my shop area. I cherish my 21CT55 (CTC2B) and my CTC9 RCAs. Yours looks quite nice, nice cabinet and nice picture. The stereo in it is a good unit. Using 6BQ5s in push-pull, as outputs produce some great sound. Does the turntable work? Usually you can also hook up a CD player, etc. (even an I phone) to it as well, using it for some great sound. You have a knack to find a great career in something along the electronics lines. The first color set I saw that was running was in Sears at a mall, and wow, I know I had to have one but my parents at that time wouldn't spend the money. I found a CTC9 (not the same one I have here) back in the early 60s, pretty beat up with a weak CRT, for $75. Went to work on it, finished the cabinet, replaced the CRT, and many other parts, and my parents and I watched it for several years, until I found a CTC38, and sold the CTC9. The lady I sold it to used it for 3 or 4 more years, until the flyback smoked out. Oh yea, did you get the flyback replaced in your Admiral, and checked the horizontal output current? It's odd that it still produced HV, and a picture but would get hot and smell and/or smoke dripping wax. I think those flybacks in the admirals were just as troublesome as those in the early RCAs. Hardly even seen a flyback go bad in a Zenith. I only remember replacing one in a Zenith. You have a great thing going fixing and collecting these older TVs, and electronics. Most younger guys like you only want the latest digital gadgets. Keep up the good work..

when i saw my first zenith color set,this is what the picture looked like.beautiful set and happy for you.

Thanks. I really appreciate it. This thing is my pride and joy of my TV collection. Right now, I'm trying to find a needle and cartridge for the record changer in it. I'm just now starting to get edgamacated on record changers, and I have no clue what needle and cartridge to get for it.

Here are some suggestions of finding parts for record changers, needles, idlers, and cartridges.

http://www.thevoiceofmusic.com/catalog/phono_needles.asp

http://stores.ebay.com/CAROLES-NEEDLES Also there are many other sites as well.

Remove the cartridge and there should be number and make on it like EV, Tetrad, Ronette, etc. You can then search the web or these sites and find the correct needles and or cartridges. Also look for the make and model of the record changer. Most likely as it's been sitting for a long time, the rubber idler wheel and motor grommets will be hard and may need to be replaced. Also get some denatured alcohol to clean off all the old gummed up grease on the changer mechanism, etc. You may also have to take the motor apart and clean the armature shaft and bearings as they are also probably dried up, slowing the motor down, maybe even causing it to freeze up. (motor should spin real easy and free). Clean and lube the spindle bearing as well. Just remove the small C clip (at the bottom of the spindle) that holds the turntable in place that keeps it from falling off. I usually re-lube with lightweight turbine oil, or you could use another light weight oil or grease. I usually find that oil works best for me. Pay close attention to all the small parts, take pictures and don't lose any small screws, C clips, etc. Record changers are pretty easy to fix, just take your time,

Thanks for the info. I decided that I'm going to try to get an Astatic 17 from the VM Audio enthusiasts site. I cleaned the rubber idler with alcohol, and it perked the turntable right up. In the meanwhile, my TV broke. I think the UHF cable that goes to the VHF tuner worked itself loose, as I don't have that crystal clear picture anymore. And the convergence is all out of whack after getting it over here.

the convergence is all out of whack after getting it over here.If the colors got messed up right after you moved the TV, I would give it a good degaussing before messing with the convergence.

Look at what happened to my CTC-11 after I moved it inside the house. At first, the colors looked awful! When I degaussed it, the colors returned to normal.

http://antiqueradio.org/art/RCACTC-11PurityRedux2.jpg

http://antiqueradio.org/art/RCACTC-11FinalCabinet.jpg

A degaussing coil like this will do the job:

http://antiqueradio.org/art/DegaussingCoil.jpg

This CTC-11 article explains what is going on with degaussing. Scroll down to the section, "Kindly Degauss After Moving!"

http://antiqueradio.org/RCACTC-11Television.htm

If degaussing doesn't improve the colors, then I would look at other causes, but it's best to start with simple, obvious things.

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

Thanks, Phil. I did degauss it when I got it installed, but I haven't since then. I have to get the UHF problem figured out first though. I'm also having a color bleeding problem. That CTC11 is gorgeous, by the way.

If degaussing doesn't help, then also check to see if the deflection yoke, purity rings, convergence triad or blue lateral ring hasn't come loose and/or moved. Yes, it could be just magnetized, so degauss it first and see if that helps. Your photo looks more like purity is off, not so much the convergence. As far as the picture being affected by the cable to the UHF tuner, it would only make a difference if you were receiving a UHF signal. Sometimes the problem is interference even if hooked directly to a converter box. With all of the digital units today, fluorescent bulbs, switch mode power supplies, cordless and cell phones, etc they can really mess up the picture. Most likely there is just twin antenna lead going from the screw terminals to the tuner, which can pick up all kinds of junk. In my shop area, I have a cordless drill charger, that if left plugged in, (even if the battery isn't charging) throws all kinds of streaks into a TV picture. I unplug it, the streaks are gone. (Try receiving AM radio stations with either of the 2 dimmer switches turned on in my house. Mostly solid 60hz buzz.) Also by the looks of your crosshatch photo, my guess is that the deflection yoke has slid back on the neck of the tube a little bit. Might just need to be pushed forward a little bit. Just don't over tighten the clamp that hold it in place.

I think I figured out why the UHF wasn't working right. I removed the bow-tie antenna, Deoxited the screw terminals, and it improved significantly. Now to figure out what's wrong with the picture. I know that the lateral magnet has slid over some, as there is a very pronounced haze to the right of everything. It's extremely difficult for me to move this beast in my teeny weeny bedroom. I actually got stuck in here because the way I was sliding it made it move towards the door and I had to move it backwards about six inches by myself.

I tried watching the Admiral tonight, but I eventually just switched to my CTC-25, because the ghosting and the blue haze just got to me. Plus the UHF is extremely touchy. I will definitely be cleaning and and adjusting this thing. Maybe when I get some help.

Here is the magenta window circle from my Sencore VG91. As you can see, the focus on the Admiral isn't that great with this color.

A video of this TV is now on Youtube. Watch the video here. (https://youtu.be/lHAB03-5Ovg)

Enjoyed the video. Thank you for posting.

I'm a little late to the party but that's one sweet roundie. Admiral roundie combos with a genuine Admiral chassis must be pretty scarce. For me it's usually the more unusual the better.

I've never seen a color roundie in person, but that's likely because Canada didn't get color broadcasts until 1966.

I'm having another problem with the Admiral, but it's not with the TV. It's actually in the radio tuner. When I try playing something through my SSTRAN, I get a really high pitched noise that is somewhat tunable, but it is omnipresent in the AM. I've heard this sound before, but it was on a 70's solid state Sony AM/FM. None of my other radios do this, tube or solid state. I'm pretty sure I know what the problem is. The 6AY11 in the radio tests horrible on my tester, it has shorts, grid emission, and is very weak. What do we think?

I'd say replace the obvious.

I'd say replace the obvious.
Ditto. If a tube tests that bad, it would be standard practice to replace it whether or not you suspect it of being or causing a problem in the radio performance. It's not a big investment at only $3.00.

http://www.esrcvacuumtubes.com/vacuumtubes_tubelist_tubes_6A3-6CZ5.html

And if you are using tubes that test bad in TVs, replace them also before trying to do your troubleshooting. It makes no sense to try to work through all the components when a bad tube is so easy to replace first. It'll save a lot of hours of grief to do the obvious first there as well.

.

Oh yes, I'm definitely changing the tube. I'm also having an issue with FM reception. There is a radio station about twenty miles to the east of me, and the Admiral is having difficulty picking it up. It's a high power FM station, and none of my other radios have any issues. I tried an external antenna and readjusting the built in.

Which station?

jr

WQEN Trussville-Birmingham, 103.7 MHz

If it were at the extreme top or bottom of the dial, perhaps alignment (tracking) is off, but this does not seem to be the case. 100 kw station, decent antenna height:

https://transition.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/fmq?call=wqen&arn=&state=&city=&freq=0.0&fre2=107.9&serv=&vac=&facid=&asrn=&class=&list=0&ThisTab=Results+to+This+Page%2FTab&dist=&dlat2=&mlat2=&slat2=&NS=N&dlon2=&mlon2=&slon2=&EW=W&size=9

Should be easy to receive... hopefully replacing the 6AY11 will help it as well. :scratch2:

jr

Replacing the 6AY11 helped audio fidelity considerably in my console HiFi which uses the same tuner as yours. the symptom was different, static even when volume was turned down.

The 6AY11 may not solve the reception problem. One thing to look at first is the antenna input balun coil. It may be trapping-out that frequency due to an open.

Going into the tuner can should be a last resort, check the voltages at the input feed-thru caps. Use a socket extender to check voltages on the tube. Try replacing the tuner tube, a 6C9.

This Admiral pulls 'em in like my Motorola's and Zenith's do and better than my Magnavox tube consoles, but just lights the stereo light on the local flame thrower -WIOV 105.1 - 50 kW @ 15 miles away line-of-sight. 100 kW FM stations do not exist here in the crowded mid-atlantic. It could also be overloading

Do you have a schematic of the 9M1 tuner-preamp? If not, PM me with your email address and Ill scan it.

I just looked at RadioStationWorld.com and found there are no 100kW ERP FM stations in Ohio, either--and this is the Great Lakes region, not the Mid-Atlantic.

I doubt WQEN-FM is overloading the tuner at a distance of 20 miles. I don't think 100-kW stations are even allowed on 103.7 MHz in any part of this country, so that station could not have such a powerful signal if it wanted to.

I don't think 100-kW stations are even allowed on 103.7 MHz in any part of this country, so that station could not have such a powerful signal if it wanted to.

It is clearly stated as 100 kw in the FCC page that I linked to.

jr

It is clearly stated as 100 kw in the FCC page that I linked to.

jr

I stand corrected. I just looked up WQEN on RadioStationWorld.com and found the station does in fact have a 100kW ERP signal on 103.7 MHz. There is also another FM station in Birmingham, WZZK-FM, on 104.7 MHz, that runs 100kW ERP. However, since Dave (VK member TUD1) is some 20 miles from WQEN's transmitter, I doubt the station's signal is anywhere near strong enough to overload his tuner's front end.

BTW: The most powerful FM stations here in Ohio, again according to RSW.com, have 50kW ERP output. Forty-six years ago there was an FM station on 107.9 MHz in Newbury, Ohio, 40+ miles from Cleveland, that had a 140-kW ERP signal, 70kW vertical and 70kW horizontal polarization. The station decreased its ERP output to 16kW or so after numerous complaints of interference to stations in Pittsburgh and in Canada. Don't quote me on this, but I think after this incident the FCC capped the maximum ERP output for FM stations in the Great Lakes region at 50kW. There is one other station in Ashtabula, Ohio, near Lake Erie, that has a 50-kW ERP signal and probably one terrific antenna system that allows the station to cover 100+ miles in all directions. The antennas were damaged in a major snowstorm last year, limiting the coverage to probably less than fifty miles (I remember it was quite weak here in Fairport Harbor, 35 miles from Ashtabula), but they were soon rebuilt and now the station's coverage area is probably better than it ever was.

IIRC one of the FM stations in Steven's Point Wi. (or was it Appleton/Greenbay?) is 100KW....Not a lot of large towns/FM stations up there so what is there sometimes has higher power to better serve the area.

Here are the rules set by the FCC for station class and power/height of the transmitting antenna in various zones in the country.

https://www.fcc.gov/media/radio/fm-station-classes

There are a few stations that are grandfathered in which are exceptions to these rules (very few).

jr

IIRC one of the FM stations in Steven's Point Wi. (or was it Appleton/Greenbay?) is 100KW....Not a lot of large towns/FM stations up there so what is there sometimes has higher power to better serve the area.Stevens Point has one at 100K (WSPT), Appleton has one at 100K (WAPL), Green Bay has one at 96K (WIXX) and there may be more high powered stations around here. Actually there are a lot of FM stations up here. You may just have a different view because your history has been from living around big cities and their many suburbs, so you have had a plethora of choices of FM station to choose from. From here in Appleton I do have 35 FM stations within 50 miles, and there are many outside that range that can be heard on a decent radio with a proper antenna.

Just going through the FM band now I get 51 different stations coming in (more than 40 at a listenable level) on a small Tecsun PL-300WT with its 21-inch whip antenna. My Toyota radio will receive many more in the evening hours.

I'm sure when you get much farther into the boonies (such as your vacation site near Hayward) there are very few stations, and very few towns of any size. And the metallic ore in the ground in Northern Wisconsin and the Michigan Upper Peninsula sure can cripple radio reception.


.

I assumed station count would be similar in eastern Wi to the Hayward area. There are maybe 5-10 FM stations (and not many AM either) receivable during the day in that area...

Yes, Hayward does seriously lack variety.

Pewaukee: http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/locate?select=city&city=pewaukee&state=WI&x=11&y=5



Appleton: http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/locate?select=city&city=Appleton&state=WI&x=0&y=0



Hayward: http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/locate?select=city&city=Hayward%2C+WI&state=WI&x=11&y=7

.

Now the record changer messed up. It's changing two and three records at a time, when it's supposed to only let one through.

Just spent 2 hours doing dynamic convergence on the Admiral. It was driving me crazy, so I did the best job I possibly could. It's a ton better than it was. One thing that bothers me though, the CRT tested perfect, but the Sencore CR70 and B&K 470 showed a resistive short (not all the way shorted) on the green G1. I didn't try to repair it since it's working fine.

Good job, believe the raster not the tester.

Looks pretty darn good.

One day, I will get mine going...

that looks great!couldnt really get any closer.cant wait to see the finished product

Here ya go.

Great work on the convergence and very nice set. Can we see some screenshots of program material? Thanks.

If you back off the fine tuning a tad, do your white letters go back to being white? Right now they look like rainbows.

Your earlier picture seemed to have much more readable lettering:

http://www.videokarma.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=192481&d=1474159493

Now:

http://www.videokarma.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=193990&d=1488427155



.

Used a different camera, maybe that will help the white letter rainbows.

Be sure to try a long exposure time- as long as you can without blurring, Aperture priority mode in most cameras with a higher number f/stop will bring times up to a quarter or half a sec. for a much better picture.

Took a pretty cool picture of the Admiral today. I used a "studio" light with a 50 watt mercury vapor lamp.