Sylvania Saratoga Restoration

[miniman82]

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.



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.

[mstaton]

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

[ggregg]

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

[zenithfan1]

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

[rcaman]

love the set.

[miniman82]

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.

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

[Tom S]

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

[mpatoray]

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

[KentTeffeteller]

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.

[miniman82]

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.

[miniman82]

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.

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.

[zenithfan1]

They really did an amazing job making that.

[Steve D.]

Nick,

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

-Steve D.

[ChrisW6ATV]

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.

[Steve D.]

Originally Posted by ChrisW6ATV

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.