Sylvania roundie update - Videokarma.org TV - Video

AndyMack · #1 02-14-2008, 03:43 AM

Just wanted to take a moment and say 'Hi' to the group here. I've been reading this forum for the last several weeks now and thought I'd finally post something.

anyways... i'm not anywhere near the 'tech' that most of you on here are, but I do have a love affair of sorts with vintage gear, older TV's certainly not withstanding.

I thought that some of you would like to know that the Sylvania 21LC28W that was recently on eBay is in safe hands and is now residing here in upstate NY. This is my first 'roundie' (long sought after no less), and work on restoring the cabinet will begin this spring. The electronics aren't in bad shape at all, but the set does need some attention with a few things. The CRT is not original to the best of my knowledge, but an RCA Colorama, probably early 70's vintage (a rebuild?). I'll include a few pics.

I also have a couple of 70's vintage Zenith consoles (an Avanti and another plain-jane model from '76), both of which work but are not daily watchers at this point.

Enough of me jabbering here... just wanted to pop in and introduce myself.

-andy

Sandy G · #2 02-14-2008, 05:28 AM

Always nice to have another Old TeeVee guy ! Welcome ! Nice collection, too !

RetroHacker · #3 02-14-2008, 07:46 AM

Welcome to AudioKarma Andy! Nice looking set too. Hey, and you're even in my neck of the woods! I'm in Niskayuna, near Albany/Schenectady.

-Ian

*zenithfan1* · #4 02-14-2008, 09:00 AM

Yes, Welcome Andy! That Sylvania is looking great!

bgadow · #5 02-14-2008, 12:04 PM

Welcome! Glad to see that Sylvania is in good hands-nice find!

Tony V · #6 02-14-2008, 11:18 PM

Welcome aboard Andy!

radiotvnut · #7 02-14-2008, 11:45 PM

Nice TV's & nice picture's! I'll bet that Zenith uses a 25EC58 or similar horizontal chassis. If it does, don't worry. It will never die!

Robert Grant · #8 02-16-2008, 12:52 PM

The design of the channel indicator, and the three knobs just above the door at the bottom right corner, would have me believing that this is built on the RCA CTC-14 chassis?

Rob

Chad Hauris · #9 02-16-2008, 06:23 PM

Welcome to Audiokarma, looks like the CRT's in those sets are still working very well!
As far as I can remember there was not an RCA CTC-13 or 14, I think it went from 12 to 15...the Sylvania looks like a CTC-15.

NowhereMan 1966 · #10 02-16-2008, 06:37 PM

Beautiful sets there, love the roundie. Roundies do have a lot of class. The Zenith is cool too, my gradeschool buddy used to have one like that, his was a little older though, from 1972, a Chromacolor I

wkand · #11 02-20-2008, 12:03 AM

Welcome. I didn't see anybody else mention the definition of Colorama, so I will. Coloramas were rebuilt tubes, HiLite was RCA's brand for new replacement tubes.

AndyMack · #12 02-22-2008, 07:26 PM

Thanks for all the responses. I'm pretty new to the world of vintage TV collecting, but hope to learn and have some fun with this. (and clear more space in the garage to boot). Seems a fitting way to spend the last year of analog broadcasting. One of my goals is to have a roundie or two on to catch the sign-off's of the local analog transmitters next year.

I did a search for my set and not only did I find a website that featured not only this model, but it featured this exact set, right down to the scratches in the cabinet. Looks like my Sylvania has racked up a few miles over it's lifetime. From Ohio, to where I purchased it in CT, and brought to NY.

It's a blast to watch and operate, but it's got some issues. The left side of the picture is clipped a little, and there's a degaussing thing going on where the bottom quarter of the picture has some screwy color. Hopefully once I get rid of a few things and reclaim my workshop again I can dig into this set.

I know this has probably been asked a zillion times before, but is there any recommended reading for a newbie like me who wants to get into fixing these old beasts? I've rehabbed a few radios before (and am doing a few more now to get back into swing of things), but never really messed with TV's beyond basic repairs.

truetone36 · #13 02-22-2008, 09:02 PM

Try to find any of the books by Art Margolis. He wrote quite a few books on repairs and troubleshooting. Also, if you can locate the Coyne Cyclopedia of Television, it's a good source for troubleshooting info. Check online and at used book stores, as these books are not really hard to find. For your set the RCA Color Television Service Course would be good to find.

Dumont-First with the finest in television.

stromberg6 · #14 02-23-2008, 08:10 AM

Did you also buy the Westinghouse he was selling?

bgadow · #15 02-25-2008, 11:33 AM

RCA Color TV Pict-O-Guides show up on ebay all the time for not much money and are a handy reference. I also like the TAB book "RCA Color TV Repair Manual" (I think that's right) which is part of a series that covered most of the major makers. I think the 1st RCA book in the series is the easiest to troubleshoot with. There is a Sylvania book but it doesn't cover the earlier models very well.