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Old 01-17-2004, 03:53 PM
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Motorola & Philco finds

Went to the old local TV shop today. Wasn't really expecting to find anything that I hadn't seen before, but I did! I went digging around in an area that I hadn't looked in before, and found some unique color sets! I was really excited because we have recently been talking a lot about "the lost years" and Motorolas.

This one is a 1957 Motorola 21CT2M (Chassis TS905). It's in Sams 371-5. Unfortunately, the top isn't in the greatest of shape from sitting in that old attic for the past 30+ years, and some of the insides are somewhat rusty. It's not as bad as some of the other sets I've brought home from this shop. (My Sylvania HaloLight was in the same condition, and I had to put in MANY hours of work to make it run and look nice)

It looks like there was a failure at the yoke. In the photos, you'll see ash in the yoke area and it's also all over the power supply chassis below.

This has a 30 tube chassis, and the 21AXP22A (which tested very good). It has a unique looking switch assembly for the blue lateral magnet. According to Sam, part of this switch is for blue size. What is blue size? Never heard of that one before.

Whether it's a TV or radio, I have always felt that Motorolas had a style that set them apart from all other brands. This one is no exception. That big honkin' channel selector is pretty cool looking. It also has a neat push-button power switch, although it looks like it does not work because someone installed a little toggle switch on the top left rear of the cabinet. I was disappointed at first that the pencil box was missing, but once I got it home I found it inside the cabinet.

The cabinet has that cheesy fake wood stuff on it. The sides are in okay shape, but the stuff is peeling off the top. It could be fixed up with a piece of veneer I suppose.

This set will have to sit for a while before I can pull the chassis. I have too many others out there that are waiting in line for attention. Hopefully I'll be able to do something with it, but not today.
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Old 01-17-2004, 03:54 PM
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Close up of controls
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Old 01-17-2004, 03:59 PM
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the insides
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Old 01-17-2004, 04:03 PM
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An apparent failure
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Old 01-17-2004, 04:05 PM
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Unique Philco

Next to the Motorola was another unique set. This one is a Philco. It's still up there at the shop because we only had room in the van for the Motor, and it's pouring down rain all today. I'll have to get this one home another day. I don't remember the model number, but I did get a couple of photos. I am guessing this one to be a 1965 or 66 model. The cabinet on this one is a little better than the Motorola.

I don't know who made this chassis... it's definitely not an RCA clone. I wish I could have got better pictures of it, but it was really dark in there and crowded. The power transformer looked a bit smaller than what we would normally find in them.

There is a feature on this set that I found to be very unique in a television. This set actually has a fine-tuner indicator like the ones found in Dynaco tuners! On the front above the channel selector, you can see where it says "tuning eye". From the inside, you can see the indicator tube above and forward of the tuner.

I dug through my Sams index to see if I could find a schematic to match up with this set, but my Sams stop at 730. I did find some listings for Philcos in the 1965-66 range, but that goes beyond my folders. There is a 769-3, 827-2, and 835-2. I am thinking that one of these might be the match to this particular roundie. I wish I had written down the model number instead of relying on my memory! If anyone has these folders, could you take a peek to see if any of them match up to what I have in these photos. A sure give-away will be the tuning indicator.
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Old 01-17-2004, 04:07 PM
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Tuning indicator window above the channel selector
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Old 01-17-2004, 04:11 PM
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You can see the indicator tube in the top middle of the photo. It is similar to the EM84.
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Old 01-17-2004, 04:15 PM
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The Chassis. One other thing I noticed... on the tube diagram to the left, there are diagrams and instructions for setting the convergence.
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Old 01-17-2004, 05:18 PM
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Awesome finds! Especially the Motorola, That baby is rare as heck!
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Old 01-17-2004, 05:27 PM
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Great finds Charlie!!

The Motorola is so cool looking, I really love the RGB on the channel selector, it let everyone know YOU had a color TV even with it off

I think you'll find the ash around the yoke is actually just deteriorated plastic.
Whatever they made yoke covers out of back then was really crappy and it rots away with time and heat.

Eric
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Old 01-17-2004, 05:49 PM
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Quote:
Originally posted by Eric H
I think you'll find the ash around the yoke is actually just deteriorated plastic.
Whatever they made yoke covers out of back then was really crappy and it rots away with time and heat.
I hope you are right. i recall someone in the past telling me about the plastic that deteriorated that way... making one think there might have been a fire! Was out looking at it further, and didn't really notice anything else in that area to be "burned" or black. I wonder... before the plastic deteriorated, what was it holding together? There's so much of it on the chassis. Obviously something around that yoke isn't in the same position as it was 50 years ago!

It's a shame that the sets in this old shop are in such condition. Time, humidity, heat, and dirt have been hard on these sets in that attic. It's not so bad that it can't be fixed... it's just gonna take a lot of time, effort, and patience. I really suck when it comes to patience! Right now, I'm cleaning the knobs and pencil box with a toothbrush. It's already starting to look better!
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Old 01-17-2004, 07:43 PM
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Neat finds

Charlie,
That's some attic. Can't be easy moving those sets downstairs. That Motorola is a rare one. There is an ad for that very set in the May 28, 1956 Life Magazine. I think this was the last Motorola 21" color for several years.
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Old 01-17-2004, 08:45 PM
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...m.

Last edited by andy; 12-07-2021 at 11:16 AM.
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Old 01-17-2004, 08:48 PM
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Steve,

Unfortunately, most of the sets in this attic are in far worse condition than this one. From what I can tell, these sets have been sitting up in this dingy old attic since the early-mid 70's. Some of the sets are turned upside-down, some have major cabinet damage, and most of them have rusty or corroded insides. It really is a graveyard. The ones I've brought home are the better ones that have some hope for them. Some of the sets I brought home were so far gone that I just pulled them to the curb for the trash man.

From what I understand, there used to be a lot more sets in the warehouse section of this shop. The owner told me that most of the sets downstairs were roundie color sets of all makes and models. About three years ago, the fire marshall stopped by and did not like the looks of all those sets in the warehouse. Being that they had been there for so long, the fire marshall said they had to go or he would shut the shop down. So, they cleared them out... all of them. About half of the sets in the attic were cleared out as well. I'm glad they didn't get these last ones.

I kinda doubt there were ever any CT100's in this shop. I don't think our NBC station started broadcasting in color right away. CT100's were probably off the sales floors by the time we got color here.

In any case, it has been neat going through this attic. I just wish the sets were in better condition.

Andy,

I might get a chance to go back on monday. If so, I will bring my camera along. But trust me... it's not going to be pretty!
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Old 01-18-2004, 11:32 PM
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Last edited by andy; 12-07-2021 at 11:16 AM.
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