Rca trk-12

[relaximus]

Does anyone have an idea as to what this monster weighs?

Dave

[tubesrule]

Originally Posted by relaximus

Does anyone have an idea as to what this monster weighs?

Dave

198 lbs.

Originally Posted by ChuckA

Anybody else notice the missing decals on the TV control side board? Also it looks like the board is mahogany rather than the tight grained walnut normally used, possibly replaced when tuner mod happened.

I think so as well. It also seems to be very thin as seen by the edge of the wood in the cutout. It's actually a pretty nice looking job.

[kx250rider]

First, that IS a real set, and I'm dumbfounded! Collecting TVs for 35 years, and this is the first TRK-12 that has just popped up out of a house. You are indeed lucky!

My take on the tuner, is that it's a DuMont (Mallory) Inputuner. Somebody cut out the face plate, sadly, and retrofitted that tuner to replace the original 5-channel tuner. That does affect the value of the TV, but certainly doesn't kill it. I hope they didn't do any sawing and cutting on the chassis, but honestly since that was probably done some time right after WWII, it is a "grandfathered-in" butcher mod, and could be acceptable. Much as if someone added 1930s seatbelts to a 1912 Cadillac, in the 1930s.

There will be a lot of opinions on the value, and all I can say is that the right people have seen and posted on this thread, so you will get the true value if you sell. Let me put it this way: If I thought the set could be had for $2000, and I'm not misinterpreting anything in the pics, I'd be on the next plane with wallet in hand. But I also know someone else would be on an earlier plane with a bigger offer.

That TV is very dangerous to move, and I ask that you please be careful. The picture tube is not fastened in, and the wood mask with the safety glass lens is probably just sitting on the top of the TV; not fastened. It would not take much to break that CRT, and that would take the value down about $1000, assuming the tube is physically intact now. The big, heavy chassis on the bottom is also notoriously not bolted in, as there were lazy repairmen who would just loosely stick one or two bolts half way in. If I owned it, I'd carefully dismantle the TV, and move it in pieces. That MUST be done by an experience vintage TV hobbyist though, as there are quirks and tricks to it. I have the service manual and installation process manual for that TV, and so do most other members here, so if you have any questions, please do ask!

Congratulations on that find, and thank you for being smart enough to look into what you found, rather than do as some do, and just bang it home and stick it in the garage for future fiddling with, etc.

Charles

[relaximus]

The TV is less than 500 feet down the street from my house. If I get it, I'm hoping to just carefully lift it onto a dolly and slowly wheel it into my garage. Then, with the help of my sons and a strong neighbor or 2, we'll bring it into the house once I'm certain there's nothing living in it. I'm hoping to not do ANY dismantling other than removing the back for inventory and pictures. I'll get most of the dirt and dust cleaned off and blown out prior to bringing it inside. I'll be careful to not pull on or disturb any of the internal wiring as I have no doubt that is has become somewhat brittle with age. I think that some of what I've learned through my restoration of 7 consoles will help in my being very careful with this.

Thank you one and all!

Dave

[Phil Nelson]

If you're going to trundle it down the street on a dolly, I would at least check beforehand that ALL of the chassis mounting screws are secure, and there is nothing whatsoever flopping around loose. Even then, I think you're taking a big risk.

My strong preference, as I stated earlier, would be to disassemble it for moving. You'll have to disassemble it for restoration, anyway . . . .

Phil Nelson

[Sandy G]

Whatever you do, PUH-LEEZE be careful !!

[relaximus]

Originally Posted by Phil Nelson

... My strong preference, as I stated earlier, would be to disassemble it for moving. You'll have to disassemble it for restoration, anyway . . . .

Phil:

Are you seriously suggesting that I disassemble this thing just to move it down the street? Were these things delivered in parts when they were new? Quite obviously, I've never dealt with a vintage television before, but I've never gone to those lengths in transporting old tube consoles. Would it be cautious enough to merely remove the back and check that the chassis are properly secured? Can I assume that the biggest danger is in possibly damaging the picture tube? I'm not gonna ride this thing down the street like a skate-board.

Dave

[tubesrule]

Not that I would ever suggest this, but my TRK12 was moved from California to Michigan by a flaky, one man moving company. It took over a month from when he picked it up to when he delivered it as he roamed the country looking for junk. The crt was left in the set, and it all arrived fine.

Pre-war sets, and early post-war sets where delivered with the crt in a separate box and installed by the service technician in the home. If anything you might want to remove the crt, but this takes some knowledge of these sets to know how to do it, so it may be better left in situ for fear of damaging or imploding the crt. If you do want to remove the crt, we can post the step by step procedure to do so.

Darryl

[relaximus]

Would it be possible to merely lift the CRT gently from the top, and pad it (around the opening) with a towel to try and immobilize it somewhat? Just how thin is that glass envelope? You guys are really starting to make me nervous. I had no idea that finding this would be akin to finding a pristine '60 Fisher President at a garage sale for 5 bucks. And I thought my '56 Fisher Custom Futura was rare!

Dave

[Glenz75]

From what I've been reading you have come across what looks to be a very rare set. Hope you end up getting it. If you've worked on tube radios, you're half way there, TV's are a bit more complex just watch the higher voltages/EHT and you should be fine.
BTW are those HPM100's in your avatar?

Cheers
Glen

[relaximus]

Originally Posted by Glenz75

... BTW are those HPM100's in your avatar?

They're Plexiglas (lucite) HPM-900's that Pioneer produced for their dealers when the 900's were introduced. They sound "okay" at lower volumes, but the bass tends to get flabby with increased volume. I have them mainly as display pieces.

Dave

[relaximus]

Originally Posted by ChuckA

... Biggest unknown is going to be the CRT, they can be rebuilt ($1000+), but a verified good one would make the set a lot easier to sell.

Having never dealt with this, just how does one test a CRT? I have a Hickok 750, but that ain't gonna help here. I'm okay with replacing capacitors and out-of-spec resistors and such, but this is a whole new world for me. I would imagine there's a whole host of unobtainium contained in this thing. For instance, I don't have the knowledge or equipment to rebuild/rewind a transformer. And the only real thing I know about CRTs is that I'm happy to not have one on my desk anymore. Upon his return from WWII, my dad helped form the Mobile Radio division at GE. A lot of my basic electrical knowledge was garnered from him as I studied Mech. Eng. and Comp. Sci. in college and have been writing CADD software for the last 27+ years. Most of my understanding of tube-based amp topologies has been learned from the generous offerings by the members of AudioKarma, who walked me through the refurbishment of my '63 Fisher Custom Electra (my first console).

Dave

[tubesrule]

Dave,
Pre-war crt's are made from Pyrex and are very tough, but should be treated as any crt, with care. The best way to test them is in operation. You can of course at least check for a good getter and filament. These crt's use a 2.5V filament.

The crt is not actually loose in the set but is held in place inside the cardboard sleeve which is held by braces at the top. The rubber mask on top and wood escutcheon holds the crt down. If you do want to remove it, take the center wood escutcheon off (screws in the back and wing nuts towards the front), very carefully remove the socket and HV lead, and lift the crt AND cardboard sleeve straight up and out of the cabinet. You will be lifting the crt neck out through the yoke, so be careful not to put any undue side force on the neck. Just lift straight up.

You can see what the 12AP4 crt and cardboard sleeve look like here:
http://www.myvintagetv.com/picture_tubes.htm

Darryl

[relaximus]

Thanks Darryl! Just how tight are those connections likely to be? I would imagine that there's going to be a fair bit of oxidation happening there. Is Deoxit of any value here to try and loosen the connections?

Dave

[relaximus]

Originally Posted by tubesrule

... You can of course at least check for a good getter and filament. These crt's use a 2.5V filament.

You wouldn't happen to have the pin configuration for this thing would ya?

Dave