I've caught myself looking at old TVs when I go to auctions and junk shops lately. My hobby (really obcession) is tinkering with tube hi-fi stuff, so I frequent places where old stuff can be found. I allmost bid on a beautiful old Motorola combination tv/hi-fi with a rounded screen a couple weeks ago at a Monday night auction I allways go to. The thing that usually stops me is my total lack of knowledge about these old sets. My dad was a tv repairman back in the 60s and 70s, so I know a little bit of the lingo, which may be part of what scares me. I mean, can you find flybacks and such for these? What actually brings me to posting this, is today while taking a very quick look in a "new to me" junk shop, I spotted a fairly large group of very old tvs. Towards the middle was one exactly like the one in the picture on the AK home page. The one with the picture tube above the chassis (with David Letterman on the screen). I didn't wake up the sleeping attendant to ask the price, but from the feel of the place, I would imagine it would be affordable. It was in excellent cosmetic shape, and appeared to be complete. I guess what I'm asking is, am I biting off more than I can chew by thinking I could bring it back to life. I know about capacitors and such, and have lots of old tv tubes, as well as a humbly equiped work bench. No scopes or anything, but a couple good meters and tube testers. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks, Jay

Oh, boy ! Another sucker-Erm, I mean CONVERT ! Jay, I don't know which TV you're referring to-but as long as the CRT's good, you should be able to bring it back to some form of life...

Jay's got tubes!!!

I'm not familiar with the photo described (or have forgotten it) but it sounds like you're describing some flavor of Predicta. Excellent choice as an investment--terrible choice as a first project. Ask the price, grab! it if reasonable (or surely somebody else will) but work your way up to it, developing and honing your TV repair skills on...well, on some of those other "very old tvs."

That would be Charlie's Philco Predicta you are talking about.

http://www.ct-tv.50megs.com/


polaraman

Yep..your talking about the Philco Predicta TV. Those are great sets to buy when they're in good shape and finding parts is pretty easy because of there popularity; however, they can be a real pain to work on...especially if its the first set you have ever repaired! (like me). Predictas are the most overpriced sets in my opinion...if you can get it at a decent price..go for it! :banana:

As the others said, if the price is right grab the Predicta. Not impossible to fix,just that Philco crammed that chassis in that box kinda tight. A problem with these is they had a high failure rate for crt's. You have to be careful you don't overpay for something in need of that tube.

Flybacks for many sets can still be had with some looking. In general they have survived well on bw sets. If you wanted something to practice on you could always pick up one of the common and cheap 21" consoles of the mid fifties. If you are careful you can find one for under $20.

Well, I went back there today, and the guy was awake. He actually had two of the Practicas (one with a fancier looking wood grain base). I don't have any idea about what they are worth, but he wanted 200 apiece. I also remembered that I have a picture tube tester/rejuvenator. I'm guessing that I wouldn't want to just plug the set in to check the picture tube, but instead use the tester. Would anyone know the number of those picture tubes so that I could see if my tester even lists it? He also had an interesting looking Crosly that might be a better "starter" set. :dunno:

Jay, I just spent $278.00 for a predicta that looks very nice yet. Still works but I am going to have it recapped. Sounds like a good deal to me. Welcome to the hobby.
Dan

$200 is not a bad price for an unrestored Predicta. This article will give you an idea what restoration involves.

http://www.antiqueradio.org/philc12.htm

There are other TVs that would make a better first project. Something with a power transformer, for instance, and less cramped layout.

Regards,

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

Yeah, but, it might be a good one to grab, & put back for "later"...These Perditions ARE getting to be 50, ya know...And I think a lot got sent to The Big Studio In The Sky 1st or 2nd time they went kerflooey...And they fairly scream "1950s !" & by '65 or so, they were hopelessly outta style.

Most bw crts you can just use the same basic setting on the tester, 6.3v filament. But this is important...many Predictas use a 2v filament. You could easily burn out the tube by testing it. So some research is due. But that is what I would do-test them in his store before you bought them, if at all possible. If you could buy a set for $50 it's one thing but to pay $200 and then have to sink money into a new crt...no so good!