Hi everyone,

I have a small Phlico-Ford B&W solid state set, about 10", made by Philco Taiwan in the early '70's. I turned it on this morning and there is a hissing or fizzing noise coming out the back. The picture was not yet affected, but I quickly switched it off.

Admittedly, I'm more familiar with radio than TV - could anyone here clue me in to what component may be making that sound?

Thanks!

surely you have a dispersion of high tension or by the line transformer or the windy applied to the CRT. a good cleaning should solve the problem otherwise could be a failure of the isolation of high tension.

Humidity affects the HV supply a lot of times, and this hissing is often noted.

One of my GE portables had this problem, so I waited a few hours til the HV drained and removed the anode cap and cleaned it like the other poster said. I used an old toothbrush and some high-grade rubbing alcohol. Don't overdo it though.... Also clean the glass around the cap, that provides a ground connection on the exterior of the crt.

If this doesn't do it, check to make sure the transformer isn't visibly arcing around its casing...and if it's got a horizontal output tube, pull it and clean the pins.

Be careful in there, and good luck!

Thanks guys for the advice! It is unusually humid today - I have the TV in my front parlor, about 7 feet from the front door, and Ike's 40+mph winds had been blowing at the front of the house for hours (still are actually.)

I bought the TV when I was a broke college student for $1.75 - it is shallow enough to sit on a window sill. In 11 years I've only had to repair a bad solder joint on the vertical hold pot. It could use an alignment but it's not bad, and I've grown attached to the little set over the years.

BTW, it's a Philco-Ford model 311BTG, chassis no. 3BH15. If anyone knows more about this model I'd love to hear it!

I'll open her up this weekend and let y'all know how it goes. I really appreciate the advice.

my '78 sylvania did that, actually did that hissing on and off for about 8 years till the HV cup finally burned through (with a lightning display to let me know) a few months back. I got a new cup from Bryan (bgadow) and have been running hiss free since then.

I opened her up last weekend (finally) and found that the anode cap was gone - no trace of it anywhere. To think I watched this set for 10 years with no cap!

Are these pretty universal, or is this something that would be particular to each model? Who is a good source for these?

I ran into some b/w tv with no anode cap and some others with cap. Not a concern. Just keep your fingers away. :D I would keep the area around the anode button clean. I had a tube b/w tv years ago from the garbage and it was hissing and sparking until I cleaned the area around the anode to be free of dirt and grime. No problem afterward.

I opened her up last weekend (finally) and found that the anode cap was gone - no trace of it anywhere. To think I watched this set for 10 years with no cap!

Are these pretty universal, or is this something that would be particular to each model? Who is a good source for these?

Many B&W sets are made without a cap. The cap is mainly there to keep the anode connection clean. Dust, dirt and moisture are definite contributors to this symptom. Make sure the HV is discharged and give the set a good cleaning and general service. You will maybe get another ten years out of it. By the way, we'd love to see some pictures of the inside.

Missing cap?
Clean the tube around the hole real good, and the wire (after discharging it to ground first) then re connect it, smearing some GE Silicone around the area to SEAL it from moisture. Make sure you seal it air-tight.

By the way, we'd love to see some pictures of the inside.

Here ya go!

Wow. Nice set. I just love small screen B&W sets. That looks so 1970s inside. I can tell that anode connection was never designed with a cap. The picture looks great so I think if you clean it up inside, spray all the controls and polish the cabinet you will really have something. If it were my set, I would completely disassemble it and give it the full treatment. It's worth it. Thanks for the pics.