Hey All,
I haven't been around much lately because I joined the ranks of those who are employed:banana:. About time. Anyways, to update everyone I have 3 projects in the works, all now going much slower because of the above. 1950 RCA TA 129B: I must have some kinda a short, B+ now lacks about 5K in resistance, this surfaced last time I powered it up and I blew my Horizontal output tube. I am waiting on my replacement before I really tear into this thing. 1956 RCA 21D648: I have done almost nothing yet, I tried to bring it up on a variac and the sound sounded great at about 75 volts when bam, a capacitor must have gone bad and all I get now is a high pitched mess. Awaiting a recap. I now have the caps but not the time for a while. 1949 Motorola 9VT1 Chassis TS-18A. I am in the process of recapping this now and had a few questions. First off to Bandersen just P.M. me if and when you'd like to use the cabinet as we discussed on an earlier thread. Second question involves the bakelight, I have a couple spots that are nearly white and seem very much discolored compared to the rest of the cabinet. From experience is this something that can be "sanded" out or have you guys seen a chemical or something that actually discolors the bakelight all the way through. Perhaps its just bad quality bakelight? I will try and post pics. Thirdly and lastly on the recap. My 9VT1 was built in November of 1949 and used a TS-18A chassis. I am using a TS-18 schematic. I am finding 10UF and 20UF electrolytes in some crazy places not shown in the schematic. It's obvious someone who did not know jack went through this thing but is there an updated schematic? I'm just getting into this now and I know Motorola was notorious for changing things as they went. I haven't looked yet completely but maybe they were trying to bypass the cans? They still look to be hooked up though. Any help is appreciated and I still look forward to reading this forum even with my now limited free time, it has made it possible for me even to attempt these projects.

Congrats on the new job :beerchug:

I've had some bakelite than was very faded from the sun, but not white. Have you tried any solvents to clean it ? Bakelite is very chemical resistant so you can use paint or lacquer thinner in it without any worries.

The TS-18 A is virtually identical to the TS-18. A few tubes filaments are wired a little differently is all. I found a 10 uF in one of mine that someone added. It didn't make any sense where it was so I removed it and the set works fine :)

Here's a reference picture of the of the one in my 9T1 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/4158684209/sizes/l/). It's 100% original as near as I can tell.

First I feel like an idiot, I meant 9T1 not 9VT1. Second, The staining I'm talking about on the bakelight is not really white, it just looks like something changed the color of the bakelight. see the pictures below. Lastly it looks as though Bandersens picture had 1 of the 2 electrolytes I was reffering too, please see the peach and red electrolytes in the pictures below.

http://i920.photobucket.com/albums/ad43/pugs5061/Motorola%209T1/summer2010155.jpg

http://i920.photobucket.com/albums/ad43/pugs5061/Motorola%209T1/summer2010156.jpg

http://i920.photobucket.com/albums/ad43/pugs5061/Motorola%209T1/summer2010157.jpg

http://i920.photobucket.com/albums/ad43/pugs5061/Motorola%209T1/summer2010158.jpg

Ah yes, I have seen discolored bakelite like that. That might just be the way the bakelite turned out. My Admiral 20X122 has a similar patch about 5 inches in diameter on top. I think a candle may have been sitting on it for years. The rest of the cabinet was pretty sun blasted too so I put some Howards Feed-n-Wax on the whole cabinet. That's a combination of orange oil and beeswax. It helped quite a bit - check this thread out (http://www.videokarma.org/showthread.php?t=236913&highlight=20X122&page=2).

Sanding is a good option too if you're up for it. It certainly helped my set!
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2792/4159492652_6020685ab2.jpg http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4077/4806971091_ff9277c94e.jpg

The peach cap looks like the correct 10 MFD cap. The red one looks like an old repair job.

I though it's be better to move this into the thread you created for your set.
I tested the pinout right after pulling it out of the box. I retested just now and you guys can see my quandry. Both tests were exactly the same.

A-40.3 ohms
B-100.8 ohms
C-198.2 ohms
D-95.2 ohms

A and C seem fine but B and D are off enough that I am thinking I should get another. What do you guys think?

I think it's OK. I dug out a couple from working sets and here's what I measured.

A-41.6 ohms
B-94.2 ohms
C-199 ohms
D-98.3 ohms

A-37.5 ohms
B-107.2 ohms
C-165 ohms
D-111.5 ohms

Also, I think when they heat up during normal use the resistance changes a bit.

Thanx for the input and thanx for moving it to this thread! The next step I would think would be to test HV at the CRT. The 1B3 doesn't glow at all, I've tried 3 of them that all test good on my tube tester, and all my resistances measure correct at the pins. This all has me going back to the HV Oscilator tubes.
I bought a High Voltage Probe on ebay but I'm not convinced it works(a little worried too). I used it at the anode on my RCA and I'm pretty sure I have no HV on that set and am thinking flyback problem. It's one of those long ones with a guage on the handle. Polaris is the brand name. I don't think it works because I haven't gotten it to read anything anywhere. Either the probe is broken or I have no HV on either set. Thinking of trying it on a newer set that I know works but I haven't figured out how to be sure not to get shocked!
I've run out of time for this week(Have to get up at 4AM) but I'll try and update when I can!