I have a 1952 Philco 52-T2151. I have received a lot of good advice since I first started asking questions about this set. I don't know why but I have put off recapping this set. All bad tubes have been replaced and with the help from everyone here a suspected bad yoke was replaced. I get good sound but the picture isn't quite there yet. I have no doubts that a recap would get this set up and running but to be honest I am intimidated by the prospects of putting one incorrect capacitor in and messing everything up.

What is the best way to replace all of the caps? Maybe two or three at a time? Is there a pattern I should follow like starting from one side and working my way over to the other side? I want to get this set going and I am aggravated with myself for avoiding "possibly" this last step in this restoration. I have the sams photofact that shows the layout/ item # for all of the caps. I keep looking at the chassis just sitting there, waiting for new caps. Is it as complicated as it looks? Advice please!

I really just started with one cap at a time. Then my confidence grew. I usually start with an area that I suspect to be faulty if the set still works. If I see a leaky cap, then I certainly replace it for sure to start. Have not toasted anything yet, but do have a set that is driving me nuts now on audio, so frustration and staring at it do happen. I dont think you are alone.

I always start with the electrolytics. After they're done, you can power up the set without much anxiety, and the performance of everything else depends on a healthy power supply.

As Dan said, doing one at a time will build confidence. You can power up the TV briefly after each replacement. If something suddenly gets a lot worse, you have only one or two caps to double-check, not two or three dozen.

I check off each cap on the schematic and the parts list when I replace it. This is another way to confirm that you have the right capacitance value, etc., in the right place.

It's not rocket science, and you don't have to do it all at once. I'm a terrible slowpoke compared to some folks. Lots of distractions & interruptions around here. If you find yourself getting frustrated, take a break. The TV will still be there the next day.

This article has more general info about recapping: http://antiqueradio.org/recap.htm .

Phil Nelson

yep do them one at a time since you are new.

you have to decide if you are pig tailer or not.

I generally will remove the old cap, clean the term strip it attaches to, and put in a new one. Most times the connection point is shared, ofter with other caps. So in that instance it would make since to do mutiples. The key is to replace one end of the cap, leaving the old one in place with one lead. affix the new cap one lead at a time. If you just remove the old cap entierly you have a greater chance of goofing it.

Take pictures, Triple check ratings, mark polarity somewhere on the chassis BEFORE removing existing caps on e caps.


For real newbs I recommend pig tailing. I know its not as pretty but its a lot easier and I presume how it was done back in the day at repair shops.

The reason for this is you can do one at a time even on the shared term strips. You just clip one lead of the old cap, put a pig tail on the new cap, clean the old wire, and slip the new cap pig tail over the old wire. then you clip the other lead of the old cap, and slip the other side of the new cap (already with a pig taill in the lead) over the second wire. You need to make sure the wires are clean for the solder to stick.

This leaves all the orig soldered connections completely intact. I have seen a lot of repairs done this way (except they used a j hook rather than a pig tail) so I assume this was common when time was money.

works either way assuming the orig soldered joint was ok and the wire is cleaned so the pigtail works.

On parts that are soldered directly to a coil form I ALWAYS pig tail. those old cardboard forms are fragile, no need to put them thru the stress of heating up to remove and replace a part.

Lastly I like to check the old caps coming out and new caps going in using an old school cap tester. most of the time the old caps are ok for value but leaky. Using a cap tester has saved me when I miss read a cap value *10, I check the old cap to see if it matches the written value, the test a new cap, the settings of the cap tester should be close, if not then I double check everything. Its also nice to see the old cap testing as leaky (wax paper 95% of the time). And by testing if for some reason I got a bum new cap I would catch it before going in.

I like to do a total recap -- replace ALL capacitors above .001uf with new and then power up. I replace capacitors one at a time, one lead at a time. Take a lot of high resolution photos to refer to if in doubt.

As for soldering technique, I too like the pig tail connections for hard to get to areas or fragile areas. By "pig tail", we mean to cut the old capacitor wire leaving about 1/2 to 1 inch length stub. Then take the new capacitor and wind a few turns - say 4 turns - around something like a push pin. This creates a tight coil. Then take the coil end of the new capacitor and push it onto the stub. Solder the stub and you got a good nice looking connection.

Another good technique when you want to solder directly onto a terminal is to heat the terminal and use an ordinary wood tooth pick to create a tunnel in the solder. Leave the tooth pick in until the solder solidifies. Then remove the toothpick and insert the capacitor wire.

Sometimes the terminal is crowded with lots of wires and those old terminals will break if you use a lot of force to remove old wires. Many times its best not to remove the old wire but to cut it off and use the toothpick technique. The best judge is you evaluating what needs to be done.

I have more success using toothpicks, then the pigtail. For some reason, I tend to avoid J-hooking wire connections as I view them "hookie".

When you order your capacitors, also get some Spaghetti insulation to insulate the capacitor wires. Its not very expensive and easy to put on and provides protection just in case one lead touches another.

Also, for about $7 you can purchase a Solder Sucker - great for removing blobs of solder from a terminal strip. I heat the terminal until the solder melts, and then put my solder sucker over the terminal to vacuum the solder off. Mine is spring loaded and you have to cock it first and press its trigger to suck up the solder.

Soldering iron vs Soldering Gun ... for TV work I like to use both.

Good luck and take time your time and enjoy the recap experience. Don't rush it.

Oh but the way, ALWAYS discharge that picture tube after you remove power - ALWAYS. If you don't know for sure now, please ask. Its an important safety issue you must follow.

Carl

As usual, excellent advice. I am going to get going with this recap. Thanks again for all of the good information.

just shoot us some pics as you go, its fun to follow along.

One other tip, when I remove the cap completly from the term, I stick the new cap lead right into the term right away, that way if the phone rings or some other distraction comes along you will know where it goes.

I do the tooth pick thing too, solder will not stick to it.

watch out for diodes (germainum esp) that share the strip, use a heat sink to protect them from heat transmitted along the lead, and leave the heat sink attached until the term strip has cooled after soldered.

If taking out a cap completly I will test resistors since I am cleaning out all the solder to remove the old part. I also use heat sinks on carbon comp resistors and disk caps, again no reason to dump massiive amount of heat thru the leads.

Take your time, hopefully you will only be doing each cap only once, so you may as well do a very nice job of it. I don't do this to make money so no hurry. put on some nice relaxing music and enjoy the hobby.


one time I got carried away with the process. I decided that I would completely remove the old part from the term strip, and while at it if I had to do that I would replace any other part that shared that term. Well that turned into a daisy chain event (as each part that was replaced had a lead that went to another term, sort of a chain reaction).

I was careful not to replace caps that were part of a tuned circuit but everything else got the treatment. This was not needed of course but I was really just trying to develop my skill set.

The result was positive, its my kenwood receiver, which is really my best sound audio set. Did I replace parts I did not need to.. YES but its my stereo and it does sound fantastic.

I was careful not to replace caps that were part of a tuned circuit
Yes. When doing a basic recap, I leave mica and ceramic disc capacitors alone. They're more reliable than other types, and in some circuits where they're used, replacing them may force an alignment that wouldn't otherwise be needed. The article referenced earlier has photos & descriptions to help you identify different capacitor types.

Phil

When you're recapping it's good to check the resistors in those areas as most of the time they have drifted some. Sometimes you get better, more accurate readings of them when they are disconnected from the circuit. But this also means removing all the components from that terminal strip and more time and attention to detail.

Yes, as Dave WM said about heatsinking is true and good to do, you will notice some resistors are "very" heat sensitive, more than others, and their values will be quite unstable. Naturally those are canadates for replacement.

I like to do an area/circuit at a time and I'll make a diagram for component replacement before I take anything loose and compare it to the schematic.

Actually, when I'm recapping and doing this sort of work I find it to be relaxing and enjoyable. When my eyes start to give out then it's time to find a stopping point and call it a day!

I'd guess this is one of the Philcos with a split chassis-I like working on them, since neither side is much bigger than a radio. I've had decent luck with 'em.

The first time I ever recapped a TV I changed them one at a time, testing after each cap. That was on an older single-chassis Philco, a pain to hook everything up ever time but...my problem was in the vertical circuit, which is always the most trouble it seems. It was interesting to see what effect changing each cap had on things.