This is my first attempt at a t.v. restoration, so I am looking for advise, general pointers, and anything else helpful you might be willing to give. I have successfully repaired many antique radios without too much headache, so I figured I would give this old t.v. a shot. I picked up this admiral 19g1 this morning at the local antiques mall, it has 21wp4 picture tube, a radio for standard broadcast, and a record player. I brought it up over the course of an hour with my variac, the radio receives a couple of local stations, record player does not work at all, and the picture tube filament was lit, but no raster on screen. I'm in the process of testintg all the tubes right now, but would like to know what the next logical step would be after that. I already pulled the HV cover off, and the flyback looks nearly pristine except for a little dust and spiderwebs. Thanks for any help, I will need all I can get.

In a word: capacitors. Drifted, shorted, or open caps in the power supply will cause ripple in the B+ voltages, and in other circuits cause oscilators to run at the wrong frequencies (if they run at all). At a minimum I always replace power supply electrolytics first, then move on to the other circuits.

So far, I have tested 8 tubes, half of which are admiral branded, 4 of these have nearly zero emissions, 1 is shorted between grid and plate. Still have a few to do, before I pull the chassis out. As for the caps, I figured that would be the least I would have to do. Was wondering if I could get a shock from touching the wrong parts even if it is unplugged. Picture tube tested good!:banana: And thanks for the speedy response, I'll post updates as I go if you all would like. Any tips and tricks welcome, thanks again!

Is that the one where a drawer pulls out under the TV with the record player and radio in it? It'd be cool to see some pictures!

Yes, it has a door that opens hinged on the bottom, and the record player slides out. The radio is tuned via the larger knob behind the volume control on the front panel. I will take some pictures of it now, but may need some help posting them, but will give it a try in a few minutes.

Keeps telling me upload failed.

Keeps telling me upload failed.

They might be too big - 900 x 900 and about 145 kb is the limit.

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/af328/tubezilla1/DSC01887.jpg

http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/af328/tubezilla1/DSC01888.jpg
http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/af328/tubezilla1/DSC01884.jpg

Very nice find! I like the design, and a record player to boot. Good luck on the restoration - It'll be neat to have the whole thing working again.

I'm off to work for now, but when I get back I will pull the chassis and start making a cap list.

That looks like a great set to restore. Very smart design of alot in a small set. I bet it has had relatively low hours of usage based on it's chassis' appearance and having half Admiral tubes. Also, the CRT looks nice not having that burnt spot in the phosphors some of those oldies seem to get with alot of use when the ion trap(?) is messed up. The advice you will get here will have everything working as new :) Is that little gray knob on the left lower side original? Seems like it should be color coordinated. I am thinking the big one on the right should match the main big one on the left?

Awesome..my family had that same exact style set until the early 60's.

You and I have a similar backgrounds. I worked on mostly radios until last fall when I obtained my first TV and restored it. I always admired the chaps who did TV restoration and looked for a long time for my first TV. I think restoring radios are fun, but I enjoyed my TV restoration more than anything I've worked on.

You got a nice looking TV. Enjoy the restoration.

Thanks jb5pro, the knobs appear to be original, i.e. the lettering matches and the pilot lights shine through the numbers in the same way. The smaller knob on the lower left was at one time, gold like the rest of the front panel, but most of the color has worn off or maby oxidized. It switches between t.v., radio, and phono modes. Left knob is volume & on-off, and the ring behind it is the tuning for the radio section. The right side knob is tuning with the ring behind it is fine tuning. Behind the small center panel is contrast, brighness, vert hold, etc. And thanks everyone else for your kind comments. It gives me even more inspiration to get this going. Well I just got home from work, so I'll start on that cap list in the morning. (about noon)!

Pulled the chassis and found 2 more admiral branded tubes. I assume they are part of the am radio section.:scratch2:
http://i1020.photobucket.com/albums/af328/tubezilla1/DSC01889.jpg

Convenient eh? ;) Tucking tubes under the chassis wasn't that uncommon back in those days. Motorola eliminated the need for a cage by putting the 1B3 underneath along with the flyback. Du Mont model RA 103D has a 6AL5 sound detector mounted under the chassis, while Crosley's clone of the RA 103D, with different tuner arrangement, put the first video IF tube underneath as well!

They can, after all, be mounted in any position. :)

Greetings from FixitLand!

Those under-chassis tubes remind me of my first set, a Motorola combo TV/radio/phono with TV chassis TS-401. It had a built-in UHF tuner, and the 6AF4 tube was mounted in a recessed hole in the front of the chassis, requiring removal of the chassis and much cursing to remove and replace that tube.

Are those tubes sitting on a sub-chassis? They're likely the mixer-oscillator and IF tube for the radio.

Take care,
--
J. E. Knox 'The Victor Freak'

I have a Philco Combo unit that has the tuner tubes mounted underneath, you can access them easily through an opening in the record storage area though.

Just wondering, based on a hint in your pictures are you in Texas?

Back from work early tonight, I thought I would try to replace a couple of capacitors. I only had a few that I have left over from some radio repairs that are the right value. I'll have to wait 'till I get mine ordered to go much further. I've been trying to find a schematic, but have been unsuccessful so far. Does any one know of a good source to get one? There's a couple of resistors burnt that I can't read the color code on. Rojonox, to answer your question, the two under chassis tubes are more on a sub-section of the chassis rather than a sub chassis. They're located right next to the radio's tuning cap so I would also think they are part of the radio circuit. Marty59, the Whataburger cups must have tipped you off, yes sir born and raised Texan. Thanks everyone, I'm starting to get anxious now, I can't wait to watch some old movies on it!:D

Try here for a schematic:
http://www.vintage-electronics.com/index.htm

Send him the model number if you don't already know which Sams it uses.

Here's a 19G1 schematic (http://www.bobandersen.com/images/schematics/admiral/19G1/) from a Wallace Telaide.

Thanks for schem. Not used to seeing the waveforms right there, that ought to be a big help in troubleshooting. Not sure if my scope can handle some of the higher voltages though. Started cleaning the chassis, and as luck would have it, I got called in to work early since they let me off early last night.:tears: More soon!

Didn't notice it, but somone has subbed a 6v6gt for the 6y6g audio output. I can't find anywhere that this is listed as a direct substitute. And what kind of damage might this has caused? There is a large 3watt or 5watt resistor burnt in two, wondering if that may be the cause. Waiting for the caps to come in, I ordered them a couple of days ago.:smoke:

RE: The sub. for the 6Y6G. A 6W6GT or a 6DG6 would be a good sub. for now. The audio output tube was used as a voltage divider in that chassis. They called it "Stacked B+. They had a tendency flash over when overloaded, which explaines the burn't resistors.

Thanks dieseljeep, I ordered a 6y6g a little while ago. There's only one burnt resistor, but I plan on checking all the higher value resistors while I am working on it.

yep I've seen tubes mounted a number of odd ways...including upside down. Nice when they include the thin metal thing that fits over the exhaust tip...especially as the pins oxidize over time

whats that tube/wire running up the side of the screen?
and also is that a color tv??

its really neat to fix/restore a classic like that.. :thmbsp:

Aidynphoenix, the tube/wire you asked about is part of a clear soft plastic gasket or somthing like that:scratch2: that the crt rests against the bezel on. It came off partly but will be repaired and reglued. Also it's a b&w tv, but I don't mind, it still looks neat.