The County had an auction of Estate stuff today, a Co Worker of mine was going so I gave her some money and instructions on which three sets to bid on based on what it showed on the Auction Web Site.

She got all three of them! All are B&W

One is a small Admiral Combo from the mid 60's I'd guess, 23" TV and a Phonograph on the right side behind a door, got it for $5.00

Another is a Magnavox, possibly a 24", floor model, early 60's, really cheap cabinet, it looks like Mobile Home paneling and the legs look like the'd snap if you look at them wrong, got it for $5.00

The last, and best and the one I told her to focus on the most is a...
well lets say based on the picture I saw online I though it was an early 50's RCA with a 17" rectangular tube, but it wasn't, it was a Sylvania!

OK, it's still just a 17" (i think) B&W set but I was happy to see it was something a little different. Got it for $50, probably saved it from a Fishtanker or something.

All three of these sets are as clean as they come!
They must have belonged to Senior Citizens who passed away, there is a retirement community nearby.

Here are some pictures of the Sylvania.

The CRT checked dead at first but came up really good after a short burst at 8 volts, it was checking near the top of the scale at 5 volts after that.
Hopefully it'll hold, it's an all glass Sylvania brand tube but I don't know what number yet.

The other two sets are in the truck and too close together to take a good picture.

Here's a really bad shot of the Admiral.

I really don't want to keep the Maggie or the Admiral, I don't know where I'm going to put these as it is. :sigh:

There was an RCA Color set there also, didn't know about that one before hand and someone got it, looked like maybe a CTC38? Very clean.

If it's really a 17" then it's probably a 7140M or 7140MA and it would use a 17BP4A. I think the only difference between the two is the horizontal output.

It could also be a 6140M in which case it could have a 16KP4 or a 19AP4A.

If you need service info let me know.

John

Hi John, it's a 7140M and a 17BP4.

I'd appreciate the service info but there's no hurry at all, I still have a Philco Projection set and a Westinghouse to finish before I can start anything else.

I pulled the chassis tonight so I can wrestle the cabinet into the house tomorrow, it's really a small set as consoles go.

Funny thing, the back section of the chassis is apparently unplated and is fine, the front section has a severe case of green Cadmium corrosion!

I'll have to use Naval Jelly (plus gloves and a mask) to remove it, I really don't want to remove that writing on the front though so it'll be a bit tricky in that area.


While I was out in the garage I decided to at least check the CRT's in the other two sets.

The Admiral checked absolutely dead, not a thing even at 8 volts.
I thought that a little unlikely so decided to plug the set in and see what happened and it came on without exploding.

The Horiz was way off because someone had pushed the cover against the adjuster stem and pushed it all the way in, a few turns out and it seemed to lock in.
The brightness is fairly decent so I think my adapter for the small neck tubes may be faulty.
Everything works on the set, the radio and even the turntable, it had a record on it and it sounded fine, a little sluggish but amazing it worked at all.

Next I looked at the Magnavox, Ugh, white Zinc? corrosion on every metal surface.

The tube tester probably wouldn't work on this one either so I plugged it in, after a few seconds something went pow in the back, sounded like a short burning out so I shut it down and gave up on it for now.
It's a low end Model, cheap cabinet, non remote, not very attractive really, if the (24") tube is bad it'll go to the Thrift Store.

Nice sets! Although Naval Jelly works, I find that RustOleum rust stripper works better. It's a liquid mix of Phosphoric and Hydrochloric acids. I soak some into a sponge and wipe the chassis down. The green comes off instantly. I then wipe it down with some 409 or similar cleaner to neutralize the acid.

The Sylvania is a time capsule find. The grille cloth looks perfect. Plug it in and you're watching Gleason tonight!

That Sylvania is sure an interesting set.

I tried powering up the Sylvania last night with the Dim Bulb tester, no signs of life but no smoke or serious shorts either with 400 watts.
One 5U4 gets quite hot while the other is only warm, no doubt bad caps.

I got the cabinet inside today and cleaned it up inside, it's not top of the line quality but it's not bad either.

What look like inlays on the front doors are just decals, good thing it doesn't need refinished because those would be near impossible to reproduce.

I tried powering up the Sylvania last night with the Dim Bulb tester, no signs of life but no smoke or serious shorts either with 400 watts.
One 5U4 gets quite hot while the other is only warm, no doubt bad caps.
...


Probably true about the caps. However the 5U4's are directly paralleled. One must have lower emission than the other.

This has the weird +/- supply with the ground derived with a divider. I guess it's all relative...

John

how about a pic of the maggie, when you get a chance.

and a better pic of the Admiral combo please! when you get a chance.