I picked up an old Admiral console locally from an ad, i get it home and plugged it in and turned it on, and noticed the tubes lit up, and the high pitch noise, like any other crt noise, so i guess the flyback was getting HV, and i noticed a transformer humming noise, i was playing with the volume, and there was a little crackle, like a dirty control, no sound like a station not being picked up, and the picture didn't come on, and i noticed the CRT tube didn't lite up.. All of a sudden i heard a loud explosion, like air coming out of something, and a burst of white smoke that filled up the room for the most part, and a weird smell like a damp type smoke, looked like it was coming from under the chassis, near where the power transformer is.. I looked under there and could not see anything that looked like it got fried. and none of the tubes looked like they exploded. All i know is that i unplugged the damn thing right after.. I wonder what did this? anyone have a clue?


When i looked at the chassis, i saw all the paper caps still there and the huge original electrolytics.. I hope it was something replaceable that blew up..

Looks like one of these: http://www.tvhistory.tv/1948-Admiral-7845.JPG

I really like that basketweave cabinet.

Most likely an old paper cap popped. You could also have one or more shorted electrolytics which cooked the 5U4 rectifier tube until it popped.

Hopefully, none of the hard to replace components fried. I strongly recommend you at least replace the electrolytics and any visible fried paper cps before trying to power it up again. Better yet, replace all the old paper caps. Some of the micas could be bad too.

I found a local guy in the area that restores old sets.. He's charging basically next to nothing, because he enjoys these projects.. I'm going to have him take a look at it, and have him replace all the bad components like caps, resistors, etc.. It's basically that same set pictured, other than a few minor differences like the legs on the bottom.. I would say for the $80 I spent, the cabinet is solid and in great shape other than a few nicks here and there..

Why doesn't each forum have a sticky that says 'DON'T PLUG IT IN!!!'

Every once in a while a post like this comes up, to remind me that what we do here is NOT common knowlege, or even common sense.

This is why just about everyone on VK (myself included) tells anyone about to restore an old TV or radio not to power up the set before recapping it (at very least replacing the power supply filters). Your Admiral TV is 63 years old; many if not most of its original capacitors are defective or are about to fail. Don't plug it in again until those filter caps are replaced with new ones; for the best possible performance, I'd replace the old wax paper caps as well. The job will take some time, but it will be worth it when you see the vastly improved results. When they are operating at peak efficiency, these older TVs can, and often do, outperform many times over today's CRT or flat-panel sets. Admiral was a well-known TV and radio manufacturer, known for quality products, from the '30s through the seventies, so your set was well-made and should serve you well once the caps are replaced, the tuner and controls are cleaned, and any weak or doubtful tubes replaced.

I would say you were extremely fortunate that the power transformer was not damaged or destroyed when the set started smoking (though the rectifier tube may well have been cooked as well, as bandersen mentioned). A short in a filter capacitor will put a direct short circuit across the transformer's B+ windings, ruining the latter in seconds if the set's power supply is not fused.

BTW, do not remove the rectifier tube while the set is plugged in and turned on, and never install the tube with the switch on and the set playing. This could damage or destroy the power transformer or other components of the power supply. I blush to admit I did just that about 40 years ago with a 1951 Majestic b&w roundie and got away with it (the set worked afterward), but I think that was a stroke of very good luck. Usually you do not get second chances with these; once the transformer burns out or shorts you may have a very difficult time finding an exact replacement.

BTW (2): Another thing that can and often does destroy the power transformer in parallel-filament televisions is if the horizontal oscillator stops or is far off frequency. The reason is that very old TVs had horizontal output stages that operated on grid leak bias. If this voltage is missing on the grid of the horizontal output tube for any reason, the plate current of that tube will go off the charts and will overload the power transformer. If the power supply is not fused, the transformer will burn out in very short order.

does any of these components in this set contain PCBs, I read something about the chemicals in old caps that explode could cause lung cancer later on if you breath in the fumes...

If you're worried about being harmed by PCBs, you should NOT be working on old sets. These were all made before ANY environmental or health provisions were put into the manufacturing process.

Just use your head. Always keep the work area properly ventilated, wash your hands after handling parts, solder, or anything that could be considered questionable.....

and for God's sake, don't just plug something in like that! The chances of you destroying un-obtainable parts or starting a fire are huge. Always replace capacitors and any worn power supply parts, and do resistance checks before powering up. Power up without sweep tubes in to check voltages and waveforms, then do vertical sweep and boosted B+, then finally horizontal sweep and high voltage.

Take your time, use your head, and be careful and you'll end up with a great restoration and your health to boot!

well now i know, to not plug in and attempting to power up something that old, without replacing bad caps, and parts, i don't know how to run test equipment yet, thats why im going to have somebody come over and replace all the caps and bad bad parts, Im probably capable of replacing the caps my self, but id rather have the person i know come over and do it, and watch so i know what to do next time i find something this old.. Plus i don't have many caps either and would not know what to purchase to replace the paper caps and others with no writing on them..

Hazardous materials are there, but PCBs will only be in oil filled capacitors or transformers. These are quite rare in consumer electronics, maybe more common in commercial/industrial or military. I haven't seen any PCB filled capacitors or transformers in any of my old radios or TVs, but my old RCA MI series audio amplifiers have them.

There might be asbestos somewhere, as a heat shield - watch for it, it's a white fibre sheet used as heat shield, and just don't do anything to release the fibres. The solder is certainly not lead free, but I am not sure how much of an issue that is except when it comes to disposal. And plenty of nasty stuff in the picture tube, but I wouldn't worry too much about that, because it's sealed in, and is more of a disposal problem.

I'd also be worried about organic stuff, like mold, or debris left by rodents or insects. Don't know what your area is like, but some places are experiencing a bedbug outbreak, so be cautious about accepting anything from low rent apartments or places with a transient population. The whole bedbug scare has certainly prevented me from taking home as much 'stuff' as I would have otherwise.

I had my friend come for the first time, to look at it, and i told him, the fuse inside is blown, probably from me turning it on, he said the Power Transformer is probably fine, I'm giving him the project to work on without a huge rate, and he's going to first test the picture tube to make sure it's good.. Of course the set would not be worth fixing without a good CRT.. If good, He's going to then recap the whole chassis and then find out what and if other things like Resistors and tubes are bad..

I'd definitely still restore it if the CRTs is bad. Replacements are floating around.

bandersen, you're right, i'll probably still have the set restored even if the CRT is no good or week.. I just don't know where to get another, other than finding someone who has the same size roundie CRT that would work in there parts collection.. Unless there is another source i don't know about..

bandersen, you're right, i'll probably still have the set restored even if the CRT is no good or week.. I just don't know where to get another, other than finding someone who has the same size roundie CRT that would work in there parts collection.. Unless there is another source i don't know about..

I figure it's either a 10BP4 or a 12LP4. 10BP4s pop of fairly regularly. Ask the collector community or check ebay. I think there's one or two on there know.

I'll have to check into that, if the CRT is week.. Thanks for the info..

I just did a test on the CRT using the universal Adapter on my Sencore CR70 following the instructions on where to put each labeled connector on the numbered pins, I set the voltage as followed, and when i get to the cut off setting, needle doesn't move when i power on the Sencore to set the cut off in between the range, also adjusting the the cut off does not make the needle budge, Also i go into emission test, needle does not move, when i check for G and HK shorts, needle goes to the upper good side, also the Sencore does not power up the tube (Makes it light up).. I'm guessing maybe the pins are not making contact, some of the pins also wobble real loosely.. I wonder if this is going to be a problem..

The crt is a 12Lp4..This looks to be a color set?

No, B&W.

If the tester doesn't light up the filaments, you either have a problem with the tester or an open filament. If you have a voltmeter, you can check the CR-70 output by reading the filament pins on the tester's socket. If you get voltage there, it's still possible the pins on the CRT have worked loose. In that case you might try resoldering them before binning the CRT. Also, read the filament pins right on the CRT for resistance. You should get some low reading like under 10 ohms.

The filament pins are 1 & 12 the ones on either side of the index lug on the Bakelite base.

12LP4 info here:
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CCgQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shinjo.info%2Ffrank%2Fsheets% 2F049%2F1%2F12LP4.pdf&rct=j&q=12lp4&ei=jnhLTYmrO5TAsAOj2t2fCg&usg=AFQjCNF5pjnwet1DE9yABCDluUfrbWf4BA&cad=rja

The Sencore tester does work, and lights up filaments on other sets, so im guessing if i have an open filament the CRT is dead? a couple of pins do wobble loosely, and a I attached pic that shows someone has put electrical tape on the neck at one time, so maybe the pins could have lost contact?

are you using the universal tester, its a bit tricky about setting the controls. the clips go to the correct pins (the clip on leads tell you which pin, ex. filament, K, G1, G2. After attaching to the correct pin (per the book settings) you then set the rotary switches 1,2,3,4,5,6. the switch settings do not correlate to the pins number of the CRT. It explains it in the book (how to use the unversal adapter which is really just loose pin connectors).

yup, using the Universal Adapter as the manual say (UA). I'm using the correct settings and the clips were at the correct pins, you have to look at the manual starting with the 1/F1 connector, under F1, than look at the CRT chart under the model to see which numbered pin they go to. F1, F2, K, G1, and G2.. Than i set the switch settings, Fil voltage etc..

ok just to be clear exampe the filament settings are 1 and 2 right?

F1 set 1, F2 set 12 thats what the CRT chart says to set F2

do you have the manual, go back and read the instructions on how to use the universal tester, and no that is not correct. the connectors on the UA go to 1 and 12 but the switch settings are 1 and 2 and 3 etc...

Ok i see now in the manual the settings have to be set like this
F1 1
F2 2
K 3
G1 4
G2 5

there you go

oh and pls dont rejuv at least until you see how it works in the TV, regardless of the emissions (assuming it test weak).

ok, let me go do a cutoff and emission test and will report back, i got to re hook the connectors back up...

Ok the machine is now lighting the tube up, and the sencore is making the whistle noise like it's working, but still both cutoff and emissions needle no move

Hk- shorts test needle slowley went from upper good to lower good, than all of a sudden dropped to the lower bad

leave it on for a few minutes see if you get anything at all. I assume short test was good? You do have the filament adj pot so that the filament is at the 6.3 reading on the meter right?

Hk- shorts test needle slowley went from upper good to lower good, than all of a sudden dropped to the lower bad

G1 shorts stays in the upper good.. I just walked away and left the sencore on

Voltage is at 6.3

try it again after 15 min if you get NO movement at all I mean NONE then it may have an open weld. There is a procedure, I think banderson did it, that involves tapping the neck in and some sequence of pushing rejuv buttons. I have not tried it, not sure if its talked about in the manual. I could also be a disconnected pin/wire. I would try that 1st, heating up the pin with a soldering gun to see if you can reflow solder in side the pin. Tapping the neck too hard can result in a broken CRT.

getting late, I will check back and see how you did tomorrow good luck with it.

Hum, when i turn on the sencore on cutoff setting, needle moves up a tad, below the start of the red (Bad) and it moves within two minutes where it's almost before the red (bad). But still when i turn the cut off set, needle doesn't move

Thanks for your help dave talk to you tomorrow..

ok you set it to cut off can you move the needle to have it at the cut of line (just a little bit from the meter full off?) You should be able to set the cut off to that line (not the bad good, but s small line in the extreme left side of the meter).

IF you can then leave the cut off adj alone and advance to the emisson test. the emission test should be done with the cut off adj set from the prior test.

Needle wont move, I turned it on again, and the needle now is right at the start of the bad. It won't go up to the cut line

its all pretty well covered in the manual, just follow the steps in there and you should be good to go.

Needle wont move, I turned it on again, and the needle now is right at the start of the bad. It won't go up to the cut line



does it move at all or is that as low as it goes??

it sounds like its working somewhat I would not get too concerned until after you have it in chassis. Just resist the urge to rejuv...

when i turn the Sencore on the needle moves a tad, but goes to the start of the red (Bad), needle doesn't move at all after nor does it when adjusting the cutoff control

Are you sure you have the tester hooked up right, with the knobs set correctly? I fought the UA first time I used it, trust me if you don't pay attention you'll screw something up.

thats the last thing i would do unless you give the say to.. I know how the urges are, urges can cause damage

couple other things to check out with the CR-70, check the pins on the socket that the adapters plug into on the connector coming from the tester. I had one that had a bent pin, so when I attached the connector it was not realla hooked up. Those pins are thin and can get bent.

miniman82 I had the settings the way the CRT chart says at first, than Dave said that's not the correct way, you have to go what the manual says with the U Adapter. So the setting were going by the CRT chart said (Wrong Way) at first, at that time it did not do anything to the CRT.

I have found that a "bad" tested B&W can ofter produce a pic, not great but good enough to at least trouble shoot the set. Then when you get a backup CRT that is good, thats when you give the rejuv a try. I have used the CR-70 rejuv and had good luck with it, but again why mess with it until you at least know how the CRT looks in operation BEFORE trying to improve it.

Same with Color CRT, even a weak gun is not the end of the world, you can do a lot with the bias and gain adjustments to get a decent pic. Back when you could just get a new CRT then fine rejuv, but now I take a much less agressive approach.

Dave some of those pins i notice don't hook all the way around the pins on the CRT, so that could be the problem there

yea you should be sure the pins are clean and you are getting a good connection on the CRT.

I was talking about the connector that the adapter hooks to the tester with, its a small plug with a lot of small pins. just make sure none of them are bent so when you attach, they will be connecting.

oh ok, gotcha... yup the cut off is below the bad levels still, sometimes when i turn it on the needle moves enough to touch the red

Comes to find out the plastic neck was twisted by someone before causing the tube to short out, so now im on the hunt for a 12LP4..Anyone have one? I checked Ebay and looked on goggle, nothing comes up for sale..

Sometime the wires inside the pins come unsoldered and reheating the pins with a soldering iron and applying a little dab of solder will fix it.

If it's been twisted and shorted it can be fixed as long as none of the wires have been broken off flush with the glass, even then it's sometime possible to make a repair.

Comes to find out the plastic neck was twisted by someone before causing the tube to short out, so now im on the hunt for a 12LP4..Anyone have one? I checked Ebay and looked on goggle, nothing comes up for sale..

Just keep an eye open. One'll show up.

I think i would have to get the plastic piece that the pins come out of off, i think some are broken off, but i can't really tell, unless some how i can get that off the neck to where i can see whats coming out of the glass, to see what i can re solder...

I recommend you leave it be, after you get the set recapped and all seems to be working, if nothing on the CRT, then check the anode for HV, and the other pins for correct voltages. If still nothing then you have little to lose by messing with it. I would start with the heating of the pins and some solder on the end of the pins (it should wick in). the more you mess with the base the more likely something will break, pretty much the way it is with all 60 year old parts.

Dave, I've tried that..

I did the cut off test and emissions test again last night about an hour after the first tests, with out any attempt to rejuv, while doing the cut off and emission tests again the tube went completely out and the Sencore stopped making the whistle sound of it firing up the tube. So my guess is the tube was either very week to begin with or one or more connections behind the pins are loose or not making anykind of contact, so basically i have nothing to loose with the tube now..

So now i have two choices.. Attempt to fix this one or buy a good one, and just have My friend restore the TV with a good tube that i would purchase..

maybe it went to air and the filament burned out, I dont recall that tube but can you see the getter (looks like silver deposited on the side of the neck), if its white then you are done, check the 1and12 pins for continuity, should be a few ohms max. Guess you dont have a test CRT for the set (they are small crts that self focus and just used for testing).

I just looked and i don't see any white or anything that looks to be burned out.. I took two pics, so maybe they would explain anything better. I dont own anyother testing Equip other than the Sencore

That's almost a guaranteed disaster to plug in cold-turkey. Likely no serious damage, as long as the power transformer didn't get left on long enough to burn up. That would take several minutes, and you'd probably have blown the house circuit breaker. You probably lost a few capacitors and the 5U4 tube, along with a B+ resistor or two.

Definitely the set needs to be completely re-capped, and then troubleshot-repaired as needed.

Charles

I did the cut off test and emissions test again last night about an hour after the first tests, with out any attempt to rejuv, while doing the cut off and emission tests again the tube went completely out and the Sencore stopped making the whistle sound of it firing up the tube. So my guess is the tube was either very week to begin with or one or more connections behind the pins are loose or not making anykind of contact, so basically i have nothing to loose with the tube now..

So now i have two choices.. Attempt to fix this one or buy a good one, and just have My friend restore the TV with a good tube that i would purchase..

Whistle sound? That's not good. Perhaps the CRT is gassy and the noise is from a discharge. Or, the Sencore is faulty, or you had it hooked up wrong. Or there were still some shorted leads because of the twisted cap.

My CR-70 has never whistled.

John

My Sencore has always made the little noise when it starts up, has done it on all tvs i tested it with. I don't know if its a whistle noise, it just makes a little noise, just dont know what to call it, or how to explain the noise.. I bought it off Ebay about six months ago. I thought the little noise from the Sencore is normal, it seems to perform tests fine, unless it's giving me incorrect read outs i don't know about.

How would i fix the shorted leads? or get the cap off to wire/solder the leads or to check to see if they are not broken?

pretty sure it uses a switching power supply for the filament, that is what you are hearing, mine does it to, its pretty hi pitch, I would guess in the 10-12khz range.

... How would i fix the shorted leads? or get the cap off to wire/solder the leads or to check to see if they are not broken?

You might find this thread useful: http://www.videokarma.org/showthread.php?t=248393

I kinda figured it was a normal noise.. Did you see the pictures, any suggestions? there's a company in south Carolina that rebuilds CRTs, and that hawk eye guy is retired.. I don't know how much the cost is to ship rebuild and ship back..

Or is there a way to get behind the socket cap to check the leads? I downloaded a file off the internet thats a schematic for that tube..

Ok, interesting looks like that cap comes off in two pieces with pins under the first part.. Thats where i need to get to, and it looks like a task and it's self

I may just get it rebuilt. I tried hawkeyepicturetube.com he's retiring and doesn't want to rebuild anymore, but is looking into another source for that one

and now im trying wmicronics.com they have to get back to me..

I don't how expensive it is to have it rebuilt or get a rebuilt one from any of these guys.. If it's too much, than i will forget about that..

The cap should come off as one piece, unless it's broken of course.

If it's already loose you should be able to heat the pins with a hot soldering iron, one at a time while gently pulling it on teh side where you are heating it, a little at a time.

if you have a really hot iron 25 watts or better you can probably heat two pins at a time but just be very gentle not to break any of the wires or snap off the fragile Glass nipple that's underneath it.

To check for a white getter you will have to remove the tube from the chassis, it'll be in the area under the Yoke.
Some tubes have a Getter near the high voltage connection on the side of the tubes bell, if you can see a white patch there the tube's done.

If you remove the tube use extreme care not to rip the cap off as it goes through the Yoke, they can be tight sometimes, a little heat from a hair dryer or heat gun can help it go through but don't hit the tube with the heat gun or you could shock it and cause it to break.

When I repaired the tube base on my set I used a very small butane torch. I was able to quickly heat all the pin ends and pull the base off. I also used the torch when I re-soldered it.

-J

I will have to try that tomorrow when i have spare time.. I'll report back..Thanks for the info..

Well i actually went ahead and did it, using a de solderer that has a pump to suck out the solder, did it slowly as the cap pulled off little by little, well all the connections are there and none broken.. plus i notice the phosphor on the tube front is coming off as i can see a solid circle in the middle of the tube where light is coming through from the lamp i have in back of the set.. So i guess this Tube is DEAD..

Not nessasarily... could be just a phosphor burn on the face...

Hum maybe, i had my clip on lamp facing right at the neck as i pulled off the black cap, only time i noticed it, i pointed the lamp slightly at a different angle and its not noticeable any more.. Well all the wires that went into the soldered pins, look to be fine, so what should i do next?

test it again this time clipping on to the wires.

I thought that may be the next thing, just wanted to make sure.. I'll report back Tomorrow....

Good luck. Be very careful not to stress those wires with the weight of the Sencore UA clips and cable.

there's a company in south Carolina that rebuilds CRTs, and that hawk eye guy is retired.. I don't know how much the cost is to ship rebuild and ship back..


You might want to check out this old thread(s) about wmicronics:

http://www.videokarma.org/showthread.php?t=249683&highlight=micronics

jr

I guess i won't be shipping to them i guess..


UPDATE: I tested with hooking to the leads with the cap off, and same thing, The filament of the picture tube does not light up, nor does the Sencore make the noise like it's giving the tube juice.. So i guess Dead Tube..

That's weird that it was lighting up somewhat earlier. Have you tested another tube on the Sencore recently, to confirm that it's still working correctly? Have you taken a resistance reading across the filament pins?

Kevin

I tested another tube with the Sencore, and it worked with that one.. I have no other test equipment.. My guess is that the filament inside the tube was week and would have probably blown once the chassis was recapped and powered up the tube.. I looked inside the tube neck and i don't see anywhere that anything shorted out

and did you test the filament wires for continuity?

How would i do that?

I think i see what you are saying, the leads continue into the glass and looks like they are not broken anywhere

electrical continuity, a complete circuit, a multimeter set in the ohm will do fine, the heater should be a few ohms, if not then it is a open circuit, burned out, will not work.

I don't have a multimeter.. All i can do to check the continuity is look as far as i can in the tube to see any shorts, but i can only look so far, but if the Sencore is not lighting the filaments, and not giving juice to the tube i would assume there are problems.. It did fail both cutoff and emissions and the HK shorts, when the filaments where lit up. it's probably burnt out.. Im looking for another Tube while i still have the extra $ to spend, and so far im not having any luck..

These old round CRT's don't generally fall out of the sky. You'll need to be patient, and then be in the right place at the right time. They're out there, but not usually right now, and real cheap. CRT's were never stock piled by repair shops like the common little tubes in our TV's. JMO

Kevin

Problem is is that i have the extra $ now, i may not have it when one pops up, you know how things usually work, something pops up, bills etc wanting to take our money.. Plus if i don't get this project going and fixed, my interest will probably become lost, and it will just sit back in a corner somewhere..

pretty sure it uses a switching power supply for the filament, that is what you are hearing, mine does it to, its pretty hi pitch, I would guess in the 10-12khz range.

If it's 12kHZ I might have trouble hearing it. I suppose it would also vary in loudness quite a bit depending on the specific components, also background noise. I'll pay closer attention the next time I use it.

You can get a multimeter with continuity test for as little as $3 at Harbor Freight. Their ultra deluxe meter costs about twenty, and does just about everything you would ever need a meter to do to fix your television.

You can also build a continuity tester with something like a couple of C batteries, and a radio pilot lamp, like a #44-the bulb should light if the filament is intact. We only keep yammering on with this filament thing as it is very, very rare for a crt filament to blow-usually everything else in the picture tube goes bad before the filament fails.

You can also build a continuity tester with something like a couple of C batteries, and a radio pilot lamp, like a #44-the bulb should light if the filament is intact. We only keep yammering on with this filament thing as it is very, very rare for a crt filament to blow-usually everything else in the picture tube goes bad before the filament fails.

Than why is the Sencore not powering the filament? I think when the Sencore does Tube tests it powers up the filament, it has done that on every set i've tested.. It's not the Sencore, because i went and tested another set i have to make sure..

That doesn't change the fact you need a meter when working on one of these sets. You'll find many uses for it beyond TVs.

Right, a decent meter should be the first tool you buy! Don't forget a set of probes too, mine have pointy tips and aligator clips that are interchangable.

Yes, get a $3 meter from Harbor Freight or whereever, it won't be the best but will do 90% of what you need it for, which is voltage, continuity, and resistance testing. Don't overlook that the filament wires may not be soldered well in the CRT plug.

perhaps the tube went to air and the filaments lit and burned out ? go over it with a magnifying glass and see if there are any holes or cracks ? they have low priced meters at walmart , one is like $10 and the other for around $25 is auto ranging , found in the auto dept

mike

Amateur Electronic Supply in Milwaukee sells Velleman multimeters for about $10. They aren't incredibly fancy (just one large knob on the front panel below the display for range changing and power switching, as well as the jack panel), although they do have a transistor and diode test function. I purchased one, albeit a more deluxe version, about five years ago, as I am rebuilding my toolbox (left most of my tools back at my former residence when I moved here eleven years ago). This meter works well enough for my purposes and is my first new item of test gear; it should also work well for you, if all you are interested in at this point are continuity testing and voltage readings -- although the transistor and diode test function could come in handy for you if you ever get an older transistor portable radio with plug-in transistors, such as the Zenith Royal 500 series or one of the solid-state Transoceanics.

Amateur Electronic Supply's website and physical street address are as follows:

Amateur Electronic Supply
5710 West Good Hope Rd.
Milwaukee, WI 53223

Toll free order line: 800.558.0411
AES web site: www.aesham.com

You can also order an AES catalog on the website; it's been a while since I used that link as I am on their mailing list, so I can't tell you at the moment where it would be on the home page.

You do not need to be a radio amateur to order from AES; many non-hams order equipment such as radios, digital TV antennas, etc. from them all the time.

73 (best of regards) and good luck restoring your antique Admiral TV. As I think I mentioned to you in another post, it's a great feeling to get these old sets working again as they did when they were new. Don't forget, you will need an ATSC->NTSC converter box and probably an outdoor antenna to receive digital TV signals on your set, although it will work with rabbit ears if there are still LP (low power) or translator stations on VHF channels in your area.

BTW: Don't expect to see or hear anything on channel 1 (I think your Admiral TV, being a 1948 model, has a 13-channel tuner). The FCC originally reassigned the frequency range (originally 44-50 MHz) to other services around 1949 or so; in fact, this range was eventually realigned and became, in the early 1950s, what is now the amateur six-meter band.

That is true, I will get one in the near future.... theres a couple of other things i would like to get, But i just have to learn how to use test equipment, some if it is hard, and i think requires alot of math to figure out reading etc.

To be off subject.. When i called the 800 number of wmicronics.com first time i got a hold of someone, the second time i called, i got an answering service in reference to a Doctors office.. I thought that was kinda weird, than i called the regular number, and the same guy answered and said he is doing research or something about the model, and would call back Monday, than i read the threads on here, so when or if they call back, im going to say i heard to much bad news about your site, and don't trust you..

Hawkeyeguy says that a museum in Ohio is suppose to open soon and is going to have the equipment to rebuilt tubes..

Good news. My TV man picked up the chassis today and he was looking at it, and the Power transformer is good, and the other high voltage trannys are good, was able to get sound and somewhat a picture with his test tube.. Bad news is that the Picture Tube is dead, open filament.... It was a cap like you all said that was making the noise and smoking, and i think the vacuum tubes are all fine aswell..He also said a 12KP4 tube would work also.. So now im desperately looking for a picture tube, and no im not desperate enough to pay alot more than what there worth.. So I'm on the hunt for a 12LP4 or a 12KP4..

I tested another tube with the Sencore, and it worked with that one.. I have no other test equipment.. My guess is that the filament inside the tube was week and would have probably blown once the chassis was recapped and powered up the tube.. I looked inside the tube neck and i don't see anywhere that anything shorted out

You have a Sencore CR-70 but don't have a basic multimeter??? A meter should be your first piece of test gear. Also, I gather that you don't have much experience with vintage electronics seeing as you plugged in this set without giving it a thorough check-out. I think you need to learn basic electronics and learn how a VOM works. In addition you need to learn quirks of tube gear and the dangers within, especially TV sets. I would get books, and study and learn all you can. This is a great place to get info but you have to have a solid foundation of basics in order to move ahead.