Took a short 30 min trip to look at some sets today. The seller emailed me some pictures of his sets and I went with the full expectation to leave with a National TV-7W but alas it was WAY too far gone for me :thumbsdn:. I did see an Admiral console and looked right over it in the pictures. I have seen Banderson post these in the past and I always thought they were just ok, and had a bakelite prejudice. Well that all changed 180 degrees when I saw the set in person. It is adorable :tresbon:! I didn't end up leaving with it today, although I did take the Telematic Telecheck that is on top of the Admiral :deal:. I made a deal that I could come back for the Admiral later and went on my way. The set is missing it's speaker, the lower half of the back panel, and the finish will never be 100% which is the only reason why I didn't lug it home with me today. I do now know that I'm in love with these sets and am wondering if I can find a better set in my price range:scratch2:. Maybe some one here has a speaker, and a lower back cover and I'll change my mind about this one :).
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6141/5923408973_c2bb0af22d.jpg
I am looking forward to using the Telecheck on future projects, I think it will come in real handy when I do my 630ts.

The Admiral looks pretty nice from here, and they seldom have the backs. A fitting speaker wouldn't be too hard to come by.

I bet w/a little judicious work, the finish could be quite spiffy, too...

Yeah, they are kinda cute :)

Do you mean it has a metal cover on the top half, but not the bottom ? That's how they're supposed to be - the lower half is just open to the air like this. Note the 20X122 doesn't have a lower chassis.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4039/4307695859_8db8777f0d.jpg

It looks like a 20X122. They use a field coil speaker with the audio output transformer mounted on the speaker frame. the FC does double duty as a power supply filter choke. Shouldn't be too tough to make a substitute.

I just got this reproduction ad a few days ago. Too bad the postman folded it in half and jammed it in my mail box :(
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6017/5924500797_f29c543aaa_z.jpg

I've heard of people rubbing Tung Oil onto worn and faded looking Bakelite. I need to try this sometime. It sort of makes sense... the old Bakelite needs a new surface coat of resin in the scuffed and worn area's. Rubbing Bakelite with polish is good for fine scratches, but you end up taking off more surface resin in the process. I suppose modern Tung Oil is nothing more than a phonolic varnish. Not that far off from Bakelite resin when you thing about it. :scratch2:

It actually works pretty well. So does lemon oil. But it attracts dust like a sponge.