My son and I went and picked this one up last night. The owner’s house sale had closed this week and this TV was scheduled for demolition tonight. The guy actually said he was going to break it up with a big maul and put it in the trash. So all it cost was $20 in gas and a little back pain. The cabinet is in generally rough condition, yet reasonabaly restorable. CRT condition is still up in the air. I'm getting intermittent emission, I suspect because there are broken wires under that base cap (heater is changing brightness). I'm pretty sure I can replace the tube base and fix that. Won't know how good the tube is until that happens. Maybe it's more realistic to view this as a parts donor for someone’s more worthy set. Anyone know of a spare right hand door, and a set of knobs?

One last picture.

Oh, forgot to mention. The owner told us he brought this home from a TV repair shop he worked in back in the early 80's. Said he had planned to restore it, but then Life got in the way. So likely most of the damage is TV shop rash, the top looks like it was used as a work bench, also that nice selection of knobs on the set. :scratch2:

You may be able to get by on the CRT reheating the solder on the pins, and glueing the original base back together.

If you can get knobs, but not doors you could always take the remaining door off, and either leave it that way or make/get new ones for a semi-permanant solution.

I decided to pull the broken CRT base off. Everything seems to be still in tact under there. I tinned the leads and soldered on strands of wire to use as pigtails, in order to pull the wires through the pins on a new base. I cleaned up a base from a useless series string brightener. Made a dry run before mixing epoxy.

I mixed up some black epoxy and stuck the base back on the neck. I have a table leaf leaning against it until the epoxy sets. I used 30 minute epoxy so I'll probably have to wait till morning for it to get good and hard.

Great score and great job on the CRT base :thmbsp: I didn't know you could get black epoxy or did you add your own pigment ?

Great score and great job on the CRT base :thmbsp: I didn't know you could get black epoxy or did you add your own pigment ?

Thanks. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the CRT will show a little life.

I did put some pigment in the epoxy. I also mixed in some very fine milled fiberglass for strenth and to thicken up the epoxy. The stuff just loves to slide downhill.

How bout I run the cabinet down for a quickie refinish? :D

I'm not really feeling motivated to make sawdust.

Hmmm, I wonder how well that would work to fill voids in broken bakelite ?

... How bout I run the cabinet down for a quickie refinish? :D

I'm not really feeling motivated to make sawdust.

That actually looks like a fairly easy refinish. That old lacquer just mels off with even mild strippers. Then some grain filler, minwax red mahogany stain and some lacquer. Looks like the controls area is in good enough shape to just touch up and preserve the decals.

Not that I'm up for doing it - at least not until next year. It's way too cold :(

BTW What CRT is that ?

Hmmm, I wonder how well that would work to fill voids in broken bakelite ?



That actually looks like a fairly easy refinish. That old lacquer just mels off with even mild strippers. Then some grain filler, minwax red mahogany stain and some lacquer. Looks like the controls area is in good enough shape to just touch up and preserve the decals.

Not that I'm up for doing it - at least not until next year. It's way too cold :(

BTW What CRT is that ?

Yeah, I've filled Bakelite with epoxy. But in the past I actually sanded some Bakelite off the bottom of the cabinet and used that as color/filler. You could also grab just about any trashed Bakelite cabinet and grind Bakelite off of that. But I agree, the Blendal could work very well, at least once you get the color matching down. Ideally you'd want to use finishing resin epoxy for this; it cures much harder and sands more easily.

I assume the CRT is a 17AP4, but I've not found an actual number on it yet. There was a D on the end of the base- I assume that was for Dumont?

Depending on how the CRT tests, I may get motivated and refinish the cabinet this winter. I do have access to a nice abandoned shop that my Dad left us a couple years back...at least as long as Mom stays there, it's available. So far she insists on keeping heat in the place. :screwy: Says she doesn't want his tools to get cold. I can't wait to get older... ;)

Your set is a great find. I just picked up an RA112-A3 with exactly the same chassis except it has the 19AP4 round tube. This is my first set with the mallory "Inductuner". I did a google search on the inductuner and it seems it still is a current Mallory product!

http://www.duracap.com/inductuners/vhf400series.htm

The CRT in your set looks all glass and so I thought it would be either a 17AP4 or a 17BP4?

I have the same cabinet issues and it is too cold for refinishing so I'll concentrate on the chassis this fall.

It will be interesting to compare problems with these chassis's.

Your set is a great find. I just picked up an RA112-A3 with exactly the same chassis except it has the 19AP4 round tube. This is my first set with the mallory "Inductuner". I did a google search on the inductuner and it seems it still is a current Mallory product!

http://www.duracap.com/inductuners/vhf400series.htm

The CRT in your set looks all glass and so I thought it would be either a 17AP4 or a 17BP4?

I have the same cabinet issues and it is too cold for refinishing so I'll concentrate on the chassis this fall.

It will be interesting to compare problems with these chassis's.

That is pretty interesting about the Mallory tuner.

I figured our sets were about the same, mine also has the video out to color adaptor you posted about earlier.

I'm sure you're probably aware that Phil Nelson has a most excellent RA113-B5 restoration on his website. http://antiqueradio.org/DuMontRA-113Television.htm. Part of the reason I went and picked this one up- It's Phil's fault. :D

Would love to see any pictures of your RA112 set.

Thanks for the compliment. There's a lot to like about this TV.

I corresponded with Tom Albrecht about the CRT type, and his conclusion is that DuMont began with the 17AP4 but soon switched to 17BP4. On my set, there's a rather crude hole in the back cover, to make room for the slightly longer 17BP4 CRT. No dome over the hole, however.

http://antiqueradio.org/art/temp/DuMontRA-113BackCover.jpg

On his set, there is a shallow dome covering that hole, and the tube label inside the cabinet indicates 17BP4.

I'd like to get a strong 17BP4A some day. Mine's watchable, but weak.

Phil Nelson
Phil's Old Radios
http://antiqueradio.org/index.html

I restored one of these about a month ago and sold the set. Fantastic performer! I'm restoring a Philco Predicta now, and it's really a shame to compare to the much older DuMont in terms of DC restoration (which the Predicta doesn't have), a nice linear scan (which Predictas are not good at), and video bandwidth (again no comparison). A decade of cost-cutting in TV design took its toll.

As Phil points out, the one I worked on had a 17BP4, which may well have been the factory original. Back cover had a very shallow dome, which did not look like aftermarket modification (dome was riveted in place).

The one I restored can be seen here: http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/dumont_la_revere_ra_113_b3.html

Mine was the -B3 Revere in mahogany, just ever so slightly different than your -B5 Burlingame, which has little "legs."

Thanks for the compliment. There's a lot to like about this TV.

I corresponded with Tom Albrecht about the CRT type, and his conclusion is that DuMont began with the 17AP4 but soon switched to 17BP4. On my set, there's a hole in the back cover, to make room for the slightly longer 17BP4 CRT. No dome over the hole, however. On his set, there is a shallow dome covering that hole, and the tube label inside the cabinet indicates 17BP4.

I'd like to get a strong 17BP4A some day. Mine's watchable, but weak.

Phil Nelson
Phil's Old Radios
http://antiqueradio.org/index.html

My back also has the shallow metal dome, so likely a 17BP4. Where would that normally be marked on a DuMont CRT? I don't see a tube label in my cabinet.

I currently have my B&K 466 cooking the filament at 6.3V. I'll go test it after a couple hours baking.

I see Phil's set only has the one jack, where mine has both phono in and video out.

Here's a picture of my dome, jacks and hopefully you can read the serial#

That dome is pretty crude, as in not very round. Plus the back is all perferated even upto the dome. Could be a later mod?

Mine was the -B3 Revere in mahogany, just ever so slightly different than your -B5 Burlingame, which has little "legs."

Tom, your restoration was another part of why I brought this one home.

I think the guy I got it from even stole your description from your Radiomuseum posting, for his CL ad. At least it read word for word. I dread the cabinet restoration, but I’d really like to have the experience of watching this set.

I also have this same set, using a 17BP4, and has the little bump on the set back. Mine had a burned up power transformer, due to someone trying out the set in the past. I found the shorted capacitor on the first hunt, and aquired a transformer and chassis from a nice fellow in Rhode Island.

I've replaced a bunch of electrolytics in mine, so far, and now have sound thru the Inputuner to the speaker, and FM radio, clear as a bell! I'm running the set after each capacitor replacement, and was thoroughly surprised when the sound came on... full volume... due to the volume being up all the way... after a single capacitor replacement under the deflection circuitry area of the set. Still no picture, but I think I am hearing the vertical oscillator running... I'm not letting the HV come up, yet.

My set has the tube number on the underside of the CRT bell up near the screen.

Well unfortunately my CRT is not looking too promising. I’m getting a solid reading now, but it’s way towards the bottom of the bad scale. Even with the filament voltage at 8v, emission only rises to about 1/3 scale. Dropping the filament voltage back down, the emission takes a nose dive. I'll let it cook a couple days and see if it improves.

I think we’re to the point that we may have to get creative and start subbing newer CRT’s in our old sets, at least if we want to continue watching them on a regular basis. I’ve seen a couple NOS 17CRP4 available, but those are 90 degree electrostatic focus and they have a very low g2 voltage spec. I suppose they could be adapted to if we’re not too fussy about original circuitry.

My 19AP4 was a rebuilt tube with an October 1964 label on it. I therefore had hope that it was good.

When I got the set home and tested it with my BK467, there was absolutely no emission. I tried coaxing it back to life and the emission improved slightly but was miserably low. I then gave the tube a rejuvenation burst.

Lo and behold the emission came right up and is now excellent, even on life test. This was a few weeks ago and I tested it again and the emission remains excellent.

Consider that the tube has been sitting dorment for probably forty years. I think it just needs to be woken up.

Consider that the tube has been sitting dorment for probably forty years. I think it just needs to be woken up.

This one is now almost up to the bad/good line, but it's still on 8v. It did not respond to Rejuv 1. Is it bad to let it cook on 8v for a day? I figure no worse that putting a brightener on it.

VDC actually shows 17BP4's in stock, most likely in error. I've inquired about other tubes and they're not really there.

http://vdc.mybisi.com/product/17bp4

I'd sure be careful using a rejuvinator on an old tube so quickly. One shot can destroy a cathode. In my case, the rejuvination is the last resort. Let it cook for awhile.

That dome is pretty crude, as in not very round. Plus the back is all perferated even upto the dome. Could be a later mod?

My guess is that the set and its back were originally designed for 17AP4, but midway through production, DuMont decided to use 17BP4. They did a factory rework on the backs, adding the dome. The backs had already been perforated in the area of the dome.

The tube label on the inside of my set specified 17BP4, so at least they updated the labels.

The tube in mine was an RCA, with very strong emission. Perhaps that was a replacement, with a DuMont 17BP4 being stock.

If this tube won't come to life, I don't think you will have much trouble finding another 17 inch tube. There are a lot of 17 inch sets out there that are far less worth saving than a DuMont. 17LP4 was a pretty common tube; not sure if it has the correct deflection angle.

I'm not so conservative on rejuvination. Had good success with it several times, and don't recall ever making a tube a lot worse. Some tubes simply won't rejuvinate, but I suspect they are beyond rescue no matter what.

If you're up to the good/bad line at 8 volts, however, you may be fine with a brightener now. I'm often surprised at how good the picture looks on tubes that test in the ? range.

Curiosity got the better of me, so I pulled the CRT. I'm guessing it's original to the set. I think someone watched this TV to death.

I'd sure be careful using a rejuvinator on an old tube so quickly. One shot can destroy a cathode. In my case, the rejuvination is the last resort. Let it cook for awhile.
Indeed. 110% spot on. With a 'juvination nine times out of ten the tube will be nice and bright for a week or two then go completely flat even with a brightener. Whereas a brightener alone will maintain it much longer.

Slowly poking away at this, I've been on a knob hunt for the last few weeks…

I while back I cleaned up the knobs that came with the set and realized that I had three possibly original to the set. :)

http://www.videokarma.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=172199&d=1321307111

http://www.videokarma.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=172200&d=1321307111

Then I received a few more Dumont knobs from Mike Koste (Gobs Of Knobs). Plus today I got another lead on a couple more knobs that should complete the controls.

Does anyone know of a way to remove the "brights" from these before soaking them in 409 cleaner? It sure would be nice to remove them to simplify polishing and re lacquer.

Most brights seem to be glued on. Unless they're already loose, trying to pry them out might do more harm than good.

Phil Nelson

Most brights seem to be glued on. Unless they're already loose, trying to pry them out might do more harm than good.

Phil Nelson

Yeh, plus I think these are pressed in too. I'm just paranoid that water will get under and then not being able to dry out, but I'll try not to worry about it.

Anyone know of a spare right hand door, and a set of knobs?

No, but on or more of those on your set look like Admiral knobs. Someone here may need them, so when you do get the correct knobs, please save the old knobs.
http://www.videokarma.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=171923&d=1319136378

If someone wants the Admiral knobs they're more than welcome to them. I have a couple more around too.

Denture cleaner tablets work great on crusty dirty knobs and other plastic parts try this tip in the near future...if it cleans your choppers it will certainly clean your knobs:thmbsp::yes:

And everyone knows that you gotta have clean knobs ;)

:thmbsp:Yes, knobs that are clean. Nothing like dirty knobs.:thmbsp: