Got this set in a trade deal over the weekend, and it's quite an unusual version of a somewhat common TV:

1. This 8TS30 has channel 1
2. Blue screen tint, must have been dealer applied
3. Silver screen mask
4. Has what appears to be a dealer installed metal swivel base

It actually powers up and gets a raster too. No, I didn't plug it in, the previous owner did :)

I think all 8TS30s have channel 1. All your knobs and channel plate are wrong too - they're from a 621/630TS.

No only the early 830's had channel 1. I think the knobs are right.I think all 8TS30s have channel 1. All your knobs and channel plate are wrong too - they're from a 621/630TS.

Nope, this is what 8TS30 knobs look like: http://antique-tv-blazianu.pagesperso-orange.fr/TVusa_RCA_victor_8TS30.JPG

I've never seen an 8TS30 that didn't have channel #1, but then again I've only seen a few. They use the same chassis as the 630TS.

I have several 8TS30's and I agree with Bob on this one.
I think someone just messed with this set.

I also agree with Bob; my 8TS30 has channel 1 and the non-630 knob set.

So then I just have the wrong channel knob and escutcheon. Not a huge deal.

The blue screen tinting is sort of neat, very different. Seem to remember seeing discussions on this but I don't remember if I've ever seen one or not. I'm guessing that the blue clashed with the gold and it was painted at the time? Or maybe it was some kind of kit with the screen mask. Guess I'll have to wait to get the chassis out to figure that out....

I like the silver face look!!! :thmbsp:

Wow, that blue screen could start a new trend! I'll start applying blue tint to all my vintage B&W TVs at once.:banana:

I've seen some grey tinted CRTs before, but nothing this blue.

Here's a photo of some 8TS30 knobs. Note that the inner knobs are smooth on the sides while the 630 knobs in the back have bumps.

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2911/14661550594_4b1f85c1db.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/okAhc5)

It seems the mask has been changed from gold to silver. I've seen many of these sets over the years and they are always gold. I've seen the blue tint before. That's just an applied film. Someone obviously tried to do a few custom touches on that one!

Either way, I intend to leave it as is, I like it this way. Whoever changed whatever did so long before my parents even met.....

(they met in 1955 :) )

Have had this set on the bench for the last week, and it's almost done. Had a huge buggered up ancient repair to figure out where C1 was completely removed from the chassis, and a whole bunch of gigantic 40 uF caps stuffed underneath the chassis willy nilly.

Anyway, at the moment, every stupid section of the candohm resistor in this thing is open, and the Sams lists the power rating on the 6750 ohm section as being 3.2 ohms, rather than a wattage :dunno:

And if someone wants to make life easy for me :) , which taps on the candohm should show what resistance?

Good luck with this one Tim, it's a really neat little set. I've seen a few bluish tinted early AWA sets in Australia, but that has to take the record for being the "bluist" screen I've seen yet.

A lot of work redoing this one, but she's looking great!!!

Seems to like 105 volts more than it does 115 though. At full voltage, I hear a very slight hiss from the HV section, the added voltage seems to overdrive the picture and cause loss of solid vertical sync. The "picture" control is VERY touchy, causing it to lose signal at some points. Going to need a little more diagnosis to ferret that out. At 105V, she's pretty happy. Input is always welcome.

A work in progress, but not far off :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f12iY_e8HTM&feature=youtu.be

*pictures of the screen shot below were during powerup on variac

Well, I found out why the set ran better at 105V. This is a very good lesson to learn and I'm surprised I didn't do some real damage.

The knob with built in pointer indicator on my variac somehow loosened up, and at what I thought was regular line voltage, was in the area of 130VAC :eek:

Fortunately, I didn't run it but for more than maybe a minute total at that. It's a good lesson I learned to always check the calibration on your equipment.....

She's running perfect now :)

Wow.
A good argument for adding a volt meter to one's variac....

Absolutely. Or just get a better variac. Mine is a 5 amp Adjust A Volt that weighs a ton, but with all the work I do I really should have something with a meter and a built in isolation transformer.