I got these at the radio club today for free. Not really, about a month ago, I worked very hard unloading boxes full of junk for about three hours. Neither of them work correctly, I'll clean them up and see if that helps. The Sencore generator has some really unhappy interference (filter caps) and the Heathkit is giving skewed readings. I tried to test my Zenith Chromacolor tube with it, and the cutoff was acting completely goofy. I even read the instructions!

Here is what the Sencore CG-159 is doing.

Here is what the Sencore CG-159 is doing.

The filter caps are bad.

That's what I suspected. I think the ones in the Heathkit are bad too. I'll change them all next weekend.

At the radio club, they also had a B&K 440, 465, and 467, and 1077 Analyst. And a Sencore Analyst. All in varying states of disrepair. I would have gotten the 467 tester except that it was extremely dirty and missing most of the adaptors. There are only two TV guys at that club, me being one of them. Now that I know all that stuff is down there, I'll offer them a lump sum and try to get it all.

It's interesting how your taste changes after you see something in real life. I had decided upon getting a Heathkit tester because it looked simple to use. But because it's so simple, there is actually a whole process you have to go through to clean or rejuvenate tubes. I remember my thread that I posted asking what CRT tester I should get saying I don't want a B&K because they're expensive and look complicated. After watching videos of them and comparing the process to the Heathkit, I've changed my mind. Now that I've held a B&K and seen it in action, I think that's what's best for me.

That Heathkit crt checker is the best one I ever used. Should be easy to fix unless you need some meters.

It's not broken. I was informed that these actually work that way. I'm going to be getting two B&K's from a fellow collector in a few weeks. I guess everyone has their own tastes for test equipment.

Does anybody know the purpose of this " Temp Control" on the Sencore dot-bar generator? It says "Goes out at 80F."

Stability... If you brought the generator into a customers home from a cold outdoor environment, a small heater would quickly warm up critical parts such as the crystal so that frequency drift would be minimized.

jr

Ah, that makes sense. I talked to a fellow collector today, and he agreed that I would trade my Heathkit, and he would trade a complete, but broken Sencore CR-143, and a complete, working B&K 470. I think it's a splendid deal. The Heathkit is in excellent condition, but I just don't think it's for me. You can't say I didn't give it a chance.

That Heathkit crt checker is the best one I ever used. Should be easy to fix unless you need some meters.

Ill second that:thmbsp: - go easy on the rejuvenate and only if you need it, that is: light 'em up slowly and you'll never fry a cathode:D

Be careful with any used test equipment. It might have a bad power transformer. Virtually Unobtanium!

About that CR-143- I've been doing a little (a lot) of homework on CRT testers. I found out that the CR-143 is from circa 1967, and was the successor to the CR-133, which was the successor to the CR-125. Has anybody got any experience with this tester? How is the rejuvenation feature compared to, say, a B&K 440 or 465? I'm looking forward to getting my new testers. The first tube I'll be cleaning and balancing will be the one in my CTC-120.

the 80's sometime.

Holy moly! I hit the test equipment jackpot! I got three almost brand new Sencore pieces, including a VCR analyzer, TV Video analyzer, and an NTSC generator. Those were free. I got a B&K 467, and 470, with plenty of spare sockets, a Sencore CR143, and last and least a Sencore CR31 Super Mack. Mack is in REALLY rough shape though. He has no needle, and all three of his potentiometers for G2 voltage are wasted.

Can somebody please tell me more about this connector? Apparently, the VG91 NTSC generator uses this outlet for all the test patterns I need.

Nice haul! Does most of it work?

The connector is a BNC... prettymuch the standard for higher quality equipment since the 60s or earlier. Amazon has tons of cables:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=bnc+lead&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Abnc+lead

not affiliated,
jr

Thanks for the info, jr tech. It's greatly appreciated. I tried using the Sencore NTSC generator without the BNC cable, but all I got was colorful static. The B&K 470 works perfectly, but the 467 has problems. Which is a shame because I really like that tester. The meters are not reading correctly. Two of the meters read way too high, and one is very jittery. The CR143 doesn't work at all so I've been told.

Here's another picture of that expensive Sencore stuff.

Nice score! :smoke:

That Sencore gear is pretty much the last generation of NTSC test gear. Cost a fortune back in the day, but very affordable now, even if you don't get them for free!

The CRT testers may just need a cleaning and recapping to bring back to life. If you have the manuals, they will contain calibration/troubleshooting info.

Yeah, I'd really like to get the 467 working, but it's pretty well used. I looked inside the CR143, and I found an afro engineering job where somebody bridged a new cap with the old one still attached. And I don't think there is any hope for the CR31. It's been through hell. I did fix the CG159 dot bar generator today. Speaking of afro engineering, I had to really get creative making my new capacitor bank...

The B&K 470 works perfectly, but the 467 has problems. Which is a shame because I really like that tester. The meters are not reading correctly. Two of the meters read way too high, and one is very jittery.

1.) Watch this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9IYfr7yZoE).

2.) Remove and re-glue the metal inlays on each knob, if they haven't fallen out already.

3.) Purchase some metal hinges and bolts in preparation for when the unit ultimately splits in half from standard use.

Thanks collectorad. When I first got the 467, it was already taken apart, and I noticed that many of the solder points were resoldered at some time. I'll take it apart again on Saturday and reflow all the bad solder.

Here is the B&K 467's circuitboard.

In the photo, the joints nearest your thumb look really bad, but you also really need to investigate the cause of the burned spot to the right... looks as if a component has severely overheated/failed and perhaps even burned out the trace connected to it. :scratch2:
Is Saturday at the radio club the *only* time you can work on electronics projects? Seems like a severe limitation that could perhaps be remedied.

jr

Yeah, I noticed that the solders all in the straight line look very bulbous like they could break off easily, where solders are supposed to be flat. I'll reflow all the bad ones. Saturday 9-12 is the only time I get to work on stuff. I tried making a workshop once, but it failed.

I went to Radioshack and got a BNC to RCA plug, and I'm still not getting any exciting test patterns! What gives? Am I doing something wrong? In the meantime, I just got through sticking velcro on all the adaptors for the B&K testers.

From this point forward, all conversation about the Sencore NTSC generator will be on the new thread I posted "Sencore VG91 very erratic please help." This thread should be saved for the B&K 467, which I have a video of and will post here. (https://youtu.be/Fu04bGLXSYc)

Quastion! So I have this beat to hell Sencore CR31 Super Mack, and a much better condition Sencore CR143 CRT Champion. My quastion is if I can use the adaptors from the CR31 on the CR143. I have no hope for the Super Mack - I'm pretty sure it's EOL. The adaptors for Mack have the same pinout as the old one from the CR143.

I have bunch test equipment that my grandfather sued at his tv repair shop and bunch rca parts anyone interested.
Secore LC 102 capacitor inductor analyzer
Sencore vC 930 format VCR analyzer
Sencore sc3100 Auto 100 megaherts waveform circuit analyzer
Sprague tel ohmike
Precision model es-5508
Precision model 2835
Precision ntsc generator 1249
Model 415 solid state swery marker generator
BK model 1077 B television analyzer
Heath dual Trace oscilloscope
Heath digital frequency counter sm2420
Rca test tv

I have bunch test equipment that my grandfather sued at his tv repair shop and bunch rca parts anyone interested.
Secore LC 102 capacitor inductor analyzer
Sencore vC 930 format VCR analyzer
Sencore sc3100 Auto 100 megaherts waveform circuit analyzer
Sprague tel ohmike
Precision model es-5508
Precision model 2835
Precision ntsc generator 1249
Model 415 solid state swery marker generator
BK model 1077 B television analyzer
Heath dual Trace oscilloscope
Heath digital frequency counter sm2420
Rca test tv

Your ad should have been a new thread in the classifieds, not a hijacking of someone else's thread. A moderator will probably move it when it gets noticed.

What model RCA test TV? Does it have all the normal extensions and adapters with it? Pictures? Location?

.

I pulled out the Sencore CG159 Color King III today, and to my great dismay, it did not work. I think it had something to do with the RCA to clip lead adaptor that has gone missing. I cut the RCA plug off and soldered two wires on, but that did not work either. Either the connector was some sort of matching transformer, or the Color King III has been overthrown.

To quote a 30's Prince and the Pauper film: "The king has died. Long live the king!" :D