View Full Version : Accidentally hit a choke coil with my soldering iron… how screwed am I?


Madeline12
05-02-2024, 10:34 AM
*sigh* Of course, the last capacitor I needed to replace on my first repair I’ve been working so hard on, I accidentally singed one of the coils connected to pin 6 of a 6T8 socket in my Stewart Warner TV. According to the schematics, it’s the choke coil rated at 15 ohms. It looks pretty burned/black sadly… I believe these coils NEED insulation so… I’m curious if rewinding this is even doable knowing how thin the wiring is. Any ideas how to fix this possibly?

Photo of the coil pre-fry and repair below:

Madeline12
05-02-2024, 10:35 AM
I can also provide a photo of the damages if needed.

Yamamaya42
05-02-2024, 11:11 AM
*sigh* Of course, the last capacitor I needed to replace on my first repair I’ve been working so hard on, I accidentally singed one of the coils connected to pin 6 of a 6T8 socket in my Stewart Warner TV. According to the schematics, it’s the choke coil rated at 15 ohms. It looks pretty burned/black sadly… I believe these coils NEED insulation so… I’m curious if rewinding this is even doable knowing how thin the wiring is. Any ideas how to fix this possibly?

Photo of the coil pre-fry and repair below:

look in the SAMS for pos replacements for the coil.
there is often listings under miller / merit / meissner and others on the list.
most of which can still be found on evil-bay for fair prices.
winding your own will be next to impossible w/o the correct rig to do so.

The SAMS should have all the info to find a replacement, including the microhenry rating and resistance and if its wound on a resistor.

Madeline12
05-02-2024, 11:29 AM
look in the SAMS for pos replacements for the coil.
there is often listings under miller / merit / meissner and others on the list.
most of which can still be found on evil-bay for fair prices.
winding your own will be next to impossible w/o the correct rig to do so.

The SAMS should have all the info to find a replacement, including the microhenry rating and resistance and if its wound on a resistor.


I have, and there are no replacements listed in the table. There’s columns for Meissner and IRC, but none specifically are listed for this coil. Microhenry rating is also not specified in the SAMS or the service manual.

Yamamaya42
05-02-2024, 11:55 AM
does it still test at 15 ohms?
not sure if this is the right SAMS
but it says
https://www.earlytelevision.org/pdf/stewart_warner_avc1_sams_64-12.pdf

l34

rf choke 507373 15 ohms

SOMEONE may be able to look it up in an old cross ref book.

Yamamaya42
05-02-2024, 11:59 AM
also, if this is the right SAMS, this set seems to be series strung, and has a 19t8, is that correct?

Madeline12
05-02-2024, 12:14 PM
does it still test at 15 ohms?
not sure if this is the right SAMS
but it says
https://www.earlytelevision.org/pdf/stewart_warner_avc1_sams_64-12.pdf

l34

rf choke 507373 15 ohms

SOMEONE may be able to look it up in an old cross ref book.

Not sure where you found that model… the tv I’m working on is a 9121A. It is the same Stewart Warner Part number (507373), but has no other replacement part numbers associated in the SAMS you shared or in the SAMS associated with my TV. I will test it momentarily

Madeline12
05-02-2024, 01:29 PM
does it still test at 15 ohms?
not sure if this is the right SAMS
but it says
https://www.earlytelevision.org/pdf/stewart_warner_avc1_sams_64-12.pdf

l34

rf choke 507373 15 ohms

SOMEONE may be able to look it up in an old cross ref book.

Welp… it appears I’m an idiot and didn’t think of doing basic diagnostics to begin with. Yes, readings are still hovering around 14.9-15 ohms. I brushed off a bit of the char and it looks like the damage isn’t tooooo bad… very minor to be frank.

This is what I get for being a bit panicky… looking silly. But at least I know I don’t have to begin a possibly endless hunt for a new coil. Thank you.

Yamamaya42
05-02-2024, 01:38 PM
Welp… it appears I’m an idiot and didn’t think of doing basic diagnostics to begin with. Yes, readings are still hovering around 14.9-15 ohms. I brushed off a bit of the char and it looks like the damage isn’t tooooo bad… very minor to be frank.

This is what I get for being a bit panicky… looking silly. But at least I know I don’t have to begin a possibly endless hunt for a new coil. Thank you.

to keep it that way, it's best to cover the damaged area with some kind of enamel like corona dope, which is made to protect coils and such,

https://www.amazon.com/MG-Chemicals-Clear-Insulating-Varnish/dp/B008OA7CAE?th=1

it's not cheap, but does the job.

in a real pinch, clear nail polish may work, but corona dope is much better for protecting the coil in the long run.

Penthode
05-02-2024, 04:33 PM
Has anyone thought what that portion of the circuit is doing? It looks weird to me.

It looks like a feeble attempt at providing further AM limiting. The plate of the limiter is capacitively coupled to the 19T8 diode plate. The choke coil is simply an RF choke to preventing the sound IF being bypassed fully to ground.

It looks as if this is an attempt to further IF limit any residual AM reached the sound detector. I am especially curious the placement of the 10uF electrolytic: the IF rectification of the diode should place a negative voltage on the diode plate corresponding to the peak negative excursion of the IF signal. This means the 10uF capacitor is reverse polarized.

Makes me think that it would work better if that coil was open!

Madeline12
05-02-2024, 05:22 PM
Has anyone thought what that portion of the circuit is doing? It looks weird to me.

It looks like a feeble attempt at providing further AM limiting. The plate of the limiter is capacitively coupled to the 19T8 diode plate. The choke coil is simply an RF choke to preventing the sound IF being bypassed fully to ground.

It looks as if this is an attempt to further IF limit any residual AM reached the sound detector. I am especially curious the placement of the 10uF electrolytic: the IF rectification of the diode should place a negative voltage on the diode plate corresponding to the peak negative excursion of the IF signal. This means the 10uF capacitor is reverse polarized.

Makes me think that it would work better if that coil was open!

This is not a 19T8 tube. It’s a 6T8 technically… and I’m not sure frankly, it’s just how I’ve followed the schematic. Maybe someone can provide further input.

Yamamaya42
05-02-2024, 06:03 PM
This is not a 19T8 tube. It’s a 6T8 technically… and I’m not sure frankly, it’s just how I’ve followed the schematic. Maybe someone can provide further input.

it's highly likely that the circuit in your TV is wired the same way in both sets the one I found on the ETF site and the one you are working on, and since 19T8 and 6T8 are the same tube save for heater voltage, it looked to me like the circuit may be some kind of AM limiter. but not sure, someone with more tube knowledge may know.

Madeline12
05-02-2024, 06:08 PM
it's highly likely that the circuit in your TV is wired the same way in both sets the one I found on the ETF site and the one you are working on, and since 19T8 and 6T8 are the same tube save for heater voltage, it looked to me like the circuit may be some kind of AM limiter. but not sure, someone with more tube knowledge may know.

Here’s a snippet of mine, shows positive to ground. Not sure if it’s helpful or if it needs to be zoomed out.

Yamamaya42
05-02-2024, 06:54 PM
Here’s a snippet of mine, shows positive to ground. Not sure if it’s helpful or if it needs to be zoomed out.

As mentioned, it looks like it's exactly the same as in the SAMS that I posted! :D:yes:

Penthode
05-02-2024, 06:55 PM
... same as the Sams posted except that the electrolytic is backwards.

It looks as if it is another example of Sams making an error! Sams, especially on the early drawings,makes lots of mistakes.

Penthode
05-02-2024, 07:09 PM
This is not a 19T8 tube. It’s a 6T8 technically… and I’m not sure frankly, it’s just how I’ve followed the schematic. Maybe someone can provide further input.

The 19T8 is exactly the same as a 6T8 except for the filament voltage and current. It is simply the series filament string version.

The choke value is not critical. I would be curious if the circuit did anything
It's purpose is to further limit and if let open, I would be curious if there was any noticable increase in ontercarrier buzz.

dtvmcdonald
05-03-2024, 02:00 AM
It is presumably 4.5 MHZ. Go to Mouser, look at Inductors, search Miller or Bournes, axial lead.

Pretty much any of the little series lead ones with a 75 to 200 uH value and a self resonant frequency (SRF) greater than 12 MHz will work.

Yamamaya42
05-03-2024, 07:09 AM
It is presumably 4.5 MHZ. Go to Mouser, look at Inductors, search Miller or Bournes, axial lead.

Pretty much any of the little series lead ones with a 75 to 200 uH value and a self resonant frequency (SRF) greater than 12 MHz will work.

Well, it seems that the original part is still viable, provided that it's kept safe from future corrosion and oxidation, thus I mentioned sealing it with enamel such as corona dope, cause if it indeed still good, once sealed, it should be good for another 30-40 years or more!:D:yes: