Dumont RA-113 spotted at the recycler
 

So today for work I hauled a load of old computers and printer to the local electronics recycling drop off point. As I approached, I spotted something quite interesting sitting amongst the pile of forlorn electronics...... A saw the back of a large vintage TV cabinet, wait, a chassis with tubes!!!... hmm this could be interesting... OMG, a vintage DuMont!!! I was quite suprised to see it sitting there. Upon closer inspection there was a brightner hanging off the CRT, and the cabinet is missing its doors, and there are no knobs... Still, looks like it would be worth having. So, I asked the girl running the place if it was possible for someone (such as myself) to buy anything there in the piles. Well, she didn't know but said she would talk to the manager. So, she gets the manager and I offer him 20 bucks to take the set, right there on the spot... He says he doesn't know if it's possible, claiming that all of that stuff is property of Dynamic Recycling and he doesn't know if he can let it go! Anyway, I left him my name and number, and told him it'd be a shame for a vintage TV such as that to get scrapped and destroyed. He agreed, but let's just see if he calls back. They close at 5 though, so i'll probably place a call and do a bit of prodding... Hopefully they'll let me grab it... stay tuned...

Interesting to find such a set in LaCrosse. I grew up in Sparta, so I know that that area of Wisconsin did not get TV particularly early -- not when this set would have been new. Must have moved to the area with an owner who came later.

When I was a kid, that area was a two station area -- just Channel 8 CBS and Channel 13 NBC. No ABC or anything else. People find that difficult to imagine these days!

Speaking of recyclling, this Motorola combo was sitting in the recycling area behind a thrift store on San Juan Island, WA this summer. No, I wasn't tempted!

Phil

http://antiqueradio.org/art/temp/201...VSadCombo3.jpg

http://antiqueradio.org/art/temp/201...VSadCombo2.jpg

http://antiqueradio.org/art/temp/201...VSadCombo1.jpg

That's right. ABC wasn't seen here until WXOW 19 went on the air in 1970. Kindof a late bloomer.

I think you're right that the set must have come with someone who moved to the area. Just like the 1949 RCA I have that came from across the river over in Winona.

As for an update on the RA-113. I called the recycling place this afternoon and asked if I could buy it. The lady on the phone told me that they do sell items but usually on ebay. She seemed pretty confident that they would make an exception and sell it to me without going that route. She wants me to call back at 8am tomorrow morning so that she can call the people at the drop-off point and ask them if they would set it aside. So, we'll see what tomorrow brings.

Good luck. Dumonts don't seem to show up often in the midwest.

Hi Phil,

That's an Emerson, isn't it? I had the table top version of that TV when I was a kid. The knobs and little door look like the Emerson I had.

Tom

Duh, you're probably right. Looks like the Emerson logo inside the door on the right.

I hate to see things like that go to the crusher, but you can't adopt every orphan.

Phil

Update: I called Dynamic Recycling this morning at 8am. They were able to call the people at the drop-off point and told them to set it aside for me. She then told me they wanted $15 for it. Not a bad deal at all. So I drove the old Grand Cherokee to work today with plans to head over and pick the DuMont up over my lunch break. I'll have my cell with me so I'll try to take some pictures while I'm there.

I just got back from picking up the TV. I don't have any pictures to upload yet but I'll get them soon. It looks like it's going to be quite a project but it's got a lot of potential.

The interesting part is that when I arrived to pick up the DuMont, I noticed two other desirable sets. A Motorola Quasar works-in-a-drawer mini console, with what appears to be the 23eg crt. Its cabinet is a bit rough and the speaker grille and speaker are missing. Also saw a Mid 60's Admiral 25" console in very good condition. Those two sets must have come in this morning, as they were not there yesterday!!!

Good save!

Is your RA113 the round screen, or square screen?

I have just found a transformer for my RA113 square screen. The Burlingame cabinet. The repair will begin soon.

it is the 17" rectangular... I believe its a 17AP4, although I don't remember for sure. It's still in the back of the Jeep, I haven't unloaded it yet. It is a combo, has AM FM and a record changer. It's cool we can exchange ideas and troubleshooting issues as we'll both be workin on em at the same time. :yes: I downloaded a copy of the Riders already so I'm gettin ready to get started.

My set has a brightner on the CRT so it's probably got a lot of hours on it. It's also going to need some cabinet work. Also, unfortunately all the knobs are missing. They might be quite hard to find.

my 16RP4 had a brightner on it when i got it. and it actually probably wasnt the tube, it was the chassis failing.

sticking the tube in my restored emerson years ago, reveled a nice bright picture.

So just because you see a brightener, there's always a 10% chance it wasnt the tubes fault for the brightener, it was the chassis.

Pictures
 

I was able to recruit some help this afternoon to unload the set and get it in the garage. Wow its a heavy beast. I'm getting ready to check the tubes and pull the chassis and start working on caps. Here are some pictures of it in an as-found condition:

...for some reason I can't link to photos on flickr... until I figure it out here's a link to the photostream:http://www.flickr.com/photos/54523115@N08/

You have to go to the individual picture, click "share this" on top, then "grab the url." In advanced reply mode here, you'll see a little icon for adding a picture on top the text box.

I like the set, by the way :thmbsp:

I like it too. Should be fun to work on :D

I tried that, it wasn't happenin! I'll go back and try it again though. I had just uploaded the pics to flickr, perhaps some time has to elapse before they can be linked too, idk.

Here's what I do using Firefox. I right-click on the Flickr photo and choose the size.
Then, I right-click again and choose 'Copy Image Location'. I paste the result of that into the image tags [img] picture URL [/img]

You have a turntable? Im so jealous!!

Your set might be a Tarrytown.

We need to find you a set of knobs for your set now. Mine has all knobs, so I can take pics of mine for you as needed.

As I said, my cabinet is mahogany, so dark. The knobs are almost black/brown with gold inserts.

Matt,

That is a nice looking set. It should be a good challenge and appears to have been not abused. Enjoy and thanks for saving it!

That is a Tarrytown. I picked one up last year and have yet to restore it. Mine came with the original instruction manual. The guy I got it from had knocked the socket off of the CRT. I was able to put it back on and it tests fine but I don't know if it is going to work for very long. The original is a 17AP4 and I found a 17BP4 that tests great as a spare. The HV supply uses a doubler circuit with some black-beauty caps. The caps in my set are extremely leaky (~43k ohm) so the set will not produce HV.

It's a shame about the doors missing on your set but I think it still looks pretty good without them.

That is a Tarrytown. I picked one up last year and have yet to restore it. Mine came with the original instruction manual. The guy I got it from had knocked the socket off of the CRT. I was able to put it back on and it tests fine but I don't know if it is going to work for very long. The original is a 17AP4 and I found a 17BP4 that tests great as a spare. The HV supply uses a doubler circuit with some black-beauty caps. The caps in my set are extremely leaky (~43k ohm) so the set will not produce HV.

It's a shame about the doors missing on your set but I think it still looks pretty good without them.

Yea, It is the Tarrytown model. Its a very good looking set and I've gotten good comments about it from non electronics minded friends I have shown it to. The pics don't show it very well but there are a few scuffs here and there on the cabinet and a few chips in the veneer. The left side has a big crack that will have to dealt with also. I have a coworker who's dad has a business refinishing antique furniture, so when I get the set working, I'll probably turn it over to him to fix up the cabinet and possibly build some reproduction doors. The turntable is pretty nice. It's a three speed changer. The tonearm is broken where it attaches to the base though. Yes at some point pretty soon I will certainly be looking for some knobs. If anyone has any leads on some, please let me know.

Today I took the chassis out and began cleaning it up. I also got out the dirt devil and de-cobwebbed the cabinet. It's going to clean up quite nice. I also tested all the tubes. Found 5 with weak emission, and one with bad grid leakage. I know this set has got to have a lot of hours on it. There isn't a single DuMont tube in there. Most of them are Tung-Sol, with GE and RCA coming in second and third. Interestingly the newest date code on any of the tubes was 1966.

My 113 doesent have any DuMont labeled tubes, either. I remember buying DuMont tubes in the 1970's, but this was long after DuMont went with Emerson.

I wonder if RCA was the OEM supplier for DuMont? My set is full of RCA's (silver label), with a couple of Tung Sol, Raytheon, and Sylvanias.

Judging by the labels on some replacement tubes, my set was possibly running in the 1970's, before the red-labeled RCA rectifier shorted out and killed the power transformer.