RCA 630TS scored
 

I scored this set on craigslist yesterday just a few miles from home :)

It came with an original service manual and a few boxes of goodies.
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It's missing the back but everything else seems to be there.
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If I can get these blobs of white goo off (latex paint ?), I think I can salvage the original finish. Worst case I'll just need to refinish the center panel.
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The serial # is 29885
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I don't like the looks of that getter :no:
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Congrats! Is this going to be your next restoration?

Yet another case of a gaping hole in my collection not being filled....

Nice score :)

Great find!
The white glop looks like it could have had a Motorola VT-71 sitting on top of it and dripping mask goo?

I've seen tubes with funky getters that still work fine.

Maybe, I'm not sure yet. I certainly want to finish a few outstanding projects first, but I'm anxious to see one of these sets in action.

The young man I bought the set from said that he was going to restore it with his grandfather, but he passed away before they got the chance :tears:

Here are the goodies that came along with the set. Maybe I'll use some of these parts in the restoration :)
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Thanks. It is similar to the VT-71 goo, but even harder. The emissions and cutoff were in the red even after over an hour at elevated filament voltage.
So, I used the auto-restore function on my CR70. After an hour, the emissions are still holding steady in the green. Cutoff still stinks though.
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Very nice set. Especially nice when you score one so close to home.

Now, let's take a closer look at the chassis.
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I discovered what appears to be some gold paint over-spray in one area. Luckily, it 's coming off just by scratching with a fingernail.
The decals are a bit worn out. I think repros are available so I might try carefully sanding out the old ones, apply new ones and burying them in fresh lacquer.
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As for the chassis, it appears to be complete with just a few old repairs.
I think it will be a fun project :yes:
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It sure is. I picked it up while finishing off my Christmas shopping so I guess it was an early present to myself ;)

Always liked the 630's, great sets and cool score. Make my GE 800C I just got look cheap and crappy.

Is that cad plating that has oxidized on that chassis or something else?

Matt

Great score. The 630TS set the bar for early TV design, in some ways.

Love those goodie boxes. I have used a little Weller gun like that almost daily for about 100 years.

That greeny stuff looks more like household cooking grease and/or tobacco grime to me. You wouldn't find cadmium on aluminum IF cans and electrolytic cans.

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

Hello Bob lucky score I wish I could have kept mine but I had to sell it but thats the way life goes atleast Icould say that I had one at one time...Timothy

Ahhh HATE Yew ! -Yosemite Sam, Esq. (grin) Seriously, what a WONDERFUL Christmas present ! Looks to be all there, very decent cosmetics, CRT might be iffy, but, maybe not...Ya done GREAT !

Wow. Seriously nice score! Nice box o'parts as well. Looks like Santa is being good to you this year. I'd do everything I could to try to preserve as much of the original finish as possible. Love the pix. :yes:

That looks more like the 'bigger' (dual heat, dual headlight) gun. I also had a 'little' (single heat, single headlight) Weller that i used for 100 years:bs:. Acquired in trade with another kid for a McCoy .29 model plane engine.

Great find and great parts stash. Sending you a PM about the Golden Throat sticker.

The older Weller soldering guns are the only ones I like. The new ones have the aluminum barrels and set screws to hold the tips.
I buy them, whenever I see them at garage sales, ETC. :thmbsp:

Re: Weller guns. Ditto. I got mine, 100/140 watt, in the case, with solder and tips, at a flea market for $4.00. Was hardly used. It's the older style with solid hardware.

Odd that I've never run across one of these or an 730 on the Minneapolis/St Paul Craigslist. But then I suppose they were about the earliest TV's collected, and so I guess most got scooped up years ago. Hopefully there's still a few lurking in some dusty hiding places. :scratch2:

My favorite is the D440. 145/210 watts. They quit making it, IIRC, in the early 70's. It uses the same tips as the smaller guns and not as cumbersome as the D550. It's more suited to old TV and radio restoration. :yes:

I this the sticker ? Sure, I could use a new one. PM sent.
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The other labels on the back are in better shape.
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I took a closer look at the Weller gun and discovered two in the box. The larger has some damage to the bakelite but the smaller WD-135 on top is in very good condition.
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About the Weller guns, I've had trouble with the trigger switch getting stuck on a couple of 'em I have. usually stuck on.

I haven't tried using the Wellers yet, but I sure hope they work or are repairable. They fell much better in my hand than the modern versions :yes:

I swung my my local hardware store and picked up these goo removal products. I hope they do the trick.
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Be careful with the Goof-off. It's a tough on some plastics and finishes.
Don't ask me how I know. :tears:

Thanks for the warning. I read the label and it contains Acetone! Definitely bad for plastics and some finishes so I'm trying the other stuff first.

If all else fails try scraping it off level with a putty knife. Maybe some gentle heat will soften it up?

Congrats Bob on the new addition to the family. Next up is the 721TS

Golden Throat labels went in the mail last night.

Would it be fair to say the 721TS (I have one - not started yet) is a level or two below the 630TS, which we all agree is a brickshithouse of a TV?

i ask this only after a comparison of schematics, noticing differences in AGC, IF, sound etc

BTW-I have that same service manual for 630TS/648PTK, its a good and thorough text on teh 630TS

My unscientific view is that the 630 and 721 are very similar in performance, despite the difference in tube count (30 tubes for 630 vs. 21 for 721). I watched my 721TCS for about 4 hours yesterday and was again impressed with its great picture & audio, and its stability.

The 630 does have extra IF stages in the video and audio, which might make it better in weak signal areas, but that's not a factor now, when we are not listening to distant stations. It also has a 6AL5 DC restorer, and two 5U4G LV rectifiers rather than one. That accounts for a few of the extra tubes.

If you compare the rest of the tube lineups, you see that the 721 often uses a single multi-function tube where the 630 uses two. For example, the 721 uses one 12AU7 tube for the 1st and 2nd video amps, where the 630 uses two (6AU6 and 6K6GT).

In that sense, the 721 just seems like a newer design, not an inferior one. Older TVs used more octal tubes for single functions. As time went by, the general trend was to use more glass mini tubes that could do multiple jobs. That not only reduced cost, but it may also have improved reliability, since fewer parts means fewer failure points.

Perhaps others will disagree, but that's my quick take.

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

I agree with Phil about the 721s design & performance and would love to get one someday.

First, I tried the "Paint Erase" which was having some effect, but not much. Then switched to a heat gun and a plastic knife and popped the crud right off.

After cleaning with GoJo and a Howards rubdown it's still pretty noticeable.
This will give me a chance to try out a touchup kit from The Restoration Studio

If it doesn't work out, no big deal. I have some medium brown walnut toner lacquer on hand.
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Uhh, I dunno if I'd fool w/that any more...That IS a 65 yr old TeeVee, after all...Its bound to have had some "Love Pats" thru the years...In a way, they add "Character". It looks pretty darn good the way it is.

I once had a chance to see a 721. The first thing I noticed was there was no DC restoration. Secondly, the picture is slightly softer due to the narrower IF response (three IF stages instead of four). The number of tubes in the IF does not affect sensitivity as much as picture detail and the 721 has about 1 MHz less wide Video IF bandwidth than the 630.

It is interesting to note that the later intercarrier designs allowed set users on strong signal stations to adjust the fine tuning lower on the nyquist slope to improve picture detail and on weaker signal stations move it higher for better signal to noise performance at the expense of detail. The late 40's RCA sets were all split sound design which meant that the fine tuning was set for best sound, ignoring the picture. Hence a side-by-side close comparison will reveal the less expensive design of the 721.

But I would expect that most viewers would not be so critical and at about four feet from the face of the 10BP4 it would be hard to tell the difference in resolution. The DC component loss on the 721 is to me an issue however.

Hi All;
I would be courious to know the difference, like a picture of 630 and another of the 730 with the same picture on it.. So I could tell the difference.. Does anyone have both sets that they could do that with.. Like a side by side comparison..
THANK YOU Marty

I was just flipping through a 1948 issue of Tele-Tech and came across this ad for converting the 630 to a projection set.
I wonder how well they worked :scratch2:
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Not i was not expecting THAT, I am used to seeing the units converted with a Norelco ProTelGram unit, this is something quite different.

NEAT! Now to fins one of those units NOS :)

Matt

Hi All;
Now it may be me, or my lack of proper perspective.. But, the Leads on the 0--30KV meter, look a little on the thin side.. Not anything I would want to handle, while measuring even 10KV.. Even though I wouldn't mind a schematic for making one.. I could find an old meter lying around and make something that would tell me close enough the voltage of my old set.. a meter of 0 to 15 would be all that I would need..
THANK YOU Marty

Hey. I just stopped by.

Nice find, Bob. Don't go too wild on that origional finish. You'd be surprised how much it can be reconstituted, but I know you know what yer doing.

So, how many TVs does that make, "Admiral" Bob?:smoke:

Thanks. I'm using a technique I believe you used recently of filling in the voids with fresh lacquer and carefully sanding level. So far, so good :)

Good question. It's been a while since I counted so I just did a quick count and came up with around 60 :eek: I say around because some are incomplete or damaged.

You Vintage Maniac...:smoke:

I cleaned up the filthy cabinet with some GoJo and was surprised to see such a difference between the top cover and the rest.
It looks to me like the center cover is walnut while the rest is mahogany. Perhaps it's not the original top and came from a walnut 630TS ?
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