Sets that you feel sorry for.....
 

Okay, admit it, everyone does this :yes:

Went to an estate sale, hoping to score a Halolight that was pictured in the listing. Since the listings were 2 weeks old and everything was now 75% off, it seems that I missed out. But in a dark corner of the basement sitting on the floor, was this set.

I would have left it at the original $25, but now reduced to $6.25, I figured, what the heck, it'll only get tossed out, and it either probably works as it is, or close to it. It's a KCS171E chassis, making this set a 1969. Picture tube is a 20SP4.

Haven't powered it up yet, it really needs a good bath and some tube testing first. There's also a big honkin .22 uF @ 600V ceramic cap that is going buh-bye before it gets plugged in.

Good deal.... I would have taken it too.... But I would have turned it on by now....
'69 They were a little better by then..... I would have cleaned it out inside first though...
And I have seen yer office, you got more sets than me, and more room...
I would like to get more into smaller sets too...

There are quite a few sets I feel sorry for. I go to Goodwill here, and typically leave with a tv from them. Here they are only $1.00. I'm even getting into the 1980 sets.

That is a nice tv you got. For the price, I would have grabbed it as well.

I felt sorry for this little Philco from '78. For $2.50 half price day, I couldn't go wrong. Seems to be made in the USA since i could not find a "Made in ****" anywhere on the back and has a Batavia NY address. Yes it works and has a fantastic picture

Batavia NY is about 20 miles from me. There was a huge Sylvania plant there at one time.....the Halolight I just finished up was made there.

I probably would have too, but when something's been on the basement floor underneath a workbench for God knows how long (barely saw it, had to move a disassembled bed frame to get it out), I figured it wouldn't hurt to see what's inside first. That, and the cheater cord was cut off, so I had to remove the back anyway.

I've just had bad experiences with ceramic caps going off like a firecracker....since I happen to have that value here, what the heck, yanno?

My 1991 Sears 12" color set I guess. It's newer than what I would normally go for, but I figured most wouldn't want a non-remote set, and with the little cash I needed for it on hand I wasn't about to allow such a unique piece to go to the shredder.

Well, went through the tubes, found a shorted 4JC6. Didn't have one, but had a 3JC6 and a 6JC6. Went with the 3.....the set assumes you've got 120 VAC and mine reads 118. Close enough!

Replaced the cap, the tuner was dirty as hell....when it first powered up it had zero vertical sweep, but a little playing with the controls and re-seating tubes yielded a pretty darn nice picture :)

I hear ya. I would have saved it, too, if for no other reason than to show kids what we had to watch before there was color...W/my Porthole, I've found out that an amazing number of kids have never seen a B/W TV, except for a "Little" one, 5" or smaller..

That's a nice set Tim!

I felt sorry for this 59ish RCA that was at a local auction, it was missing most of it's knobs and someone had started to paint it pink.

It's been overhauled, pink removed and some knobs from a later set installed, it works pretty well now.

Thats built by Sylvania E08 chassis IIRC. Very good little sets.

73 Zeno:smoke:

Ooooh. I like that 59 RCA set.

That model still used a 5U4 and a 6BQ5 audio output. :thmbsp:

But the 3JC6 wants 600ma heater current and the 4JC6 wants 450ma. The 3JC6 is likely barely functioning. I'd use the 6JC6 (300ma) with a 42 ohm 1W resistor connected across its heater pins. That makes up for 150 ma to make it total 450ma.

Yep, but the nice sound is causing the cabinet to resonate because the plastic channel that's supposed to be between the metal and the plastic was shot, it vibrates so badly it's not watchable. I'll have to find something to substitute it. It's not something that shows, it just tightens up the interface between the metal and plastic.

....or I could just spend under $5 shipped and buy a tube on eBay :D

I needed something to power the set up with to see where I was at, and it's at least working. I'll pick one up the next time I find I need tubes, from an eBay seller that has all the numbers I need. I don't suspect it's going to get used a lot right now.

Thanks for clarifying that for me though. Shows that the 4JC6 is a 2nd pix IF. Risking any long term damage by leaving the sucker in there?

I've got a Philco-Ford 12" b/w set and a late 60's Zenith b/w portable that were literally buried under 3 feet of debris in a house I recently tore down. They're sitting under my workbench out in the shed now. Most people would've probably tossed them, but then again us TV guys aren't like most people, are we?

For sure. I've got a lot of stuff most people would have tossed.

I've got three 19" BW sets, two Admirals and a Zenith, from 1969-70.
Of course they work OK and the CRTs are fairly bright, just emailed another friend who likes old stuff, fishing for a new home.

IIRC, the cabinet surround and the back is metal, but the front is plastic.
I just wonder if you could find some of the smallest plastic tubing and slit it to fit. If it's not visible, it could be in shorter lengths. Maybe wire insulation? :scratch2:

Not really for the short term. But that IF stage won't have much gain, but that's not really an issue today with no more over the air analog NTSC stations.

Kind of a moot point, right now :(

http://www.videokarma.org/showpost.p...88&postcount=4

I have a 1972 20/19" Zenith that became the only TV "save" cause (a relative told me it would be thrown out if I did not take it).

I replaced most of the tubes (cheap enough), but could not quite get rid of the vertical stretching at the top, the horizontal foldover, the buzzing when anything white was in the picture, and the poor alignment.

I tried to tweak the alignment, but the ferrite fell out of the coil, and it's in a "surrounded" part of the chassis that could only be accessed but cutting the chassis apart. Not worth the effort.

I had pity on this little guy today. Samsung from 1984. Found it sitting in the snow upside down by an apartment building dumpster where I was doing a service disconnect. Got it home and cleaned it up after baking in my truck all day. Static from the speaker, but no raster or even audio if I give it a signal. There's a big 470uf 200v electrolytic bulged out at the top begging to be changed.

Nice looking little tv..... Let us know how she turns out.....
I think it's really bad that people don't gain some appreciation for something that has served them well for years, and that might just need a minor repair for it to do so for many more years....

Will do. Model number is CT-333KA if anyone has a schematic. The voltages printed on the board near the flyback are all off from what they test at.

Dang... the 200v caps on two of my junk boards are both 680uf. The third board I don't even see a big cap on. Hopefully you have a replacement already.

Anyways, this 1991 RCA-built Sears console came into my store, I figured it would be recycled if I didn't buy it. It's just retro-looking enough for my decor, and I figure using it most of the time will save wear and tear on my older sets.

I would use the 680uf.
The junk boards are probably from a larger screen set.

Several months ago I came across a Craigslist ad for this guy who sells repurposed radio cabinets. I called him and asked what he does with the componets. He stated that he normally gets the cabinets with them already removed. He also said that if he came across any he would let me know. Last week he notified me, that he had an old Westinghouse TV that he just removed from the cabinet. I went over to his place and got the tv componets. He showed me the cabinet and it was beautiful. He said he gets $350 for the cabinets and that if I wanted it, he would sell it to me for that price. Anyways I left with the TV and phonograph. I might get it working and use it as a work bench TV.

Yup, both were 27" screen sets. Why would a 680uf 200v cap work in a smaller set that was made with a 470uf 200v cap?

I would do it, without reservation! A little extra filtering never hurts.
They only used that capacitor because the current demands weren't as high.

Well one new 470uf cap and we're in business! Picture is a little dim, right now brightness and contrast are cranked up full, but watchable.

Well, I did it again...Brought home a G.E. Venturer III 12" B/W portable that a friend of mine who deals in used furniture had. The set looks good but it's missing the VHF tuning knob and the fine tuning knob. Anyone got these laying around? I powered the set up and I have no HV, so I'll be digging into it when I get a little free time.

Eric,

Your orphan RCA portable reminded me of the 2 portables my folks bought new in 1959. One was that exact model RCA, the other was a Westinghouse. The RCA outlasted the Westy by many years. Found this photo of the RCA shortly after it was purchased.

-Steve D.

Little wonder, about the RCA. Full power transformer and higher performance design. :thmbsp:

I took pity on an RCA XL-100at a local flea market, it had been there for months and this time it was sitting on it's stand with tools, boards and drywall piled on it. I have a three on it.

This past week I tossed 3 TVs.. a 90s Sharp 25", a 1987 Sony 27", and a 1985 Mitsubishi 19". All perfectly working.. If I don;t have the room, no one else wants them. They all had their remotes. Need to make room for older made-in-USA sets.

That's pretty cool you got that working agin after finding in a snowdrift! I would like to find a little set like that for my Atari 2600.

I had an RCA set like that in high school. It was battle wagon for sure. Only two things ever went wrong. Filter cap and the CRT wore out after 16 years of hard labor. Still had all of its original tubes IIRC. I still have the power xfrmr and some of the tubes.

Well, this DuMont is far less spectacular than the last few, but it was either I save it or the owner was thinking of making it into a dog bed :yuck:

Drove out to a farm in the country and brought home this ugly but saveable DuMont RA-312 "Winsted". Picture tube is an RCA replacement, and everything seems like it's there. Going to need to find some knobs and a control door, at the very least.

What the heck, it was only $20, and I'm totally out of ugly looking sets :)