Unknown motorola
 

Has anyone seen this motorola before? I found it in an abandoned tv shop a few months ago. I looked around on the internet for days and no results.

Any chassis/model numbering on it?

Looks like there is a nice Zenith belo...Err, on top of it.

I cant read the chassis number because its a little to crusty but it starts with "ts". And yea thats a 1967 zenith b/w.

What TV shop was this at?

It was owned by a guy who mostly sold zenith and Westinghouse but did some repair on the side, and it was in a 1890's general store.

Looks cloes to a 1956 or 1957 21 inch.

http://www.tvhistory.tv/1956-Motorola-Brochure1.JPG

http://www.tvhistory.tv/1957-Motorola-Brochure1.jpg

jr

I believe i found it, its a 1960.

It's a 1959 model!
Great working and reliable set. Power transformer and 5U4. :thmbsp:

I have the 21K139M console with swivel base, similar model with the TS561 chassis, 21CBP4 90 degree CRT. Very solid set indeed and that whole line had "HiFi" sound.

Must have been about last year for this 21 inch tube model... most manufacturers transitioned to the square cornered 23 inch jug the next year.

Was Motorola a bit ahead of the game, with "lowboy" styling as early as 1956? I don't remember seeing many before the 23" models were introduced. :scratch2:

jr

Wow that TV store is a real trip. The times I've been down south it always impresses me how many really old wood buildings that have not been well maintained still stand....Up here if you don't keep the structure maintained snow and ice will cave in the roof and pop things apart real quick.

The brochure specifies a "frame grid tuner", not one of Motorola's better efforts. Motorola furnished a replacement tuner, that was an earlier design, but a lot better, to replace it.
It seems, that was the last year, Motorola made their own tuner. The next years models used either Oak or Standard Coil tuners. :scratch2:

I picked up a blond consolette Motorola with a similar chassis. It's code-dated late 1957. It has a RCA silverama replacement CRT, that's nice and bright.
IIRC, I have a set just like the one you have, as well with the original CRT.

I just found the chassis number, TS-544

Does that have the octal "service" receptacle on the back. There was 4-5 pins you could check vitals from, AGC, B+, ground oscillator AFC and something else.

Yes it does. I just pulled the chassis today to check tubes and components. The brite and contrast controls are rusted shut so i got alot to do. Oh yeah, this set is completely dead.

Try some penetrating oil (like PB baster) on the shafts.

Do you think WD-40 will work?

You could try WD-40 first, but PB Blaster will be more effective. I personally like Kroil from Kano Laboratories out of TN. It's a very effective penetrant. Kroil doesn't smell as strongly as PB Blaster.

Ive spray the two controls with WD-40 and it worked perfectly, but this set still has no signs of life. On the tube chart it says there is a thin copper wire for the tube filaments and i tried looking for it and i cant find the wire, so im having a hard time finding were this wire connects.

If it has fusible link (thin wire used as a fuse) it should be at the point where the fil windings of the power trans connects to a terminal strip. Usually fusible link is covered by heat shrink tubing to prevent shorts. Make sure your power transformer is supplying heater voltage and that it is getting line voltage.