I finally got one!!! Philco Predicta
 

I have wanted one of these for as long as I can remember. I picked this one up on marketplace this morning. It is a H3410V (1959) and while it is dirty and dusty.. it has not been messed with. It even includes the original stand for it. Sitting in a basement for years I have been told. It looks like a label is missing from the front and one of the screw covers from the side of the picture tube mount but aside from that it looks to be complete.

Ya done good!

Well... I was hoping it would be better.
 

The flyback looks like it needs to be replaced. It is not arcing but it does look melted and cracked. Brightness is all the way up. I have not measured hi voltage yet or tested the CRT. I did test all the other tubes and replaced 1 that was bad and 1 that was shorted. (IF tubes) I know it will need a re-cap at the very least but I wanted to see what I was working with.

I figured out a few things: I did not have my varac turned up enough. I got ch10 to tune(My analog transmitter). Tested for high voltage, have 11kv with 117ac input. Tested picture tube, it tested bad. Rejuvenated it, test good now (We will see for how long) Now that I know it can produce a picture, I will order the electrolytic caps for it and get started.

Keepin' fingers 'n' toes crossed for ya ! Never really WANTED a Perdition when I 1st got started in TeeVees,, but I STOOPITLY passed up on several... Won't make THAT misteak again..

Beautimous. I see you got the portrait aspect ratio version -- very forward-thinking!

Mine just sits there in landscape...

No, no, no...Its Spiderman's TV, the only TV that is happy to stand on the wall like gravity was never a thing. :D

That is one impressively complete set. I've owned 2 debs so far and even combining the two I'm still short the back and that metal bar that makes it harder to pull the chassis...Not to mention neither of mine had the stand...You sure that thing ain't the TV counterpart to 'Christiene'?...If not let it sit a few days and see if the caps have healed, the dents pop themselves out and it starts playing 50's rock at strange moments. :D

They're the coolest looking TV's ever made and so "space-age" looking. You found a real nice model - the red "Princess". Does you're push on/off button work? They're typically shot.
I have the last swivel Predicta - the "Debutante". I love the stripped-down look with that expanse of '50's Hi-Fi gold sparkle cloth. Watching a good Twilight Zone on it is awesome.
Good luck with the resto.

Congrats. That is a nice looking TV. As my uncle said 'All that fluff on the inside is a good sign'. Means it hasn't been played much.

Y'know, when whatever designer decreed that TVs had to ALL come in 1st-ugly flat black/grey plastic oddly shaped boxes, & then in ugly flat black/grey plastic billboard sized doohickey that hangs on walls, sure didn't do anybody any favors...Part of the FUN of a Porthole Zenith, or a Predicta, a early Roundie, or an aircraft carrier sized "Entertainment Center" is their LOOKS... Wish them Idjit "Designers" sticked to fancy clothes, cars, next years' Kitchen Sink or Frigidaire, stuff like THAT, & left TVs alone..

On off Button
 

Nope, it does not. I have to keep it pressed by hand. I will take it apart and fix that.

Style
 

This was from an era when things had style! I want to get a port hole tv as well. Growing up a friend of mine had a vertical Magnavox console that I always liked. It did not work and they finally put it in the garage. I would live to find one some day.

So I had some time to look at the schematic today, Anode HV should be 15KV and I only had 11KV. So now that the CRT shows good on the tester, I bet it will be fine once I get the HV up to spec.
Ordered all the Electrolytic's tonight. Looking forward to bringing it back to everyday working order.

Let me know if you need Networks for this set.

https://tvrestorerguy.com/

If the tubular caps are original order those too at a minimum (parts to rebuild the K networks/couplates and resistors for the mainboard are also advisable).

Those plastic-bodied caps leak current (which is probably what is wrong with the vertical) bulge/crack then smoke and or explode...I just did full and partial (if I plan to sell a set for whatever I'll get paid for it I don't throw much money at it) recaps on 2 10L43 predictas and both had either cracked bulged plastic caps on the board or developed them in under 10min of operation...

caps
 

I always replace all the caps when I restore something, they always end up causing issues. I just figured I would start with the cans.

I will end up replacing everything that is out of spec, I don't plan to ever part with this set. What concerns me the most is the condition of the flyback. It is not arcing or anything, but the wax is cracked. I wonder if I can just re-coat it?

Oh and I noticed tonight that the "Philco" label on the front is not missing, it just has some tape covering it.

Good luck with that. It seems a little tricky to do. I just added a old bakelite switch onto the power cord.

I wasn't planning to sell my debutante either but me and a friend went halfsies on a parts debutante that he needed the tuner and speaker off of...the parts set had a mostly better cabinet than mine so I swapped parts to make a really nice keeper Deb and a beat up working tuner-less Deb with an AV input to sell...I'm stupid low on space right now so doubles and some junk in my collection needs to go.
When you get a good chance to upgrade to a nicer specimen on the cheap why not?

Some day
 

Space is an issue for me, can't park on my side of the garage anymore. If I die before my wife... she will get more from my vintage computers and electronics than the life insurance :)

I really wanted one of the barber pole ones, but this one came up at a great price and I could not pass it up. Normally they cost an arm and a leg for "untested and molested". I can see parting one out if the cabinet is not nice. If I run across a NOS CRT or even another set... I would get it for spare parts. Once I get it restored, I will use it but not daily so I figure it should last the rest of my life..

I'm surprised someone hasn't jumped in with 'Re-coat it with corona dope' yet. So far I haven't had to do that, so I have no personal experience of it. Personally I would fix everything else before I did that - those fine wires coming off the transformer look very delicate.

Sensor safe RTV silicone from your local Auto parts store is also a good option...I've recoated 25KV color TV flybacks with it with good results.

Every Predicta flyback I've seen looks like that. It's just the old coating cracking. No cause for concern.

I have recoated some with sensor safe RTV silicone and some with corona dope. Both work well.

Flyback
 

That is great! I will just leave it alone. I got a shipping notice for the capacitors today.. Can't wit to get them and get started on restoration.

Congratulations on your find!

Starting the re-cap today (and cleaning)

Replaced C1 C2 and C3 this restored brightness but did not solve the deflection issue. I will figure that out next.

I fixed the power switch, inside is a little brass piece that gets turned when you press the putton, it has 2 little "tabs" that stick up and grab the part that turns. On mine the 2 little tabs were bent down and we just about flat. I pushed them back up (And ran the little screwdriver into my thumb). The little thing that turns now makes contact and the power switch works!

I did make a mistake when changing C2, I had 2 of the wires wrong, one is blue and one is green and I had them connected to the wrong place. Got some smoke from a resistor when I was bringing up the power and stopped to find the mistake. That blue wire is ground and the green is not. Did not seem to cause any damage.

The picture is with the lights on in the garage, it was too dim to see the screen with the lights on before.

Networks
 

Just ordered them, I think the vertical integrator is causing my issue.

Thanks

With all those tubular caps on the board in your last pic the vertical would not work right even with new integrators...I just did a couple of these sets that were producing raster but had terrible vertical non-linearly and the paper caps were causing it....one even split open and started smoking while I was diagnosing the issue.:smoke: :eek: :D

I ordered all the replacement caps today. I had to get the Factory service manual because the numbers on the board did not match the numbers in the Sams parts list. I am debating removing the board from the chassis or just clip and solder. I don't really care about keeping it original... I just want it to work correctly.

If it is a 10L43 with holes under the PCB like mine you can split the difference... leave all the wires connected, remove all the hold down screws on the board, unscrew the vertical transformer, and lift the fingers that he the wires to the chassis...you can lift the board enough to get to all the pads underneath through the holes with a thin iron....you can leave all the wires connected this way.

A friend of mine has done vintage TV repairs since the '60's, and a countless number of Predicta's. He laughs at the hassle most people make out of repairing them. The as-found Debutante I have, he repaired while I waited without removing anything. The sets been working fine for me 10 years later. It's nice doing an intense restoration of any old chassis, but it isn't necessary - and sometimes will cause more problems.

Pulling the board
 

I am torn as far as how I want to do it, one day I feel like I should pull the board and replace everything and the next day I think I will just clip and solder just what needs replacement. I have been looking at connectors online and thinking about adding a connection to all the wires to make it easier for next time. I just don't know. The new networks arrived the other day and I am just waiting on the rest of the caps to arrive before I get started.

If it is a 10L43 (or similar) with holes under the PCB like mine you can split the difference... leave all the wires connected, remove all the hold-down screws on the board, unscrew the vertical transformer, and lift the fingers that hold down the wire harness to the chassis...Then you can lift the board enough to get to all the pads underneath through the holes with a thin iron (or at least not obtusely large Iron)....you can leave all the wires connected and change any/every part on the board this way, and it is a heck of a lot less invasive and less work than removing/unwiring the whole board from the set and reinstalling it wire by wire.

It is a 10L43, I will give this a try first.

Thanks

The caps came in today, hopefully I will get some time this week to get started on it.

Wishing you good luck! I'm still fighting with mine, trying to figure out why there's no high voltage after a recap and re-assembly... :dammit:

Look up the schematic here:http://earlytelevision.org/tv_schema...ms_philco.html measure the 1st and 2nd grid voltages on the H output tube and report back. Which one deviates and which way it deviates will tell what portion is bad.

Alrighty, pulled the horizontal tube:

- On grid 1 (expected -45V) I get nada.
- On grid 2 (expected 200V) I get around 310 volts.

I've read Phil Nelson's excellent article on restoring his Debutante, and even though he had the same problem I do, I've already replaced the couplets with reproductions from TV Restorer Guy's website. I feel like I'm missing something here.

Your problem is in the horizontal oscillator. I assume you have changed all tubular paper dielectric caps, lytics and the couplates. Check resistors, and tube sockets (metal contacts break internally and go open), osc coil, solder joints, and B+ to the stage.

All caps, resistors, tube sockets, and couplates have been changed. I haven't checked the coil, but I don't think that would be the problem as the set did have high voltage before I took the board out to recap/change couplates/etc. I think I'll make my own thread about troubleshooting as I'd rather not derail this one. :scratch2: