just bought a 16" 1951 zenith porthole
 

I just Bought a 16"1951 zenith porthole tv I turned it on and the picture is not as clear as I think it should be. The guy I bought it from said it was fully resorted but that he had not turned it on for six years.The picture is also off center and there is a hum that i cant identify and I know nothing about electronics new or old anyone have any suggestions.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Don

It sounds like it wasn't "fully restored". At the very least it's going to need the power supply recapped from your description of the hum. I wouldn't run it any more until you get at least that much done.
You should get a service manual, either downloaded from a lot of sites or someone here who has one.
You should post the model number and/or the chassis number.
There are lots of friendly people here who will help all they can.

Trust me, once you get yr Porthole runnin' right, you'll LOVE it ! Mine-a 1950 12" tabletop "Claridge" model- never fails to generate grins & compliments. Kids, especially, are completely amazed & "Taken" w/it.

thanks guys when i get home ill post the model number and ill try to get some video of what its doing so you can see and let me know more about what you think.

good tv guy
 

I was also wondeing if anyone cound give the name of a good tv guy near flint michigan.

ok here is the model numer for this set that i just bought
 

this is the model number for this set "H2449E". Thanks for any help

That model uses the 24H20 chassis. You can download the service info here down at the bottom of the page.

You beat me to it by two minutes!

pic of my new porthole
 

Ok guys here are some pics for you to see the tv. was going to post some video so you can see what its doing but I was affraid to trun it on again untill I recap the power supply. I am not sure how to do that. I dont know if I will do It my self or just have a tv repair guy do it. Thanks for the service manual


Don

Looks to be a VERY nice example, indeed !

Ooooh, that is nice! Hope you get it going. Maybe some caps in the power supply will get it up and running.

If you have zero electronics experience, that kind of TV is not a good learning project.

You could contact an area radio/TV collector club and ask for a repairman recommendation. Here's a list of clubs in the USA:

http://www.antiqueradio.com/clublist.html

If you want to tackle it yourself, I recommend getting a cheap 5-tube radio from a flea market or craigslist.org to practice on.

This article has basic information about replacing capacitors:

http://antiqueradio.org/recap.htm

Another article that may help:

http://antiqueradio.org/FirstStepsInRestoration.htm

If the simple radio works after recapping, that would give you an idea whether you want to dive into a television.

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

all the caps under the power supply look new
 

all the caps under the power supply look new how do i know if the can capacitor is bad.

The blonde models are much rarer, and that is a beautiful example!

If they are the originals they dieing from old age. Replace them just to be safe.
Terry