Power transformer replacement??

[Tubejunke]

Somewhere here I read about what the deal is with the 500mfd 15,000 volt cap. It is the HV Filter. I guess I'm wondering if it is more like a ceramic and likely is not bad due to age like the paper caps. Also if it needs replacing I wonder what the trick is to finding a replacemet for that thing. Those are some really large values and I have never seen anything like that for sale at State Electronics (local store).

It looks as if RCA made it easily replacable on purpose. Maybe it was expected to be a weak link that turned out to be really reliable. Who knows? Maybe I'll do a search on the thread concerning this.

Its funny how this whole cap thing works. I tend to be stubborn because I have seen many radios dating back to the thirties that do fine with all or nearly all original caps. Then there is my beloved 56 Philco TV that will and always has come to life like the day it was built. I have a neat Sparton that is the same. There is one difference thought. I bought these sets back in the early 80's as second hand, daily users. Thus they have never been idle for more than 3 or 4 years straight during their life with me. Also I know that at least the Sparton was regularly used by the previous owner. An older gentleman would watch that thing all day on the weekends at an indoor flea market when I was a kid.

I feel blessed in a way to be at least old enough (37) to remember some of these sets still in regular use. The TV repair shops were full of them (junk) and the Goodwill always had a good deal on a nice old black and white, 50's set that someone finally discarded in favor of color. I have had kids come in my house who can not even identify an old set as a television set. They will ask what it is...can you believe it?

Anyway, my point is that the sets that have been idle for say 30 years are going to be very different to revive and can't be compared to something that has been at least in periodic use through the years.

My RCA has several of what look to be factory tubes which tells me that the set may have not been used a WHOLE lot. However, the CRT is a replacement, so it WAS used enough to burn up one CRT. On a guess by just looking at the replaced tubes that the set was not serviced after the sixties. It could have been idle for 40 years.