National TV-7M (and why I'm not bidding)

[Phil Nelson]

Oh, Mammy. I would like a TV-7M with the meter, to go along with my TV-7W and Hallicrafters T-54 -- but not one restored by someone else, thank you very much. Buying a completed set takes all of the fun out of it

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=300334101211

Phil

[zenithfan1]

I wouldn't buy it either, not because it's restored, because it still has many wax/paper caps still in it. Come on now, it takes about 30 bucks at justradios for those exact new caps, replace them all. Lazy.

[tvdude1]

Originally Posted by zenithfan1

I wouldn't buy it either, not because it's restored, because it still has many wax/paper caps still in it. Come on now, it takes about 30 bucks at justradios for those exact new caps, replace them all. Lazy.

Also has wrong knobs and impossible to find.

[zenithfan1]

yup. that too

[Einar72]

You are so right, Phil. No fun when the other guy already has it done. If I did wanna pay (gasp) sixty clams for shipping, I'd be inclined to finish off the remaining caps, and of course, pull out all the un-American parts he used.

See you at the August PSARA meet...

[Eric H]

Man you guys are hard core, the seller listed all the repairs and missing parts and started it at a price that's a fraction of what the 7JP4 would sell for alone and he still gets beat up.

As for Phils original comment, I agree, no fun buying one that already works though it is nice to know the CRT is good.

[bandersen]

Originally Posted by Einar72

You are so right, Phil. No fun when the other guy already has it done. If I did wanna pay (gasp) sixty clams for shipping, I'd be inclined to finish off the remaining caps, and of course, pull out all the un-American parts he used.

See you at the August PSARA meet...

What's an un-American part? You mean components not made in America?

[Einar72]

Originally Posted by bandersen

What's an un-American part? You mean components not made in America?

Well, simply put, yes. I try to keep the original vendors, if possible. It's a matter of semantics. People seem to shy away from the fact foreign component purchases hurt the few remaining vendors left, most of whom had to offshore production to compete with our adversaries. I draw the line at whatever era the unit being restored was made in.

Just to assure you I know the industry a bit, I, as an Engineering Tech, occasionally specify parts for new or prototype-run builds. I sit there in disgust as I have no choice but to spec-in foreign vendors. So little of the great industrial machine I dreamed of being part of as a child reading Popular Electronics is gone or in foreign hands. We now mock and belittle American-made cars, since there are no more TV's or radios to belittle anymore.

Didn't want this to turn political, Y'all have a good day out there...

[bandersen]

Originally Posted by Einar72

Well, simply put, yes. I try to keep the original vendors, if possible. It's a matter of semantics. People seem to shy away from the fact foreign component purchases hurt the few remaining vendors left, most of whom had to offshore production to compete with our adversaries. I draw the line at whatever era the unit being restored was made in.

Just to assure you I know the industry a bit, I, as an Engineering Tech, occasionally specify parts for new or prototype-run builds. I sit there in disgust as I have no choice but to spec-in foreign vendors. So little of the great industrial machine I dreamed of being part of as a child reading Popular Electronics is gone or in foreign hands. We now mock and belittle American-made cars, since there are no more TV's or radios to belittle anymore.

Didn't want this to turn political, Y'all have a good day out there...

Sure, I understand. I've just had trouble sometimes finding replacements for oddball values and had to go with vendors I don't care much for.

I wish more stuff was still made domestically too.

[zenithfan1]

We all do Bob, very sad what is going on in the "USA" or what's left of it........

[jshorva65]

Since discovering this American manufacturer, I have a strong preference for using parts made by Illinois Capacitor. The only issue I've noted with them is that the data page at distributor Allied Electronics for the 0.015uF/1kV units common in Zenith roundie color sets identifies them as axial, when the parts actually have short radial leads. Per Allied customer service, it's a data entry error on the Allied web page.

[jshorva65]

Originally Posted by tvdude1

Also has wrong knobs and impossible to find.

The issue of its having the wrong knobs is why I'm not interested.

Sometimes, it's not so bad to buy a partially-restored set that's confirmed capable of producing picture and sound, IMO. Certainly, some of the challenge of restoring a set is troubleshooting, but knowing in advance that all the critical parts work can be a good thing.

As long as the set doesn't have any completely-irreversible hack "repairs" to contend with, anyway. Most sets 50+ years old have had at least one repair that involved some "improvisation" of dubious quality in their service history, but cases where corrective measures can be implemented aren't nearly as bad as those where radical modification of the chassis (cutting of the sheet metal, etc.) is a factor.

I perform a bit of modification on many sets, but I keep it reasonable. Adding a fuse by using a vacant tube socket pin (confirmed OK to use as a tie point per Tube Manuals, of course) is a common one. Pin 1 of a 5U4 is one such case, and almost all 1940s RCA models and their clones have pin 1 vacant on their 5U4s. My view is that it's better to have a fused B+ feed on pin 1 instead of the original unfused connection to pin 8. I'd rather sacrifice a bit of originality in a manner that's hidden under the chassis than risk losing a power transformer to some future overload condition. Another trick I use is to add an AC line fuse to sets not so equipped by OEM, either by using a vacant lug on a nearby terminal strip or replacing a "full" strip with one having "n+1" lugs (involves drilling out and replacing one rivet).

[bgadow]

Yep, some tough customers here! I'd gladly take this set as-is. I do get my greatest joy from bringing one back from the dead...but this is a special set, and one I would enjoy using.

My usual request: please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, don't let that crt get broken! If someone on here wins it, go pick it up in your car and give it a leisurely ride home! Someday we are going to run out of 7JP4's because they just do not survive shipping.

[Phil Nelson]

Originally Posted by jshorva65

The issue of its having the wrong knobs is why I'm not interested.

You could borrow brown knobs from a TV-7W and have a repro guy cast them in gray. Channel selector might be tricky, but anything's possible if you cough up enough moola.

Ditto about the perils of shipping a 7JP4, although if you must ship it in the cabinet, the National has a reasonable CRT-mounting scheme, unlike some others I've seen. Felt-padded metal band securely attached to the chassis.

Re fuses, one of several things I like about the National is that they included them already.

Phil

[bandersen]

I suppose I could make a bid for it and be able to pick it up in person, but do I really need a 7th 7" TV ?