What do I need to know?

[radio nut]

Originally Posted by ctc17

Tube TVs are like stray cats, once you adopt one they start finding you, showing up by the dozens. I bet I have 50 tube color sets now, would you like to adopt one!?!? They have all their shots and are neutered....

I find the deadliness and wholesale replacement of caps and that to be greatly exaggerated. Yes they will bite and may even burn little holes in you if you touch the wrong thing.
I just fix whats wrong with them and they work great.

I am kind of curious.....I am in Ohio... Some of my tv's have sat outside under an overhang exposed to the elements. I (for the most part) have yet to see maybe more than 5 or 6 paper caps be any good at the voltage printed on them yet. I even have HAD to replace many ceramics. Could storage conditions add to this? I don't know what kind of winters and summer humidity you have in Calif. I have repaired one radio in which all of the caps , even electro's tested good at 600 volts.
That was a 1927 or 28 Graybar. I still remember that the caps were all in cans and they were just big folded in half squares and tested good after I dug them out of the wax they were in.