New Member With A Vintage TV

[miniman82]

Yeah, it's really easy to work on too. Only problem I've ever had with it is the B+ supply for the tuner/audio sections- a resistor that's rivited to the chassis decided to short to ground one day, which took out the focus pot partially. I replaced it with a sand resistor, and it's been a strong runner ever since. Anyone have a replacement focus pot?

Only thing I'd really still like to do to it is redag the CRT, since the HT has a bit of a ripple to it. A refurb cabinet would be nice too, but the set just isn't worth anything so I guess it stays the way it is. Good thing it has a razor sharp picture and a strong CRT, I'd have binned it a long time ago.

[jr_tech]

For grins, I have posted a picture of my '51 Philco chassis. Although these early Philcos are fairly common and perhaps not worth the "big bucks" yet , I think they are quite worth collecting!
Mine occupies a fairly choice spot in my "TV room".

jr

Edit add "Anyone have a replacement focus pot?" Strange, both my '51 and '53 models have permanent magnet focus! Indeed the chassis resistor on my '51 failed, but did not destroy any other parts...weak point for these sets?

[Tom Albrecht]

Hi jr,

That's the exact 1951 model that I spent so much quality time with for a customer. Got it back several times to fix new problems that came up every few months after it was first restored. After several follow-up repairs, it seems to have stabilized in a good state.

The one I restored had magnetic focus too. I believe it was model 51T-1634. Nice set with a good sharp picture and a nice cabinet design.

Say, if you need to free up some space in your TV room, you can send me that one just to the right of the Philco. That would free up a lot of space for you. Pretty small screen for such a large cabinet anyway.

[jr_tech]

"Is it difficult to find a crt tester with a connector that will fit my picture tube? "

No, I got a B&K 400 on eBay several years ago for cheap...I think the shipping was more than the tester. Not the best, but it works! I would not recommend using the rejuvenate function on this tester (kills tubes )

"That's the exact 1951 model that I spent so much quality time with for a customer. Got it back several times to fix new problems that came up every few months after it was first restored. After several follow-up repairs, it seems to have stabilized in a good state."

Mine has been quite reliable, and has been "repaired" over the years and never "restored"... This was a set that I have owned since I was a youngster, living in my parents' house...45 years or so.

"Say, if you need to free up some space in your TV room, you can send me that one just to the right of the Philco. That would free up a lot of space for you. Pretty small screen for such a large cabinet anyway."

Ya, and the darn thing does not even light up anymore...what a waste of $35!

For more grins, I have posted a shot of a '53 split chassis Philco 17"... It looks a bit more complicated because it has a UHF tuner in the center, but it is indeed, a simplification from the '52 sets. Note the selenium rectifiers (still working BTW) and lack of power transformer. This was the first set my in-laws purchased about 2 months after TV arrived in our area!

jr

[VA561]

Here are a few pictures of my '52 Philco. TV1.jpg

TV2.jpg

TV3.jpg

TV4.jpg

TV5.jpg

TV6.jpg

[miniman82]

Looks a lot like the one jr posted...
I like it!

[Eric H]

Here's my 53 with a split chassis, I also have a 1951 17" tabletop with the split chassis.

I actually think it's a bit more trouble to work on these because you have to deal with two pieces and plug and unplug them as you work on them.

My set has worked reliably for hours at a time since I recapped it about 8 years ago, though it seldom gets turned on these days.

[miniman82]

Like jr said, you have a vertical problem. That 6BQ6 you replaced was the horizontal output, and by the look of it that one swap gave you some decent HV! Wish it would have been that simple on mine. Check the vertical circuit tubes, make sure they are good. If they are, start replacing bad capacitors. My set mad a whole slew of bad molded caps, even micas that supposedly don't go bad. If that's not it, the yoke or vertical output transformer may be bad.

jr: I had a bad 7N7 in my set as well, one of the triodes was dead even though the filament still glowed. If you don't like searching for those loctal tubes, you can do like I did and swap to the octal (and much easier to find) 6SN7. They are identical electrically.

[Dan Starnes]

I watch my 52 Philco more than any set. Very reliable performer and with the help of the good people here, I have learned my way around these old sets. Welcome to the site and you have a very nicely preserved example in your Philco.

[Eric H]

It needs recapped at least, the tube looks good and bright but as Marty said keep the brightness down when it's like that.

The only concern I have is it looks slightly Keystoned, a sign of a possible bad Yoke, that probably wouldn't be too hard to find for this set however.

Philco loved those old "Black Beauty" capacitors, black plastic with colored bands on them, they are notorious for going bad, as are pretty much all paper caps from the era.

[VA561]

I removed the vertical osc. tube 6SN7GT and the vertical output tube 6AH4GT and had them both tested . The 6AH4GT tested fine but the 6SN7GT was below minimum output and was shorting out intermittently. I thought just maybe,just maybes would solve the problem and I would get "snow" on the screen . My luck ran out when I turned the tv on. I have the same basic pattern that I did before. What should I do next, check/replace capacitors? Thanks in advance for any input. tv10.jpg

tv11.jpg

tv12.jpg thi

[DaveWM]

for starters you still need to turn the brightness down berore you burn the screen.

If it has paper caps you will need to replace them, no point in trying it any more until you do that. Next would be to check the electros esp any that are cathode bypass in the vert osc circuit.

You could also check for continuity of the yoke and windings of the vert out transformer, but paper caps are 1st.

[jr_tech]

Agree, and be sure to use extreme caution when you remove the right chassis... the crt can retain a high voltage charge for days after the set has been turned off! Ground the HV wire that is connected to the CRT to a wire connected to the chassis before you attempt to remove it.

How are your soldering and schematic reading skills?
jr

[DaveWM]

good point, need to know your skill set before you start messing about.

grounding the anode is important, and also recoginize there are lethal voltages in other areas.

[Jeffhs]

I would replace that 6SN7 tube, as it is obviously defective if its output is well below normal and is intermittently shorting. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if that brought your picture back, although I would check every capacitor in the vertical circuit--in a set as old as yours, there are bound to be more than a few defective ones.

BTW, for replacement tubes, I've had good luck with John Kendall's Vintage Electronics: www.vintage-electronics.com. He has literally thousands of tubes in stock at his warehouse in suburban Baltimore, and they are very reasonably priced. The only thing I would watch is the shipping charges on these tubes. Although the tubes themselves are bargains, the shipping will add another few dollars to the total, depending on where you live. I'm in a small town some 35 miles from Cleveland; the shipping charges to my home for a tube I recently purchased from Vintage Electronics were on the order of, IIRC, $8-$10 or so. The tube itself only cost $2.25. There are other sources for used and NOS (new old stock) tubes as well, some of which may give you a better deal on shipping; Vintage Electronics is just a starting point.