Roundie Test Jig & Other Finds

[bgadow]

I had thought about that-really, it wouldn't make too much sense to practically give away a good crt while one with minor defects gets tossed. FYI, the test tubes have a different type number and everything. The label on the back says test tube and there is a warranty card showing when it was bought. The type # of this crt is 1828P22.

I had a 19" Magnavox jig given to me years ago but I eventually tossed it. It was a lot more manageable than this hoss, which would take one heck of a bench to be comfortable!

[julianburke]

Here in Knoxville, Tennessee we had a tube rebuilding plant called Tennessee Valley Tube Company. Paul Mercer owned it and operated it since the '50's. It's been about 10 years since he went out of business and is now deceased. Paul was the salt of the earth (rare earth!) and when I was in high school, he would always let me come in anytime I wanted to and help out esp. on Saturday mornings. He would let me have tubes on credit until I got paid for them and we built many roundies to include a 30" Soveriegn metal tube.

Paul would get many 21" FJ's and other size tubes from RCA that were marked "test tube" on the faceplates. He would polish them out with rouge and you couldn't tell the difference. The only thing we could find wrong with them was the faceplate phospers would have pimples in them (3-5 that would look like small black dots) and from at least 24" of viewing or more you really couldn't see them. He used a CTC5 chassis in a Asbury or Dartmouth cabinet to put a blank raster on the tubes being tested. I tried to get that set from him but never did and don't know what ever happened to it either. I sure miss Paul and loved to talk color TV with him in the '60-'80's. He was also in the TV repair business in the '50's.

[julianburke]

Test Tubes from RCA

Originally Posted by julianburke

Here in Knoxville, Tennessee we had a tube rebuilding plant called Tennessee Valley Tube Company. Paul Mercer owned it and operated it since the '50's. It's been about 10 years since he went out of business and is now deceased. Paul was the salt of the earth (rare earth!) and when I was in high school, he would always let me come in anytime I wanted to and help out esp. on Saturday mornings. He would let me have tubes on credit until I got paid for them and we built many roundies to include a 30" Soveriegn metal tube.

Paul would get many 21" FJ's and other size tubes from RCA that were marked "test tube" on the faceplates. He would polish them out with rouge and you couldn't tell the difference. The only thing we could find wrong with them was the faceplate phospers would have pimples in them (3-5 that would look like small black dots) and from at least 24" of viewing or more you really couldn't see them. He used a CTC5 chassis in a Asbury or Dartmouth cabinet to put a blank raster on the tubes being tested. I tried to get that set from him but never did and don't know what ever happened to it either. I sure miss Paul and loved to talk color TV with him in the '60-'80's. He was also in the TV repair business in the '50's.

[bgadow]

Thanks, Julian, great story!