A Pilot (TV-37) led me home today - Videokarma.org TV - Video

Phil Nelson · #1 09-12-2008, 06:42 PM

A local one-owner set with magnifier, original docs, and the owner's notes over the years.

Clean as a whistle, and dang -- are these things cute. I had no idea they were so tiny (and simple).

He did some recapping, maybe in the 1960s. The dude retired in 1965 and I spot a number of those "maroon drop" caps underneath. Looks like there was some rewiring underneath, too. There are some obviously newer wires, and two drawings (schematic and physical) of the filament wires and others.

I won't be firing it up tonight. Among other things, I see a .005/3000v paper cap whose connection to ground came loose. That's just as well. I should spend some quality time with the schematic and see exactly what was done.

Anyway, it's fun to step back into the past and imagine this retired engineer deciding to make his old TV work again, after some 20 years.

Phil Nelson
Phil's Old Radios
http://antiqueradio.org/index.html

Sandy G · #2 09-12-2008, 07:06 PM

Kewl !! Does it have the original "blue" CRT or the seemingly more common green phosphor replacement one-Or have you got that far yet ? And yes, they ARE cute l'il guys- I can't imagine a TV collection being "complete" w/o one...Even if they are fairly common.

Phil Nelson · #3 09-12-2008, 07:48 PM

The CRT is a 3KP4.

The magnifier looks just like the one at http://www.tvhistory.tv/1947-Pilot-TV37wMAG.JPG but it is mounted on little legs that slide under the cabinet, rather than screwed into the cabinet face. Maybe the owner didn't want to deface his cabinet. Amongst the other papers I found a mechanical drawing that looks like the design for these legs.

I got it from the owner's daughter, who remembers all of the neighbors crowding into their house to get a look at this new-fangled invention!

Phil

Dan Starnes · #4 09-12-2008, 09:16 PM

Phil you have a great piece there. Congratulations.
Dan

Dave A · #5 09-12-2008, 09:25 PM

My factory Pilot magnifier has two clips/hooks on the upper corners that hang over the plastic grille strips and two standoffs on the bottom that position under the CRT somewhere. All are mounted from the back. It could be raised or lowered on any of the plastic strips for the best viewing angle. Needless to say, the weight of the thing was a stress on the plastic and cracked may of them. It also has a Pilot Radio decal on the top. No corner screws on the front.

Yours looks very close in size and shape, and could be a later model. The brackets were a good idea though to eliminate the grille problems.

And...shameless Beltron promo...you can clip leads to the CRT and test it.

Phil Nelson · #6 09-15-2008, 12:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave A

My factory Pilot magnifier has two clips/hooks on the upper corners that hang over the plastic grille strips and two standoffs on the bottom that position under the CRT somewhere. All are mounted from the back. It could be raised or lowered on any of the plastic strips for the best viewing angle. Needless to say, the weight of the thing was a stress on the plastic and cracked may of them. It also has a Pilot Radio decal on the top. No corner screws on the front.

Yours looks very close in size and shape, and could be a later model. The brackets were a good idea though to eliminate the grille problems.

And...shameless Beltron promo...you can clip leads to the CRT and test it.

My magnifier has no decal, but otherwise looks just like the one shown on tvhistory. The legs may be homemade. His papers include a pencil mechanical drawing with dimensions.

I have continuity on the 3KP4 CRT filament, but no Beltron to try it out further.

Using a 3KP1 for troubleshooting sounds like a good idea. Anybody have a spare you'd like to sell?

Phil Nelson

***Eric H*** · #7 09-15-2008, 02:00 AM

Hey Phil, I have a working Pilot with a bad CRT, if you send me yours I can test it and see if it's good, I could then return it to you, in 15-20 years...

kx250rider · #8 09-15-2008, 11:14 AM

Nice find!!! The "original owner" part makes it that much more exciting! Thinking reasonably, how many more years will we be ABLE to get a 60 year-old TV set from it's original owner? Say the buyer was 18 in 1948 (and that's VERY VERY unlikely to have bought a TV set at 18 back then), he'd be 78 today.

Charles

*zenithfan1* · #9 09-15-2008, 11:22 AM

Very, VERY nice find, I've always wanted one of those fellas but no luck yet. Congrats!
I agree, the "original owner" part is totally awesome!

Phil Nelson · #10 09-15-2008, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kx250rider

he'd be 78 today

Maybe more like 98 or 108. He retired in 1965 and is now resting quietly underground. I got the set from his daughter, who appears to be in her 80s. They are gradually clearing out his retirement home on the island, which apparently they still use as a vacation place.

Phil

Sandy G · #11 09-15-2008, 03:41 PM

I wonder how long those l'il guys were made...From '47 to ? I remember reading somewhere they were marketed to well-heeled college students, & as "2nd sets". I remember hooking mine up & watched it for about 15 minutes before I hollered "Enough !!" as it was so small, & the pic wasn't really very good. They have no AFC, AFT, any of that "auto" stuff, so the pic was constantly "flipping" & so on. But I can see a bunch of 'em sittin' around in '47, all bug-eyed at the "New Marvel of the Age"-television.