Newbie to Vintage TV -- Got my first one!

Hey everyone! I just picked up what I beleive to be a 1958 RCA 21D8525. The cabinet is in great shape except for the plastic emblems on the front. The set looks 100% complete...

I'm not new to vintage electronics since I have been involved with restoring old pinball machines...but tv tubes and stuff are new to me. Anyway...I know from working with pinballs that I should not simply power this thing on to see if it works...so I have a few questions:

Does anyone have a copy or know of a good site to get schematics and owners/repair manual?

Anyone want to help a nubie out with some good internet resources or names of books I should ask for at my library?

Is there a faq with general startup procedures before I start trying to get it working, or just a general TV restoration Faq?

Anyone have a clue what this might be worth if working?

Thanks, and sorry for asking so many questions in my first post!!!

[fujifrontier]

what would go wrong with a pinball if you just plugged it in? it doesnt have any tubes or anything?

[Adam]

I have that schematic (sams 390-2), I can scan it and send it it to you through e-mail in a few days.
The 21" b/w sets from the late 50s aren't worth too much, usually I can't give them away, but they're nice sets to have and watch.

Originally Posted by fujifrontier

what would go wrong with a pinball if you just plugged it in? it doesnt have any tubes or anything?

Oh man, there are so many reasons not to power on a pinball. You are right, there are not any tubes, but there are a million switches. Most of them connect through a common relay board full of barely adequate components. If any of these switches are stuck, or there is a short in the circuit, it can cause a board to burn, or at worst, the whole machine to catch. Solenoids that are stuck on will heat to several hundred degrees before blowing a fuse...trust me, thats not something you want happening in you spare bedroom during dinner

Oh, and I forgot to mention electrolytic caps that are dried out...

Adam, sent you a PM.

[Chad Hauris]

First of all make sure you know the safety precautions for dealing with high voltage and CRT's...there is some good info at this site which mostly deals with modern TV's but all of the CRT/high voltage/capacitor discharging issues still pertain to old sets:

http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/tvfaq.htm

It is a good idea to have the Sams photofact folder for the set, this has the schematic and photo identifcation of the components.
All paper and electrolytic capacitors should be replaced....usually replacing the caps, replacing any bad wiring, and adding a fuse in the power line will get it working. If not then you can do some more advanced troubleshooting. It's not worth any time to troubleshoot problems with the old caps in there as so many of them are likely to be bad.

Thanks Chad

[fujifrontier]

So who has a sams for my 21-T639?