RCA Victor 630 TS
 

I picked this tv up in a trade yesterday. It was rebuilt by an old collector not long ago. It plays. However, I'm concerned.
First, they lost the hv cage, and, jury rigged a bracket to hold flyback.
Door is there.

Next, though it is an RCA made 630 chassis, there are NO labels, makes, or, chassis nos anywhere on it.
Is it possible, or, could it be from a different brand set made by RCA?
It fits cabinet perfectly, it has channel 1, and, knobs are RCA.

Does this de value the set?
I traded my 7" Meck for it.....
Bill Cahill
The guy that had it is honest.He didn't rebuild set. He got it this way....

I'm not familiar with all of the RCA 630TS clone chassis but I'm working on a Fada 940 which has a
similar chassis. One way you could check to see if it's a Fada clone is to look for Fada part numbers as a lot of the parts in my set has Fada numbers stamped on them.

The flyback is 42.103
The large round bleeder resistor in the box under the antenna terminal (R 185 in riders schematic) is marked 117.20 on the Fada.
The original can electrolytics on the Fada were made by Mallory and have Fada numbers on them;
22.22
22.23
22.24
22.25
22.26
22.27

Can't find any part nos...
Some original RCA Victor tubes in it, though.
That bracket looks proffessionally made. Not home made.
But, it's only on one side of chassis. No paint.
It's old...
Bill Cahill

What model Meck was it?

http://www.earlytelevision.org/meck_xa701.html
or
http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/meck_xa_701.html

Richard

XA 700 Mahoganny case. Metal grills.
Bill Cahill

I talked to the original guy who bought the RCA. He bought it at an auction.
The set was obviously not made at factory.
All bakelite sockets.
Held on with rings.
At least the back mounting chassis brackets, maybe all are held on with screws.
Cage door is conventional 630. Cage isn't.
Everything else looks the same. NO part numbers anywhere..
Only one part has a name. Vert. Osc. trans. on front has RCA in large block letters.
Knobs, and, cabinet, and, back conventiional 630 TS.
Set plays.
Could this be one of those an employee took parts home, and, built the set?
Or, prototype?
All wiring is cloth.

Bill Cahill

Philmore (!!!) sold a 630 kit you could build from scratch. It consisted of all the transformers, parts and sockets and an empty chassis.

Wonder if what you have is one of those?

Cliff

If it is, sadly, Steve McVoy feels it's worth little.
Looks like I lost on this one.
Bill Cahill

Not really, you still have a working 630, if the chassis is a kit that just makes it a little more interesting.

Those Meck 7" sets are no doubt quite rare but their looks don't really appeal to me much.

I'd like to see some pictures, I happen to have a 630 chassis sitting by my bench, I could take some pictures for comparison.
Could also be some overzealous restorer just washed off all the labels and "Upgraded" the sockets with Bakelite?
That would bother me a little more not having the original serial number tag but if it never had one then it's all good.

In my opinion, it never had labels. I was told by the gent that rebuiilt it abbout a bubble in glass on front of tube. He said somewhere on the tube it says Only to be used by employees.

The set was neatly wired. All wirring that I can see is cloth....
HV cage door is original 630.
Most screws used are flat blade, and, phillips head.
Most parts that are normally pop riveted, are held on by phillips head screws.
Ant. and, sync terminal strip are riveted on..
Could it be a prototype?
My friend Don thinks it may be...
I'll get pics as soon as I can....
Bill Cahill

Weren't there in fact several different "build it yourself" 630 kits available, with CRTs up to 16 inch or even bigger up through 1950 or so? I do not know if they typically had the same physical part locations and chassis dimensions of a real RCA; I know my DeWald BT-100 is different.

If the meck is nice and with back its worth at least 700.00

Chris:

Yes there were a number of 630 kits available. Tech-Master was another one. If you look in the ads in the back of any electronic catalog or magazine from the late 40s you will see many of them

Steve

Bill asked me about the set and I expressed the opinion that it was probably not made by an RCA employee using parts he brought home from work, and that kits and surplus parts for 630s were for sale in the early 50s.

I said that I thought it had less value than a standard factory 630, but, as you all know, values of old TV sets are all over the place.

Thank you for the correction, Steve.
It still comes up could this be a prototype?
Perhaps after being finnished with the series, RCA gave chassis away to an employee, and, he came up with the cabinet, back, etc.???
It is definately early..
As soon as possible, I'll get pictures of set.
I was told by gent who rebuilt set that there is a bubble in the glass on front of picture tube. He said somewhere on the tube is a note reading "Only to be used by employees"....
I prommisse pictures of the points of most interest of this set...
Fits case perfectly....
Bill Cahill