1954 Admiral C2226 project

[Ncotham]

Here begins my journey, and I sure hope it's not a short trip, i.e. a failure. I've acquired our old 1954 Admiral Model C2226 21" B&W cabinet that I grew up with. Unfortunately, ALL I have is the cabinet because somewhere along the line the TV was gutted - no chassis, tube or speaker. I've attached a few photos, 1. Me and my TV circa 1961, 2. Cabinet upon arrival after some TLC for the wood and front glass cleaning, 3. Cabinet after some further serious cleaning to remove bezel stains.

I can only guess that the brown stains around the bezel in the second photo were due to cigarette smoke as both my parents were heavy smokers. It was thick on the inside of the front glass as well prior to that photo being taken. I tried everything I could think of to get that crap off of there and NOTHING would touch it, and I mean nothing. Know what finally got it off? A simple paste made of baking soda and water. Who knew???

I'm hoping someone might have an idea where I might find some innards for this guy. SAMs doc for a model C2226 actually listed 19 1954 models and showed only one chassis photo. Those models listed a variety of chassis numbers, so I'm a bit confused. Can someone tell me why there are so many models listed and what the difference is in the chassis numbers? Six models showed the 22A3Z chassis number - C2225, C2226, C2227, F2216, F2217 and F2218. The remaining models either showed a different chassis number or other chassis numbers in addition to the 22A3Z. If someone could explain this to me then maybe I could put a want ad out on Craigs list for multiple models and broaden my search once I understand how to decipher what the SAMs data is trying to tell me.

I've already emailed Harry Poster at his TV prop site as he was recommended as someone who may have parts, but it's been 11 days and nothing has turned up as of yet.

So, here I sit, trying to get past first base and get a chassis that I can even begin work on:-) Any suggestions would be very much appreciated, and if anyone should run across one of the models that would work for a chassis and let me know I'd be forever in your debt! Thanks...

[Electronic M]

Some models with the same chassis may have used a different sized CRT which could complicate a complete guts swap between sets.
I'm not familiar with Admiral's numbering system, but can say that it was common practice among TV makers back then to put virtually the same chassis(even keeping the same chassis numbers in many cases) in a variety of different cabinets with different screen sizes and have a different model for each cabinet/screen size variant.

[Phil Nelson]

I looked at the Sams manual and it doesn't seem to show significant differences amongst the various chassis listed. All use a 21-inch picture tube. A few chassis use a different type of tube for the sync separator. A few other minor differences are noted in the parts list.

I would look for all of the listed model numbers, and if you're lucky enough to find any of them, worry about small differences later. As long as the chassis and picture tube physically fit the openings, and the chassis has the right knob shafts in the right places, you don't really care whether it uses a 6xyz or 6abc sync separator tube.

As Electronic M noted, it was common to use the same chassis in multiple cabinets. The manual for my RCA CTC-11 lists 43 (!) model numbers. They all used basically the same chassis, with two electronic options (UHF tuner, remote) and a zillion choices of cabinet and trim.

You may need to be patient when looking for a specific item like this. There are no Wal-Marts with hundreds of old TV chassis to choose from. It might be easier to find another complete Admiral with a junky cabinet and a restorable chassis.

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

[earlyfilm]

Originally Posted by Ncotham

SAMs doc for a model C2226 actually listed 19 1954 models and showed only one chassis photo. Those models listed a variety of chassis numbers, so I'm a bit confused. Can someone tell me why there are so many models listed and what the difference is in the chassis numbers? Six models showed the 22A3Z chassis number - C2225, C2226, C2227, F2216, F2217 and F2218.

I read and answered your "newbie" post before I saw this thread and now see that you have made progress more than I suspected.

One thing you will often find in this hobby is conflicting information.

Rider gives your chassis as 22A3. I've found that usually:

Factory manuals are the best.
Rider manuals are the next best.
Sams have the most errors, but also have the most pictures.

Per the Rider index:
Model C2226 carried chassis 22A3
while
Model C2226Z carried chassis 22A3Z

The schematic index can be used to predict which other model might carry a usable chassis.

Probably any 21 inch 1954 Admiral chassis with these numbers could be used: 22A3, 22A3Z, 22A3AZ, 22B3, 22B3Z, 22B3AZ, 22C2 late, 22E2 late, 22F2 late, 22F2Z, 22M2 late, 22N2, 22P2 late, and 22R2 late. They are all the wired the same, but have minor revisions.

James

[Ncotham]

James, Phil, Tom - thank you all for your input answering my model/chassis questions. Now the search begins. I figured I'd post in the classifieds in this forum first and then on Craig's list once I figure it out. Any other suggestions as to places to query for models and chassis numbers?

Thanks again! You all have been just super:-)
Neil

[Phil Nelson]

The Early Television Foundation website has free classified ads. You could post an ad in the "TV Sets Wanted" section:

http://www.earlytelevision.org/classified_page.html

Phil Nelson

[Eric H]

Take a look here, seller says it's a 58 model but eBay sellers are wrong now and then.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Admiral-Tele...item3f19060849

[Ncotham]

Originally Posted by Eric H

Take a look here, seller says it's a 58 model but eBay sellers are wrong now and then.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Admiral-Tele...item3f19060849

Hi Eric - thanks! I did see that one - my wife came in here all excited the other night and said she thought she found one... (Wow, I didn't know she was helping me look! What a sweetheart she is!) Unfortunately, the model was a FA2326Z N and the chassis was a 21B3Z. A Google search of FA2326 didn't turn up ANYTHING. No SAMs, no brochures, no nothing. So I have no way of knowing whether that one will work. The front trim looks similar to the C2226, but that's about all I have to go on. Thanks again for the suggestion.

Neil

[Phil Nelson]

Some collectors spend years pursuing a specific TV model, so you're in good company. I'll repeat my advice to post a free "wanted" ad in the ETF website. Who knows, another collector might run across what you need.

Did you know that you can search all of the craigslist sites at once? Go to http://www.google.com/ and search for this phrase, for example:

old admiral tv site:craigslist.org

Many of those sets will be far away, of course, but you never know.

Use a variety of search terms, since sellers don't always use obvious words or pick a good category. One of my best craigslist TV finds was listed in a dumb category like Household with a nondescript title like "Old Wooden Set."

Phil Nelson

[cluelessgame]

Originally Posted by Ncotham

Hi Eric - thanks! I did see that one - my wife came in here all excited the other night and said she thought she found one... (Wow, I didn't know she was helping me look! What a sweetheart she is!) Unfortunately, the model was a FA2326Z N and the chassis was a 21B3Z. A Google search of FA2326 didn't turn up ANYTHING. No SAMs, no brochures, no nothing. So I have no way of knowing whether that one will work. The front trim looks similar to the C2226, but that's about all I have to go on. Thanks again for the suggestion.

Neil

as long as the front configuration of knobs on the chassis are in the correct placement, It will work in the C2226 cabinet

[Ncotham]

Well folks, that Admiral model FA2326Z with a 21B3Z chassis on Ebay sure looks the part, but again, I've not been able to find any information about this TV.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Admiral-Tele...06%26rk%3D1%26

The Ebay seller says it's a 1958 model, but wouldn't a 21B3Z chassis be earlier than a 1954 22A3? It's in Omaha which is a drive I could make there and back in a day and the auction ends in 4 days, so I'm stressing over whether I should pull the trigger on this or not. Can any of you Admiral experts provide some guidance? I did find a Service Manual for $24 for the 21B3Z chassis:

http://estoreoutwest.com/index.php?m...oducts_id=2177

But, I don't want to fork out 24 bucks only to figure out this model won't work. And I see there are SAMs available for the 21B3Z chassis as well, but I still have not been able to find out what model year this TV actually came out or if the chassis would work in a C2226. Any ideas, anyone?
Thanks!
Neil

Edit: The ebay link I copied and pasted doesn't appear to be working for some reason, but it comes up early on in an Ebay search of "vintage admiral tv". There are pictures of the back panel showing the model and chassis information.

[bandersen]

I pulled out my master index of all Admiral models and chassis and found that the FA2326Z is from 1955.

I found the schematic in Beitmans Most Often Needed Additional 1955. It uses a 21AMP4 CRT which you can find dimensions for here: http://www.shinjo.info/frank/sheets/127/2/21AMP4.pdf

They don't show how the front controls are laid out or the chassis dimensions. The 21B3Z chassis is also covered in Riders vol 15 which I think I have. I'll try to dig it out tomorrow and see what they have to say.

Admiral didn't use sequential chassis #s so don't let that bother you. For example their earliest TV chassis is the 30A1.

[Kevin Kuehn]

I have a 21A3Z chassis setting here that I was keeping for the strong testing 21AMP4B. I was hoping to use that CRT as a backup for my RCA console, only I'm having outside edge focus issue when I try it in my set. I'm still hoping to get to the bottom of that problem, not really sure what causes it. I've also stolen some ferrite slugs out of the IF coils to fix another set, so it's not exactly a prime candidate for an easy restoration at this point. The Sams for this chassis is dated 4-55, set 275- folder 2. I can take measurements off of this chassis if that would help in any way. I'm thinking these mid 50's Admirals should be pretty common. Hold out for a while, and one will likely surface in your area. I'd hate to thing of having one shipped by UPS or such. I didn't notice where you are located?

[Kevin Kuehn]

Seems the set on ebay got relisted for $25 opening. Lookin' better.

[Ncotham]

Thanks for the help, guys!

The tube dimensions of the 21ZP4-B for the C2226 are listed as follows:

Overall Length: 23 1/32 +/- 3/8
Greatest Bulb Dimensions
Diagonal 21 7/32 +/- 3/16
Width 20 1/4 +/- 3/16
Height 15 9/16 +/- 3/16
Minimum Useful Screen Dimensions
Diagonal 20 1/8
Width 19 1/8
Height 14 3/16

The tube dimensions of the 21AMP4 for the FA2326Z:
Overall length: 20 7/16
Greatest Bulb Dimensions
Diagonal 21 3/8 +/- 3/16
Width 20 1/4 +/- 3/16
Height 16 3/8 +/- 3/16
Minimum Useful Screen Dimensions
Diagonal 20 1/4
Width 19 1/8
Height 15

So it looks like the tube height for the 21AMP4 is about an inch taller than the 21ZP4-B used in the C2226. Does this knock it out of consideration, or is it the measurement from the bottom of the chassis to the center of the tube that really matters?
Thanks,
Neil

Edit: I ask this, because if the tube is still centered properly in the bezel, then does it really matter if 3/8" is chopped off the top and bottom?

Edit2: The C2226 bezel opening measures 13 5/8" from top to bottom, so it would actually be about 1 3/8" of the 21AMP4 tube covered at the top and bottom, IF the tube is still centered in the bezel with the 21B3Z chassis. Again, hmmmm...