New Member With A Vintage TV

[jr_tech]

"Is it difficult to find a crt tester with a connector that will fit my picture tube? "

No, I got a B&K 400 on eBay several years ago for cheap...I think the shipping was more than the tester. Not the best, but it works! I would not recommend using the rejuvenate function on this tester (kills tubes )

"That's the exact 1951 model that I spent so much quality time with for a customer. Got it back several times to fix new problems that came up every few months after it was first restored. After several follow-up repairs, it seems to have stabilized in a good state."

Mine has been quite reliable, and has been "repaired" over the years and never "restored"... This was a set that I have owned since I was a youngster, living in my parents' house...45 years or so.

"Say, if you need to free up some space in your TV room, you can send me that one just to the right of the Philco. That would free up a lot of space for you. Pretty small screen for such a large cabinet anyway."

Ya, and the darn thing does not even light up anymore...what a waste of $35!

For more grins, I have posted a shot of a '53 split chassis Philco 17"... It looks a bit more complicated because it has a UHF tuner in the center, but it is indeed, a simplification from the '52 sets. Note the selenium rectifiers (still working BTW) and lack of power transformer. This was the first set my in-laws purchased about 2 months after TV arrived in our area!

jr

[VA561]

Here are a few pictures of my '52 Philco. TV1.jpg

TV2.jpg

TV3.jpg

TV4.jpg

TV5.jpg

TV6.jpg

[miniman82]

Looks a lot like the one jr posted...
I like it!

[Eric H]

Here's my 53 with a split chassis, I also have a 1951 17" tabletop with the split chassis.

I actually think it's a bit more trouble to work on these because you have to deal with two pieces and plug and unplug them as you work on them.

My set has worked reliably for hours at a time since I recapped it about 8 years ago, though it seldom gets turned on these days.

[Eric H]

Originally Posted by VA561

would it be feasible to send one section of the split chassis at a time to someone

No, it would be impossible to repair it that way because you need both halves to power it up and test things, also you would need the yoke that's attached to the CRT neck.

Also repairing these things long distance is an iffy proposition at best, it's time consuming enough trying to fine tune everything when you have the set right in front of you much less shipping it back and forth!
Some last little problem always seems to pop up at the last minute requiring more work.

I do believe if you can operate a screwdriver and a soldering iron though you can learn to do this yourself, hang around, read and watch and soon you'll want to dig in and try your hand at fixing it.
It's a good set to start with, not too complicated and common enough to be able to find parts for in most cases.

[jr_tech]

'52 Philco in natural setting
A set like this shows up in some Christmas photos being sold on eBay (I am not affiliated)... some years it is in the corner, some years in the archway....In 1964, it appears that it was replaced by a color roundie.

http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trk...All-Categories

Sample photo posted.

[VA561]

I just wanted to say I appreciate the advice on repairing my '52 philco.
I am going to try and learn as much as I can from this forum and hope to get a picture on my set eventually. I want to keep this tv for a long time so be prepared for more questions! Thanks Again.

[DaveWM]

its worth the effort to learn, just take your time and as others have said, hang around, read,read, read. It's a lot of fun.

[jr_tech]

You also might find some assistance from members of a vintage radio club in your area...many members may also do TVs, have parts and test equipment. Most have fine "swap meets".

Virginia Tidewater Antique Radio Association (TARA)
Phil Stroud,
2328 Springfield Ave.
Norfolk, VA 23523

Radio History Society, Inc. (RHS)
Steve Snyderman
4147 Lenox Dr.
Fairfax, VA 22032.
Dues: $15.00 and up (various membership levels).

From: http://www.grillecloth.com/other/clubusa.php#va

jr

[VA561]

I replaced the one tube that wasn't "glowing" in my '52 Philco, tube # 6BQ6UA.
It was one of two tubes inside a metal box. I took a chance and turned the tv on after I replaced the tube. The good news is that I have some sort of pattern on the screen so I guess the crt works. I have enclosed a picture because I don't know what to make of the image on the screen . Any advice would be greatly appreciated.



tv7.jpg

[jr_tech]

Weak vertical oscillator and vertical output tubes, and failure of many of the parts around these two tubes could cause the display to look like this. A few month ago, I had a similar problem on my '51 set, I tested the vertical tubes, and they seemed to be ok, so I replaced all the caps in the vertical circuit, checked resistors and replaced a few that were out of spec... nothing changed.... finally bought a couple of NOS (new old stock) tubes on eBay (these were odd tubes, 6s4 and 7n7 that I did not have in my stock) and they fixed he problem.

Do you have any sound? or "Hum" in the audio?

jr

[VA561]

Yes, there is a "hum" sound and I noticed that when I try to adjust the horizontal knob on the front of the tv it does nothing to the image on the screen but when I try the vertical knob it stretches or shrinks the image that is on the screen somewhat.

[jr_tech]

A barely audible hum with the volume control turned all the way up is normal... If it is fairly loud even with the volume turned down, it is an indication that the electrolytic filter caps should be replaced. The "height" and "vertical linearity" controls on the back of the set will likely change the height of the image as well.

jr

[miniman82]

Like jr said, you have a vertical problem. That 6BQ6 you replaced was the horizontal output, and by the look of it that one swap gave you some decent HV! Wish it would have been that simple on mine. Check the vertical circuit tubes, make sure they are good. If they are, start replacing bad capacitors. My set mad a whole slew of bad molded caps, even micas that supposedly don't go bad. If that's not it, the yoke or vertical output transformer may be bad.

jr: I had a bad 7N7 in my set as well, one of the triodes was dead even though the filament still glowed. If you don't like searching for those loctal tubes, you can do like I did and swap to the octal (and much easier to find) 6SN7. They are identical electrically.

[marty59]

Don't run it like that anymore and turn down the brightness control! The horizontal and flyback as well as the crt looks promising which is good news, and you're hearing some audio output. But at this point it's time to pull the chassis's and recap and check for out of tolerance resistors.

Do the power supply and the vertical circuits, and you need to look over the horizontal circuits also to avoid any mishaps. You've got a good starting point to keep you busy on. Next time you turn it on could be fatal.

Hopefully, at this point you have the schematic?