i just got an RCA Projection model 8PCS41

[dai1955]

It is an awesome and would like to find out where I can get replacment tubesn wires....
Im in the Los Angeles area and can use any informatiom on this.
David

[Phil Nelson]

This page lists popular parts sources such as AES:

http://www.antiqueradio.org/parts.htm

Tubes are generally cheap and readily available (some picture tubes are an exception). Don't waste money replacing all of the tubes for no reason. Many of the old ones are probably still good.

It's not necessary to replace all of the wires in most old TVs or radios.

If you haven't restored old radios or TVs before, a projection TV is not a sensible beginner's project. Very high voltage that can kill you instantly. This article has some advice about finding a repair person in your area.

http://antiqueradio.org/howfix.htm

Phil Nelson

[ChuckA]

David,

At least you're starting with the most common projection set around, so spare parts are plentiful. It isn't an easy set to cut you're teeth on as there are millions of capacitors to replace (just kidding, but lots of them). To get optimum picture quality on these projectors you will need to have the spherical mirror in the barrel re-silvered.

Here are some links to a few of the RCA projectors on my site:

http://www.myvintagetv.com/rca_9pc41.htm
http://www.myvintagetv.com/rca_648ptk.htm
http://www.myvintagetv.com/rca_741pcs.htm
http://www.myvintagetv.com/rca_berkshire_regency.htm


Chuck

[robertnjax]

Nice TV. I have this model also. Mine worked (was restored by the previous collector) pretty good. Had a great sound with its 12" electrodynamic speaker. Haven't fired it up in several years and so it may need some attention.

I do agree with the other folks concerning safety. If I'm not mistaken, this television HV puts out 27,000 volts to the second anode lead on the picture tube. A very powerful set !

[Tubejunke]

Good find, but most certainly not the set for a beginner. A few hazards have already been mentioned and frankly some rudimentary knowledge of electricity and electronics to me is essential before even fixing a lamp. Anything connected to line current can be lethal, and with a TV there are high voltages present even AFTER the set has been turned off and disconnected from the line. NEVER FORGET THIS! As far as the second anode voltages that you have been warned about, well, even if you were just going to open up your everyday set (color), you would potentially be exposed to voltages as high as the 27KV that someone mentioned, of higher, so there really is no escaping that. My point in saying the set is not for a beginner is based in part on the fact that the set is of the earliest technology and has a multitude of characteristics that a non projection set would not have with the mirrors and other things. I myself have never tackled a projection set for a few reasons, one of the biggest being some of the things I have mentioned to you. To me, they are almost a museum piece, and I am one of these who like my old stuff to be as useable today as it was 50 years ago from a practical standpoint. In that I mean that there was a LOT of technological progress made from the mid 40s to the mid 50s in the TV industry. With a little luck and a lot of love you can get a really neat looking 50s set going and watch the morning news every day with no worries.

Really though, be careful if you start trying to learn with this set! You really need to at least find an old TV repair book in a Goodwill and read up, then save it for reference. They made a ton of great books from the 40's through the 70s. Hopefully someone here will give you a link to a PDF of a schematic as that is the first thing you need after some studying. You will be able to get more help from us here when you have a schematic to use as a map. That way people will know exactly what you might be describing as every part is numbered or named.

[John Folsom]

A schematic for your set can be found on the ETF website, listed as 8PC41:

http://www.earlytelevision.org/tv_sc..._diagrams.html