cost of restoring admiral bakelite television

[bmcgarth13]

I have been a big collector/fan of antique tvs for a while, and I have finally acquired an admiral bakelite 20x122 model and I am looking to get it fully restored. I must admit, I do not know a thing about restoration. I split my time between connecticut/nyc and I was wondering what kind of cost I am looking at to restore the set to new working condition. everything appears to be intact, but of course I am not sure if everything is ok. just wondering if anyone could give me rough idea of what I'm looking at, and if someone knows a repair expert in this area who I could show the set to. thanks a lot
Bryan

[kramden66]

This is the 10" admiral right ? i've done 3 , one was 12" but the same chassis , they are not hard to work on , you replace all the paper/wax caps , replace the electrolytics , check the tubes , and if you want to go as far as i have you check all the resistors , unless theres something odd wrong it should work after that, cost -- well if you get the capacitors from mouser they shouldn't be too expensive , cost could range from $10 to $20 , just a rough guess , maybe $20 is a bit high unless the prices on things have gone up.

I'm in NJ if you can't find someone to help , about 75 miles from stamford.

Mike

[decojoe67]

I know a very good vintage TV restorer in Deer Park, Long Island. He has many years of experiences and enjoys getting these early TV's going. He has access to CRT's and other parts in case the set requires it. I would say your looking in the $200 to get it working. If you need more info, let me know.

[Kamakiri]

I think you guys are way light on your figures. I just got done restoring an RCA 9T246. The parts alone were about $75. I bet I replaced about 40 capacitors plus a couple tubes. I have about 20 hours in the set. Doing it for someone, I wouldn't do it for less than $15 an hour, which is more than fair.

Big difference between repaired and restored on these old sets. If you just want it fixed and not restored, you might as well leave the chassis out of the cabinet and leave it on the bench, because parts will end up failing sequentially with usage.

Your television is 65 years old. What you're doing, and what we all do, is something that the manufacturers and engineers never intended nor thought possible.....which is use these things after over six decades of existence.

At this point, basic diagnosis and repair theory goes right out the window. You need to start with replacing every capacitor underneath, then start from there.

[Sandy G]

True, Tim, but it says something that we're even HAVING this conversation, repairing a 65 yr old consumer electronic device..Typically, w/the replacement of a handfu lof minor parts, these bad boiz can be made to live again for another 65 yrs...Somethin' yr bran-new 65" HDTV Ichipussy stereo video display device will NEVER see...

[decojoe67]

I must add that I've known my tech for many years, so I probably get the "return-customer" discount. I said $200, but since my tech is fair, I'll say $250. I know others that will charge much more. It'll all depends on who you connect with. Shop around.

[bmcgarth13]

Originally Posted by decojoe67

I must add that I've known my tech for many years, so I probably get the "return-customer" discount. I said $200, but since my tech is fair, I'll say $250. I know others that will charge much more. It'll all depends on who you connect with. Shop around.

I would love that information! you can send me a PM if you'd like and I can try to get in touch with him!
Bryan

[Phil Nelson]

In your area, you'll probably find more vintage TVs (and thus TV restorers) than anywhere else in the world, so shop around. You could also contact area radio/TV collector clubs and ask for recommendations. Here's a list of clubs:

http://antiqueradio.com/clublist.html

As kamakiri mentioned, restoring a 60-year old TV is vastly different than repairing a 6-year old TV. It includes time-consuming tasks that the average person wouldn't think about.

For instance, say a TV has 20 tubes. Of course, you need to check all 20 to find out if any are duds or weak. In addition, you really should clean every pin on every tube, and clean the socket that it plugs into. Otherwise -- and this does happen -- you might replace all of the capacitors & bad resistors, only to find out that the TV doesn't work right because one pin on one of the tubes isn't making a good connection.

And so on. These tasks are not rocket science, and an experienced guy will do them efficiently, but they all add up. Cleaning the pins and socket for one tube doesn't take long. Repeating that process 20 times takes more time.

When you get repair estimates, be sure to tell the guy what level of restoration you want. That affects how many hours he will spend, and thus how much he'll charge you.

For example, some people want a TV to work, but don't plan to use it seriously. It will be a sort of "show horse" that sits unused 99.99% of the time, and gets turned one for a few minutes, a few times a year, to show off to visitors.

Conversely, some people want a TV as a "daily driver," which can be played for hours at a time, 365 days a year.

Guess which level of restoration takes longer (and thus costs more)?

Also, be aware that 60-year old TVs, even if wonderfully restored, are not as reliable as new ones. Yes, technology really has improved during the last 60 years! Even if restored to the "daily driver" level of reliability, an old tube TV will need periodic maintenance, just as when it was only a few years old.

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

[kramden66]

Ok read and replied with one eye open and the other shut before bed , i thought he meant what would the cost of capacitors be , i said about $10-20 for that admiral , just a ballpark guess , could be higher , that did not include tubes and anything else, now re-reading i thought he was going to do it himself i see he is looking for someone to do it for him , my error

mike

[Kamakiri]

You've got $10-$20 in electrolytics alone in that set, not even counting the wax bypass caps. Then, on to the Sprague bumblebees which are rated at or around 1 kV.

And I've yet to find one place that carries everything I need, in the brands and styles I prefer to use.

Also take into account that Admiral has the same dual chassis setup that I have been attempting to avoid restoring for the last decade on an Admiral Chinese cabinet combo set sitting in my finished basement. More chassis, more parts.

[bandersen]

Actually, the 20X122 is a single chassis and no 1kV bumblebees or other exotic parts. 24A12 has the dual chassis.

Here's my restoration thread with loads of pictures: http://www.videokarma.org/showthread.php?t=236913

Good luck!

[ggregg]

The Sylvania I just recapped was about $40 for the caps through Mouser but it's a series string with quite a few ceramics that I left in.

Some sets have many more caps than others. The DuMont RA-109 I have has over 100 and that's just the electrolytics and paper ones. I think it was around $130 for just those alone.

If someone can buy enough caps to do a whole set for $20-$25, I'd like to know who the vendor is so I can save some money.

[init4fun]

Originally Posted by bmcgarth13

I have been a big collector/fan of antique tvs for a while, and I have finally acquired an admiral bakelite 20x122 model and I am looking to get it fully restored. I must admit, I do not know a thing about restoration. I split my time between connecticut/nyc and I was wondering what kind of cost I am looking at to restore the set to new working condition. everything appears to be intact, but of course I am not sure if everything is ok. just wondering if anyone could give me rough idea of what I'm looking at, and if someone knows a repair expert in this area who I could show the set to. thanks a lot
Bryan

Hi Bryan ,

First thing to know , is that if you spend the money to restore the set , many times you'll spend more than you can ever sell the set for later . If this is to be a "keeper" , and your doing it specifically for the love of this old TV , well go right ahead and get it done . If this is with the desire to restore it , and then "flip" it for profit , well that usually never pays of financially . If you do decide to attempt it yourself , and you have no real experience , put it away for a bit and start small . Most folks will restore a couple of small table radios first , with tubes of course , to get their schematic reading and soldering skills up to par for the job at hand . Maybe even restore a "junk" (read , not terribly valuable VS actually trash) TV in preparation for the job on the "keeper" also . The Admiral will wait patiently for you to attain the skills needed , and making your "learning curve" mistakes on "throwaway" projects will save you from making any big mistakes with the Admiral .

Best of Luck to whichever way you attempt this

[Big Dave]

I just sent you a PM.

[kramden66]

as i said i haven't priced the parts in a while , the electrolytics can add up , but if the lowest cost electrolytics and capacitors are selected it can bring the cost down , i just looked at the sams and theres 8 electrolytics to change , something like 29 capacitors assuming all the micas are ok , so it could add up in price , i wonder if it would be under $40? , first thing i'd do is check the picture tube , and then the flyback , then the two vertical transformers , if all good go from there , but the picture tube and flyback are the most essential.

Mike