Sylvania 1-076 arrived!
 

The 1949 Sylvania 1-076 console arrived today! Three hours late. The poor drivers hit freezing rain and had to drive 45 mph. The driver looked pretty tired.

I'm very grateful to the seller for finding this set and keeping it safe over the years. I'm sure he was attached to it. I'm glad he found me when he realized that he needed to part with it. I'm also glad that he was still willing to sell to me after our initial missed connection for transport.

I've attached photos. The finish isn't bad considering it's age. Except for the top. That's pretty worn and starting to peel. The fabric is missing from the bottom right door that should match the speaker cloth. The wood though matches the rest of the set. Whoever finished it, matched the color well. I think I'll need to refinish the top, but cleaning and restoring the rest of the finish will probably be sufficient.

The speaker will need some work. ;)

The record changer is missing. I've obtained a V-M 951 to replace it with. It should use a V-M 406 though. They look similar and the 951 is probably a much better unit, but if anyone has a lead on a 406 please let me know.

The Horizontal Discriminator Transformer has a bad ding on top. I doubt that it hurt anything though. It looks like something was trying to get out of the end of the doghouse. Some serviceman may have dropped bolts or something into it while working on the set.

The last time I saw this model chassis was when I was very young. It seemed huge back then. Now it seems tiny. I like how neatly it's laid out.

The CRT bezel has some crazing, but not bad. The CRT looks good. I'll have to test it. It's irreplaceable with the same type. I'd have to do a small modification to use any other CRT. I'm crossing my fingers.

I'll have to leave the cabinet in the garage for now, but I'll bring the chassis in this week and maybe get some photos of the bottom. Then news will slow down because I'll be taking my time checking it out and making sure it matches the rev C15 chassis that it is.

John

Nice set John!

The chassis is very interesting looking, I don't think I've ever seen a Sylvania of that vintage before.

Great news! I'd be hugging that Sylvania after all the trouble you went to get it! I better get my act together and search for that missing alignment data...

Hi John;
Congratulations on the new addition. What a great achievement to finally make it happen after all this time and grief!!

That's one really nice looking combo unit, and I'm guessing quite rare too. I don't think I've ever seen an early Sylvania set like that.

I can't wait to see it after you've completed the restoration.

Good luck with it and keep us posted on your progress.

Bob.

I too have never seen a Sylvania that old. Very interesting set. Looking forward to seeing more pics of that chassis. Good luck and I'm glad you finally got it home safe!

Unique layout,, nice set and I love it.
Dan

And I thought CRTs were dangerous!
 

I removed the speaker and chassis from the cabinet today. While working near the speaker I noticed a very cold Black Widow Spider. It was moving quite slowly in the sub 20 temp.

Here are some photos.

It's pretty dirty. Besides the dust it has a yellow haze over everything. Perhaps tobacco tar.

The photo on the far right shows the RF HV section. That section has a black beauty in it. In the center photo you can see the components on the bridge.

The only work that I can find that anyone did is replacing the soldered in fuses.

I'm a little worried about the transformer. Some tar has dripped out. But the whole set seems to have gotten quite warm. All the ceramic disk caps have bubbled wax. It probably got pretty toasty on a warm night in Georgia.

There is a large white power resistor that was too close to the chassis and appears to have been arcing to it.

Most of the paper and electrolytic caps are reasonably accessible. There are a few that will be difficult.

I'm going to have to learn how to restring a dial cord also.

John

It looks like that sweep chassis, HV box and all, can be unplugged and removed. Might wanna look into that...

That's correct. There one big plug. There's also one separate wire that looks like a mini twin lead. I'm not sure if I want to remove the bridge during the restoration or not.

John

I'd pull it out, it's gonna be a LOT easier to fix the caps and all, plus you'll want to take the CRT out, clean it well, plus the HV box too. And inspect the HV lines.

Believe me, it's easier to work on a set when you're not trying to solder around a CRT and all. If it breaks into modules, take advantage of that feature!

I guess I'll do it then. I admit I'm pretty nervous about the CRT. It'll probably be safer if I remove it. And if I remove it it'll make the dial cord replacement a snap too.

John

Small crts like that aren't bad. Just make sure you got a place for it first - get some old towels and make a 'bed' in a safe place for it. Remove the plug in the back and focus/and deflection coils, then loosen the support strap up front (hold the tube so it doesn't fall out), and carefully lift the band out of the way and slide the tube out the front. Just don't bang it into things or drop it, and don't hold it by the neck.

I much prefer working on a chassis without the tube in it.

Oh yeah, ground the hole where the HV lead plugs in, even if the set's been off a while. Some tubes like to store up a surprise over time anyway (not dangerous, but could startle you into dropping the tube).

Once the tube's safely out, I like to clean it nicely, to get all that dust and junk off. Just don't removbe the dag coating :)

Tubes
 

I checked the tubes. Out of 32 tubes only the 6T8 was bad.

I had to repair a Sencore SuperMack CR41A before I could try to test the 10MP4. I tried it out on a 5AXP4 and 10BP4 that I had tested previously and it worked well.

When I tried it on the Supermack the filament lit up but I couldn't set the balance or read any emission. Small wonder. The CR41A measures emission through G2. There is no G2 in a triode. They must have made a mistake when they listed the 10MP4 in the settings booklet.

I'll have to make up some flying leads for the B&K to test it. I'll only be able to test the emission though.

The CRT base was loose so I was focusing on it while removing the socket. I didn't notice that I had a finger pressed against one lead and the solder tab broke off of the pin socket. I can solder it back onto the pin socket, but it might be nice to replace the socket.

Can anyone tell me where to look for a CRT socket? It would be the same as used on a 12LP4.

John

The socket's a 12 pin? They're common as dirt - someone with a parting out set should have one.

Look for an old picture tube brightener...a cheap and easy donor.