FOUND! ARVIN 9219-cm-uhf television.

[Yamamaya42]

This was found locally ( within 20 miles ), but I do not have it yet, it appears to be an in cabinet type set, the wood appears to be in very good condition, condition, but I'm told it does not work.
I am very tempted to go get it, but I never even heard of “ARVIN” before finding this set, and am not sure of its reputation.
And the owner has said that they would like to see me restore it rather than have someone turn it into a doghouse, etc, so I ask, is this set worth it?

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by Yamamaya42

This was found locally ( within 20 miles ), but I do not have it yet, it appears to be an in cabinet type set, the wood appears to be in very good condition, condition, but I'm told it does not work.
I am very tempted to go get it, but I never even heard of “ARVIN” before finding this set, and am not sure of its reputation.
And the owner has said that they would like to see me restore it rather than have someone turn it into a doghouse, etc, so I ask, is this set worth it?

Arvin was a radio manufacturer from the mid-30's to sometime in the early 70's. The products they built were actually very good. They were a big supplier to Sears and other private label products.

[Yamamaya42]

One step closer to having the set, it's now paid for, I just have to go get it now!

[decojoe67]

Originally Posted by dieseljeep

Arvin was a radio manufacturer from the mid-30's to sometime in the early 70's. The products they built were actually very good. They were a big supplier to Sears and other private label products.

I so agree! They made very nice sets in the early days. In fact many of their radios from the '30's are highly sought after. Their 8" metal TV's from 1950 have become more and more popular too. They also made some very cool art-deco space heaters in the '40's.
Definitely a TV worth saving.

[kf4rca]

Did you know that Arvin made a piece of broadcast equipment. They built the Arvin Echo Framestore.
I think it would only store ONE picture. It was a whole rack of electronics. Only the networks had them. Late 70's.

[Electronic M]

I've got one of their FM stereo table sets from 1967. All tube with push pull outputs and phono input, chrome face and real wood cabinet...it's the next best thing to a big name receiver if you want something that won't cost 3 figures.

[vortalexfan]

Arvin Industries was based out of Columbus, Indiana which is just east of Bloomington, where Indiana University is based out of.

they made great radios back in the day, in fact I have an Arvin made Coronado model 650B Farm Radio (battery only set) from 1938 and that radio is a great little performer as it picks up tons of stations at night with a 30' long piece of wire hooked up to it.

[Yamamaya42]

Well, I pick it up this Sat, and the first thing I will do. obviously is yank the back off and hook the CRT up to the BK 490B to see how good it is.

It's a type I have I not seen before with a PM focus ring.
21ep4b.

[Jeffhs]

I had an Arvin AC-DC 4- or 5-tube radio, model 540T (I'm not sure anymore how many tubes it had) years ago. It was housed in a green metal cabinet and had an external antenna terminal on the back cover, with a short wire antenna permanently connected to the antenna input circuit. It worked well enough for me (I lived in a Cleveland suburb, 15 miles from the city, at the time), but I was not too pleased with the fact that it was a hot-chassis set in a metal cabinet. The external antenna terminal was isolated from the chassis by a small capacitor, of course, but it could still be a shock hazard if that capacitor were defective (leaky), and could blow the line fuse if said capacitor were shorted. I remember being shocked once (only once) by this radio when I accidentally touched the chassis and a grounded metal gas stove in the kitchen at the same time; believe me, an experience like that will teach you a lesson you will never forget!

However, I now live in a small town some 45 miles from the local AM stations in Cleveland, so this radio probably wouldn't receive many or even most of the smaller ones (5kW or less; there were and still are a few of those in this area) very well during the day, and probably not at all after dark when the stations change their antenna radiation patterns to favor the immediate Cleveland area. This is probably, even likely, why this particular set had an external antenna terminal. However, one had to be very careful not to touch that terminal and a grounded metal object at the same time, for reasons I mentioned earlier. This kind of design could well be a death trap, which is why I am glad AC-operated solid-state radios are no longer designed this way; there is almost always a small transformer used to power the chassis. The only way this arrangement could present a shock hazard would be if someone deliberately touched the AC input terminals on the transformer or, of course, if the power cord itself were frayed or otherwise damaged.

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by vortalexfan

Arvin Industries was based out of Columbus, Indiana which is just east of Bloomington, where Indiana University is based out of.

they made great radios back in the day, in fact I have an Arvin made Coronado model 650B Farm Radio (battery only set) from 1938 and that radio is a great little performer as it picks up tons of stations at night with a 30' long piece of wire hooked up to it.

Your Coronado set is made by Kingston radio corp.
Arvin made one with a similar circuit.

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by Jeffhs

I had an Arvin AC-DC 4- or 5-tube radio, model 540T (I'm not sure anymore how many tubes it had) years ago. It was housed in a green metal cabinet and had an external antenna terminal on the back cover, with a short wire antenna permanently connected to the antenna input circuit. It worked well enough for me (I lived in a Cleveland suburb, 15 miles from the city, at the time), but I was not too pleased with the fact that it was a hot-chassis set in a metal cabinet. The external antenna terminal was isolated from the chassis by a small capacitor, of course, but it could still be a shock hazard if that capacitor were defective (leaky), and could blow the line fuse if said capacitor were shorted. I remember being shocked once (only once) by this radio when I accidentally touched the chassis and a grounded metal gas stove in the kitchen at the same time; believe me, an experience like that will teach you a lesson you will never forget!

However, I now live in a small town some 45 miles from the local AM stations in Cleveland, so this radio probably wouldn't receive many or even most of the smaller ones (5kW or less; there were and still are a few of those in this area) very well during the day, and probably not at all after dark when the stations change their antenna radiation patterns to favor the immediate Cleveland area. This is probably, even likely, why this particular set had an external antenna terminal. However, one had to be very careful not to touch that terminal and a grounded metal object at the same time, for reasons I mentioned earlier. This kind of design could well be a death trap, which is why I am glad AC-operated solid-state radios are no longer designed this way; there is almost always a small transformer used to power the chassis. The only way this arrangement could present a shock hazard would be if someone deliberately touched the AC input terminals on the transformer or, of course, if the power cord itself were frayed or otherwise damaged.

Arvin made those radios by the million, many of them badged "Silvertone", Sears private label.
The chassis and metal cabinet was isolated from the line by a .05 cap and a 330K ohm resistor. The isolating capacitor on yours was probably leaky, due to age and it was a paper capacitor.

[Yamamaya42]

Originally Posted by dieseljeep

Arvin made those radios by the million, many of them badged "Silvertone", Sears private label.
The chassis and metal cabinet was isolated from the line by a .05 cap and a 330K ohm resistor. The isolating capacitor on yours was probably leaky, due to age and it was a paper capacitor.

funny that u mention that...

https://i.imgur.com/vl1CVzf.jpg

I was just looking at that part of the schematic :O

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by Yamamaya42

Well, I pick it up this Sat, and the first thing I will do. obviously is yank the back off and hook the CRT up to the BK 490B to see how good it is.

It's a type I have I not seen before with a PM focus ring.
21ep4b.

It's fortunate that the set has an all glass CRT. A lot of Arvin 21" sets had a metal cone CRT, a 21AP4, which did not age very well.

[Yamamaya42]

SAMS dates it from 1954, about a year older than the stromberg carlson i found, which had a CRT that tested strong, so who knows, will have to see what happens, it IS and oddball size, but there are options.

70 degree deflection angle.
the B version IS aluminized.
as mentioned magnetic focus, with perm mag rings.
on the VERY outside chance that it's bad and or can NOT be made to work, and i deem this unlikely, but you never know
ETF has a 21XP4 which is ALMOST the same, Low voltage focus & slightly dif dimensions, with a bit of creative bodging, can be made to work, it's not THAT different in size, would have to adjust the border and mount a bit, and create a volt source for focus, but I seriously doubt this will be a problem, but I have researched it!

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by Yamamaya42

SAMS dates it from 1954, about a year older than the stromberg carlson i found, which had a CRT that tested strong, so who knows, will have to see what happens, it IS and oddball size, but there are options.

70 degree deflection angle.
the B version IS aluminized.
as mentioned magnetic focus, with perm mag rings.
on the VERY outside chance that it's bad and or can NOT be made to work, and i deem this unlikely, but you never know
ETF has a 21XP4 which is ALMOST the same, Low voltage focus & slightly dif dimensions, with a bit of creative bodging, can be made to work, it's not THAT different in size, would have to adjust the border and mount a bit, and create a volt source for focus, but I seriously doubt this will be a problem, but I have researched it!

The 21XP4 is an odd-ball, 21 inch CRT with a smaller viewing surface, similar to a 21WP4 used in some Admirals.
The 21EP4 is a cylindrical face plate CRT. Check to see if it's usable first.