TRK12/120 Restoration

[dtvmcdonald]

For some very sleepy reason I originally posted this on antiqueradios.com.
I'm moving it to here, the right place.

I am still at the beginning of my project to make a TRK12
out of the parts I picked up at the 2015 ETF convention.

I have not even begun to work on the TRK-12 TV, whose two chassis
came in crates, looking "almost" new and virgin ... but not quite!
There are a couple of 1950s shiny 1/2 watt resistors in there.
We won't know how late it ever operated until it is turned on and
the oscillator frequencies are measured. I have all the necessary replacement
caps. This evening I measured a substantial fraction of the resistors
that can be measured The resistor markings are odd .. its mostly
body - end band - next to end band - other end band is silver 10%.
They are all high ... but less high in the 1k - 100K range than
higher or lower. Replacing most will be lots less cosmetic trouble
than expected ... I'll just repaint the closest physical size in modern
resistors. There are dogbone power ones. The Candohms will get
shamelessly replaced with modern resistors on terminal strips.
Well, I'll probably paint them if the paint
I got can take the heat.
Paper caps are ALL absolutely bad
but look nice and will be very easy to restuff. Almost all wire is cloth and OK.

The radio, an RC-427F one for a TRK 120, is in sad shape.
It got rained on. There was rust on the back which I thougtlessly
removed before a photo. Some coils are toast and will get modern replacements.
All paper caps are so fragile as to be unrestuffable. I have not decided whether to
make new fake shells (not easy!), or just use raw yellow axials. Half the wire
is cloth and probably OK, half is plastic and falling apart and will be replaced
(with cloth). The mechanical works are dirty but not rusted and all the turners turn.
It will get a brand new eye tube and mount (TRK120s had no eye tube).

The cabinet is not actually bad. It can be used as-is. A restorer is coming tomorrow to
look at it.

This is going to take a lot longer than last summer's CT-100.

Doug McDonald