All i do is try and try

[H2s04]

All I do is try and try to get my ONLY color set to work. Its a Zenith 24MC32 from 1964. When I found it at the dump, it was all together. I pluged it in, and got a little bit of light, and some sound, thats all. $ power caps later i had a fuzzy picture, and better sound. A week later, i heard a snap, and the picture went blue . I was misinformed to "check the cap on the tube, it might be broken". doing this not only broke the cap, but broke several wires, and the #9 pin. Hawk eye wont even replace the pin. I don't have enough money to buy a new tube, or have it rebuilt hoping that the pin could be replaced. Seeing all these great color tvs has made me more depressed than ever! ARG! Can anyone help with this set?



That picture was taken on 9/11 2003, the day the set died; which compounded to it all.

[Chad Hauris]

You can tape the appropriate lead wire to the tube and then guide the stripped wire end in through the hole in the glass where the pin was to make the contact. I have done this with success.

It looks like you just need to go over your G2/screen adjustments and convergence, that will clean up the picture a lot.

[H2s04]

Thanks, i'll try that, but im worried about a possible arc from the hv wire to any of the other wires. Another problem is that the bakelite base on the tube is loose, what kind of epoxy could i use to secure the base? The problem im having with the picture is that when i first turned it on with the new power caps, the picture was essentially black and white with a few signs of poor convergence on the sides of the tube. After a few days of enjoying what little i had accomplished, i heard a *snap* and the blue bias went awry. What could be causing this problem?

[captainmoody]

I look at it this way, If the tube is old and might have shorts or low emission why rig it? If you want a lasting repair get it rebuilt or replace it with a good used one.
There are several ways to keep them going as Chad said but if you are going to use it everyday then it must be replaced and any other problems repaired to be an everyday set.
Otherwise, If you only want to use it every now or then go ahead and do what you can to make it work for now.
I hate those bakelite caps as they almost always come loose with heat and age. The less they are touched the better as those brittle wires love to break!
I used to pour some epoxy in there to strengthen it up but never would bother with removing, glueing and reattaching it due to the wire problem.
Most of the ones I got that had loose caps already had a crappy tube and needed replacing anyway.
If you need a tube type color set that works already and aren't too far away I can fix you up with a 1967 or 1968 Zenith for free.

[H2s04]

Thanks so much for the offer, but im a bit too far away for a resonable shipping cost (MA). I'd like to use the roundie every day, but it is in the basement, and thats not too fun. The reason I want to use the tube i have now is that i dont have the money for a new one, hawk eye picture tube told me they would only replace the guns, and didnt mention my question about the bakelite base. Has anyone had experence with them?

[andy]

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[H2s04]

Thanks Andy. The wire is completely broken off, and i'm pretty sure, if not totally sure that the focus voltage was somewhere around 20-23 KV, and that pin #9 was the HV ground, thats why im worried about arcing.

[Chad Hauris]

No...the focus voltage like Andy said is 5 to 6 kv. I don't remember what the pin # is on a round tube but there is a gap between the focus pins and other pins.

The HV ground is the outer graphite coated shell of the tube.

The 23 kv HV input is the snap-in connector on the side of the tube.

[Jeffhs]

Originally posted by H2s04
All I do is try and try to get my ONLY color set to work. Its a Zenith 24MC32 from 1964. When I found it at the dump, it was all together. I pluged it in, and got a little bit of light, and some sound, thats all. $ power caps later i had a fuzzy picture, and better sound. A week later, i heard a snap, and the picture went blue . I was misinformed to "check the cap on the tube, it might be broken". doing this not only broke the cap, but broke several wires, and the #9 pin. Hawk eye wont even replace the pin. I don't have enough money to buy a new tube, or have it rebuilt hoping that the pin could be replaced. Seeing all these great color tvs has made me more depressed than ever! ARG! Can anyone help with this set?



That picture was taken on 9/11 2003, the day the set died; which compounded to it all.

If you can't afford a new CRT, why not look around for a junked TV with the same type of tube as the one you need? Doesn't have to be a Zenith. I would also check at old TV repair shops that were in business when tube-powered TVs were still around; one of them might have a round tube they would let you have for a small price or even for nothing.

I don't recall offhand what type CRT the 24MC32 used, although I think it's a 21FJP/FBP22. Noting your set is from 1964, that sounds logical, as this was the second last year, IIRC, that Zenith (and most other TV manufacturers) made roundies.

Last but certainly not least, I'd look around on ebay for either a junked set or a used CRT. There are usually plenty of old sets there, being auctioned off at very reasonable prices.

Good luck. Zenith roundies (and their later rectangular Chromacolor and System 3 models) were excellent color sets. With a bit of work and a CRT replacement, I see no reason why yours cannot eventually be made to work as well as it should and once did when it was new. Those old Zeniths were built to last, not like the Gold Star sets being sold today with the Zenith label on them (the Zenith name, and the lightning-bolt "Z" on new sets below the CRT, are just marketing symbols today; the original Zenith Radio Corporation of Chicago no longer exists). Moreover, your 1964 set will probably make a much better picture than a lot of modern Japanese and Korean-made TVs once you get it working at its peak, as the older TVs had better CRTs (rare-earth phosphors) and, I would think, better color-processing systems than many new sets.

I have relatives who either presently own or have owned Zenith color sets; they have had very good luck with them through the years. One of my great-uncles had a Zenith Chromacolor II 25-inch console of 1970s vintage; he didn't get rid of it until he moved last year. That set lasted over 20 years, though he had the CRT replaced once, IIRC, and some other work done on the chassis at some point. But I swear, that set had a beautiful picture as long as he had it (it was used only on an antenna, never with cable that I am aware of). Just goes to show how well-made the old Zeniths (and RCAs, GEs, Magnavox's, etc.) were until foreign interests got hold of the companies.

[captainmoody]

Jeff,
I have placed ads around here looking for old tv's and will be on the lookout for a 21" tube for you.
Soon as I find something useable I will give it to you for free.
Dwight.

[H2s04]

Thats one of the nicest things someone has done for me in a long time. Thanks soooooo much