Emerson 609 projection TV

[Phil Nelson]

OK, that rogue cap is gone.

In preparation for powering up, I checked out the five-element ballast (Emerson # 397023). Most of the elements test bad. There's a lot of corrosion where the elements join the pin leads. Even if I could coax it back into life, this doesn't seem like a good bet for long-term reliability:





I found an eBay supplier with a Clarostat ballast, so let's hope that one works. Can't wait!

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

[Phil Nelson]

It's alive!



OK, that looks underwhelming, but it's exciting to me. After replacing the ballast and doing, well, a bunch of other stuff, tonight I saw the first coherent image on the Emerson's little 3NP4 CRT. (That's the Xfinity cable TV guide screen, in case you're wondering).

With the chassis spread all over the workbench, there's nothing to project on (the ceiling's much too far away to focus). So peering slantwise down into the Protelgram optic box is the only way to see what's happening.

This set had more problems than I had noticed at first, including an under-chassis meltdown that burned everything around the sockets of the vertical and 1st video IF tubes. But now, the vertical & horizontal are stable, brightness & contrast work as advertised, and the audio is excellent.

There's more checking and tweaking to do, but it's always fun to see the first signs of life.

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

[M3-SRT8]

Ahhh! Isn't it fun? Even though we've restored countless old tvs, it still puts a smile on your face when another one springs back from the dead.

Well done. Keep us posted.

[Phil Nelson]

After recapping & whatnot, the electronics are working pretty well on my Emerson 609. The optical (Norelco Protelgram) portion . . . not so wonderful.



Apart from issues like bad horizontal linearity, which is only an adjustment, the image is not only dim, but unable to focus despite fiddling with the electronic and mechanical focus adjusters.

The 45-degree mirror in the optics box appears to be in bad shape:



Is this the mirror that people send out to be resilvered? If so, where?

I haven't made any attempt to clean it, having read horror stories in the past about people who destroyed projection TV components by inappropriate cleaning.

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

[Eric H]

How does the image look directly on the CRT? (I use a mirror to avoid X rays)
I've cleaned these mirrors with soap and water, I even removed the silvering on one and it was really tough to do, that said it will depend on what condition it's in to begin with.

[Phil Nelson]

The image on the CRT looks good, although it's a little hard to judge when peering in at such an angle. Of course, the smaller the CRT, the sharper things look, too. If I remove the side plates from the optics box, I should be able to inspect the mirrors more closely.

On another note, has anyone ever seen patent documents for the Norelco Protelgram unit? I assume it was patented somewhere, although a quick search of US patents didn't turn up anything.

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

[cbenham]

Originally Posted by Phil Nelson

The image on the CRT looks good, ------

On another note, has anyone ever seen patent documents for the Norelco Protelgram unit? I assume it was patented somewhere, although a quick search of US patents didn't turn up anything.

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

I think probably patented in the Netherlands by Philips. I have one protelgram projection unit made by Mullard, much more robust and heavy duty. The optics are claimed to be f 0.62. Now THAT's FAST !!!

[kvflyer]

Originally Posted by Eric H

How does the image look directly on the CRT? (I use a mirror to avoid X rays)
I've cleaned these mirrors with soap and water, I even removed the silvering on one and it was really tough to do, that said it will depend on what condition it's in to begin with.

Tom, I skimmed this thread and apologize if I missed the answer. But... is it possible to look directly at the CRT and determine if the picture is in good linearity? I realise that may be a pain to remove or whatever. I just wonder if viewing that picture directly may save a lot of headaches in the process.

Sorry if I am asking the obvious. I really want this to be another success for you!

[Phil Nelson]

Originally Posted by kvflyer

is it possible to look directly at the CRT and determine if the picture is in good linearity?

When the CRT is in the optical box, you can only view the CRT face from the side:



But if you remove the entire tailpiece assembly, you could view the CRT face fully:



I'm concerned about X-rays in that scenario. At 25KV, X-rays are a factor, so would you get fried if you view the CRT outside the metal box?

Somewhere, I saw a statement from bandersen that more X-rays are generated from HV rectifier tubes than the CRT itself. Can anyone verify that? In this set, the HV rectifiers are sealed in their own little metal box, so if the CRT itself isn't a big emitter, maybe viewing it outside its box wouldn't be so dangerous . . . ?

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