Turned on
 

Here it is turned on. The Halolight works a lot better since I cleaned the control for it... doesn't flicker anymore.

:cool:

Grrreat!
 

Charlie, that set turned out fantastic!
That grille cloth is well, err, um, yessiree that's grille cloth all right :D

Eric

That Sylvania is gorgeous! What years were the Halo-Light made? Were they strictly the fifties (I have seen a promo for one on an old episode of "Beat The Clock" on the GameShow Network), or did they continue into the early sixties? How reliable was the light feature. I'll bet it was a real electricity sucker!

I found that the Halolights went into the 60's as well. Last week I stumbled across a Sam's from 1962 that covered another Halolight set.

I might soon see how reliable these lights were. There is another Halolight set in that old shop where I found this one, but it is in a metal cabinet. I might go and get that one as well... I hope it has a good light also.

When I took apart the light bezel, I found the bulb to be like a neon light sign bulb. If this one ever burned out, I bet I could have one made. I don't think it uses much juice.

Charlie,

You did a beautiful job on restoring the halolight. Putting that tablecloth over the grille to protect the original grillecloth was a good idea too! :)

I'd grab the second halolight. Parts for these are very scarce nowadays. I'm sure a neon sign shop could duplicate that lamp, but it wouldn't be as cheap as grabbing that other set.

Rob

Many Thanx!
 

Thanks guys! I am glad it's over! It took me a lot longer than I had planned on! Now I can put the back cover on and crack a cold one! :beerchug:

As far as the "tablecloth" goes, it is just a temporary cover. My biggest critic (my mom) was here this morning to see it. She loved the way it came out, but when she saw the speaker cloth, she raised one eyebrow kinda like Mr. Spock and said, "You couldn't do better than that? That doesn't look very 50's to me!" :saywhat: She says there is a fabric store in town that has vintage looking shiny gold weave material. If I can't find something more fitting there, I can order some on the web.

I probably will go back tomorrow to find the other Halolight. I think there were two in metal cabinets. I am not sure if they had matching chassis, but I do know the chassis are different from this one. No use in letting it sit up in that old tv shop attic. It can be a project for later.

100's of TV's
 

Hey everyone,
I picked up this booklet from Harry Poster on eBay.
It is a souvenir booklet from a Norfolk VA trade show.
There are tons of pictures of old TV sets including a two page(newspaper size) pull out filled with ad's

Here is a picture of it, wish I could show it full size, it's really cool:yippy:

Booklet
 

Wow! That's a cool piece! Man! Look at those prices! Back in those days, it's surprising anyone had TV at all! Hell, today they sell color sets for those prices or less!

I'm bored
 

I'm really bored so I think I will use up some more of AK's disk space and post a picture of this Sentinel chassis I have been recapping these last couple days.

This thread has been a little quite.

Here's my latest local auction find. An RCA 9T246 in as close to mint condition as you can find.

Chuck

Chuck, that's very nice!
What is the little knob above the channel selector?

Eric

ChuckA,

That 9T246 is the nicest I've ever seen too! Nice score.

Rob

Eric,

That's the fine tuning control. A litle different setup than previous RCA's

Chuck

1948 & 49 Admirals
 

Great Forum!
This is my first post. Here are a few screen shots of my 1948 Admiral 30A14-UL (I Love Lucy) and 1949 10X12X (Honeymooners) I've re-capped and re-tubed both sets. Been very lucky with 10" Admiral sets, I've restored 3 to great working order just by changing a few resistors and all paper and filter caps. Never had to do an alignment of any kind.
Jim

1948 & 49 Admiral's
 

Cabinet photos.
Love those round screens!
Jim

1950 Zenith Porthole
 

Here's my favorite vintage TV set, A 1950 Zenith 12" Porthole. This is the "Saratoga" Model. Nicely restored example of this eye-catcher and is complete with a 1954 TV guide atop the cabinet. Someday I'll find a 1950 TV Guide.
Jim

Nice sets!
 

Hi Jim,
wow, those are some nice sets. I really like the Bakelite Admiral, and how fortunate you were to find one with the door intact!


Eric

Hi Jim,

Welcome aboard! Always nice to meet another active collector who restores his own sets too. Very nice Admirals, terrific Zenith porthole!

Show us more! :)

Rob

Hi Jim!

Great looking sets you have there! Your programming taste is excellent as well! :cool:

Admiral TV sets
 

Thanks to all for the kind words.
and RE: "how fortunate you were to find one with the door intact! "
Yes! very fortunate. Not only is the door intact, the hinges aren't broken and work perfectly. The original back is also in place. This is my Shop TV and always broadcasts vintage programs of the 40's and 50's. Does anyone know if knobs were on the adjustment shafts behind the flip door originally?
Jim

I don't think that there were knobs on these. We had an Admiral when I was a kid. Three of your pots are original, it appears that one has been replaced.

Dave

Sylvania Halolight TV
 

Well,
Here's my latest E-bay find, A Sylvania halolight model 527-M.
The set was working OK when I picked it up but I went ahead and re-capped it anyway. A few caps in the Horizontal circuit were already replaced and the picture tube is dated dec.1968.
The set plays better than ever since I changed the electrolytics and remaining caps. The halolight is nice and bright with no flicker and the sound is amazing for such an old set. I was told the year on this model is 1954, Can anyone confirm that? (Sam's folder is 229) Photos attached. The record changer on top of the TV is a Holiday model by Webcor.
Jim

Hi Jim,
is that the one that was on eBay with a super "Buy It Now" price ?
I wanted that bad but alas it was too far away :(

Eric

Yeah, That's the one Eric.
Lucky for me it was local, Only 20 minutes away and I picked it up one hour after I used the Buy it now option. The seller was very nice and invited me to pick up the set right away if I wanted.
Jim

Halolight
 

Jim...

Cool! Your Halolight is almost like mine... other than my Halolight not having the doors. Mine is Model 376MU and also uses Sam's 229-15. Does yours have the UHF tuner?

You were lucky only needing to change a few caps. I had to change all the caps, a few resistors, a power transformer, and refinish the cabinet! Oh yeah... and I had to put a "tablecloth" over the speaker!:D

Yours looks great! And super picture, too! :cool:

Charlie

Jim,

Fantastic picture on that set! Did you do an alignment? The response looks perfect.

I was lucky with this one and didn't need to do an alignment. After changing out 27 caps, 9 electrolytics and 4 tubes the set only needed a slight turn of the vertical hold control. This is the 3rd B/W set I've restored in a row without incident, The nightmare set must be lurking around the corner....

Charlie,
That's a cool set you got there. I actually like the look of your set better without the doors. I'll leave the doors open on mine as they need room on the sides to open and close and space is always an issue with this hobby. No UHF tuner on my set. I do have an original hang tag booklet for the halolight that outlines it's features and operation. If you or anyone would like a xerox of it let me know.
Jim

Space?
 

Space for TVs is never an issue... but space for all of our other household furnishings is a huge issue! :lmao:

How right you are!

Here's a few shots of the hang tag.
Jim

Philco Predicta
 

My Philco Predicta "Holiday"

Philco
 

Great Predicta!

Did you rework the insides yourself? Or have it done by someone else? (They are such a pain to take apart!)

I bought the Predicta off e-bay already restored. Most of the hard work was already done. All I eventually replaced was the electrolytics. The only electrolytic replaced was the easy one under the chassis but the board was taken apart and caps installed properly.
Jim

Today my RCA Berkshire Regency came to life.

If you remember my original post from a few months back the Berkshire is a HUGE entertainment center from 1948, 25" projection TV, AM/FM, 7 SW bands with auto-tune, record changer, and 40 watt amplifier driving a RCA 15" LS-1 dual cone speaker. I spent the better part of a week fixing the power supply/amplifier. Then another week recapping the receiver and then doing a complete RF / IF realignment on it, another week on the TV chassis'.

I have a resilvered spherical mirror in the projection unit, still need to replace the flat mirror, still the quality was suprising.

Chuck

Another shot of the screen and the set. My collection room is getting a little cramped so I couldn't get far enough away to get a full shot of the set.

Chuck

RCA Regency projection console
 

ChuckA,

You sure have done an outstanding restoration job on that Regency console. I can really appreciate all the hours you have put into the chassis work alone. BTW, I notice that it is HUGE! With all that extra radio stuff, bigger power amp and turnable it has to be 150 lbs more than my 9PC41?

Are you using a 5TP4 or a 5AZP4 in that set?

Nice job. I wish I could get some of my TV projects finished.

Rob

Chuck, that is the most amazing looking thing!!

Imagine that, a 25 inch flat, fully rectangular screen in 1948 :eek:
and it looks incredible, perfect for watching those old movies on.

Eric

Chuck,

That's really something to be proud of... especially with all the work you've put into it! The picture quality on that set is amazing! I'm sure the origional owner never saw a picture near as good as the one you have on it now! Congradulations!

:bigok:

Rob,

The set uses the 5TP4 projection tube. The original was a little tired, this set must have been used hard and long as I found tubes with date codes into the 60's, so I put a new CRT in.

Actually this outweighs a 9PC41 by 300lbs, it tips the scale at 550lbs.

Chuck

Yikes!!! I put hidden castors under my 9PC41. You might consider that. It is cheaper and more convenient than a forklift.

Glad you were able to find a good 5TP4. You can use a 5AZP4, or a 4820A as a replacement if you ever need to. You will have to make do with a potted-on HV ultor lead, or remove it yourself, and possibly have to change a resistor in the HV focus circuit.

Rob

Wow Chuck!
That's one fine looking TV. I've never seen or heard of one before. Any more photos of it? I'll bet the back busting weight limited sales back in the 40's
Jim