my very first vintage TV!!
 

:thmbsp: Greetings TeeVee'ers! Well, after 40 years in tube audio, including writing for Vacuum Tube Valley magazine "The Classic Electronics Reference Journal" http://www.vacuumtube.com I've finally been bitten by the TV bug... I swore I'd never touch one of the infernal things, except for saving a factory RCA CT-100 manual I found a few years ago, thinking it must be kinda scarce and hating to see it thrown it out, but today it happened! While scavenging in a local electronics recycler, I came across this cute little Admiral TV Model TS-105-AL N that I just couldn't resist because it so cute, was almost complete (2 small gold knob center caps missing), 2 tone green, and in pretty nice shape. I have no idea if it works... can anyone tell anything about these? I assume these things need caps and such like a vintage McIntosh or other tube amp... Where do I find an owners manual or copy ? Also love to find an ad. I found a Sams for it.. Jeezum, I have a bad feeling that this is just the start of something scary!!! Attached a pic. RA in NY

May God have mercy on yr soul...Yep, re-cap, & check resistors, if the CRT's good, it should be a doable project.

Hey! welcome to the TV forums! And now that you're bit by the bug, kiss any available space in the basement goodbye! It comes on slowly, one day you notice that there isn't room to breathe. LOL. BTW, I should have that Moto manual out soon, I've been pretty busy lately so please bear with me. Do like Sandy said and she should come back to life. Although these 'ol sets can be cantankerous little f*ckers from time to time.:)

Fairchild. ---VERY--- cool find. I came up with something similar years ago, though I don't think it's a Admiral. RCA or GE maybe ?? Pic attached.

thanks Zentih, SAndy and Ohigh... I like it so much that it'll be an art object if it doesn't work... but are CRTs ever available or fixable? The rest I can handle...

Ohigh... be that a Fisher 50A that I spy thar, next to the Dynaco ST-70!! ?
I LOVE that turquoise TV... my favorite color (I have a 58 DeSoto!) ...
I think these cool little 50s portables might be my TV niche...

I know what you mean about space, I dabble in stereo consoles a bit, the 5' long kind.
Yikes!! Roger in NY

Yes a Fisher 50a and a Dyna ST-70. Look further, low, and to the left and you'll also spot a old Jensen speaker cabinet. On the right.... a pair of Klipschorns.

If you're gonna' do TV, then the little portables might just be the way to go. They don't take up scads of room like the consoles!

58 Desoto? One of the lost marques..... And for sure Chrysler had the wild 50's look going full bore right about then.

My very first eBay purchase was one just like this! now it's 12 years and 100 sets later... :)

These are really quite easy to work on, PC board construction makes recapping simple, the CRT is probably good, most of these little sets don't seem to have had as much use as their bigger cousins.

I have a schematic but it's a copy already and would be difficult to copy again.
The Sams Photofact# for this set is a 350-1

Welcome to the addiction.
Dan

Congratulations! It is cute. It's strange how inanimate objects can intrigue us.

John

".... 12 years and 100 sets later." Uh oh!!!! What have I done?!! I love this thing!

Replace those Selenium rectifiers!!!!
Don't forget, you will have to add extra resistance before the first filter, or, you will blow your power supply with the new, more efficient silicon rectifers.
I reccommend The 2Amp, 1KV diodes due to the surge factor.
Lave seleniums there for show, but, completely disconnect them.
You'll need new electrolytics as well.
Welcome to insanity 101.
47 tv's later, and, three more coming?
Bill Cahill

Bill and Eric, do you have 47 and 100 sets respectively still in your possession?

In any case, WOW!

John

Yep..... :sigh::scratch2::screwy::saywhat::stupid::pity::hu ge::zoom::eek::rolleyes::yippy::):thmbsp:
Bill Cahill

"Replace those Selenium rectifiers!!!!" yep, I figured so, gotta do it in all the '60s Fisher and other units that have em... I kinda like the tube recitfers of the older days.

I know about Predictas, but are there small portables that are especially unique or cool worth looking for?

It's hard to say.. In 1959 Admiral made one neat looking 17" slimline portable that came in some neat color combinations, and, once, I even worked on one with factory installed UHF. Plastic front, and, back covers.
However, negative poits follow:
Low life expectancy picture tube.
Yoke often dis intergrated due to plastic disease.
Cabinet was a shock hazzard.
Front screen got static charge from hv, and, was a shock hazzard. So were the old GE tv's.
On the M4, 5, 6 GE's, plastic mask, with gold paint on GE's got one heck of a hv static charge. Touch that, you got many surprises.....
The Admirals had problems with poor connections on the circuit boards, as did the GE's.
The old top hat rectifiers in the old sets were a problem with high leakage, and, shorting out.
Circuit breakers usually didn't hold up, either.
When they worked correctly, the Admirals received fairly good.
I would pass on any of the early Silvertone console, table model, and, portable tv's from that era up to 1965.
They wre lousy sets, hard to work on, broke down considerably, were dangerous to service, and, broke down often.
Vertical chassis, one side of line on chassis, all hot connections for line, b+ boost, filters, rectifiers, hot line, etc., were in easy access. The tubes were pointed to front of set. You had to reach in a tight area to get at tubes.
Chassis tilted backwards. Then, was a nightmare to get back in.
We HATED those sets!!!!
RCA '59 models had a neat look, but, quality tended to be low.
They performed poorly.
And, the channel selector knob was metal.
On early versions, it went directly on metal shaft. Chassis was one side of line, and, made this a shock hazzard. There was one similar model with a power transformer.
The hump top 14"-17" "deluxe" portables were neat looking, but, were a repairmans' nightmare.
The larger size with a vertical chassis had a power transformer, and, weren't so bad.
Bill Cahill

Those 8" RCA portables from '56 or thereabouts are pretty neat & plentiful, but are sposed to be kinda hard to work on. They are, to my eyes anyway, Tres Kewl....(grin)

The 8-inch RCAs are good performers, but I wouldn't recommend one to a beginner. Nothing impossible to deal with, but the chassis is cramped.

http://www.antiqueradio.org/rca16.htm

Larger 1950s tabletops with metal cabinets are also plentiful and cheap. I love my Zenith T1816R, which has a big screen and is very watchable.

I would avoid 1940s 7-inch TVs for the time being. The high-voltage supply can be finicky to restore, and the tiny picture tube is not very satisfying to watch, for most people accustomed to watching larger screens.

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

Sadly, yes :D at least that many, if you throw in all the 5" Chinese Jellybean sets it's way over that now.

I have a list that I need to update.

Phil - that baby RCA must have been a revelation when it came out!

This Admiral has built in UHF - up to ch 83... is that unusual? Cabinet is all metal....bzzzzzzttt!

So, have you tried (slowly) powering the set up yet? :yes:

It might surprise you, I have one just like it that still works and hasn't been recapped.

sounds like the kind of stuff we're having fun with here in Europe! :yes:

You guys are a bad influence on me .............. naaahh, just kiddin'. Fairchild, after getting your message I thought you might get a kick out of the attached pix.

I read these posts and get inspired to dig around in the garage to see what I have laying around. I thought I had a Turquoise/Cream portable... and I do. It's a GE. What I'd forgotten is that I also managed to pick up (literally from the trash set out at the curb) another one, a Coral/Cream model.

The model number on the Coral one is 14T009. Looks very closely related to the Turquoise one, though the model number faded off on that unit. The Turquoise unit has a little flip down stand. The Coral one appears to have it's original rabbit ears.

I have a green GE just like that one. It shows a faded 14T017 as the model number. Mine never had the legs that I can tell. That's a neat trick!

Mine had lost his badge off the front before I bought it. Is this a part that'd be easy to come by? I know it's cosmetic only, but it'll make it a bit nicer than three holes :) I'm also looking for some good antenna replacements. There some sort of swivel ball connection that the rods clip in to at the base. Is there a generic cross?

This old TV stuff isn't really my thing, so I'm unqualified to answer your questions. Here's a couple pix of the antenna on the back of the Coral and cream TV. It sort of looks like the factory installation to me, but I'm not sure. Also a couple images showing the fold up legs and logo from the Turquoise set. Hope that helps. Thanks for the heads up on that model number!

Hey Roger, You are not accepting PMs or messages on your profile so this is the only way I could think of to get ahold of you. I have been working a lot of OT and during the day, I usually work at night, I should return to my normal schedule soon. I work at a school so I can make you a nice book for the Moto just like the original, or close. I will use the blue paper that is close to a match as well. Pm me if you see this, I will need your details. Or send an email to [email protected], thanks
Mark