Admiral 24C16 restoration
 

This set uses the 20B1 chassis which is almost identical to the 20A1 chassis in my Admiral 24A12 so I've been restoring them at the same time.

I picked this set up last spring. The cabinet is in really good shape except for a ring on top where there is some finish loss.
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Always use a coaster!
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The chassis is in pretty good condition too. It's covered in light rust and filthy, but intact otherwise. I can only find evidence of two capacitors being replaced long ago.
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The CRT is losing is aquadag coating and is an odd brand "Nat'l Video Corp". It tests very good, but I do get an intermittent G1 short. Tapping on the neck makes it go away. I just might be trying the "remove short" function for the first time.
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Here are the two chassis side by side. The one for this set is on the left.
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Pretty much the only difference is that this one is wired for a 12LP4
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Maybe the short is in the base of the tube. It could be worth your while to desolder the thing and confirm that. It's also worth checking out your crt checker and making sure there are no out of tolerance parts there. I had a tube checker that would occasionally give a "shorts" reading on a known good tube. I traced out the circuit, replaced a resistor, and now it is a lot less finicky.

Yeah, I knew what you mean so I tried two different testers. They both gave the same results - a very intermittent G1 short. Basically I can tap on the neck and the short goes away indefinitely. So if it is in the base, there must be a loose bit of metal floating around. I suppose it is worth checking, but what a PITA :sigh:

Chassis cleaning
 

Luckily, the chassis cleans up very easily :D Just a little Naval Jelly and a WD40 wipe down.
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The turret tuner was filthy too with a thick, sticky film all over it. I used some Radio Shack control contact cleaner being careful not to wipe off the numbers.
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Recapping
 

These Admirals are really easy to work on. Having a split chassis is a big part of that. It cuts down on the weight of the main chassis so it's easy to move around.

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Just about done recapping :banana:
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I still have some cleaning to do, but can't wait to fire it up :naughty:
I'll be doing that later tonight - keep your fingers crossed!
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Got my fingers crossed!!

Thanks to Dan's crossed fingers, I've got some good news!

At first, nothing - no HV, no B+, no filament glow, then I realized I forgot to plug the cheater cord in :o
That's a 5AXP4 test CRT I've installed
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With that hooked up, I was treated to a nice CRT glow and loud buzz from the speaker. At this point I still had the HV cage and tube shields off so I shut it down. While replacing those shields, I realized I also had left out one of the 6AU6s in the IF stages :withstpd:
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Now, I've tuned it to channel 6 (OTA analog VHF station) and got some good sound, but the horizontal and vertical sync are all over the place :( I tried a DTV converter box and got no sound and no picture :grumpy:

So I grab an alignment tool and reach around to the horizontal coil and start tweaking it. At one point I get a high pitched squeal, then at last a stable picture :banana:
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Still no sound at all though. I had a similar issue with my 24A12, but not as bad. I went back to channel 6 OTA and can tune in both a good picture and sound. I'll try my blonder tongue modulator later, but next I'm going to try the 12LP4.

:banana:

Congratulations,, that pic with the tubes a glowin is very cool.

Thanks! I've reinstalled the 12LP4 and was treated to a mediocre picture.
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I was going to call it a night, but decided to try one last thing. I had tested all the tubes in this set and they checked out OK. Even so, why not swap them out with the 24A12 set that's playing much better?

:grnbounce :banana: :grnbounce Still no sound, but the picture is much better! I swear this Honeymooners just happened to be on :D

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If I tap on the CRT, the picture sometimes goes faint so that G1 short really is something to be dealt with.
Also, I need to track down which tube(s) was the culprit.
Finally, still some work to do on that audio :scratch2:

Looks great Bob! That Naval Jelly really works wonders. That recap and new resistors look great too, I also like to install them that neatly:yes:. Very, very nice work:thmbsp:

Great job, even Norton is getting ready to watch Captain Video...:D

That episode of the Honeymooners is priceless.

Nice work Bob! I like the way you present most of your work the same day. I'm assuming you didn't do this all in one day!

That's some ion trap they have on there.

How do you keep the Naval jelly out of places you don't want? Just being careful?

John

Your work is second to none. Your restorations are museum quality for sure!

The lead dress of your replacement caps makes me think you are either a very professional conservationist/restorer or have some form of OCD. :scratch2:

The problem-solution-result style of your pictures is amazing. I can't remember a time when I've ever thought of any repairs I've performed as being worthy of a photo - but every one of your photos tells a thousand stories.

I'm jealous to say the least.

Cheers,

Me too. I love your restoration play-by-play!

Thanks! Here's a little video I took while recapping this set that shows my technique: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6P-KZyjOa8

LOL - no I spent about 4hrs/day for a couple weeks. I had just restored another set with the same chassis so this one went pretty fast.

Not that I'm done yet - it's that last 5% that's the killer :drool:

All my Admiral sets have that same blue/black ion trap magnet - remember the blue goes towards the face!

Yes, I'm just careful with the rust remover. Some brands are very fluid and it can drip all over. Naval Jelly is very viscous and tends to stay where you put it. It only took about two hours to clean up the front. Two coats of jelly, wipe it down with a damp sponge, dry it off with a paper towel, then a final rub down with WD40.

Thanks! No, I swear it's just a hobby - I do actually have a full-time job programming websites. It's nice to get paid to surf the web - that's why you might see me online at all hours of the day. I also work from home which is awesome when do time intensive stuff like removing rust or refinishing. I just take a little break to slap on some naval jelly then it's back to work :D


I recorded some video last night while I was working on this set, but I need to do a lot of editing before I can post it. Stay tuned...

I have been messing around with old radios and TV's for around 30 years. I don't think that I have ever run into a more informative and useful thread in my life. Your work is impeccable! I started at around 12 with taking apart my first vintage radio. I have never been able to explain my attraction to this stuff because it seems like most of the antique and 'collectable' world almost completely disregards old TV sets. I have a nice 1950 Zenith 24" remote set that I can't even GIVE away. The problem with this is if you can't give a set away, and you don't have the heart to part it out and break up the cabinet, what are you to do? Unless you have a large building outside of your home for this hobby, the need for space can bring your hobby to a halt. I'm sure many reading this know exactly what I mean. I have a guy that gave me a round tube color set that I can't bring home because of this.

Anyone ever coming through VA can stop by and take home some really decent sets and perhaps some NOS spare parts.

Oh, and I can not believe the way that Naval Jelly makes a chassis look! This makes me want to take apart every old radio and TV that I have and apply that stuff. It looks sand blasted! I have used steel wool a time or two, but it really wasn't worth the time and effort. This looks do'able bigtime! GREAT tip! :thmbsp:

Thanks! Just doin' what I can to share what I've learned. The fact that most ignore old TVs is part of the attraction to me. I mess around with old radios too, but hate having to pay exorbitant prices for tubes like the 245 or 483 output tubes. Much easier to get a 1B3 or 6BG6 :D It's also a much greater challenge to get one of these setts running smoothly.

As for space - yeah I think most of us are stuffed. I have 6 sets out on the back porch because there's no more room. I won't be getting any more sets until I move to a bigger place or sell a few. I really can't bring myself to part with any though.

One important think I need to mention regarding chassis. Some chassis, and transformers are cadmium plated. Usual they go a bit white/green/yellow over time. Naval Jelly and rust removers in general can clean the cadmium oxide up very well, but it's very toxic and produces nasty fumes! Please wear gloves and have good ventilation if you're going to attempt it.

I've been using non-conductive abrasive pads too. I've seen them sold as a finish stripping pads sometimes. They work as well as steel wool, but without all the little metal bits that can work their way into everything.

BTW this is actually the chassis from another set.

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It's going to get stinky :yuck:
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Neutralizing with a mild detergent
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Next, a little Simichrome metal polish
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Final results. Elapsed time about 20 minutes. I'll save the rest of the chassis for another day.
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Videos up on YouTube
 

I finished editing the footage I recorded last night an uploaded them to YouTube. Enjoy.

Part 1 - first power up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDtS1YuHQGE

Part 2 - trying out the 12LP4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UooEyKTiYU

More chassis work
 

I'm just about done with the rest of this set. The audio is still weaker than I'd like, but at least I have some.

This nasty splice wasn't helping :no: That explains all the noise!
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I'm not sure what impedance coax to replace it with, but maybe it doesn't matter much at audio frequencies ?
I wonder if anyone carries cloth covered coax ?
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I'm just about done with the lower chassis too. I used a mini-hack, heat gun and corkscrew to gut those capacitors.
It's less messy than the Dremel with cutoff wheel I had been using.
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I also discovered that the tuner was pretty dirty and rusty so popped it out and cleaned it up :)
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Next up - re-coating the CRT dag and restoring the cabinet...

Aerodag
 

Has anyone tried this product to recoat a CRT ?

I did a little test on a dead compactron. It goes on easily and dries quickly. It's not nearly as conductive as a NOS CRT I have so I'll try another coat. I put it on pretty thin I think.

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More fine work from the "Chassis Cosmetologist" !!!

You could eat off that chassis! Really spectacular work, I must say.

Cheers,

Last year I bought a project set from a guy who used Acheson Aerodag G on the CRT. That project's still in the queue, but the CRT sure looks pretty. I have no reason to think that it won't work fine.

Phil

Were you able to buy a single can? I needed the brush on variety for work and they made me buy a whole case. I use it for mounting targets and only use a few milligrams at a time.

John

Yes, I just ordered one can from Ted Pella, Inc. You'll have to pay a little extra for hazardous shipping. They have lots of other cool lab grade stuff too.

I'd like to give credit to the user that originally posted that link, but I can't remember who :scratch2:

I use Ted Pella, but I don't think it was me. Might of been though, my memory isn't what it used to be.

John

Thanks! LOL - "Chassis Cosmetologist" - perhaps I should update my tagline :scratch2:

Yes, I used the exact Aerodag G on my 1954 Sylvania. Recoated the whole thing, dried nice and my set has been working nicely thanks to all here on this site for helping me along.

Audio problem persists
 

I've got the video rock solid on this set but still no audio :tears:
All I get is static which does increase with the volume control. I can also touch the volume control wiper and I get a hum. I've gone over the audio IF stages pretty thoroughly, so I decided to try aligning it by following these instructions:

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Here's the gear I used. A 3 AAs soldered together for the -4.5v AGC bias voltage. An EICO 232 VTVM and a Hickock 615 sweep and marker generator. Finally, an HP 45600B scope and demodulator probe.
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I think I did everything correctly. Here's the ratio detector response curve, but still no audio :( Just a buzz that occurs when bright white portions appear in the video.
I know it's backwards, but I think that's just the nature of my sweep generator / scope - the key points match up more or less.
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Any ideas ? I bet it's something really stupid!

Here are some more videos I recorded while performing the alignment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdzK3P78D5Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VR-3U_8LoOk


-

I've got sound :music:

After performing the audio IF alignment, I started working my way back towards the antenna. I discovered that the trimmer cap in parallel with the fine tuning control was rotated fully clockwise which bottomed it out. I slowly backed it out and briefly heard some sound. Slowly I zeroed in on the sweet spot. This is a really critical adjustment - just slightly off and no more sound. It also allowed me to shift the best picture and sound to the center of the fine tuner control. Previously, I had to rotate the fine tuning fully clockwise to get a good picture.
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I also replaced that old shielded audio cable with the crappy splice. I have plenty of volume now, but there's a faint buzz. I think that's coming from the horizontal / HV circuit. Maybe some better shielding will help :scratch2:
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I also accidentally smoked a resistor :no: While working on the sound, I had push some parts to the side and shorted two leads together. Instant flash and smoke. What a horrible stench :yuck: It's a day later and still stinks in my workshop.
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That happened to me when I was working on the Sylvania. I was lucky though, it ended up repairing the open tap on the volume control. Go figure.

The volume has worked perfectly ever since.

John

Moving on to the cabinet
 

Now that the set is working, it's time to move on to the cabinet. There was a nasty water ring on top and numerous digs and nicks all over.
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First, I broke it down.
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Then, I carefully stripped just the top. I'm going to try to salvage the sides and front.
No one makes reproduction labels to my knowledge.
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That went well.
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Now time to fill that grain. This mahogany veneer has a really open grain. I was inspired by jeyurkon to try shellac as a grain filler.
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I used about 15 coats sanding it down every 5th coat.
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It worked well, but took forever. I think for grain this open something like Behlen grain filler would be easier.
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Now for the toner lacquer. I took a gamble and tried some stuff I picked up from a local antique ship that's going out of business. I'm not sure how old it is, but it's a great match for the old finish.
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Arg - disaster strikes :mad: The finish split all over :tears:
Could be the toner was too old, could be the air was too cold and dry (I did this in February), could be the shellac interacted badly with it ?
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Time to start over!
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Hey I like the detail, instructions, and photos on refinishing your TV.
Keep on showing us more.

Alrighty then - you asked for it :D

Cabinet refinishing take two.

I finished stripping off the cracked lacquer and filled the grain with shellac again.
I'm going to use some Mohawk toner this time.
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Here's a couple coats of toner. I used it sparingly, but it's pretty dark stuff.
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Here it is after three coats of clear gloss. It's a tad darker than I'd intended, but no cracks :)
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I also took care of the metal back cover.
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I used Naval Jelly to remove the rust, rinsed it off well, dried it immediately with a blow drier and applied two coats of clear lacquer.
You really don't want to leave raw steel exposed to air for long after using a rust remover or else a film of corrosion will return.
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Now for the rest of the cabinet. Once that's done, I'm going to try rubbing out that lacquer with some pumice and rottenstone.

I've never seen splitting like that before-the dull finish looks like lacquer going bad when there is too much moisture in the air. But that would be a rare thing in winter. Given that nitrocellulose lacquer's chemical relatives aren't the most stable things on earth (dynamite, nitrate film) I wouldn't be surprised if your can of toner just went bad.

I think you're right. I had a second can just as old and did some test on scraps of veneer. It either split or cracked into little "puzzle pieces".

I'm glad it wasn't the shellac after you put 15 coats on! I'd be in trouble for suggesting it.

John

Apparently, that's a time honored technique: http://www.hardwoodlumberandmore.com...thShellac.html

It actually went pretty fast the second time around. I used aerosol shellac. Each coat dried in a few minutes :)