Motorola Quasar Console from 1967
 

I'm about to purchase an old Motorola Quasar Console TV and the picture tube is shot they say.. Is it possible to purchase used or rebuilt picture tube for this set? Its the same model as the set pictured

It is possible to rebuild it and many here can helpu get a replacement if needed as well as anythin else u may need. Does the set have remote control? Could u post a pic please?
Thanks,
John

I just did. I don't think its remote, they said they don't recall a remote

I have one in a different cabinet. I will post pic another time. It has original CRT and most all else and works beatifully. I love it.

I know, I've seen one like that on youtube in a different cabinet it has legs verse this one... How will it cost to get the picture tube rebuilt? would i have to ship it somewhere?

How much will it cost to rebuild tube? would i have to ship it anywhere? i'm not an expert at repairing things but i should be able to remove the picture tube and hook it back up..

First, u need to verify whether your CRT can be rejuvinated electrically with a good CRT tester/rejuvinator. CRT prices vary but are basically cheap. If u spend a bit reading related threads here u will learn all u need to make your work perfect for little money.

Yeah i've seen someone on youtube with a Sencore CR-7000 CRT Tester/Rejuvenator and repairing them with it. But i don't have the equipment and it cost over $700 bucks for one.. Also they said there is not a picture at all and they had a tv geek come over and look at the TV at one time and he said it's the picture tube..

I get the impression u want everything with as little effort as possible like lost people. If u had done a bit more research u would know good CRT rejuvinators often sell for a few dollars.
Stop being so lazy and u can have all u want much faster :)
Don't take offense I am also human and have to fight laziness too.

So, you have not even verified to be sure u need a CRT? If u go about this project as u are so far u may be likely to do more damgage than good.

This should be in "rectangularies"

I'd be checking out the video output tube, first.

TOL Motorola Quasar sets were all solid state except for the H.V. rectifier tube. They used Sylvania or RCA 25X type crt's. The cheaper tube sets used the funky 23EG or the lousy Admiral tubes. Look inside to see if it has the original crt.

I would not be surprised if the problem was as simple as a bad 3AT2 for HV considering no picture and no verification as to why.

If this set has the TS915/919 solid state chassis in it...

No picture was often caused in these sets by a defective regulator transistor, located on the rear apron of the chassis near the top (on "works-in-the-drawer" units, elsewhere on the conventional chassis.) The Motorola part number is A1Y, and it looks like a miniature horizontal output transistor.

A very common problem.

This is why i mentioned about a TV geek coming over there place and saying its the picture tube, and yes i believe it's a solid state. I've never tested transistors resistors etc. I'm good at replacing them if i know which ones are bad. And i was thinking of the same thing about the picture tube. It may be good.. If anything i would just have a local TV repair man come over that knows how to fix old sets like that. I'm not going to cause more damage than good neither. I won't do something that i don't know what i'm doing, unless if I have guidance from someone...


JB5pro, I think input from other users and how Rejuvinators is better, people can say which make/model would be better for me. I would need something thats easy to use like the one mentioned. If you don't want to give any input on anything, you're more than welcomed to walk away from this subject. I've googled rejuvinators and nothing much really comes up on testing equip. plus like some members say, it may not be the picture tube, this is why i mentioned about the TV geek

[QUOTE=tvcollector;2983859]This is why i mentioned about a TV geek coming over there place and saying its the picture tube, and yes i believe it's a solid state. I've never tested transistors resistors etc. I'm good at replacing them if i know which ones are bad. And i was thinking of the same thing about the picture tube. It may be good.. If anything i would just have a local TV repair man come over that knows how to fix old sets like that. QUOTE]

I recommend contacting your local authorized Motorola dealer. Your friendly Motorola TV repairman will come out to you with his caddy of panels and parts to fix it right. Is the set still under warranty?

Do sets like this actually still have a warranty? I mean the set is over 40 years old

Some sets in the '60's came with a lifetime warranty on circuit boards in the TV but I was just tryin to be cute by recommend'n your local Motorola TV repairmen that likely does not exist. Every now and then I am kinda funny. When I am not funny keep in mind I am not charging anything for my version of comedy.
However, I am sure you can get you set in perfect condition with the help available here. There may be a member here that is close enough to u to make a good ole' fashioned service call to u. Maybe u can send the chassis to one of the Motorola experts on here if he is not close enough to drive.

It is likely that your CRT is good and can produce a good if not great picture. Maybe post some pics of the chassis inside and out to help diagnose. It is helpful if we see signs of low usage to have a clue if the CRT is still good. Mine produces an excellent picture. It is original from '68

Oh i see.. Kinda figured but wasn't sure. Ok, I will get back to you when i get the set in the next few days.. I'll take some nice sized pictures of the Chassis and post back.. Maybe you or someone can point out in the pictures of what part can be or is bad... I can plug the TV in and tell what it exactly does too..

Thanks..

I just got off the phone with the guy, and he said he looked at the set more, and there are two places on the partial board where some water damage has caused some swollen, and the other place to turn into mushy oatmeal type feel. He was going to deliver the set to me, due to me not having a vehicle that would fit this set. Now he's backing out, so now I'm making arrangements with a friend to pay him to travel about 50 miles to pick it up, the guy is selling the set for $50, he also mentioned seeing how he just noticed the small defects he mentioned he would go down to $25. He also noticed the set is also missing the cord which is not a big deal. I'm paying a friend $50 to use his help.. Does anyone think this is worth it?

I told the guy i'm going to call my friend to ask him to pick up the TV, and I'll call you back in a few minutes. Now he's not answering his phone

These sets are getting scarce, so yes, probably worth the effort. I wouldn't sink a tone of money into buying it, though.

If it needs a crt, not too big a deal. Not sure if it uses a 23V type (25AP22, 25XP22, something like that) or the later 25V type. I think Video Display Corp still has 25V tubes available, not sure about 23V.

Got the set home, and plugged it in and turned it on and these are the results. Picture does come on, but very dim, out of focus, and lots of red bleeding as you can see in the pics.. Also some lines going from left to right.. I've adjusted the red, green and blue drives and it doesn't brighten the screen much more, and makes the lines more noticeable.. Alos when it's on for a while, there is a noticeable hissing sound when putting my ear to the back of the set, and also notice weired smell, not a frying electronic type of smell, I think the flyback transformer has a problem .. Now what will i have to do to repair this thing?

Here are the pictures of the Screen

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I just noticed i left the set plugged in and has instant warm up. Leaving it plugged i turned it on and the picture seems a lot better and brighter than when i first plugged it in. Hum i wonder why that is?

Probably because the CRT needed "waking up". I've seen many CRT's, that have not seen regular use in years, that tested near dead upon initial testing. After letting the filaments "cook" at slightly higher filament voltage, the emission came back up.

There were two types of "instant on" in TV's from the '60's and '70's. The first type kept approx. half of the rated filament voltage on the CRT when the set was off. This method is usually found in tube sets. Many of the solid state sets kept the full 6.3 VAC on the filament at all times.

There are many opinions as to how damaging to the CRT instant on can be; but, I'm not a proponent of instant on and I usually disable the circuit whenever I can. The reason is because I've seen too many instant on sets with weak CRT's The main exception has been the early Zenith solid state sets of the early-mid '70's. I think those Zenith tubes would still function if a nuclear blast went off in the neck of the tube.

Concerning your tube, it would probably be a good idea to have it checked by someone with a good CRT tester/rejuvenator. If it's weak, there's a good chance it will respond well to rejuvenation, especially if the tester is a fairly modern one. It's been my experience that these delta gun CRT's usually last a reasonable length of time after rejuvenation with a good tester.

So does A CRT Tester/rejuventor Fix a Picture tube permanently, or is it a temporary fix?

Also i did a research on a B&K Precision 470 CRT Picture Tube Tester Rejuvenator pretty cheap..

Is this a good one, does anyone use this one and get great result?

I used a 470 back in the 70's and it worked pretty well, I believe it has a "Clean" function as well as Rejuvenation.

The Beltron in the one most people here recommend for doing a "Cleaning" on the CRT guns, never used one myself.

They can be found pretty cheap on eBay now and then, the 470 B&K seems to go for quite a lot still.

My opinion on cleaning or rejuvenating is it's not a permanent fix.
On an old B&W set that you will use a few hours a year to demonstrate it might be good enough to get by but one something you want to use for a daily watcher it may not last six months. When the cathode is gone it's gone and nothing will bring it back short of a rebuild. A Color tube just multiplys the problem x3.

I just opened the back of the set, and looks like there's about 30 years of dust, so I unplugged picture tube sprayed electrical contact cleaner on the pins and in the holes, also sprayed a lot of the controls, and it brought back the picture very well, The suckshon cup connected to the picture tube i noticed is loose, so i hear hissing when the screen becomes dark. Only problems now is certain parts of the screen has a slightly noticeable green tint and some other areas blue.. Red, blue or green bleeds very bad off objects on the screen depending on the color and back ground, bleeds less depending on color control setting, less color less bleeding. Also when the screen is blank (in between scenes or commercials) the lines are still noticeable...

Rejuvenation is not a permanent fix. Depending on the quality of the rejuvenator and the overall condition of the CRT, you could get anywhere from a day up to a year+ out of a rejuvenated CRT. And, some CRT's are so bad that rejuvenation will not bring them back. CRT rejuvenation was mainly done in order to either give the customer time to save up for a new CRT or a new TV set. In the case of TV collectors, it's usually done to give us time to locate a suitable CRT.

I use a B&K 470 for old and newer CRT's and it has done well for me. There is also the B&K 480, which is basically the same as the 470. And, there are the B&K 467 and 490, which are the better models with 3 meters so that the CRT guns can be evaluated all at once. Don't get any B&K tester with a model number below 467 because these older testers have a rather crude rejuvenate function that will often do more harm than good. The older B&K testers are fine if you don't plan to rejuvenate any CRT's and if you only plan to check older pre mid-'70's era CRT's. If you plan to check the newer inline gun CRT's from the '70's-present or plan on doing any rejuvenating, get a newer tester.

The Quasar "Works in a Drawer" never used a 23EGP22. They were all 25GP22's or equivalant. Only the earlier tube rectangulars used the 23". The Quasars were actually great sets. Somewhere I have a Motorola "tube" caddy specifically for the early Quasars with all the modules and books.

I see, I've pulled the drawer out.. Also there is a noticeable humming noise coming from there, sounds like a transformer hum, The only place i know of a transformer is on the opposite side, where I believe that is the power supply and it's not coming from there, that's the only place of electronics all the rest is in the pull out drawer. I noticed when turning the color all the way down to black/white, green still bleeds off white letters and red bleeds off dark objects.

sounds like your set's convergence needs adjusted, there's a panel with many knobs somewhere in the set to do this.

If i do that I'm just adjusting the convergence to make up for either bad caps or poor picture tube that needs rejuvination or replaced.. Couldn't this put more of a strain on the components and shorten the life of other components that have to work harder to make up for either leaky caps or picture tube, and cause future problems?

I don't touch most of the adjustment settings unless people recommend doing so..

If the convergence or purity is off it's not necessarily due to a serious fault in the set

Components like resistors and capacitors slighly drift from their initial value over the years, as long as they stay within their tolerance, this is acceptable and doesn't compromise their reliability, also the wirewound pots used in convergence circuits can drift off their factory settings over time

CRTs also get magnetized and this compromises the color purity (color blotches) so you should check your set's degaussing system and demagnetize the screen

I have an early 70s Philips delta gun set, when i got this set the convergence was way off but after some tweaking it came back to near perfect, and it's still there after almost 7 years of daily watching

so far on the color sets I have worked on (only a few) all the termistors in the degauss circuit have been open (broken actally). I have been using CL-90's in there place

I was sure that I worked on a works in the drawer set that had tubes. The more I thought about it, I'm probably getting "touched in the head." The only tubes in one of these sets were the horizontal output, and the damper, and HV rectifier.

No versions built with a 6CW5 vertical output? I worked on enough Motorolas that had boards and tubes to make me a bit skeptical. It's only been about 30 years since I last saw one.

I just called around to the local TV repair shops today and so far i have yet to find anyone that will even be interested in looking at it, all i hear is can't find parts for it.. I'm going to get a tester/rejuvinater and fix the picture tube, now another symptom i've noticed is the picture now twitching a little (squinting) towards the middle of screen, like it wants to shrink.. I don't know what that would be causing that, maybe bad caps? or could that be the sucktion cup being lose, I noticed i don't hear the hissing sound anymore.

with the set off but plugged in look at the crt heaters.
should be a dim glow.
while watching them turn it on.heaters should brighten.if not the switch cam is busted.common issue.got a ton of these sets back in the day that were given up as bad crt and traded in to beermans.a new tube would look sick at that low of heater voltage too.