Predicta Tandem / Penthouse scored
 

I was quite surprised to find one of these in a vintage shop on the northside. It's not working and they were promoting more as a prop or decoration. They had received a few inquires and offers already, but if I could lay down some cash it would be mine. So I ran over to a nearby bank (paid the $3 cash station fee :rant:) and it was mine :banana:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7114/7...683aba72_o.jpg

Now I am taking a gamble that the CRT is good, but I could liberate one from a Holiday if I really had to.
The base is very light. Almost makes me wonder if there's anything really in there!
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It's also missing one knob and, as usual, the antenna.
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Now for the worst part. Someone cut and tossed the umbilical cord :tears: :rant: :gigglemad :sigh:

I suppose I can roll my own unless by some miracle there's a spare cable floating around out there.
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I carefully popped the CRT back cover off.
Interesting how they located the final video amp next the the CRT. I supposed that was due to the long cable.
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Hurray! We have filament glow at 2.5 volts.
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6236/6...500679bf_z.jpg

I increased the filament juice until I had 600mA of current and checked the emissions. Weak, but I'll let it cook for a while.
http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6060/7...ffa1062c_z.jpg

crt
 

I know where there is a complete head and cable but no tv. Craigs list in mass

Hmm. I tried searching around on craigslist in mass, but couldn't find it.

Yessir. Capacitance of the long cable would have smeared fine detail in the pic, so it had to be fed by a low impedance source (cathode follower), keeping the vid.output stage next to the CRT.

That makes sense.

I popped the back off the set and took a look inside.

Seems it spent time in Philadelphia. Wonder if Fred Mertz is still around ?
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I found a plastic tube from the missing antenna and some service info inside.
I'll scan the info and post in a bit.
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Looks just like a Holiday chassis except for the big socket.
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Both fusistor and thermistor have blown.
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Odd diode holders. I wonder if these are factory or an old repair ?
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Flyback is flaking, but looks OK.
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Nice story and nice score, Bob. Cool set, about as cool as they get.

crt
 

Its in worcester mass. I was there two weeks ago and bought a zenith 9s 262 for 10.00. My friend bought a 7 incn motorola for 20.00. The zenith needs cabinet work at the bottom. Clean chassis with correct wooden knobs. I was going to take the predicta head but when I checked the crt it was dead. If you want it its under radios and tvs for sale. I could pick it up.

Would that be this guy ? "also i have old parts, tape recorders, up right radios old record players call me ****** lucien"

crt..
 

Thats him. I try not to miss any adds around my area.

Thats a sweet lookin' set and I hope you can find a replacement umbilical cord soon. I'm sure your anxious to start restoring it. I would be :P

Thats a neat looking set Bob :yes: And what stupid 'git' decided to cut that cable??:sigh:
That must be so annoying, are you able to make up something that will do the job ok?

Ok, I'll try to get him to ship it or maybe find someone in the mass to pick it up and ship it my way.

I am, but I just so happen to have a Predicta Holiday a friend dropped off for restoration. It's a very similar set so I'll practice on his first :)

Yes, very. When I saw that cut, I almost turned around and walked out of the shop. The price was really good though so I couldn't resist.
As for fabricating a cable, I can try if I have to. I'm a little concerned about matching the impedances and what about that crazy socket on the back of the set? I think I'd have to bypass that and run wires right into the set.

I have seen a few of these where the cable was brittle, broken and otherwise fried, perhaps this one was in bad shape before it was cut off.

jr

Sure, that's possible. I wish they had left the connector on the set though. I assume it's very non-standard.

I gave this cabinet a little rubdown with Howard's RAF and Feed 'n Wax. I used Novus #2 on the screen.

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Here's the preliminary schematic I found inside "FOR SERVICE TECHNICIANS ONLY"
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crt
 

Hi Bob I will be in worcester sunday to meet Lee for breakfast. I will be a stones throw away from this dude. I live 25 minutes from him.

I would be very grateful if you could pick it up for me :ntwrthy: Just let me know what he's asking, plus shipping plus your time and effort, etc...

Say "hi" to Lee for me and I hope he gets his Andrea working :)

From the schematic, it looks like i misspoke earlier about a cathode follower to give low impedance for the video going into the cable. This version uses a different arrangement.

will call the guy today for you.

This was a great find. It goes to show that sets pop up everywhere... most often when you least expect to see them.

Fred Mertz died when William Frawley passed away in 1966. (I appreciate the opportunity at making the first crack at "I Love Lucy").

I do wonder if a name like Fred Mertz helped his business?

That address leads to this building, looks like it has a basement.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=5818+L...35.54,,0,-3.49

Nice find, Bob.

These are the type of diodes that were intended to fit in those fuse like sockets. Although the diodes in your set sure look like a factory solder job.

Thanks!

LOL - I was hoping someone would pick up on that name :)

I suppose that's all one needs to run a home TV repair business.

Thanks. I don't think I've seen that type before.


I found the set at Broadway Treasure Hunt. It's a crazy place and I plan on going back to poke around some more. They have lots of 50s-70s pop culture stuff.

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Any news :scratch2:

Good catch, Bob !

With todays gee whiz electronics I wonder if it would be possible to create a wireless video interface between the original CRT and the Chassis?

Well one would have to make a whole new sweep system for the CRT end, a power supply for it and then a transmitter to connect it to the chassis.........When all is said and done you wouldn't really have any use for the original chassis at that point....

Getting the video signal to the CRT via wireless would be the easy part.

Getting the sweep signals, HV, and heater voltage over wireless would be a bit tougher...

Hmm, yeah, I hadn't thought about the sweep needed.

Philco Factory
 

[QUOTE=Eric H;3030973]That address leads to this building, looks like it has a basement.

Eric, Hop on over to Tioga and C street, Philadelphia 19134. That is where the factory IS today. Philco moved north of town to Blue Bell, PA in the 60's...maybe.

Fred's address should have been
625 East 68th Street
Manhattan, New York

Same as Lucy & Ricky's. :D

Philco has many plants in the SE PA area. Spring House, Lansdale, Watsontown, Willow Grove and many in Philadelphia. Blue Bell was the Government and Industrial Division relocated from 4700 Wissahockin Ave in Philly.

TVs were made at Plant 3, C and Tioga until the plant closed in 1975. That was shortly after after the Consumer Electronics business was purchased by the Phillips Group.

yes virginia there is a santa claus
 

Thanks to tvdude1 and M3-SRT8 I have a cable :yes: :banana:
Spare yoke, video amp etc. too.
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...

On my similar vintage car, I've had good luck cleaning wiring insulation with Gojo hand cleaner in the orange bottle. No water, just the stuff, and rub it in, then wipe it off with a damp paper towel.

Chip

Yee-ha! You'll be able to get cracking on with this one then?!?!? :D Like you ain't got enough on yer plate!:banana:

LOL - All in good time :yes: I'll do my friends Holiday set first. Virtually identical chassis, but no cable assembly to deal with.

I tried both cable cleaning suggestions and they work quite well. Thanks!
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Orange "Goop" hand cleaner with pumice was on sale so I gave it a try. It not only worked great, but left the cable smelling like oranges :)
I'm glad that's finally done :yes: I found a few nicks in the outer jacket, but no obvious breaks.
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I recently stumbled across a NOS Silverama 21FAP4 on ebay. I looked up the specs and it seemed to me it would work perfectly in a Predicta in including a short neck.
I was a little wary of the sellers feedback though. A lot of complaints about receiving the wrong item.

Sure enough, a week later this box showed up. I immediately knew it was the wrong size and weight. Inside I found a plastic hose :(
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I opened a complaint with eBay and soon heard back from the seller. He claimed his new helper made the mistake and my CRT went to the guy that bought the hose.
He sent new shipping labels to us both, I shipped the hose out and kept my fingers crossed.

A week later a Silverama 24AHP4 box showed up :sigh
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But look what I found inside :) He double boxed it with another Silverama box. So I guess I got a bonus cool vintage box.
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It sure is NOS alright. All the original tags and warranty cards are intact.
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Here it is next the an original, nearly dead 21EAP4 / SF21. It sure looks like a good fit.
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Finally, it tests like new. So I figure it's a good time to get this beast running again :yes:
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It turns out that under all the dirt and dust, the chassis is pristine.
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Not a single repair and every tube except the two in the tuner is an original Philco and tests good :thmbsp:
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Same as with my Holiday set, I replaced every paper cap, resistor and network on the sweep board.
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The new networks very sealed in epoxy and painted for appearance.
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Ready to be re-installed.
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I didn't bother labeling the wires. Instead, I cleaned the wires to reveal the color and took reference photos. It's not that hard once you've done it a couple times.
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