New project: RCA Clubman model CL-5 early projection TV
 

I found this really nice RCA Clubman CL-5 projection TV on Marketplace. I now have it in hand and it looks pretty complete. I am very happy with it's un-restored condition. This will be a learning experience for me, since I've never worked on one of these first generation projection sets before. I'm sure I'll have A LOT of questions. First question; does anyone have any original service documentation that would not mind making a copy for me. Naturally, I will pay for a copy. I have a lot of work to do just to become familiar with this set. Is this worth the effort to restore? Are there any unobtainium parts that will thwart my progress? I'm all ears for the experts.

This set is much like the earlier home versions. Buy lots of capacitors. Then buy more. The trick to this set is the optics barrel. The picture will only be as good as the mirror on the bottom of the barrel. Re silvering is likely. Try not to disturb the mechanical adjustments on the barrel. They perform the mechanical focusing across the screen. The plastic lens on the top of the barrel is also part of the focus path. The CRT may have had some heavy use and the face will turn a tan color from the HV bombardment. It is not a hard CRT to find. The HV is a tripler system. 25kv! Lots of HV needed on the little CRT to make it bright enough to project in room light. When they work it is quite a good picture and very sharp for what it is. Good luck. Others please jump in..

Poke around here a bit and check if there is a free download of the service literature.http://earlytelevision.org/postwar_t..._diagrams.html

If not check the Sam's photofact index.... Don't buy from Sam's unless it's a last resort....they will charge you $22 for a mediocre photocopy. Instead try to find a used original print....they are usually. 1/4 the price.

I looked in my 1981 Photofact index and did not find it as CL-5. Look for a chassis # on the upper chassis. A photo of the markings would help.

That's a very interesting set. I poked around in Riders up through 1950 and did not see anything that matches that cabinet and knob layout. Is there a KCS number on the television chassis? Could it have been a custom job, or possibly they had another source of service literature for the clubman models? I suppose it could be in one of the early RCA red books. :scratch2:

I found another VK thread that had that same set. If Chuck A is still around maybe he will chime in with some details. http://videokarma.org/showthread.php?t=248881

Here are some images of the chassis numbers I can see in the set:

KCS-20B-1 Horizontal deflection chassis?
KCS-24 RF-IF tuning chassis?
CP-5200 Audio amplifier
MI-6333C Speaker
??? Power supply
KRK1 ??? Optical barrel

With further research, I found an explanatory image of the RCA PTU from the 1947-1949 time period. This image is Chuck's from "MyVintageTV.com"
I could not find the power supply chassis number or the optical barrel chassis number at this time.

Here are a few more detailed images of the "goodies" behind the screen:

Have you done any TV or tube radio restoration/cap replacement before? Good rule of thumb is to work on at least 1 tube radio before trying a TV. If you haven't done TVs it also might be beneficial to start with a late 50s monochrome set with half the tube count and more simplified/perfected circuit design... these big complex early models are quite restorable, but are very large undertakings and can overwhelm someone who hasn't worked their way up to this level of complexity.

Yes, I have restored old radios before and worked on aircraft radar systems when in the USAF. But that was a long time ago. I haven't restored an antique TV yet, but it doesn't overwhelm me. I've seen scarier things in the "hell hole" of a C-130 transport plane. I will take on this challenge systematically. I have an old Hallicrafters electrostatic deflection table-top television that I will work on first. In the mean time, I'll try to find out as much information that I can about these projection sets. Then I'll tackle it step by step, chassis by chassis with electrolytic and leaky capacitor replacement and out of tolerance resistor replacement. Then I'll start to look at the big picture once the individual chassis are electrically stable, reliable, and safe. Not to mention the very high voltages I'll be dealing with. Safety first! Discharging capacitors and CRT. One arm behind the back when working on the chassis's. Don't want to create the closed loop through the upper body!

Take a look at the factory service manual for the 648PTK. As well as Sams 90-9. Both on the ETF website.

https://www.earlytelevision.org/pdf/...ptk_manual.pdf

https://www.earlytelevision.org/pdf/..._sams_90-9.pdf

Many thank for the links. I'll download them and get to reading.

There's a wealth of information in the RCA factory manual. Get ready for some heavy reading. :D

Is that the 648PTK manual you’re referring to?

Yes.

It looks like the same guts as my Projector, I think it's a 648. Are you in California? I'd like someone to take it off my hands. recapped and working, but not put together.

Unfortunately, I'm on the opposite coast, in North Carolina.

All 4 models of the Clubman series used the same PTU-1 projection system used in the consumer TV sets like the 8PCS41, 741PCS, 9PC41 and the Berkshire TV series. The common parts are the RF-IF Chassis, Horizontal Deflection and High Voltage Unit, Low Voltage PS and the Optical Barrel. The audio chassis were the only difference, besides the cabinet style.

Finding parts for these are fairly easy. You will need to have the spherical mirror in the optical barrel re-silvered to get a sharp picture, the flat reflecting mirror is not as critical. Remember these are front surface mirrors so even cleaning them can do more damage.

I don't have the production numbers for the CL-5 but only 25 of each model CL-1 & CL-2 were made.

The Clubman CL-10 was a direct view set.

Chuck