two 1950s GE sets in metal cabinets
 

I recently picked these two up. First a cool looking 1956 red/white 14" set. Secondly, a brown 17" set with a concentric uhf tuner. That makes this my only pre-'64 set with uhf. Does anyone recognize the model number for the brown 17" set? I want to dig up a schematic, and the back is missing off of that one, so I don't know what the chassis or model number is to look up.

Holy Jeez, we got a 14" exactly like that (even down to the color and UHF tuner) around 1970 when my grandmother cleaned house. A new diode restored UHF operation. Unfortunately we tossed it a few years later. Sorry. :(

The 17" set should be a 17TO26 or close to it.

Thanks. I pulled the sams, that looks like the right one.

Hope they aren't live chassie! :no:

Of course they are!

Power Transformers add weight and cost, and GE marketed these as cheap "second" sets that the wife or kids could carry around to a bedroom or kitchen while dad watched the evening news on the big console set in the living room.
Hotpoint, an appliance manufacturer owned by GE, even gave away a version of this set with the purchase of a new Refrigerator or Stove.

I've actually been looking for a red and white 14" set like that one for years. When I was nine years old, I bought one just like it at a week long outdoor junk sale for $4. My mom got really mad at me bringing home that "big ugly piece of junk." When I discovered that it didn't work, I was forced to take it back. This was back before I knew enough to recap a set myself, so I took it back to the seller, who was nice enough to actually give me my money back. I've wanted to find another one ever since. That little GE is what really got me into vintage TV sets, and was my first "one that got away."

I'm just replacing back the posts that got deleted ...

#7
09-05-2009, 05:34 PM

Adam
1965 Zenith

Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
Posts: 1,287
I just finished the recap on the 14" set. These early circuit board sets are not the easiest to work on, but I managed it without any problems this time. I desoldered all the caps with wick before I pulled them out, and used a temperature adjustable soldering iron set at around 800. At least this set didn't have any metal cans soldered to the board, that's always the worst. The boards are in 2 parts screwed to the metal chassis, and by unscrewing them, it was possible to work on them by tilting them down without actually removing them.

I still have to check the tubes and other stuff before I try it out. The vertical output transformer doesn't look too good, but it checks out not open or totally shorted with the ohm meter.

I tried to post new chassis pics in the gallery, but kept getting some error message.

#8
09-05-2009, 06:36 PM
DaveWM
AK Member

Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 404
I just finished one of the 14" (actually still a part on the bench, need to install some feet on it). I am going to put a polarized plug, better than a 50/50 that way (still not 100% since there could be a miss wired outlet).

I did all the caps from the top as I did not feel like unscrewing the boards.

prob 6-7 wax caps IIRC.

It had some work done already (j hooks) so I did not feel the need to do a neat job.


no bad out of spec resistors. cut the cans off just past where the clamp holds them, restuffed. Put in a new fuseable resistor (old one was open).

I took the CRT out so I could test it with out having to reinstall the chassis all the time.

needed a couple tubes. After I learned about the importance of the ion trap position I got a nice clean picture. I am checking over a slight white line (vertical wide and very faint on dark pics) that I think I have licked after replacing a tested good HO tube with a NOS tube.

The plastic safty window is kinda messy, I would like to use a plastic polish to get some of the fine scratches out.

I switched to working on the '56 GE from my RCA KCS47, being fed up with problems with the RCA I couldn't figure out.

I completely recapped the GE. At first the GE had no vert deflection, and only very little horiz. Vertical output transformer looked bad. I replaced the vert output trans, which got me back my vertical.

But the horiz is only about 2" wide, also way, way off frequency. The voltages at the horiz osc and output tube check out. But the boost voltage is about 100v low, and the HV is only about 1.5-2kv. HV rectifier tube was very weak and damper tube slightly weak, but swapping those made no difference. I checked across the flyback and also the yoke with an ohm meter, and it read what it should. Then, I went to adjust the horiz osc coil and the slug was stuck, I look at it, it's broken, but I try to turn it anyway, it broke worse, shorted something, sparks flew out of it, and it made such a loud noise my ears rang for nearly 30min afterwards. It also took out the horiz osc tube, but no other components seem to be damaged.

I thought this set would be an easy one to fix, a nice break from that RCA KCS47, but it's proving to be much the opposite.

wow, that sounds like a mess. Sorry to hear about it.

Do you have the part# for that horiz osc coil ? I might have one for you.

GE RLI-339 The sams doesn't give any cross references. Thanks.

That's thordarson # HS 12. Sorry, I couldn't find one.

Look like this?

http://www.talonix.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=3669