Sylvania Roundie arrival
 

Well as some may know about this set being on eBay.. And a thread I posted a few months ago..

http://www.videokarma.org/showthread.php?t=261840

and Also the Admiral Set the was recently on Craigslist.. It's a BW set, and I didn't want to post two threads.. Let start off with the Sylvania..

First bad start, I was greeted with the set by taking it out of the van and found out, the leg has broken off...

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/...oundietv_1.jpg
http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/...oundietv_2.jpg

Damn particle board.. That's the least of my concerns.. Moving right along.. After spending $300 plus $300 shipping.. The Admiral only took $100 extra plus the $75 more to the grand total, I bought it for..

Here's the second issue.. Funny how it's seen in one of the original photos taken by the seller, but not really noticeable, if you go and click on the thread and look at the pics of the chassis, you can see it's pushed behind the board.. I'm surprised no one pointed it out.. But surely would have stayed the hell away from this set if I would have known about this:

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/...oundietv_3.jpg

Yup, this rare earth tube is pretty much a dud..
Beltron test results at 6.3 volts, and this is after heating it up for a while.. Funny how the Beltron shows better emissions than the B&K and Sencore.. It's usually the opposite..

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/...oundietv_5.jpg

At 8.5 volts:

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/...oundietv_4.jpg


B&K Results:

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/...oundietv_6.jpg

at 8.5 volts.. Not much of a difference..

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/...oundietv_7.jpg

at 9 volts it tends to go way up into the good..


The tube has a purplish glow and the middle looks normal, I took the brightener off and it's not as bright of course, and when I adjust the drives for more brightness, the fuzz gets more blurry the brighter I go up.. I tried hooking a vcr signal to it, and it doesn't go through.. Tuner is fine as it reacts to changing the channels..I'm debating if I should leave it as is, try to zap it with the B&K or the Sencore on the lowest rejuv settings, or take it to the nearby dumpster at the storage facility.. I've had too many nightmares with putting alot of money into sets for dud tubes..

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/...oundietv_8.jpg





And now the Admiral

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/...bletoptv_1.jpg


Have no idea what the tube number is.. Testing using the 12LP4 settings.. Great cut off / emissions and life test..

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/...bletoptv_5.jpg
http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/...bletoptv_2.jpg
http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/...bletoptv_3.jpg
http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/...bletoptv_4.jpg

If you Zap the Sylvania use the B&K. It's pretty much fool proof and safer. The beltron is great as I have one but you must be very careful. Sencore is good too but has a harsh restore as it snaps the current through the cathode. B&K is a gradual clime of current. Use the Clean Balance setting. Should come back pretty fair.

How about a Beltron "clean" before any zapping?

There's one of the elusive "other brands". That alone should be reason enough to save it from the scrap heap. I'd take any TV on my wish list sans CRT. There are plenty of ugly and beaten donor sets out there.

Not in these parts.. And not likely anywhere else that I'm willing to take a chance with shipping.. I've have two different tubes in a row, from two different sellers arrive damaged.. One was a 12LP4 and the other was a color roundie.. I'm not going through that again.. If it can't show a picture and work as a TV, there's no use in it taking up space that I don't have..

I was leaning more toward the B&K to begin with.. But from what I've read on here, isn't it not good to rejuv tubes that have been on a brightener? Even just to clean and balance?

Also has anyone ever rejuvenated a tube that stayed good, and didn't gradually go back down over time?

I use a Beltron. I rejuved my Zenith roundie about two years ago. It still is clear and bright. I have that B&K also. I use it for Zenith System 3 CRT's. It is a rough restore and from my experience, a "kill or cure".
My Zenith tube was similar in looks when weak. Focus went first, and got dimmer and dimmer.

''the chassis, you can see it's pushed behind the board"

I must be missing something. What do you mean here? I don't get it.

http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/...oundietv_3.jpg

http://www.videokarma.org/attachment...2&d=1402529134
.

I took it to mean that the brightener was tucked behind the chassis so as to be somewhat hidden and hopefully not noticed by a potential buyer . As in , trying to hide the evidence of a weak picture tube .

If this IS the case , it's a wonder why the seller didn't just outright remove the brightener rather than tucking it partially out of sight ???

Go for broke. What do you have to lose if you zap it? The chance exists the tube was zapped before the brightener was added. Rejuvenation, in my many years of shop work, rarely paid off unless a brightener was added, and you happened to get lucky. Your guess is as good as mine as to its remaining useful life.

Phil

It looks like your Beltron test had the filament set too high. The filament voltage meter needle was above the 6.3 volt reference line. This explains the high emission shown on the Beltron.

If that's what he really meant, I saw the brightener right off in the earlier thread. I wouldn't call it hidden at all, that's the most likely resting place it would have been in when the set was in use. I certainly didn't think we as readers were obligated to point that out.

As you point out, it's really unlikely that the seller was trying to hide it.

You're not obligated to point it out.. You are correct.. But it would have been the right thing to do..

I'm a bit confused.. Some people say the Beltron is a bit hard with the rejuv, and some people say, it's not.. Same with the B&K..

I was thinking that you could pull a good CRT from a RCA as they're much more plentiful than Sylvanias.

Ya, if I had one.. I would.. But I think roundie CRTS in general are scarce, and not shippable items unless the seller is willing to box it like they would have originally been packed, or the other option to spend $200 and have a mover move it..