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Howdy all,
Thanks for all the kudos on the DuMont! I appreciate it. Working on this set has certainly given me the confidence to do another, though it's more likely to be a tabletop model, unless something else falls into my lap out here in New Mexico.
Thanks for the tip on the ion trap. That is one of the first things I learned about to get the brightness up. The one on my set is just a magnet on a collar with a spring around it, no tightening mechanism, so it's also easy to accidentally knock it out of adjustment with just a touch...which I've done a couple times and then panicked as I wondered for a second why the picture got so dim suddenly.
I've taken a break from the DuMont to work on a few other projects. Doing some remodeling in the house and have to get the engine back in my Jeep Wrangler. It's been a "short block" sitting in the cargo area of our van for a month and a half now, and I've got an off-pavement trip coming up first week of April. AND, we've got nice weather right now...daytime temps in the 60's! Can't beat that for February, particularly considering the hammering the rest of the country is getting from the weather. I have to take advantage of it.
Back to the DuMont for a minute: I do have some NOS 1x2 rectifier tubes for the HV power supply in my mailbox, gonna pick them up this morn and see if it makes any difference when they are installed.
The only major issue I seem to be having with the DuMont right now is that I seem to have the picture well aligned, and in fact pretty good, but slightly off from the best sound alignment. The sound volume doesn't get very high at it's best when I adjust the sound IF cans, and there's plenty of "hum". I've gotten louder and clearer sound when the picture wasn't as good...makes me wonder if I don't have every single video IF can off by the same amount, so I get good picture, but they are too far from the range of the sound IF cans. There does seem to be some correlation, however slight, between picture and sound on this DuMont, even thought they are technically "split".
It will be something to tinker with in the next couple evenings as I finish up some other projects.
I'll certainly keep everyone updated, and thanks again for all the help and encouragement while I've been working on this DuMont! I'm very happy to have it back in the house for the first time in a decade, and operational for the first time in half a century!
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