road side Sylvania Hybrid set - Videokarma.org TV - Video

Electronic M · #1 04-28-2013, 04:23 AM

Well yesterday afternoon something happened that I would never have expected. I found a set, that I would actually consider adding to my collection, on the road side! All winter a few BPC sets and a moldering couch have sat on the roadside near a place where three driveways converge at the side of the main road a couple of blocks from my home. I've considered taking everything but the CRTs and cabinets from these sets for spare parts but didn't feel the need. Then yesterday while out for lunch I spotted some new additions a couple of consoles that looked to be late 70's-80's solid state models. These piqued my interest as the possible chance to get a new delta gun CRT to replace the dying one in my '67 Admiral remote console for free proved irresistible. I figured they were probably inline(and was right) but biked over later to check it out. After observing the carnage of the several BPC sets that had already been plundered in the way I was contemplating and the beat up SS Sylvania inline consoles I noticed a metal cabinet Sylvania table set laying on it's back that I almost instantly knew was a delta gun set.

From it's cosmetics I figured it was might be a SS set, and I further figured the CRT was toast seeing as it was on it's back and there was an ugly chip/crack on it's face...either of which could have broken the vacuum.

Well I was curious so I put it on it's feet and looked at the warped scrunched in back and figured it was necked for sure, But to my surprise after peeling the back off I discovered the CRT neck was intact and whats more it had tubes!....Five of them.

Upon seeing this I called in for backup and when my Dad arrived I loaded it into the C-RV and raced on my bike back home to unload it and give it a more detailed examination/damage report. The wood grain vinyl is toast, the UHF dial string is snapped, some knobs are stiff,the back severely warped, the speaker grill damaged, the set was full of leaves/mouse nest , the degauss coil and HOT plate lead were unplugged(prompting me to hazard a guess that this set was dead before it's days outside). I also observed that this set is a five tube hybrid with a trippler for HV and focus which I've never seen on a set with a tube horizontal section before.

The chassis was a cinch to pull just two screws holding it, two more holding the hardwired pencil box control board, and a bunch of things to unplug. Service techs must have loved this back in the day. I then checked the CRT which read bad on all guns. Unbothered by this I cranked the heater up to 8 volts and let the CRT cook for a few minutes as I tried to get some of the yard waste off the PCBs. In that time it went from the middle of bad to the middle of good on all guns so it seems the CRT lives.

The chassis looks like it can be saved. There about 6 cracked to hell ceramic caps, half as many similarly ruined orange drops, a couple of scary power resistors, and some questionable ceramic peaking coils, but it still looks like I may be able restore it. If I can make it work I'll be left with the choice of whether to get new wood grain vinyl, sand and paint, or leave it as is to shock visitors that such an obviously ruined looking thing actually works.

If anyone knows what model this is it would be appreciated as I doubt a readable ID number can be found. I've never in all my 21+ years in this world found a vintage tube set at the curb that genuinly might be restorable before or came upon a Sylvania in the wild before so it must have been a real cold day in hell yesterday.

I'm curious how these sets compared to others at the time(I have several 70's Zeniths as a yard stick for that brand) performance wise. I wonder how did the picture detail and color compare to other makes, and what service issues were common?

sampson159 · #2 04-28-2013, 08:55 AM

this is either a d12 or d16.very good sets.crts were amazing.sylvania developed a reputation for outstanding picture and easy repairs starting with this set.later,a slide control model was built and that was the best set sylvania ever manufactured.you should see the 25v crts of that era.good find,rough but i hope you can save it.not many out there

dieseljeep · #3 04-28-2013, 11:01 AM

I don't remember working on that model. I worked on simular models, but they were transformerless 19" models. That set is a little beyond hope.
I have a Panasonic that has a chipped CRT screen like that. It still has a great picture.
I think some kid, heaved a rock at it, when it was laying behind a thrift shop.

old_coot88 · #4 04-28-2013, 02:49 PM

There was a chronic problem with hybrid Sylvania chassis that looked very much like this one.
The collector load resistors for the two demod transistors were 2 watt carbon composition. IIRC, they were 27K (possibly 22K). They ran very hot, and over time their phenolic casing would char and carbonize, creating a low resistance shunt that dropped the ohms value drastically. This applied higher and higher voltage to the transistor (supply was something like 150V) until one of the transistors shorted out from overcurrent.

The sets would come in with a complaint of "bad color" from one of the demods being dead. The other demod was still working but severely overheating.
We would replace both transistors, and replace each collector load resistor with two 2-watters in series, giving each string a 4 watt rating. The values chosen were something like 12K and 15K.

wa2ise · #5 04-28-2013, 04:43 PM

Looks like that set sat out in the weather for a long time, and might not be fixable...

You might be able to use one of those car windshield chip repair kits to fix the chip on the CRT face.

Electronic M · #6 04-28-2013, 06:51 PM

Well it seems to be a D16 chassis(it is painted in big letters on the HV side) there was a somewhat readable model sticker on the chassis that read CF701W-20 (everything after the w I'm not sure about). I hosed the chassis off, let it sit in the sun and it looks a lot better. If the transformers are still good, potentiometers are good/obtainable(I do have a spare convergence board of another brand to pirate from some of those from), the transistors are good, and something can be done about the tuner then I think it might be restorable....If not is is a good source of parts. I may pursue the windshield repair kit idea for the CRT.
Here are some pictures of the chassis as it dried.

sampson159 · #7 04-28-2013, 07:05 PM

big tuner d16!really good sets and oldcoot is right on the money with his post.i remember those days too.fixed too many demod issues on these.also power switch had 2 sections.on contact would break off and the set would go up in smoke

***Eric H*** · #8 04-28-2013, 07:15 PM

Does that CRT have a bonded faceplate? If so it might be possible to remove it and replace it with a good one.

dieseljeep · #9 04-29-2013, 08:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eric H

Does that CRT have a bonded faceplate? If so it might be possible to remove it and replace it with a good one.

Sylvania used tension band CRT's earlier than some of the others.
That's the CRT, that has the chip.

Electronic M · #10 04-28-2013, 07:19 PM

Nope! Bare screen as far as I can tell....Unless it has the most transparent safety glass and PVA ever.

Sampson: Would you recommend taking the power switch out of circuit or anything else to prevent the set from burning up from that switch?

*zenithfan1* · #11 04-28-2013, 08:32 PM

Well, it looks a lot better than before. If you can get it working without putting too much money in it, strip off the vinyl, sand it smooth and paint that cabinet gloss black. I think it would really look nice, it worked for the metal roundies

sampson159 · #12 04-29-2013, 07:21 AM

i wouldnt recommend taking the switch out.its a double part switch.just be careful.you ll know when the switch mal functions.you will get a picture with no color,pulled in from the sides and top,and weak audio.shut off immediately.only happens when you power up.

Electronic M · #13 04-29-2013, 09:29 AM

Well the hot cap was off for two good reasons. First off the original(?) blue label Sylvania 6JS6C HOT tested in the bad range on my tester. And second the top cap don't want to grip the 6JS6A(the big difference I see between A and C is the big heat radiator plates on the anode of the C) I dug out of my tube stash. The 6LU8 vertical output is too weak as well, and short of grunting my '67 Admiral and the Silvertone roundy on top of it away from the wall I don't have a spare(just a few 21 prefix series string types and a 6 that is worse than the original). If a local TV repair shop which actually still has tubes don't have a spare I guess I'll have to keep an eye out at the swap meets.

I may take some time to pick away at this set in the next few weeks, but between college and an experimental tube amp design I'm working on there may not be much time to steal for it.

wa2ise · #14 04-29-2013, 08:49 PM

At least your CRT is in better shape than the one in a set Elvis had...

dieseljeep · #15 04-29-2013, 09:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wa2ise

At least your CRT is in better shape than the one in a set Elvis had...

Where was that picture taken?
It had been said that Elvis shot at the TV, when Robert Goulet was on.
Elvis must've been really high that time. He was never any kind of a threat to him or his fame.