Muntz "madness" two 1952 models

[DavGoodlin]

Two sets I got from ETF via VK member Jimmy55Packa. Both are Chicago-built at 1837 w. Belmont, which the decent build quality confirms.

These two chassis are so easy to figure out simply recapping one and after watching this video, I knew it would be an adventure in electronic minimalism.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfWPO1stxmw
Shang066 coaxes a Muntz with NO HORIZONTAL OSCILLATOR to come to life with a minimum of intervention.

At least these two have a great commercial and print ad on line.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCy2Xj9qFAs

Both have a damper tube and horizontal oscillator tube!

Here is the 27 inch model 327T4, actually a 1956.

Muntz 27 inch.jpg

Muntz 27 tubes.jpg

Muntz 27 tag.jpg

Muntz 27 controls.jpg

[DavGoodlin]

This is the 21" Muntz I'm already working on, same as in the commercial
Muntz 2155.jpg
I was able to get a schematic in one of the first 1952 "ET Digest" trade magazines, where about a dozen factory schematics came folded up in the back every month until the demise of ET/Dealer in the 90s? I have most all of these up to 1977 saved and periodically, they really help clear up any discrepancies found elsewhere.

The schematic for this Muntz was very detailed and gave much information that many other manufacturer's did not supply. It is also in Sam's Photofact with all the part numbers as standard, vital information if looking for parts online not that there are many parts to begin with - LOFL.

Original problem maybe? Testing turned up an open vertical blocking transformer, which I just got a Merit replacement for. Most of the caps were of better quality than RCA and Philco used at the time, especially the electrolytics, which will be replaced anyway. As expected, any bumblebee and wax-paper caps failed as low as 50 volts when tested on my EICO 950. Seeing the Shang066 on YOUtube video with a working set on wax caps was "simply unbelievable" as what MoPar sold in the late 70s https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q...C079&FORM=VIRE


The other problem was a gassy 20CP4, which I found a 21ZP4B (and correct RCA mask) to replace it, thus eliminating a focus magnet assembly. The replacement is in the box on top.

[Tom9589]

I hope you meant to say that you have a 21YP4 instead of a 21ZP4. The 21YPA is an electrostatic focused tube while the 21ZP4 is a magnetic focused tube like your 20CP4.

[DavGoodlin]

Originally Posted by Tom9589

I hope you meant to say that you have a 21YP4 instead of a 21ZP4. The 21YPA is an electrostatic focused tube while the 21ZP4 is a magnetic focused tube like your 20CP4.

Actually it is a 21ZP4A, thanks for pointing that out. an original 1953 RCA with the hex number stamped on glass where the ion trap goes.

[Jeffhs]

Dave, I hope you do get that Muntz TV working well. It has been years since I've seen one (until I saw the pictures of the '52 Muntz sets in your post). The last Muntz TV I remember seeing in person belonged to my next-door neighbors in my old neighborhood, in the 1960s; it was a b&w console, 21" (IIRC), and may well have been early 1950s. That set must have served them well for years, as I remember seeing it at their house for quite a while, until they finally got a color set years later.

I don't think they ever put a UHF converter on the Muntz TV when Cleveland's first UHF TV station, NET (now PBS) channel 25, went on the air; it may have been just as well if they didn't, since that station did not reach our area very well when it first went on the air in 1965. Just as well, I guess, since the programming on channel 25, at least in the beginning, was meant for the schools in the Cleveland area (the local elementary school in my home town put up a large antenna to get channel 25 and also the Cleveland network stations, although, of course, the TVs in the school were kept on channel 25 most of the time; the station signed on early in the morning (IIRC, around 8 a.m.) and called it quits for the night around midnight or so). The reception of channel 25 in my area was not good (unless a large antenna was installed), but then again, as I said, the station's programming in its early years was meant for the schools in the Cleveland area and not for mainstream viewing.

[DavGoodlin]

Originally Posted by Jeffhs

...
I don't think they ever put a UHF converter on the Muntz TV when Cleveland's first UHF TV station, NET (now PBS) channel 25, went on the air; it may have been just as well if they didn't, since that station did not reach our area very well when it first went on the air in 1965. Just as well, I guess, since the programming on channel 25, at least in the beginning, was meant for the schools in the Cleveland area (the local elementary school in my home town put up a large antenna to get channel 25 and also the Cleveland network stations, although, of course, the TVs in the school were kept on channel 25 most of the time; the station signed on early in the morning (IIRC, around 8 a.m.) and called it quits for the night around midnight or so). The reception of channel 25 in my area was not good (unless a large antenna was installed), but then again, as I said, the station's programming in its early years was meant for the schools in the Cleveland area and not for mainstream viewing.

Philadelphia and Pittsburgh had "educational tv" on VHF channels like most large cities. Pennsylvania State University operated WPSU-3 since 1965, the only TV station for a great interior area of PA. The Philadelphia's WHYY (originally channel 35 from 1957-63) was on what used to be VHF 12 in Wilmington (DuMont network like WFIL-6), part of the tri-state metro area. There was several years battle for channel 12 spot after WVUE shut down. Several commercial broadcasters wanted the only TV station in town, but FCC was petitioned to ensure the station was used for educational TV. Delaware's only other TV channel, in Seaford, is also PBS.

Several states like WV, MD and NJ organized a network of (mostly UHF) channels statewide dedicated to educational broadcasting.

Most schools designed in 1963 and later I recall as having a VHF antenna on the roof for WHYY included on plans and specs. Often, there would also be a professional grade UHF antenna for channel 33 in Hershey, 39 from Bethlehem, 44 in Scranton or 67 from Baltimore, other "area" educational channels that were not so easy to get as VHF 12.

[DavGoodlin]

The 27 inch model has a 27EP4, which tested a bit tired on both my CRT checkers. Once I get this one recapped (plenty of room to work in a Chicago Muntz) I can see how tired it looks before a Beltron-style cathode cleaning.

If anyone wants a 27ZP4 (110 degree) from a Magnavox, its not needed for this set. I was dreading having to match a different yoke to this chassis

The 21-inch came to me with a gassy 20CP4 that had a label stating it had been rebuilt in Western PA, known for it glass industries among many other things.