You can just about guarantee that all electrolytic and paper caps in a forty or fifty year old set will be bad. If they haven't failed yet, they will soon.
It's hard to resist the temptation to power up a set immediately, but it's more prudent to replace the filter electrolytics first. Powering up on a variac offers no real protection against burning up an expensive power transformer. Yes, I have done that, and it cured me of the temptation forever.
Some old electrolytics may "reform" after a fashion, but they are not reliable to use for the long haul, in my experience.
It's also a good idea to carefully clean the HV section, as nasadowsk suggested. HV can do funny things, especially in a set where HV components are coated with carbonized cooking grease & tobacco residue. I would do this even if you are not currently experiencing Bad Things from that section.
I have a CTC-11 on the workbench and a copy of the Sams. If you send me an email by going to
http://antiqueradio.org/contact.htm , we can figure out how to get you a copy.
Phil Nelson
Phil's Old Radios
http://antiqueradio.org/index.html
11-28-2007, 02:10 PM
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