A true restoration mess waiting to blow!

[Ralph S]

I thought I'd post some pictures of an Emerson 639 I bought a while ago that claimed to be completely restored and in perfect running shape. While it does manage to squeeze out a picture which can barely be seen in a totally darkened room, the internal work on the restoration has to be the most appalling job I've ever seen.

For those of you unfamiliar with this model, it packs 21 tubes on a chassis about two-thirds the size of a Motorola VT-71. The wiring is really layered to accommodate the required circuitry which if it hadn't been screwed up by the "restorer" would probably be fairly presentable. As it is, most of his fixes are floating in space and cobbled together. Look carefully at the shot of the whole under-chassis. Practically all of the new stuff on the left side (black electrolytics, blue caps, disc caps, etc.) are hanging in air without any support - a real cobweb of parts just waiting to short out.

There's really no need to go on about this further, except to say that it brings a new low to the idea of "restoration." Can you top this?

Ralph S.