17" Motorola B&W from '55 (not a good day)

[radiotvnut]

A friend spotted this TV at an estate sale for $75. Of course, it didn't sell on the first day and my friend ended up getting it the next day for $55 ($5 would have been too much). I foolishly agreed to take it, since I don't find many (no, make that zero) '50's tablemodel B&W's in my area.

Cosmetically, I think it will clean up OK. So, I made testing the CRT the first thing on my list. The CRT in the set is a Dumont replacement and it tested dead as a doornail. So, I did what I've done many times before and attempted to cook it at 8V. After about two minutes, just as the emission was starting to hit the upper end of the "bad" scale - POOF! The filament blew open. So, unless I can find a cheap good 17HP4, this set is dumpster material and I might as well have flushed $55 down the toilet.

Now, I'm going to have to have a long, stern talk with my friend and tell him not to pay over $5 or $10 for these old sets, unless I'm in a position to check the CRT before purchase.

Needless to say, I'm not in a very good mood right now.