Early '50's GE 17T4 17" B&W TV

[earlyfilm]

Originally Posted by Jeffhs

. . . . . . However, I don't think all GE TVs in this style cabinet had the same problem. Was your set in hot environments at any time before you got it? That's the only thing I can think of, besides the glue simply giving up and turning into sticky, gooey mush after 60 years, that could have caused it to actually run down the sides of the cabinet.

Those yellow drip trails are left over from the hide glue being slapped on at the factory during the cabinet manufacture. If you want proof, notice how the droplets go under the inside stuck on label and not over if the run had happened late in the set's life.

Hide glue comes apart easily with a gentle whump with a mallet or with a little steam heat. That is why I usually use it in any furniture or cabinet repair that I do. To use it, you do have to heat it and it takes quite a while for your glue pot to melt before you can use it. (The other problem is most hardware stores no longer carry it.)

James.

[John Marinello]

What's with that cap crammed sideways under the CRT? I hope that's not factory... 'Bout as aesthetic as that glue job.

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by John Marinello

What's with that cap crammed sideways under the CRT? I hope that's not factory... 'Bout as aesthetic as that glue job.

I noticed at least one terminal on that capacitor alarmingly close to the bell of the CRT. I can't help thinking of the potential for HV arcing; this could also be a fire hazard if the set's line fuse (if it has one) doesn't blow when the arcing starts. Looks to me like a slap-dash repair job. GE's design engineers of the '50s wouldn't have laid out the chassis such that a capacitor (or any other component carrying B+) in any of their TVs would be that close to the picture tube; one would hope not, anyway.

[jr_tech]

Originally Posted by John Marinello

What's with that cap crammed sideways under the CRT? I hope that's not factory... 'Bout as aesthetic as that glue job.

It appears on a photofact (set141 folder6) for a similar 17" set as the standard factory location for C1. (jaunty angle and all)
C1 is the input cap for the selenium voltage doubler... power line (and fuse) connected to the negative terminal, 4.5 ohm resistor connected to the positive terminal feeding the two rectifiers. The other side of the line connects directly to the chassis, through the power switch,so be careful!
jr

Perhaps it is not as close to the CRT as it appears in the pix?