11L43 "motel" Predicta: advice needed

[bandersen]

It's impossible to say. We don't know what was done to it or what components were used. I wouldn't advise leaving it unattended while it was running.

[Thyratron]

It's doing great so far. (I'm always mindful when operating any of my vintage equipment, even the fully restored items). It's been well maintained, to be sure, although I will bring it in for a tune-up and a general check over in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, there are a few things I'd like to take care of. First, is the dial lamp accessible from the front of the unit, maybe behind the concentric tuner knobs? It looks like the tuner blocks access from the back, without removing the chassis, so I just wanted to see if there was an easy way to get at it. And what type of lamp does it take?

Secondly, I'm thinking I'd like to remove the CRT cover to polish it properly, as it has some surface scratches. Is this advisable? I've read the steps on how to do it, but I can just envision that gold-colored outer band breaking when trying to reinstall it. Would I be better off just polishing it in place? (Wet sanding isn't necessary; I think Novus or the like will take care of it).

And finally, what are your thoughts on using a fan over the chassis when operating the set? I use one on the power tubes of my audio receiver (simply for longer tube life) and it seems to reduce the heat buildup greatly--but that's an open backed cabinet. I'm thinking that putting one behind the TV set will just circulate the heat back over the chassis, which might not be desirable. It actually seems to run in a fairly cool manner (for a set of the era), but I'd just like to prolong the circuit board and tube life as much as reasonably possible. I wonder if a small fan mounted on the masonite back (pulling outward rather than blowing inward) might be the way to go. Any thoughts on this?