Old Muntz TV for sale Locally to me, Should I pick it up?

[Electronic M]

If you have a pair of the same model appliance you don't mind scaping that draws 100W or more you can make your own isolation transformer out of a pair of step-down or step-up transformers.

Let's assume a 120V primary and that there is only one secondary (or only one secondary that uses a significant amount of power which will be the only secondary used). To make a bench isolation transformer out of 2 identical power transformers wire a power cord onto the primary of the first transformer, and a power outlet onto the primary of the other transformer, and lastly, connect the secondary of the first transformer to the secondary of the second transformer.

Do you shop thrift stores often? If so keep an eye out for those Uninterruptable Power Supplies used with computers. They look like shoebox-sized power strips. If you can find 2 of the same model they would be perfect. The secondaries are low voltage and beefy (use the secondary with thick wire). Those should be able to isolate a radio and most TVs easily.

I usually look for purpose-built isolation transformers at antique radio/ham swap meets rather than make them.

Here is another dirty trick based on the same principle. If you ever encounter a radio where the AC primary of the transformer has opened and you know the heater winding is 6.3V you can take a similar sized transformer with a 6.3V heater winding and connect it to the heater winding of the damaged transformer to power the set.

[Kevin Kuehn]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

Here is another dirty trick based on the same principle. If you ever encounter a radio where the AC primary of the transformer has opened and you know the heater winding is 6.3V you can take a similar sized transformer with a 6.3V heater winding and connect it to the heater winding of the damaged transformer to power the set.

I'm not sure if all radio transformers would have that 6.3v filament winding of heavy enough gauge to support the total VA of the radio passing though it.