Restoring a Philco 49-1280

[cbenham]

That is a really beautiful set. I hope you can make it all work.
Nobody's mentioned this yet, but it is probably covered technically in the "1949 Philco Television Yearbook", if you can find one. They do appear on eBay from time to time.

[Eric H]

Since I know the model number I changed the title of this thread to reflect the next step, restoring this beast.

I have another project or two before I can really get into this one but I can at least clean things up a bit, lets start with the TV chassis.

I vacuumed out a huge mouse nest the first day I got it, it was built on top of the tuner and i.f. strip, the whole set is filthy throughout but it's mostly just sand and grime.

I had to remove the tuner and take it apart to get it clean, I washed it out with soapy water because it was packed with dirt and gunk in the area behind the tube sockets, nothing there but resistors and ceramic caps so it should be OK, the rest of the chassis was cleaned with a spray bottle, rags and steel wool, the rust spots were touched up with dabs of silver paint applied with a rubber glove.


Here's some before and after pics of the chassis.

[AUdubon5425]

Impressive clean-up!

[Eric H]

I think this is going to be an easy one, nice after the last couple dogs I've had.

I replaced just the filters and got a nice full raster! No video but I had forgotten to reconnect two wires to the tuner that I had disconnected when I removed the tuner to clean it.

Next I recapped the Horizontal sweep and oscillator and got a really nice picture!

At this point the i.f. and vertical sections haven't been touched and it's darn tempting to leave them alone with a picture like this.

This is a heck of a nice chassis, four video i.f. sections plus DC restoration, and I think a separate four i.f. sound section.
It's crowded but not at all difficult to work on.

It looks this good after years in a barn with Mice living in it and nesting on the chassis!

The picture is using a 5" test CRT, it has amazing clarity and contrast.

[Dan Starnes]

That is an impressive picture.
Dan

[Sandy G]

Wow....It's amazing to see what these old-timers are capable of when properly tweaked...

[Eric H]

Originally Posted by Sandy G

Wow....It's amazing to see what these old-timers are capable of when properly tweaked...

And this one ain't really tweaked yet! it's running on half it's old caps still, the vertical position is off mostly because that 5" tube is just hanging there cockeyed in the yoke.

Makes me anxious to finish it up and see what it'll really do.

[nasadowsk]

When did Philco drop the automagic fine tuning they had right after the war?

[Tubejunke]

Originally Posted by Eric H

It looks like the cap came off the CRT at one time, it's glued on with Epoxy and has solder on the pins, there's a slight possibility that one of the wires is just not connected but I have to figure out how to remove the cap to see, also it's the original Philco tube and the gun looks high mileage so odds are it's kaput anyway. I have a junk Hoffman with a good 12" tube I could probably use if all else fails.

Is this still an issue? If so, what is the tube #? I have a cross reference book if needed...

[Eric H]

Originally Posted by Tubejunke

Is this still an issue? If so, what is the tube #? I have a cross reference book if needed...

I took the cap off the tube and redid it, it's still dead though it will make a dim picture.

The person I got the set from gave me a good 12LP4 for it!

[bandersen]

I feel like it's Groundhog's Day all over again ! So here's my questions again.

I'm gearing up for restoring this chassis too and have a few questions:

How did you get those transformers so black and shiny again? Mine look all cruddy and rusty like your before picture.

Any tips or tricks for removing, cleaning and remounting that tuner?

Are you missing the metal cover for the RF amp next to the tuner? If you are, I can take some photos and measurements of mine for you. I think it would be fairly easy to fabricate a new one from sheet metal.

Thanks!
Bob

[Eric H]

Hi Bob,
I cleaned the whole chassis with soap and water, the transformers were wire bushed clean, I didn't paint them.

I unsoldered several wires to remove the tuner, the rubber mounting grommets were replaced with motor mount grommets for a record player.

The tuner was taken completely apart and cleaned in our water based parts washer at work, the R.F. strip was packed full of Mouse dirt on this set and that was the only way to clean it, fortunantely
everything is Ceramic in there and unharmed by water (or Mouse pee).

I am missing the cover for the tuner strip but it doesn't seem to make any difference. I'd appreciate some pictures in case I decide to try and make one!

I bought some new rubber corner mounts from Renovated Radios.

This chassis makes a very nice picture when done! There is a crummy video of it is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAOW5CO57O4

[bandersen]

Thanks Eric!

That is a great picture. I'll be amazed if my looks anywhere near that good!

I'll try pulling that tuner this weekend and see what I can do. There's a lot of play in it so I hope some new grommets take care of that.

My corner mounts are smashed flat as you can imagine so I'll get some new ones from R.R. too.

Here's a closeup of my tuner and that plate. That should give you some idea how filthy this set was. I'll take some better photos when I pull the tuner.

It looks like there's a section missing from the tuner. Do you think that's a problem?



More photos here.

Finally, here's a little video I made showing the cabinet and chassis.


I almost didn't pick up this set but the more I work on it the more I like it. It's a real solid design like the old RCAs with separate video and audio IF amplifiers.

Bob

[Eric H]

Bob, the missing part on the tuner is one of the channel strips, I think one is the oscillator the other the i.f. or r.f.
It's not going to matter much unless it's channel 3 or 4 but if you want it complete I'm sure we can find one somewhere.

I think the man I got my Philco from has one of those Philcos on legs, I'd love to have one but with no room left I'm outta luck.

[bandersen]

Originally Posted by Eric H

Bob, the missing part on the tuner is one of the channel strips, I think one is the oscillator the other the i.f. or r.f.
It's not going to matter much unless it's channel 3 or 4 but if you want it complete I'm sure we can find one somewhere.

I think the man I got my Philco from has one of those Philcos on legs, I'd love to have one but with no room left I'm outta luck.

Thanks for the info. I'm currently using channels 3 and 5 on my little home broadcasting network so I hope it's not one of those. Maybe once it's up and running I'll try to track that missing strip down.

I'm out of room too. This set and 3 others are out on the back porch.