1954 Admiral C2226 project

[Ncotham]

Originally Posted by Kevin Kuehn

Models CA2236 and CA2246 are both covered in Sams 266-1. CA2236 uses chassis 19L2, while CA2246 uses 19WB1. CRT's listed are 21WP4, 21ZP4A,B and 17BP4. Doesn't say which CRT goes in which chassis. [edit] Looking at the Sams, it looks like these sets only use 3 controls behind the center pencil box door.

Hey Kevin,
The guy that had the C2246 called this morning, and he confirmed that there were only 3 controls in the pencil box, so your assessment was spot on - thanks for saving me some major heartache. Prior to reading your post, I had assumed that all the 1954 models had 4 controls. I'm learning that one cannot "assume" anything in these endeavors...
Cheers,
Neil

[Ncotham]

Thanks to Kevin K who tipped me off to this jewel, I now have a complete, one owner Admiral model C2226Z. Had to drive to Rochester Minnesota and back this last weekend to pick it up, and the last 200 miles to get there was through blowing snow that started in Des Moines, Iowa and didn't let up until we had nearly arrived. The set belonged to a retired couple who said they bought the TV new. It was working up until a few years ago, at which time a friend of theirs who used to be in the TV repair business fixed it for them. It worked a little while longer before going dark again, but by then their friend had passed on sadly. So, they put it on Craig's list where Kevin saw it and kindly notified me. Good thing he did, because I had very nearly written this project off!

The set has sound but no picture, and no static can be felt from the front of the CRT. Initial inspection without removing the chassis with the set turned on revealed that all the tubes that I can see that are not in cans are lit, and the CRT glows at the rear.

You can see some plastic residue laying on the chassis below the CRT in the pictures, and it looks like it came off a cover from around a copper coil(?) toward the back of the tube that has deteriorated. Forgive me as I'm not versed in the vernacular of all the various parts yet.

Kevin mentioned that all the set may need is to be recapped. I could see a couple of the old paper caps and they don't appear to have been replaced as part of the previous repair.

Would y'all agree that recapping the set should be the first step, or does that plastic residue indicate another problem?

Thanks!!

[Ncotham]

Thanks to Kevin K who tipped me off to this jewel, I now have a complete, one owner Admiral model C2226Z. Had to drive to Rochester Minnesota and back this last weekend to pick it up, and the last 200 miles to get there was through blowing snow that started in Des Moines, Iowa and didn't let until we had nearly arrived. The set belonged to a retired couple who said they bought the TV new. It was working up until a few years ago, at which time a friend of theirs who used to be in the TV repair business fixed it for them. It worked a little while longer before going dark again, but by then their friend had passed on sadly. So, they put it on Craig's list where Kevin saw it and kindly notified me. Good thing he did, because I had very nearly written this project off!

The set has sound but no picture, and no static can be felt from the front of the CRT. Initial inspection without removing the chassis with the set turned on revealed that all the tubes that I can see that are not in cans are lit, and the CRT glows at the rear.

You can see some plastic residue laying on the chassis below the CRT in the pictures, and it looks like it came off a cover from around a copper coil(?) toward the back of the tube that has deteriorated. Forgive me as I'm not versed in the vernacular of all the various parts yet.

Kevin mentioned that all the set may need is to be recapped. I could see a couple of the old paper caps and they don't appear to have been replaced as part of the previous repair.

Would y'all agree that recapping the set should be the first step, or does that plastic residue indicate another problem?

Thanks!!

[Phil Nelson]

Before replacing caps, I usually do some preliminary inspection, cleanup, and tube testing/cleaning:

http://www.antiqueradio.org/FirstStepsInRestoration.htm

The following page lists articles about restoring various old B/W sets. None of them is exactly like yours, but if you skim a couple of the B/W articles, that should give you an idea what's usually involved in getting an old TV to work reliably:

http://www.antiqueradio.org/restoration.htm

Some plastic flaking off a coil doesn't seem like a big problem. If you have never restored a tube radio or TV before, consider practicing on a simple tube radio before tackling a TV.

Phil Nelson
Phil's Old Radios
http://antiqueradio.org/index.html

[Ncotham]

Funny you mention starting with an antique radio, Phil. The same couple also gave me an old RCA 9-X-571 radio that's not working.

Sorry about the earlier duplicate post, everyone - not sure how that happened. I hit the back button a couple times after the first post and somehow ended up with a duplicate.

[Phil Nelson]

The 9-X-571 is a much more appropriate beginner's project. This article has advice about recapping:

http://antiqueradio.org/recap.htm

Phil Nelson

[Kevin Kuehn]

Hey Neil, glad to hear you got yourselves and the set back home safe and sound. Sure was not the nicest weakend for TV retrieval.

Hard to tell from the photo where that black plastic came from.

Take your time and try to resist jumping into the TV restoration too fast. Good idea to tackle the radio first. Do you have any experience working on any type of electronics? Hopefully you have a digital or analog multi-meter for taking voltage and resistance measurements?

[Ncotham]

Hi Kevin - back in the day when I was working for General Dynamics, I wired up prototype field replaceable units for the F-16. Something the old-timers there taught me was that all electronic devices run on smoke, and that if you let the smoke out, the device will cease to operate... LOL! Since then I've soldered up this and that over the years. One of the other companies I worked for was having a trivia contest one year and the grand prize was a trip somewhere, can't remember where to. Anyway we needed a device with a button for each of two contestants so whoever hit their button first when they thought they had the answer would lock out the other contestant and trigger a light on either side indicating who was first. Then you could hit a button to reset the system and clear the lights, ready for the next question. Wired that all up from scratch and it worked well - I think I may still have that thing down in the basement somewhere. I'd be hard pressed to tell you how I did it now, that was a long time ago. So the short answer is yes, I've been around electricky stuff over the years, and I do own a multimeter.

I've had better trips for sure. As I mentioned, driving the last 200 miles from Des Moines to Rochester Saturday night we had blowing snow and I could see barely see the lines on the road and only maybe three or four cars ahead at times. Being from Arkansas, I figured I'd do as the Romans do and go with the flow, but folks were still driving 60 - 70 mph. All I could think of was this is how pile ups happen, but what do I know. Folks up there are seasoned veterans when it comes to driving in the snow, I reckon:-) We spent the night, picked up the TV Sunday morning, and then it was smooth sailing heading back in the daylight, thank goodness!

[dieseljeep]

That was probably the TOTL 21" model that year.
I see it uses the 6V6GT audio output tube. That model doesn't use the audio output as a voltage devider.
I also see that the CRT was replaced with a Sylvania. A better chance of it being good. The plastic crumbs are probably from the yoke.

[Kevin Kuehn]

Originally Posted by dieseljeep

That was probably the TOTL 21" model that year.
I see it uses the 6V6GT audio output tube. That model doesn't use the audio output as a voltage devider.
I also see that the CRT was replaced with a Sylvania. A better chance of it being good. The plastic crumbs are probably from the yoke.

It looks like this set also uses dc coupling from the video detector all the way to the CRT cathode. A practice most manufactures had abandoned by the mid 50's.

[Kevin Kuehn]

Originally Posted by Ncotham

So the short answer is yes, I've been around electricky stuff over the years, and I do own a multimeter.

I think you'll be fine. Read up on the articles Phil posted links too and you'll get a good feel for the skills required to pull this off. An awful lot will depend on your patients and determination to get the set back to operational. Definitely start with the radio, then depending on how that goes maybe pickup a couple more radio's. If for no other reason than to brush up on your soldering skills and to also familiarize yourself with the tedious and delicate process of component replacement. You really need to pace yourself, otherwise things can get pretty frustrating if you push through the project too fast.

Anyhow, there's plenty of very talented folks hanging around this site that are very willing to help you with any questions.

[Ncotham]

Thanks to Kevin, Phil and Dieseljeep. I've got the radio all pulled apart and cleaned, for the most part. Had to replace the crumbling power cord, of course - what a pain in the rear THAT was. I've got a listing of the caps it needs, so I'll be working on that for a while I imagine.

Also working on putting a dim bulb tester together per your suggestion, Phil, as I have no idea what that radio is going to do once it's plugged up.

I'm excited about finally getting some hands on experience!

One question - is any of that gooie, sticky mess inside these old units toxic or anything like that? Any precautions needed in that area?

Thanks!

[radiotron]

Originally Posted by Eric H

Take a look here, seller says it's a 58 model but eBay sellers are wrong now and then.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Admiral-Tele...item3f19060849

i used to have an admiral super cascade like that!

[Phil Nelson]

Originally Posted by Ncotham

One question - is any of that gooie, sticky mess inside these old units toxic or anything like that? Any precautions needed in that area?

Most of the gunk is a combination of stuff floating around the air in a house -- dust, condensed clouds of cooking grease, tobacco tar, etc.

Sometimes you'll find that an old capacitor or transformer has leaked melted wax or oily stuff and dripped underneath. Generally nothing to worry about.

If the chassis metal is covered with a powdery yellow-green layer, that may be cadmium oxide. Cadmium is a heavy metal that you don't want to eat or breathe in as dust. It cleans off pretty easily, but I would wear rubber gloves and avoid licking your hands while cleaning. Don't use a Dremel tool or abrasive material that will turn it to dust and spread it around. Throw used paper towels in the garbage.

I doubt you'll find anything more ominous in that particular model. Isopropyl alcohol cleans up typical household grime without leaving a residue. Naval Jelly is good for surface rust. Avoid steel wool; you don't want thousands of tiny metal hairs all over your radio or TV.

Phil Nelson

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by radiotron

i used to have an admiral super cascade like that!

The Munsters had one on one of the earlier episodes.