Admiral 24C16 restoration

[holmesuser01]

I've just read the entire thread, and watched the videos. The Admiral is a real beauty, and I commend you for your tireless efforts. I love it!

Bruce

[bandersen]

Finally, on to rubbing out the finish. I think 11 months is long enough to let the lacquer cure



There was a lot of overspray on the sides so I had to start out with some 400 grit first. Then, some 600 grit wet sanding and steel wool.
I think in the future I'll make some effort to shield surfaces from overspray to save some time and effort.


Next, pumice stone. I used the opportunity to try out an idea I've had for a while.
I haven't found a local source of good felt pads and they can be a little pricy online, so I tried large felt furniture pads.


They actually work pretty well on large flat surfaces, but for angled our curved surfaces the thinner flexible pads are still the way to go.


After about two hours work, one side is done

[bandersen]

I fired this set up for the first time in months so I could compare it to another 20B1 chassis I'm currently working on.

Two problems became apparent immediately. One, the picture was barely visible. Plenty of brightness but very faint like viewing a very weak station.


Two, the horizontal linearity was shot.


I tracked the first issue down to a dirty socket for the 6AG5 RF tube in the tuner causing the filament to not light.


The second to a burned out 8500 ohm horizontal damping resistor.


That's an oddball value so I used a 10K in parallel with 56K.


That's better

[Phil Nelson]

Looks very nice!

You know my motto -- when it comes to tube pins & sockets, there's no such thing as too clean

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

[bandersen]

Thanks. From now on I'll follow that advice and clean all my sockets

This is my second set that sat idle for many months and had problems on start up. Perhaps I should rotate them more often.

[kvflyer]

Bob, I restored an Admiral 26R12 a few years ago. I really didn't have much time to use it and have since moved it to Florida. I decided to get it out and connect to the cable in my bedroom. Heck, why not? Our cable still has a lot of analog stations... starting with channel 2 .

I was greeted with no HV and a glowing 6BQ6GT Horizontal Output tube. I figured the oscillator was not running so I just put a brand new 6SN7GTB in it. Bingo! Working well. And, since in the home in Baltimore did not have analog cable, I only had channel 4 working. I was able to adjust the slugs in the tuner for each channel and it actually worked well.

After running for a couple of hours, I heard the set groan and looked at the back. There was a light show inside of the 5U4G. And a not too wonderful smell. (I have spare transformers etc.) So, one of the replacement electrolytic capacitor may have gone south. Don't have time right now to check. But as the Kingfish said, "Always Something!"

Glad that you got it sorted out. I actually look forward to finding and fixing the problem even if it entails opening up that filter capacitor can again.

[kvflyer]

BTW, I agree. We need to rotate our equipment. I have found the same "Problem" with my HH Scott amplifiers. More rotation necessary.

[bigaudioal]

Originally Posted by Phil Nelson

Looks very nice!

You know my motto -- when it comes to tube pins & sockets, there's no such thing as too clean

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

Phil, what is the best method and cleaning supplies that you have found for cleaning tube pins and tube pin sockets. I want to do my sets.

Thx.

[bandersen]

I spray DeOxit into the socket then insert/remove the tube a few times while wiping tube pins clean.
Here it is all back together. Hopefully, it will stay that way for a long while

[Raddion]

You guys are really amazing.

Jealous is an understatement!

[wkand]

Wow!!!

That has to be better in many respects than when it left the factory. Especially the shine on that cabinet!! Looks like you just pulled it out of the carton.

Admiring your Admiral.

[bigaudioal]

Originally Posted by bandersen

I spray DeOxit into the socket then insert/remove the tube a few times while wiping tube pins clean.
Here it is all back together. Hopefully, it will stay that way for a long while

Thanks Bob. Set looks incredible!! Love it!

[Phil Nelson]

Originally Posted by bigaudioal

Phil, what is the best method and cleaning supplies that you have found for cleaning tube pins and tube pin sockets.

DeOxit, in a word. More details in this article:

http://antiqueradio.org/FirstStepsInRestoration.htm

In addition to the tiny stainless brush mentioned there, CAIG makes nylon brushes:

http://store.caig.com/s.nl/sc.2/category.202/.f

Brushes aren't absolutely necessary, but sometimes you find a stubborn socket.

Some people get into religious discussions about why this or that cleaner is superior or inferior, etc. I think the precise flavor of cleaner is far less important than the activity itself. Even something as simple as isopropyl alcohol is vastly better than leaving the dirt & oxidation in place and hoping for the best.

Regards,

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

P.S. Playing your restored TVs and radios from time to time is a VERY good idea, and I need to do it more often, myself. Nothing is more disheartening than firing up a treasure to show to a visitor and having it misbehave. "Worked great the last time I played it." Yeah, right

[bigaudioal]

Thanks!!!!

[decojoe67]

Beautiful job! I don't recall seeing a better example of that classic set. Next to the 10" bakelite it's my favorite Admiral console. You just can't the way those Admirals play!