1970 Admiral Black and White Portable TV Repair

confusing self repairing vintage tv with dust

[@shango066]

here is the correct updated ESRC tube order link, tubes.win-dns.com/tubes/esrc/

[@MoparStephen]

Here here here - kills me every time! Heeeere weeee haaaave :)

[@byrnejr]

Thank you

[@burntoutelectronics]

Sad to hear of his passing

[@sabbath7081]

It really sucks that the poor guy passed I've been just getting into two televisions in the past year or so and this would have been a great place to get tubes from.

[@connorm955]

R.I.P him and the website

[@JerryEricsson]

Back in 1069 I wed the love of my life and together we moved to Minnesota, back then you could get work out there. Well we got settled in, I was pumping fuel at a truck stop, my good wife was pouring coffee at the attached café. We needed a roof over our heads and found a brand spanking new Liberty Mobile Home nice well we thought it was. The home was set in a trailer park for us by the dealer and it was hooked up to cable TV. Now not like you have now but just a large set of antenna's on the hill above our park, which was set on the shores of the Cannon river. So it was, we needed that adapter to hook to the 20 buck TV I found for our entertainment desire at a thrift store in Down Town Cannon Falls Mn. Worked OK for our purposes. It was a cool start to our lives and the honeymoon continued for the next 51 years and 4 days.

[@wecontrolthevideo]

Shango, the Macgiver of TV repair. “Let’s see, the HV rectifier tube is bad, how about we use chewing gum and a paper clip. This is high voltage so better make it two paper clips.”

[@kareno8634]

TRUE! lol I was thinking more like 'HOUSE'. = ]

[@5roundsrapid263]

Karen O House is a good analogy! They’re both witty and deadpan, and almost always find the problem.

[@2300cbrown]

lol

[@scottydogheaven8606]

Kids nowadays do not realize the sheer joy we had as kids in the 70s watching late night tv on these old sets. I watched all sorts of classic horror and sci-fi stuff on these which still scare the shit out ioff me. We actually appreciated what we had, and the fact we could watch Saturday morning cartoons in bed will never be surpassed by any (at your fingertipx) Internet provider :)

[@joeblow8593]

"Heeere We Have" Another great video from Shango.

[@craignehring]

My understanding was a diode was placed across the power switch that would allow enough current to heat the tubes to provide that much ballyhooed "instant on" feature. Thanks for another informative and entertaining video sir.

[@dougvanallen2212]

Man that brings back memories the old black and white television great stuff

[@vanadiumV]

wow ! 54 years old and still kicking ! you are lucky if your digital LCD turns 3 or 4 years without any issue !

[@garp32]

"Bondage and Discipline set"..#dying.. lol. On a side note, I've had a ton of compactions I'll probably never use, and over the weekend I picked up 4 full tube caddies and a huge box of tubes reasonably. I'd be happy to donate some to your cause. I feel indebted for the ton of knowledge I've picked up from your channel the past 2 years. Thanks Shango!

[@shango066]

Yea if you are going to dump them....

[@dstoll7958]

I worked in a old TV repair shop in Santa Clara Ca. from 1983 to 1989. If I took a set like this one in for repair the owner would get mad. 20.00 estimate charge, 42.50 an hour. It didn't make sense for us to charge folks to repair these, well anything that had Tubes. The shop also sold new Zenith, RCA and Quasar TV's and VCRs. We put allot of Flybacks in the RCAs back then. Mechanics wire wrapped clean and tight around that tunner knob works well, it is savable.

[@jrs0007]

Wow! $20 to estimate and $42.50/hr? If I could have charged those rates here in the midwest back then, I would have been rich. Of course, had I tried to charge those rates, I would have been out of business in a month...

[@ticn]

That instant needle teleportation gave me a laugh

[@mubd1234]

“oh” - shango066, 2019

[@ticn]

@@mubd1234 "hahahahahahaha" - ogtion, 2019

[@uxwbill]

I am amazed that any of those "instant on" sets have lived to see the present day with any of the tubes still having emission. For whatever it's worth, I watched the Cubs win the world series on a 1987 Samsung 12" B&W set. Color doesn't really make the program any better...

[@Xplasma1]

Kind of amazing that you can sub in one diode for a weird 3 pin rectifier tube.

[@geraldcampbell6834]

Seeing that broken off antenna brings back memories of metal coat hanger antennas! It’s funny how nothing has really changed and how people today think you need a bunch of special equipment and antennas to get over the air free TV! Yes if you have an old tube type tv or even some of the early flatscreen you need a converter box but to receive over the air free tv you just need a basic antenna yes a metal coat hanger still works as an antenna, I’ve even used a large paper clip straightened out and bent into an L shape stuck into the cable connector on the back of my lcd tv here in Denver and I can get several free over the air tv stations I have even been told by some people that this is illegal to do because I’m steeling cable tv, “LOL”!!! You don’t need any special equipment, a free tv key for $19.99, a high tech special digital antenna!

[@alerighi]

In my country they switched all the analog TV transmissions to digital, and without a good antenna installed on your roof you basically can't get nothing. In the old analog days you could receive some local TVs without an antenna, by even simply having a piece of wire in the antenna socket, but for receiving national TVs you still needed an antenna (well, maybe without it you received something but it was a very noisy signal)

[@martinda7446]

Real magic in these things. Poignant history with this one. Wonderful you are tuned(!) in.

[@darikdatta]

In 50 years someone is going to watch this video and wish they could get that box of tubes for $2000.

[@OlegKostoglatov]

If that's all that $2000 buys in 50 years I think that there will be a much larger issue then finding replacement compactron tubes for an early 70s TV.

[@danilorainone406]

tv came from a gas station waiting area,across from a rusty naugahyde red former transit bus chromed armrests couch,

[@shango066]

Yes

[@danilorainone406]

@@shango066 i get a gold star today ahrahrahr

[@rdsledge]

I don’t know anything about electronics repair, but I do love your running commentary. Keep up the good work and thank you.

[@ArlenMoulton2]

Power factor should be close to 1 on a resistive load, so there's nothing wrong with the TV. Great video as always!

[@paddyotable]

I can remember the tv repairman coming to our house with his box of vacuum tubes.

[@fredfabris7187]

I like watching that tube red plate, maybe it’s a reflection of the red work bench

[@williamsquires3070]

Everyone loves a shiny picture bulb with no dead spiders in it. 😂

[@daronfaught6158]

Admiral Overseas Corporation (AOC) , which likely manufactured this set, is still in business today cranking out computer monitors and LCD TVs.

[@dougbrowning82]

AOC started out as the Asian subsidiary of Admiral Corp, which was itself sold to Rockwell International in 1973. The Appliance division was later sold to Magic Chef, now a part of Whirlpool Corporation, and the brand is exclusive to Home Depot. AOC monitors are primarily targeted to the gaming market.

[@josephtaverna1287]

Hey Shango good afternoon glad to see you posted another new video my friend love your Channel love your videos you have a good day until your next session take care buddy

[@mikedearinger9390]

HAD A NEW 1968 ADMIRAL 9 INCH B&W TUBE TV THAT I WATCHED INTO THE MID 1980S.

[@rustymotor]

Respect to the TV technicians, repair work certainly requires a good working knowledge of electronics and troubleshooting skills. Customers do not understand the complexity’s of electronic appliances, wonder how many times technicians hear the comments “its just a fuse, wont take long to fix that”. Anyway the old school technical repairs sadly is dying out due to cheaper electronic goods.

[@equid0x]

Its impossible to get schematics for most newer stuff or they're so highly integrated with chips you cannot get anywhere. I did this stuff in the 90s and loved it wish I could go back to those times.

[@hestheMaster]

TV fixed got new NOS tubes. Thanks Shango for the repair.

[@n2n8sda]

could be diesel soot, had some stuff out the attic of an old warehouse once and it was covered in the stuff. enjoyed the video!

[@jlinkels]

Very nice. I remember those 1970-ies set all too well. It is incredible how bad these sets were thrown together with the goal to save money. But on the other hand the design was such that picture and sound were well withing specifications, despite the cutting corner on everythinh which might have cost money. When repairing those old tube sets I mostly could not get a hold of a schematic. So wire tracing was it. But one had a pretty good idea about the general layout of such a TV set.

[@JohnnnyJohn]

Here I sit in Maine, watching a weather report from my home in Jacksonville, Florida, posted on KZbin by some dude in L.A.. What a world.

[@billharris6886]

Wow shango066, I'm surprised you haven't been running into more non-problems with your troubleshooting technique, where you pull the back off a TV that has been in a dirty environment for 50 years, apply power and go for it. When I worked in TV shops in the mid-1970's, the first thing we would do before troubleshooting is, clean the tube sockets, controls, and tuner. Also, those Admiral (as well as most any brand) B&W sets, were notorious for fatigued solder joints and fractured PCB traces. Also, on those "Instant On" tube TV's, they generally had a single halfwave rectifier diode power supply. To make the "Instant On", they would usually connect a diode across the on-off switch, with the diode connected in the opposite direction from the power supply rectifier. That way, it would only power the filaments when the set was switched off. I never doubled checked the high voltage that way, the risk of stopping your heart is too great. You are right about the low high voltage current though, it's the capacitance of the dag coating on the CRT that makes it dangerous. Even though it's only a few hundred pF, the peak discharge current is very high.

[@1956kirk]

It fixed itself because it's the bondage and disipline set, and it submitted to you out of fear of being burned with cigarettes and not powered up for another 20 years. I've had the 12" version of this set for 32 years and counting, runs and is used daily.

[@BobofWOGGLE]

32:05 "sounds like the vertical's running. which it is! why? what did I do?" Good ol' JFM repairs. Nothing learned, no satisfaction. It just works now and it's not your fault.

[@brianfletcher9774]

I love your videos ! As an Extra Class Ham & Electronics graduate, I still learn more things here than I did in school. My instructor didn’t spend much time on tubes I my labs and classes. Obviously because solid state (and now SMD) is the thing. I don’t care, I like tube equipment, and I like CRT TV’s. Your videos have helped me fix a TV, a few CB’s, a HAM rig, and a NUMBER of guitar & PA amps. A very hearty thank you from South Dakota !

[@LakeNipissing]

"Instant-Play" or "Perma-Bake" or start your house on fire when you aren't home... or when your family is asleep in bed.

[@James_Bowie]

Yep, and meanwhile throw money at the electricity meter.

[@GGigabiteM]

And put heavy wear on the CRT by keeping the heater on 24/7.

[@dougbrowning82]

A common safety tip in the day was to unplug your TV when you were going away from home for extended periods. In fact, they still say to unplug your electronics when you're not using them.

[@James_Bowie]

@@dougbrowning82 When I was a kid, my parents turned everything off -- gas, water and electricity -- before our annual holiday trip. It meant cleaning out the fridge, but it gave them some peace of mind.

[@jlinkels]

@@GGigabiteM Most sets had the heaters on a rectified mains voltage instead of the full voltage. The heat dissipation is then about 70%. Enough to get a picture on instantly. When the set was switched on the rectifier would be shorted and the filaments would be on temperature within a few seconds.

[@bob4analog]

ESRC is awesome! Great restore job! I love the vintage BWs.

[@jrmcferren]

and shango can get the rectifier tube as not only do they have it, it is on the DOLLAR list. Edit they have decent 6146B prices too. Edit: helps if I wait until the end for those kinds of comments.

[@gordonlumbert9861]

I remember these TVs when I was a kid. Back then you could go to Radio Shack and test your tubes in the tube testing machine and get replacements if they were bad.

[@glenwoofit]

The next time you do CRT testing can you please explain what you mean by Cut Off? Thanks.

[@kareno8634]

THANKS! I Keep thinking i'll figure it out, but each time i believe i 'get it' . . NOPE. =\ _hmmm_ i see needles move differently

[@OlegKostoglatov]

It falls back on the basic theory of how vacuum tubes work, cutoff is the point where the control grid voltage is such that the tube no longer conducts, the plate is positive, the cathode is negative, the more negative the control grid voltage the fewer electrons reach the plate. There is more too it then that as most tubes have more then three elements but that's basically the idea.

[@josephsirois2353]

“Instant pay”$$$$Looks so much like a GE, probably overkill to replace all the tubes but for a dollar a piece why not?cool video thanks for sharing 👍

[@mrjnperry]

Probably one of the best ever TV videos.... Many thanks.

[@0tt0z]

I have to wait until this evening to watch when I get off work. Something to look forward to. Thanks Shango!

[@bobbyk6585]

I laughed like a madman in response to the crepe erase offhand comment. Just love it.

[@connorm955]

The inside of this TV looks similar to my 1976 Montgomery Ward GAI-13106B. It was made by Admiral too, but the actual Admiral version of it is based off the SKB1901 and has a nicer finish. And the Montgomery Ward version doesn't have instant play.

[@Paul-gz5dp]

The biggest problem I see here is Dirt and Corrosion. I usually use vinegar to clean away corrosion. As it eats the green and leaves the copper and other metals, as it is an organic acid and does not disolved too many metals.

[@blackvinylgrooves]

Shango,you mention the fact tubes for TVs are cheap because hardly anyone works on old TVs.I think one factor for that is that there is no one to repair or rebuild CRTs.I know old console stereos,record players,and tubed audio components are more popular than they have been in decades,thanks to renewed interest in vinyl,and tubes for these applications can be very pricey,in part because some of the same tubes,like the famous 12AX7,are also used in guitar amps. One possible obstacle for repairing old TVs,is the problem of a CRT made for one company's model,might not fit or work in another TV,from the same,or another,manufacturer. I will say that even the cheapest of old CRT TVs,not only have a charm flat screens can only dream of,and the picture quality of a CRT set that works well,can be far superior to that of a flat screen,without the annoying picture dropouts.If anyone were to ever perfect a relatively inexpensive way of repairing old CRTs,they could make a fortune.Let's not not forget many gamers prefer to use old CRT televisions,and computer monitors.

[@bigalsmallengines]

I remember seeing these back in the day. Would be cool to have one now! --AC

[@blitzroehre1807]

Very entertaining vid @ Mr Shango, thanks for sharing. When you attached the alligator clip to the vertical pot you most likely bumped it so it made contact again :-) ESRC1 is alive and kicking, no Hurricane problems. Spoke to the owner yesterday and he also says the order website now works for some, for others it may still be out of order. They are adressing the problem and it should be in order soon.

[@garymckee8857]

I remember when I was child my Grandfather told the T.V. repairman get the new tubes out the repair van not the ones he took out somebody's old T V.

[@darkwinter6028]

In software engineering, we sometimes refer to similar situations as “Heisenbugs”... because they behave differently depending on how you are looking (or not looking) at it... 🤨

[@hql400]

Thanks one more time for your nice repair-videos. I had this effect of "repair while measuring" sometimes, too, these can be the most difficult failures - beside the time- depending failures - to fix when you can not reproduce the fault, the set is running for hours and next time to start it in the customers home it will be not running again ! Multivibrators and Oscillators are known for this, perhaps the connection of the meter (R and C-Dip!) can make a tired oscillator running. Perhaps some components are drifting in value or, of course, bad capacitors can be the reason, too.

[@luisreyes1963]

That Admiral TV was built in a Chicago factory that no longer exists.

[@Synthematix]

The wifes in hospital, this video is just what i needed tonight shango.

[@Torogol85]

24:55 😂 that is an accurate description of the HV rectifier/flyback assembly

[@astral16]

13:00 the sound of your computer room makes me want a tour

[@douglashoff95]

If I were to guess, I think the vertical height control was dirty and when you connected your probe it cleaned it up enough to get it running. It wouldn't be the first time this type of thing has happened to me.

[@orange70383]

Back in the home tv repair days wouldn't it be great to get service call wanting a tune up on their set and you get to the house, take the back off the set and see a diode like that hanging there.

[@herbertsusmann986]

I think the vertical started working when you clipped on the clip lead because the wiper of the pot was not making contact to the carbon track. You probably bumped it enough to start conducting?? Just a guess...

[@chrisreynolds6331]

I guessed the potentiometer was intermittent

[@joshm264]

16:05 My new favorite quote

[@JohnnnyJohn]

Remember kids, as doctor Shango always says, "Safety is boring!"

[@davepike6170]

Great video once again, thanks for providing us with quality television programming worth watching! Very nice job on the Admiral! Cheap sets, yes, but they can work well considering!

[@markmarkofkane8167]

How do you bend the pin without cracking the glass? Very carefully? Great video. Enjoyable.

[@Sloposse]

#53:17 Don't do this at home! Poke's finger directly into the high tension line output. LOL!!!! My man

[@siral4487]

I was born in 72 and remember knocking pink quick down the back of my mother's bedroom color tv,I doubt I was 5 years old, but I remember cliff a family freind came and repaired it in our home,he smoked a pipe and made house calls.

[@scottcol23]

Sad to report ESRC is no longer around. Stan passed away on April 1st 2020. his family have no plans to continue the operation.

[@GigsVT]

thanks for touching the hv. People always freak out when I say I used to work on CRTs. Honestly no more dangerous than anything mains powered. I've been bit a lot worse off the other voltages than from the HV.

[@MrCrystalcranium]

"Instant Play...better known as PermaBake"...God you are a funny man.

[@filter4now]

Any idea why my TV (Firestone 13-G-54) has this "Color add-on" option model Firestone 112 (in an octal plug on the back)? Amazing, it has all the notices (like for digital when they had switch over) that they will offer an option that is "Color Compatible". 17HP4 isn't a color CRT, and it looks like the plug takes composite video, Sync, and +450V. Could this be the reason why a CRT would burn out? I thought that black-and-white simply skips over the color burst in NTSC. Am I missing something here?

[@uxwbill]

It sounds like the set has provisions for adding mechanical color support. A rotating color wheel would have gone in front of the black and white picture tube, and circuits would have been added to keep the wheel spinning at exactly the right speed to keep the colors synchronized. CBS proposed and developed such a system, and it could have become the standard for color TV.

[@phoreal9202]

Another vintage TV saved. We are due for an EOL video to keep the numbers in check.

[@willieyarger3217]

I wish you lived in Illinois and lived next door. LUV your Videos!!!!!!!!

[@moisessan1]

Admiral is a beatifull Brand.

[@IDFVILLE]

I like your videos , your very good explain ,i'm a french inhabitant at Paris Marne la Vallée biside Euro Disney!.i like this gold material with this tubes . Radio & tv .I looked all your videos.

[@scharkalvin]

C424 shorted or leaky would put B+ on G1 of the horz output tube, that would cause high plate current. I've had circuits start working when I hung a scope probe on them. Which indicated that it needed a few pf to ground at that point for some stupid reason. ESRC has extended the $1 days till the end of the year. He must have seen your video! Oh and yeah Florida really dodged a bullet on this one, Miami-Fort Lauderdale didn't even get much rain from the storm. The most dangerous thing about the HV in a TV set is if the shock causes you to drop the CRT.

[@hightechstuff2]

53:15 " And remember.. If you are following along, you are doing so, 'at your own risk'".

[@carolriley9392]

wow! I remember this so well!! You really made my day. I've worked on so many of these types of sets and it brought back many memories! Thanks so much for your videos !!

[@mfbfreak]

Selenium rectifiers contain a coating of a cadmium-containing alloy. Good idea to handle their insides with gloves!

[@pafoofnic]

Shango's built in human high voltage check, 16 K.V. = za zza zzipp wow, that's all it does.

[@phillipyannone3195]

Enjoyed the video. Thanks for the ESRC link.

[@saarike]

You are true genius! Thanks

[@mymessylab]

Hallo Shango..simply magic👍

[@BIGD-gj1vb]

Been watching your channel for about a year now. Love it. Hey, could you possibly do a video on installing an Mp3 jack on a american 5 tube radio. I've watched a few other videos and read some tutorials but I really seem to understand your street style approach better. I dunno. This idea may bore you to death but it would be a helpful video to add to your library. Takes man.

[@IrishvintageTVRadio]

I wish I had a few self repairing TV's..

[@teacfan1080]

Self repairing cars would be nice too!

[@wuloki]

Oho, I'm almost sure I had this model once. In the 1970s, those small black and white TVs where often sold cheaply via mail-order catalogs in Germany, common brands being National, Admiral and NEC. Oof course, people who had the money bought something expensive from Grundig, Telefunken, Metz etc., but as of today, these small import sets are commonly seen as "indestructible" and have long outlived their more expensive brethren.

[@tomfranco4866]

As a kid growing up in the 80s everybody had these TVs still in service if they didn't have them in the home for use these were on the curb for garbage pickup all over

[@volvo09]

It really shows how fast tv tech or desires have changed with generations. When I was a kid (born in 83) we had a little solid state tabletop color set, but it was still very common to go to people's houses and see b&w sets in spare rooms or a kids room. Nowadays with everyone switching to LCD tv's so quickly it isn't even common to see a color crt set in a kids room, they all have a cheap Chinese lcd's. (It also doesn't help when the town's run free e-waste pickup that includes crt tv's).

[@billmyke746]

@@volvo09 I hear ya. As a bit of a side note, in my neck of the woods here in pennsyltucky you can't get rid of them legally anymore. No one will take them, there is no place to bring them, so basically you have to leave 'em by the side of the road if you want to get rid of them. Sad.

[@hestheMaster]

I notice more modern LCD TV's at the side of the road.They disappear fast so someone is fixing them!

[@equid0x]

Every week the goodwill clearance here has 10 or 15 broken lcd sets that nobody buys and go in the dumpster. I very rarely see crts anymore

[@hestheMaster]

@@equid0x Broken screens equals forget about that one! No one wants to fix them cause that would cost bucks!

[@ChrisCromwellHP]

Looks like the 1970's Barber Shop Special TV. LOL! 😀😀😂😂

[@rkmklz7562]

Wow KZNO TV 6 Big Bear Lake....is that channel from there?....in my Childhood Channel 6 was XETV Tijuana BC Mexico back in the 1960s to the 1990s...I think it was FOX 6 when I left L A in 1995... Big Bear Lake was KBBV on 1050am and KTOT on 101.7fm...TV there was 3 and 5 from Phoenix Arizona...

[@anirbannaskar7665]

Idk why but I felt quite satisfied after watching this video.

[@thatdellguy]

More boost is always good for your multi-vibrator.

[@QuadMochaMatti]

"It looks like Taiwan is in the house.. " and jumped out of a window, as soon as they heard Shango knocking.

[@rajendrachopra3000]

You taken me in earlier 1975, thanks

[@johnyoung4039]

Wow! Awesome video! Thank you for sharing ❤️

[@MB-bs3ji]

Where did you get all of the instructions/manuals?

[@henriquecasonatto8881]

Sam's photofact

[@radiorexandy]

Bad news, Shango. ESRC Yube Warehouse is no more due to the death of Stan Winston. Huge loss...

[@jrs0007]

maybe shango066 or some other restorer could try and acquire the business

[@moisessan1]

You have been blessed by the Guadalupe Mother!!!

[@teacfan1080]

For a picture tube that tested marginal, it looks pretty damn good! Nice that you can get new tubes like that for a buck!

[@martinda7446]

@10:58..One of my favourite bits ever.

[@Thujaplicata1]

Thanks Shango, I learned a lot from this video.

[@jrs0007]

Instant vertical - maybe a dirty control or intermittent solder joint.

[@RykerTC1]

I think seeing the horizontal oslator self destruct would be cool

[@Pwaak]

Very informative Shango...Thanks!

[@abc-ni9uw]

Another rainy day in London and your video makes me much happier :) Respect shango. P.s how old are you? Curious as you've know a heck of a lot to do with vintage crts