FNR: Motorola 9T1

Return of the Friday Night restoration. One part start to finish restoration of a 1950 8" B&W Motorola 9T1 in a bakelite cabinet. This set is in remarkable condition and I do not believe it has ever been serviced. Magic smoke escapes at 48:46

[@bandersentv]

I hope you like the long format. I think it might be a little hard to follow in spots. It was over four hours until I cut it down to the essentials.

[@jarmojarvinen1585]

That was great. I wete studying for radio and tv mechanician and later to telecommunication technician in 70 decade and had change to work with tube receivers as they still excisted that time at 80 decade they were gone. Unfortunately there have been no analog tv transmissions for many years. Those were stopped 10 years ago at our end and digital transmissions replaced those. Was great to watch for this. CRT's at 40 decade were different, seems that deflection were at very beginning of beam path.

[@michaelshultz2540]

The old joke about this was a jab at the iffy vertical hold we cald these moto-roll-la. With emphasis on the ROLL.GIGGLES

[@michaelshultz2540]

Always had to replace the deflection caps. Could have tpld you that befor you started

[@michaelshultz2540]

Germanium semiconductors go bad with age even without using them .Germanium will grow dendrites and short themselves out.

[@ThejasonJaw5442]

Video was a learing point, a nice vintage find 👌 very cool

[@PaulHigginbothamSr]

We didn't even get a TV till 1957 when I was ten. We lived 60 miles away from Portland Ore. Where our signal originated. Before that we went to a friend's house on Friday night to watch wrestling. Boy that was exciting for our whole family. The man who lived there was building a color TV from a kit. My older brother got the first color set in Leavenworth Wash in 1963. When first married I couldn't afford a color set till in the 70's.

[@msgproductions3515]

Thanks for sharing. That's amazing technology in 1949. They made it work.

[@gabrielofstepha8143]

Great video. Thank you for sharing it. Surprised the Bakelite case s in such wonderful condition.

[@bandersentv]

You're welcome. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@punakaify]

Very impressed with your knowledge and skills. Thanks. Greetings from Spain.

[@LJJKD1947]

Yeah!! I like this “format “ so to speak every once in awhile, that set could be a museum classic.

[@keithbrandaw7229]

I’ve never seen such a clean set , of that era . Outstanding work !

[@jgsburnett9532]

Back in the mid 1950's my family had a Phillips projection tv (I was only about 10 years old). It had a pull up screen ( about 4ft x 3ft) like the ones you used to use for slide shows and a separate unit which held a small CRT and by means of mirrors projected the image onto the screen some 8 -10 feet away. Sound went along a cable from the main unit to the screen base which held a 12 inch Goodmans speaker in an infinite baffle enclosure. The set had a tuner which only picked up one tv channel (there was only one at the time here in the UK). Later a new tuner section became available which received the new 'Independent TV' channel. I managed to find another unit with the tuner in a saleroom and as the set did not work I was able to swap over he tuner. Oh, and the set was remote control too! The whole control panel lifted out of the projector unit on a thick cable and allowed you to adjust volume, contrast, brightness and focus from the comfort of your armchair. So there we have it nearly 70 years ago - 50 inch screen TV, remote control and 'hi-fi' sound! What's new? Well colour picture and no need to sit in a darkened room I suppose. But we do at the cinema/movie theatre anyway. I wonder if those sets made it to the USA? After the projector packed up I kept the screen units to form the first of my stereo hifi systems.

[@bandersentv]

Yes, there were sets based on the Phillps projection system in the US. The early version was called the Protelgram. I have a Scott 6T11 table set with a flip-top lid containing the rear projection screen. Very cool.

[@teialemwaailm]

فيديو رائع انا احب هذه الاشياء الجميله واتخيل الزمن التى صنعة فيه رغم التطور الحالى احب القديم واعشقه تحياتى من مصر

[@sagnhill]

Brings back memories. My Dad and GrandDad used to fix TVs and radios back from the late 50s through the early 70s. I used to help when they went on house calls. I used to watch the 3 Stooges after School at my GrandDads on his TV from the mid 50s.

[@michaeldeloatch7461]

what a gorgeous set thank you for the painstaking tutorial i love to see gear from my moms childhood era

[@bandersentv]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@nicholas790]

First, let me say you’ve made me a Predicta man, but WOW! This thing is beyond spectacular! Your best effort ever! Flawless beauty! Congratulations! Please do more like this, best stuff on you tube now!

[@fuzzwack1]

Its been 5 years ,...Man I miss these friday night fix videos!!

[@bernarddier1060]

My two bits worth: I used to have one of these. I got in 1956 from a classmate in my 8th grade at Farnsworth school in Chicago. It had a bad tube, which I replaced. Unfortunately, the phosphor was so thin that I could see the heater in the center of the screen when viewing in a darkened room. Repairing old television and radios as a teen led to my career, I retired from Motorola land mobile 40 years later.

[@PaulinesPastimes]

It looks beautiful. Long format is fine, I watched it in two parts. Love these early sets and the cabinet is fabulous.

[@benji.B-side]

Loved watching you problem solve on this object of beauty! Tis a fine thing my good sir.

[@MegaBakerdude]

Excellent work. My dad lived all through the tube era, so when I had a problem with the hot vs cold performance of a SS amplifier, he suggested I use a cold spray. Sure enough it isolated the part. Loved the cabinet refinishing - I can't believe you got such great results. And Leslie Nielsen in the test video - very classy.

[@bandersentv]

Thank you. I was so happy that the cold spray worked and that I was able to share it with all of you.

[@MikinessAnalog]

took 3 hours to watch this (pausing) but love this from an archivist perspective big hugz

[@greggsvintageworkshop8974]

What a great video Bob, and what a beautiful little set. The cabinet is absolutely gorgeous and you did a fantastic job. It looks and plays fantastic!

[@markmurray5619]

Bob the way you present the "long format", unlike others, yours works. Being an old school tech I do enjoy watching and learning from your videos without the condescending attitude. As far as the Motorola, it look's as though it was rarely used or maybe a 1949 store display then put away. Or sold to some White Collar somebody in the 50's and rarely used and wiped down with a diaper every day. It is a gem and the owner should be proud to own a piece of American Made history. Keep up the fascinating videos. Oh I saw the Hot sauce video. Man your significant other rocks.

[@bryandover8413]

Momma probably bought it for Dad for Christmas one year. He thought to himself, "Why in the world would I want a tiny TV like this when we have the big one in the Living Room?". So, into the closet it sat for the next 50 years until it was sold at his estate sale.

[@chetpomeroy1399]

I *do* remember Bob's FNR videos, and *always* looked forward to them. If he starts them back up, I'll be eagerly anticipating them! The longer, the better!

[@bandersentv]

I do have some radios in the pipeline for FNRs. I must admit this TV was a bit much for one night. I was exhausted at the end.

[@chetpomeroy1399]

@@bandersentv What's important is that you enjoyed the time you spent bringing the set back to life.

[@bandersentv]

@@chetpomeroy1399 Troubleshooting that bad detector diode was very satisfying 🙂

[@quertize]

Set looks like new. What a find. Glad that cap did not take anything more with itself.

[@hartengel3897]

Greetings from Toronto. Love the long format. Keep up the great video's. Thanks.

[@kennynvake4hve584]

That is the biggest cluster F I have ever seen under a unit..wow...insanely tight......

[@josephconsoli4128]

Nice job Bob. That is a really nice example with an amazing picture. I also found an excellent one a while back with its original box. The only thing was the CRT was bad. I had to buy a junker from a friend to get another. I always loved the sort of whimsical look of this model with the bulging eye, plastic-weave grille, red knobs, and crystal tuning knob. I wanted to mention that although it's said that once you break through the glossy top layer of bakelite, you cannot polish it, I've found that not to be true. I had situations where I sanded a gouge down and came up gradually with a shine. If stone can be polished to a gloss, then you know anything can! LOL

[@bandersentv]

Yes, it can be polished, but it's been my experience the color, texture and patterning is not the same. I've also encountered several cases where the inner material had small voids.

[@josephconsoli4128]

@@bandersentv True. It comes out acceptably, but not as good as the molding gloss surface.

[@bryandover8413]

Would love to own a unit like this. Very rare, and in exceedingly rare condition at that. Thanks for taking the time to produce the video.

[@bandersentv]

You're welcome. I'm glad you enjoyed it. It was a treat to work on a set in such fine condition. I have many more to work on that are not quite so pristine.

[@SVRSVR-b2q]

Cosmic beauty from the past ...

[@СВИНКС88]

потрясающе! ты волшебник.

[@wireworks616]

Great job. A beautiful television set.👍👍👍👍👍

[@Wenlocktvdx]

It certainly came out nice Bob. Lovely condition indeed.

[@RapperBC]

Wow! Has it been five years? Well, I'm glad to see it back!

[@williamsquires3070]

That’s why I like tube circuitry - it’s electrically robust, and can tolerate component values that have drifted with age much better than solid-state electronics. Even 40+ years after they left the factory floor, they still try to work. Sure, they get hot and draw a lot of power, but so does a modern CPU from Intel/AMD. 😎

[@RedNoise-hz5nh]

couldnt be more true! and higher end cpus probably draw the same power!

[@ShellacScrubber]

Great video Bob and what surprisingly good results from this little budget set. Lovely to see a new FNR. I sat down with my dinner and thoroughly enjoyed both !

[@THEtechknight]

The picture on that thing is beautiful, thats for sure.

[@bandersentv]

Thanks. I want to show more of it playing but I'm afraid of getting flagged for copyright violations. I'll have to rig up a public domain broadcast for future demos.

[@usmale4915]

What an amazing video! Pretty cool looking "Motorola" television...looks to be in good condition. Thank you for explaining so thoroughly...it's greatly appreciated! And thanks for sharing your video!

[@BenjaminMaggi]

wow nice to see you uploading again I used to watch this channel non-stop I got into tube tv thanks of you, I remember when I brought my sencore cr70 and I started working on electrostatic tubes, unfortunately my house was robbed and they took most of my test equipment I've never been able to recover from that event but watching your channel brings me joy!

[@christophernetherton9389]

Thank you for bringing back FNR! I realize you may not be able to do it that often but I do enjoy the start to finish in one episaode. Thanks again Bob!

[@justsumguy2u]

I've always liked the FNR series, and I'm glad you brought it back. I've also always liked troubleshooting---lots of "detective" work in this one. Great video

[@robworrall6832]

Wow! first class work on an amazing set here, a pleasure to watch, thank you

[@AntiqueRadioandTV]

Great to see "Friday Night Restoration" back Bob! Beautiful 8" set and restoration. Yes... And I do love the long video format.

[@JWimpy]

Great find, I've never seen a set this age in any better condition. Awesome video.

[@DrewBarkerOk]

!!!! I have a 1957 zenith that needs saved. still powers up and produces image and sound but its cranky... I didnt think anyone still knew how to fix these old sets!

[@bandersentv]

There are a handful of us scattered around the country. Most are hobbiest that only work on their own sets though.

[@byrnejr]

Love it Bob ! Keep it up nice job…

[@billmcdonald2436]

Very cool. I really enjoyed this video. Thank you for sharing it with us.

[@herbertsusmann986]

Nice! I have several similar sets I picked up at the last Early Television Foundation sale that need going over. One of mine also has a nearly mint bakelite cabinet ( it is an Admiral version of what you have there).

[@stevewalters6003]

I have the wood cabinet version of this set and it works great after restoration. It can be watched comfortably in moderate room lighting and the five Bach speaker gives room filling sound. Motorola made some great TV sets back then.

[@bandersentv]

Glad to hear it. I too have the wood 9VT1 version, but it's a real mess. Took years to find one though and I'm looking forward to restoring it to its former glory.

[@marstvredplanet9491]

This little thing has more tubes than my fully valved guitar amp...its crazy!. How can we not love the days things were manufactured with an actuall design and personality. I wonder how much power tho this little thing consumed back in the day with all these valves turned on all day ...the eletricity bill should've been crazy high as well , an item for rich people for sure

[@marstvredplanet9491]

This video made me realise how much energy was spent back in the day ...would you say that tvs were a least number 2 most power consuming item on a household from that period?

[@bandersentv]

While it does have a lot of tubes, they are mostly low power so it's not that bad. About 140 watts. Larger console B&W TVs can get to over 300 watts and color over 400! The only appliances I can think of that draw more power are electric ovens and space heaters :)

[@marstvredplanet9491]

@@bandersentv oh ok sure...nice

[@Daniel_cheems]

Very nice TV set, you don't see many pre-1950 TV's around

[@edwatts9890]

YES! More "Friday-night Restorations"!

[@bandersentv]

You got it! These multi-part, months long projects are wearing me out.

[@edwatts9890]

@@bandersentv: Thank you! I'm nearly seventy years old, and I don't have many long-term projects left on my timeline!

[@davidharrison4881]

Rumack: Can you fly this plane, and land it? Ted Striker: Surely you can't be serious. Rumack: I am serious... and don't call me Shirley.

[@zulumax1]

49:40 Well, at least it was not a vintage can electrolytic that popped, like the one that was heating up. Those have a lot more stored steam pressure pent up inside and can send shrapnel through the cabinet, or through a person. The new ones are designed to vent just like this one did with minimal damage. Of course it is a pop that is going to make you jump, the dog will start barking, and someone in the house will want to know if you are ok. Not sure if a light bulb in series would limit enough current enough in this case to save the cap. Glad you and the set are ok!

[@michaelshultz2540]

Also those old electrolytic capacitors contain pcb oils that cause cancer

[@HD7100]

Beautiful job Bob.

[@RoughJustice2k18]

Last video I saw of yours (which wasn't a multi-part series deal) was a Zenith 24MC32 (model 5311U) colour roundie TV from the mid-60s. Roundies are something we Aussies never had so it was good to see you show one in action.

[@ztechrepairs]

Love the long videos!!!

[@allenschmitz9644]

I love this kind of techno rocket 210 circut breaker bake-a-lite goodness, there was a reason why stuff was like this, it was the hep cat radar generation.

[@ВладимирГадалов]

Вы Молодец!Отличный телевизор.Шедевр!

[@JimmyZNJ]

Awesome work Bob! Ended up a quite beautiful set!

[@cprossu]

Wow, it's been a minute since the last one! Just wanted you to know I always learn something from your videos, thank you for documenting so many of these repairs. I've lost track of the people I've met who have wanted to know how to get started restoring radios and old TV's, and I've pointed many your way to get a feel for it, especially when for some odd reason they want to start their hobby or at least have been inspired by trying to bring a Predicta back to life.

[@vancouverman4313]

That's one nice looking TV.

[@rodrigo73]

Fantastic job!

[@radiofm7694]

Really enjoyed this video, thanks 👍

[@allthegearnoidea6752]

Oh those happy single days! Now I also demand instant gratification

[@FoxeemaTV]

portables didnt come out for 10 years when this made but this would be easy to move.. long format is super duper

[@manliogianquinto9742]

BRAVISSIMO LEI SIR , AN ARTIST !

[@radionicpowers5938]

this in the DARK text screen shots as f-ing wicked !

[@RixtronixLAB]

Nice video clip, keep it up, thank you for sharing :)

[@hestheMaster]

You know most Motorola tubes were made by different tube companies. EIA codes on the tube may confirm this. They are probably original to the TV however. The first one you pulled out ,12SN7 ,has an EIA number 188 on the base. That tube was made by GE. When you showed the underside of the chassis the first thing I noticed were the two Selenium rectifiers at the top. Good to see those go right from the start. Good restoration Bob.

[@bandersentv]

Yes, there were only a few tube companies that rebranded for Admiral, Motorola, etc. They also used water soluble ink for the brands. That Motorola wipes right off the glass while the type and EIA code remains.

[@tarstarkusz]

Great job on a great set. I'm glad that sanding mark mostly went away. I wonder if this was in a spare bedroom or something, Being a small inexpensive TV, you would expect it to be entirely used up if it wasn't in a spare bedroom or other application where it was rarely used. Like if this set was all someone could afford, I would expect that they would have used it until it couldn't be fixed. But if you put it in little Johny's room while he is away at college so that on his occasional visits, he had something to watch, well, the low hours make more sense.

[@jeffberwick]

Fantastic! What a beautiful piece of gear. I agree that it would be a mistake to try to restuff the waxies. Wondering if you use Class-Y caps for safety between the chassis and the B- ? It may not matter if the end user only touches plastic, but may be good practice anyway.

[@bandersentv]

Yes, class Y caps should be used. There are adjustments on the back using pots with metal shafts that are mounted right on the exposed metal chassis.

[@allisonbarnhardt3647]

Enjoyed the video and that is a really clean set. I only have one 9-inch electrostatic set here, a Silvertone 9115. Just wish the faux alligator skin tolex was in better shape.

[@bandersentv]

I have a couple of those as well but have never worked on one.

[@maniatore2006]

Great Video, Thank you.

[@sondrayork6317]

wow, 5KV wow, reading my general class stuff, i did read in it that the FSV was required in older sets for the CRT to even display an image weather it be snow, or an actual picture lol. it was called snow btw, because of the charactoristics of the image.

[@bandersentv]

Color sets use as much as 30kV! A small portion of that snow is the cosmic background radiation left from the big bang.

[@TrakThora]

What a beauty.

[@zundfolge1432]

cool! I used the same square caps from mouser. was really suprized that the set had 6000 volt caps in it.

[@3dlabs99]

Nice fun video and impressive trouble shooting skills. Thanks for the content -- very entertaining :)

[@kkteutsch6416]

For the production era it has relatively small tube's quantity, considering this is also post " between carrier's " sound system ...

[@bandersentv]

Yes, they had some very clever engineers and used the latest technology. It was one of the first sets to use solid state rectifiers.

[@thomashowe855]

31:31 I noticed that one of the tubes has heater flash, so it may be compromised

[@richardbrobeck2384]

I have the Motorola model VT-105 in my collection mine is still waiting for restoration !!

[@bandersentv]

I have one as well. Also a VK-106. Very different chassis design using a power transformer, yoke and flyback.

[@XPFTP]

skynyrd , that smell.... comes to mind... hahha my 1st blown cap the stink omg ..

[@grochomarx2002]

A beautiful TV. But why was the screen output in green? Was the replacement picture tube out of a piece of testing or medical equipment

[@bandersentv]

I used a green CRT from an oscilloscope while working on the set. The picture tube in the TV cabinet is black and white. They are difficult to unmount and nearly impossible to replace if broken

[@Madness832]

The Black Friday FNR? Still remember when you did 'em!

[@bandersentv]

You got it. I recorded this several weeks ago but thought the holiday weekend would be a good time to post.

[@ramonmodrego3453]

Beautiful vídeo

[@DennisSantos]

Very nice set! Why does the screen appear to have green phosphor with the set disassembled and looks blue/white at the end?

[@bandersentv]

Two different CRTs. I used the green on the workbench to avoid damaging the white.

[@DennisSantos]

@@bandersentv Ah, ok! Thought it was a filter overlay or something like that.

[@radio-ged4626]

Bakelite beauty.

[@geoffquickfall]

The old phrase from 2001 A Space Odyssey: re-install it and let it fail!

[@eivindamundsen7090]

Good one! Thanks for sharing. Almost to short video. 4 Hours would be nice🙂

[@bandersentv]

Maybe someday. The editing time and huge file size are limiting factors.

[@frankprovasek5394]

Cheater cord: "We're cheating, but we know what we're doing." Love it. Great video. Nobody mentioned you called it a Philco at 1:25 ?

[@bandersentv]

Wow, I can't believe you're the first to mention it. I've also been working on a Philco radio and it must have gotten jumbled in my mind.

[@richardbrobeck2384]

I have had a bunch of issues getting Capacitors from mouser . I use a lot of nichicon Electrolytic capacitors and some sizes are getting tough to get .

[@bobmarker6812]

16:40 Automatic regulator reminds me of the "Voltmatic" regulator tube used in the later tube Transoceanic's.

[@bandersentv]

I believe they operate on the same principle

[@steam-tech-retro-garaz]

Really interesting TV set, thank you for the great video! I wonder how does it change the green image of the CRT to BW? I suspect there is some kind of colour filter before the CRT?

[@bandersentv]

You're welcome. Two different CRTs. I used the green on the workbench to avoid damaging the white.

[@steam-tech-retro-garaz]

@@bandersentv yeah that would be too easy to be truth, thank you for clarifying

[@davidaix5771]

That thing is soo cool

[@mikepasko7493]

NICE JOB.......

[@nathanpratt3058]

I really and truly hate older electronics for their finickiness but I do like how this cathode ray tube looks very sciency

[@lexxsimf2]

Are analog channels still airing in your area? I thought, you would use some analog TV signal tester. But I amazed, how many other diagnostic tools you have

[@bandersentv]

No, there are no more analog broadcasts. I'm using a converter box for over the air ATSC to NTSC. I also used a test pattern generator towards the end of the video

[@ka4dqe606]

Nice ...

[@makyhsmakyhs6766]

Hi fellow : It's amazing , well restoration but what about the cleaning of the TV. Because very little te chnicians who care about the process of full cleaning of the vintage devices .. Thanks

[@bandersentv]

I polished the bakelite with Novus #2

[@makyhsmakyhs6766]

@@bandersentv ya .. you did the right thing because many technicians can do the repairing and restoring but very very little who are keen to clean the vintage sets ( the whole body ) and turn it into zero condition as clean, glossy and shiney as possible .. Good luck. so it's very important to the buyers especially the collectors and audiophiles ..

[@_Ramen-Vac_]

great video. educational and logical.

[@zulumax1]

51:39 Yes, those two 6.8 meg resistors look toasty. Another question or two about those green body resistors in the same area, assuming those are resistors. They look different than the old "BED" style resistors and have more bands and colors than I have seen in the past. What value are they and how do you read them?

[@bandersentv]

Those are actually ceramic capacitors. They never go bad

[@zulumax1]

@@bandersentv Thanks, just got my 1947 Hickok oscillograph going. Got bad coupling caps still, got +300 vdc on the input terminal on amp out mode, filter caps and power supply working. Trying to learn more about static sweep sets before tackling the 7TV2

[@ralphups7782]

very well done indeed, i thought i was in one of the other electronic engineers youtube class. 👈👺👀 in frame 49:46/1:18:46, was a un-filtered tip surprise too.

[@emman-arcade-2004]

nice work!!!🔔🔔🔔♎♎♎