Two 1940s Tube Televisions on the Bench

[@Manhattanman52]

That '48 RCA set was the first vintage television I bought. Got at a church rummage sale for $5.00, in 1968.

[@mikefinn2101]

Great find lucky you and sure will be a great video to see restored. I am very happy someone like you will take great care of these classics. Thanks Mike

[@billharris6886]

Wow Jack, you sure are good at finding these old TVs in good condition! If you can't find an original power transformer for that Philco 50-T702, you could replace it piecemeal: a 50 watt isolation, a 6.3 volt, 8 amp, and 6.3 volt, 1 amp transformers. Those late 1940's sets with magnetic deflection used a huge amount of B+ to run the focus and ion trap electromagnets plus, high wattage voltage dividers to generate all the DC voltages, thus a big, heavy power transformer is used.

[@ScottGrammer]

I am amazed that these sets still exist at all, much less in such amazing shape. Best of luck to you in restoring them, and thanks for maintaining examples of such grand old tech. I service vintage audio gear, but rarely do I get to work on anything from that era.

[@hyperturbotechnomike]

This video was in my recommendations. The TV sets remind me of the Fernseh-Einheitsempfänger i saw in a museum in Munich once, which was built during WW2, i believe in 1939. It was a guided tour and they did a short demonstration, the picture looked surprisingly sharp. I think the wooden exterior designs and the variety of different shapes are pretty decorative. Nowadays, everything is just a black rectangle or box. There is no art involved in anything anymore except the art of penny pinching.

[@terryharvey6504]

I restored some years ago and 8T243. Same chassis. All the paper dielectric capacitors were bad. But all the electrolytic caps I was able to reform the dielectric and they were all good. Sitting idle for years, the dielectric diminishes and if the set is plugged in without reforming, the caps will be destroyed. But if you slowly reform them by limiting the current while reforming to under 10mA they generally can be saved.

[@oldradiotvsc9836]

Good luck! Looks like fun!

[@bigaudioal]

Jack, that GE 803 is beautiful!! Nice set.

[@frank1371]

That GE 803 is a beautiful set, hopefully you are able to find a replacement picture tube for it.

[@exvan3571]

What a great channel!

[@televisionforever]

Thank you so much!

[@randyc8171]

I think you should pick one that you think needs the least work for the next project. They are all interesting sets.

[@mrnmrn1]

It should be priority to fix your CRT tester. Using faulty test gear can lead to confusion and cause a lot of trouble. Also, you don't use it right. Before emission test, you should set the cutoff to the first notch on the meter where it says "CUT OFF", the emission test is only valid if you do so, and that's another reason why you should repair the tester, because the cutoff reading is probably also off.

[@televisionforever]

I agree I need to fix the tester. Usually if it shows emissions halfway through the bad, and has even a little cutoff, the picture will be fine. I have a super mack tester I should start using more often.

[@JoeSimple-mv8yw]

awesome

[@vintageradio58]

Get in touch with shango 66 . He has that 7 inch Philo just for parts.

[@Quietruck]

I vote for the 10=BP4

[@HunterShows]

Cool stuff. Anything pre 1948?

[@televisionforever]

Nothing pre-1948. I’m looking to get an RCA 621TS soon which would be a 1946. I really love the look of that model

[@john_barnett]

please please refurb that RCA Victor set, it's gorgeous

[@televisionforever]

I am very tempted to do that as my next project. It would be quite a long project doing the internals and cabinet though. It would be quite fun though.

[@marcelorosadealmeida]

👀

[@sandragalvis7711]

What hapened with the kuba komet?

[@televisionforever]

It's still upstairs. I wanted to finish up a few projects before starting that one so I would have a clean workspace for it.