Im trying to learn more about my television, I got it and it looks great in the corner with its wooded leg stand etc but it wont turn on, i tried once but it blew a fuse in the house and i didn't try again (but wanted to haha) and I cant find anything on this one on the internet Ive looked through alot of photos and the similar ones seem to be mid to late 40's. ive just recently pulled it from the corner of my room and started to clean all the dust out of the back and off all the interior components but i didnt know what number on it might be the model #, also the top panel that slides off has a diagram of all the tubes but im not sure what id have to replace to get this old girl running again, when i turned it on previously one of the bulbs made a "television-y turn on" sound and got really bright then shut off. im not exactly sure even how to fix it if I got the right tubes but maybe you all can help? I'm 17 and not familiar with tubes but love these old televisions and radios but would like to see what i can do with this guy.

-Wes

Hey Wes,

First off, please DO NOT plug it in again. These old TVs and radios have electrolytic capacitors that dry out and short due to age. Plugging in an old set like that can cause some serious and expensive damage to it. Blowing a fuse was the best thing that happened because if your set had stayed on, it would probably have started smoking and eventually burned out the power transformer. That could have started a fire. I almost set our house on fire when I was 10 playing around with an old radio I drug out of our attic. I went outside and left it on, and the transformer went bad and filled my bedroom with smoke.

The good news is you set can probably be made to work again. You've got to start by going through and replacing all the electroltyic cacacitors before you even think about trying it again. After that, the old paper capacitors and some resistors will need replacing. It can be a painstaking process; not something you can do overnight, but believe me the results are worth it. This forum has many great guys who will guide you through the process. Some of them are retired TV repairmen, and they have been a valuable asset to me.

The first thing to do is try to find model# on your set. Are there any numbers at all on the back or bottom? Many times there will be a paper inside the cabinet showing you the tube layout with the model# as well. From that we can tell you how old your set is and help you set some service information on it which will include a parts list. If your cell phone has a camera, can you upload a pic of it? Perhaps someone in this forum will recognize it.

Good Luck
Doug

An RCA with a slide off top could be anything from a 630TS to an 8TS30, all are pretty similar chassis wise, they are not the easiest sets to learn restoration on however, very complicated sets.

The model number is usually on a foil tag on the back apron of the chassis, if it's missing then the tube chart may have the number, in any case it's not hard to identify an RCA model because they are well known.

Here's a good place to look and see if you can match your set:
http://www.tvhistory.tv/1946-49-RCA.htm

Do not attempt to plug it in again, the bright flash you saw was a $20 Rectifier tube self destructing, the Transformer will be next and it's a lot harder and more expensive to replace.

Your set has old dried out and shorted Filter Capacitors, they need to be replaced along with every other paper tubular cap in the set before it will work properly again.

This page lists several TV restoration articles that you can browse through to get an idea what it usually takes to restore one:

http://antiqueradio.org/restoration.htm

One of those TVs is an RCA 630TS, a 1940s set with slide-off top. Yours may be something different, of course.

If you have no electronics knowledge, restoring a tube TV might be a big leap. I recommend practicing on an inexpensive old tube radio from craigslist or a flea market. After you have learned to unsolder old components and solder in new ones, etc., you would be more likely to succeed with a TV, which will be quite a bit more complex.

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

Thanks guys, and Doug66,well that sucks that I messed something up but all in the sake of learning i guess haha. give me a sec ill check the numbers, There is one stamped on the wood body on the back: RBC-918, a tag hanging off the back says,"RCA service company NO; 250296", on the top wooded slide off lid there is a diagram of the "Location of Tubes" and in the corner there is a number that reads: 933705-1, there are alot of numbers inside but on each component so seperate id numbers im guessing, and as for a photo im not sure how i would put that on this forum page but if you have an email i could send it to from my iphone, thanks again for replying you guys are alot of help.

also im not a very "hands on guy", learning to be but you kept saying id have to replace the electrolyic capacitors? what exactly is that,possibly another word for tube? still learning haha

Keep at it, TV repair is as hands-on as it gets! Electrolytic capacitors are those cans riveted to the chassis, probably with cardboard sleeves if your set is the type I'm thinking. Each can has several separate capacitors inside it. You cannot get new cans, so you have to be creative/resourceful in the way you mount the new ones.

Beginning to get the idea there's a lot more to this than meets they eye? You absolutely must practice on something smaller first. Get a couple of radios working, get a feel for soldering and an idea of at least which parts are which if not an engineers grasp on what they do. Then move on to TV work.

If you want to mail me the pictures of the set I'll post them: djr@tvontheporch.com