Guys, I haven’t posted on here in years.. I fell back into radios for a while, but when I saw my unicorn TV pop up, I couldn’t help but toss out a bid. I just happened to be settling down for bed and realized I won an auction on single low bid. Lucky for me, the 621ts was 1.5 hours away for safe pick-up. *Someone on a previous 621ts thread was keeping track of existing serials. Please speak up if that was you and this serial has any history. Or maybe someone will recognize this particular set. Anyway, it is in pretty good shape. The electronics have some manipulation and loose wires. But overall seem ok. A missing tube - not a big deal. I will test the CRT out tonight. A full cabinet restoration/revitalization and new decals will come first.

My burning questions are - who still sells the original backs? And does anyone know where to source the brass fronts to the glass clips? I might have to fabricate if not, so maybe photos of how they look unclipped?

Sam

Last thing I would be worrying about would be the back. Probably won't find an original one anyway.
You need a HV cage, channel knob and maybe a power transformer as the seller was stupid and plugged it in and said it gets hot and smokes. It may or may not be bad. The smoke could be from something else. The front brass clips are made of unobtainium. If the CRT is bad then.....
There are a lot more of these sets out in the wild than was thought a number of years ago.

Appreciate the feedback. The price I paid is worth the future headaches it might bring. It did come with the remaining knobs in a bag. I’m hoping amptechsystems still carries the HV cage and metal back. I left him a message despite the statement on his home page saying he was essentially retired. It did come with a custom rear cover, just not original. My goal right now is to equip it with all its necessary parts, restore the cabinet, and worry about the electrics later. I’m just happy giving it a safe home for my lifetime.

Amptech Systems sells the backs: http://www.amptechsystems.com/Buy_Parts ... sories.htm

I was the guy keeping track of the Serial numbers, I gave it up years ago though. These are not as rare as originally thought, but they aren't growing on trees either, and they are a "first year" set so they are certainly a desirable to add to the collection.
I bought mine back in 2005 when the prices were near peak, paid a lot but it's about as clean and original as you could hope to find.

Here is a picture of a back, from one of the photos I have collected over the years.

Looks like they shut down a few years ago.
http://www.amptechsystems.com/index.htm

Interesting that the website is up with prices and all. However, I notice that if you click on “email to order� the link is dead. So that would appear to indicate they are shut down. I’ll remove them from the supplier list unless someone responds with info that they are still in business.

Well? Any one have a spare HV cage and rear cover?

I tested the CRT. No shorts what so ever. Quality is good. Emissions are ok - workable. My last zenith CRT had identical results, and ended up being my best performing CRT.

I am prety sure that I have a HV cage and even a transformer if you end up needing one. PM me with your e-mail address so I can send a photo.

The CRT is probably fine! Let it cook for a while and emissions will continue to rise. I have had several that I thought were duds that perform quite well! I have a high voltage cage cover from a 721 which is nearly identical. PM me if you wish.

Question for debate: I know this has been asked before,, but what stain/tint was the walnut section on the mahogany 621ts? I’ve seen refinished examples everywhere from mostly mahogany color, dark walnut tinted, and ebony.

I'm currently redoing my mahogany 621 cabinet and picked Mohawk M100-0381 Ultra Classic red mahogany dye-based toner. Seems to be a pretty good match to the finish that had been protected by the mask and grill. I think RCA's toned lacquers of the era needed sunscreen. They fade pretty badly when exposed to UV. I also have a 741PCS, and the part of the door that's hidden is remarkably darker than the part exposed.

Is the use of ebony based on an assumption it was black/ebony in the black and white photos? Or are there true examples of that?

I tend to like the way the black looks, original or not.

You can buy perforated steel at an Alro Metals store.

The one knob above the channel selector is not original. Looks like the ones on the 830.

It’s not - it’s the later metal one. It’s on the ‘replace/restore’ list. This set has a couple modifications I will post this evening. It’s had its fair share of tinkering in the last 76 years.

You can check the original color of your set by removing the speaker grille. Underneath you will find unfaded finish as it originally was.

Note that RCA made both walnut and mahogany cabinets. With the old finish faded and damaged, it's sometimes hard to tell the two apart. But when properly restored to original colors, the walnut is unmistakably more brown than the mahogany.

By the way, mine isn't quite as red as the picture in my avatar shows. Here's a fresh shot today:



The thread from my restoration is here: https://www.antiqueradios.com/forums/vi ... 3&t=114614

On page 4 you will see this picture that shows how the finish under the speaker grille compared with the faded finish elsewhere:



Quite a difference in color! I was actually not sure whether mine was mahogany or walnut until I saw the color under the speaker grille. Under the brass brackets for the safety glass, it was also evident how much darker the hood and grille were originally -- basically black.

Ok Tom, now you have me excited to go home and dig into the color mystery. I’ve had a busy week at work, and equally at night. I will be doing some investigating and photo documenting this weekend. I’m hoping the previous owner/s left those sections alone enough to see the colors.

Tom, question about your locomotive (and apologies for the hopefully quick tangent). Did you or have you thought about stripping the lacquer on the brass grill and polishing? I'm assuming I'm correct in that it's lacquered. I keep looking at mine and wondering if it would look better just a bit brighter.