03-01-2010, 10:45 PM
Matt;
When you get around to the DuMont there are a couple of guys on the television forum over at the Antique Radio Forums who have restored old DuMont TVs from that era. At least it looks like the picture tube is still holding it's vacuum, no dark bullseye in the middle of the screen or anything. One thing that it will likely need is the tuner taken apart, cleaned, and lubed, if it hasn't been used for a long time as the old grease sometimes hardens up. It's sort of a strange design, it rotates continuously like a radio dial rather then having a click for each station, because of this most also have an FM radio band.
One thing that I would suggest before you work on either the big Philco or the DuMont is that you pick up a five or six tube radio to work on for practice, some say a series string AC/DC set but a smaller transformer set would be more comparable to the Philco. If you can figure out how to solder and use a volt ohm meter you should be able to get the Philco and the DuMont working again if nobody has messed with them with goofy repairs or modifications, it just takes time and patience. You can pick up a decent digital volt ohm meter in some hardware stores or a Radio Shack, you can get almost any other tools or test equipment you need from a ham fest, sometimes parts as well. If you need any help you know where to call.
Best Regards
Arran
When you get around to the DuMont there are a couple of guys on the television forum over at the Antique Radio Forums who have restored old DuMont TVs from that era. At least it looks like the picture tube is still holding it's vacuum, no dark bullseye in the middle of the screen or anything. One thing that it will likely need is the tuner taken apart, cleaned, and lubed, if it hasn't been used for a long time as the old grease sometimes hardens up. It's sort of a strange design, it rotates continuously like a radio dial rather then having a click for each station, because of this most also have an FM radio band.
One thing that I would suggest before you work on either the big Philco or the DuMont is that you pick up a five or six tube radio to work on for practice, some say a series string AC/DC set but a smaller transformer set would be more comparable to the Philco. If you can figure out how to solder and use a volt ohm meter you should be able to get the Philco and the DuMont working again if nobody has messed with them with goofy repairs or modifications, it just takes time and patience. You can pick up a decent digital volt ohm meter in some hardware stores or a Radio Shack, you can get almost any other tools or test equipment you need from a ham fest, sometimes parts as well. If you need any help you know where to call.
Best Regards
Arran
