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Pre-war television
electronics as far as the eye can see ! The first
job will be to remove the valves and blow off the dust...
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.. and also
dust out the cabinet...
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First
I've got to get out the speaker board. This unscrews and slides
down. However it then gets stuck, so I take out one of the
side wood bearers - a very easy operation. |
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Here's
the speaker board and grille as seen from the front. These
were generally lightly lacquered with the same walnut cellulose
toner used on the cabinet. This gave them a more subdued
'glow' than the bright brass plating underneath.
I didn't know
the above when I last cleaned this up in the '80s. But I
shall be restoring it to its original appearance this time
round.
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An 'add-on'
that's always been on this set was a lamp switch someone
had fitted to the rear. This originally had been used to
control a back-light. I changed it to switch the EHT transformer
on and off. I used this feature to save the tube from any
switch-off burns.
Underneath,
we see the serial number is '224'. Next, both this switch
and the insignia are removed.
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Here's the
warning transfer at the upper rear of the cabinet.
As yet, I am
undecided whether to work round this during cabinet restoration,
or replace it with a replica transfer, scanned in and manufactured
in-house. The problem will be reproducing the gold colouring
of the letters...
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The
next job is dusty, so the cabinet goes out of doors. The muck
is blown out using the compressed air line. Following this,
the cabinet interior is cleaned out with white spirit. |
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This
damaged internal sticker on the cabinet floor now becomes
more clearly visible. I shall later be creating a replica
electronically and replacing this. |
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This transfer
however I shall definitely be leaving alone ! It sits
just below the screen. This screen panel is still in good
condition and so will only be given a 'short' restoration.
Then this panel will serve as a colour reference for when
I'm matching the colour tone during the respray of the main
cabinet.
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Here are the
miscellaneous panels detached from the cabinet. Most will
require stripping, repair, re-toning and re-finishing.
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This valve-guide
label will also be reproduced. It is stuck to an internal
cathode ray tube shield, intended to be visible (obviously)
when the rear cover is removed.
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Time to start getting stuck in to removing the worst
of the ingrained dirt from the chassis panels ! I'm
using a mixture of solvents at this point. Cellulose thinners
is also good for this job, but then good ventilation is a
'must'. |
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I've just removed
all the valve screening cans from the TRF strip and am greeted
by this view of MSP4s marching in step... rather beautiful
I think.
I'm leaving
on the coil cans for now to protect their delicate contents...
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..which we
see here. Here are just three of the RF transformers which
are stagger-tuned during the vision alignment process. Since
signal strength hasn't been an issue for the past 20 years
- while operating this set from a converter/modulator -
they're currently set to 'ultra-wide-band' spec (minimum
gain) to give the best possible picture.
The coils
are wound on most attractive formers of a crystalline plastic
appearance. Anyone know what this material is ? 'Lucite'
perhaps ?
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Now
I turn my attention to the cabinet. This will be completed
before the electronics are tackled. While the electronics
are being done, the new cellulose finish will then 'bed
in' and grain-pitting will probably appear.
After the
electronics are finished I'll then return to the cabinet,
to rub it down, possibly also applying a final 'fly-coat'
first.
First,
the easy bit... the 'short' restoration of those minor cabinet
parts which are still in excellent condition and which won't
be requiring stripping and preparing before receiving their
new finish.
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