Got a GE model 800C "Locomotive" TV

[mpatoray]

Hi all,

The other day i mad a trip to Cuyahoga Falls to pick up a GE model 800C TV. This is a black Bakelite cased TV that was dubbed the :locomotive" by TV collectors because of the fact that it kind of looks like a streamliner train.

It looks to be in overall good condition, but of course will need a full restoration, I tested the 10BP4A CRT and it is good

Here is a video I made of the trip, and putting the TV on the workbench for the first time.

I will post updates,

Matt

 

[danemodsandy]

Wow!

That is schweet.

The 800C is one of my nightmare midcentury memories, though. My parents' best friends had one for years. One fine day, we visited them, and it was gone, replaced by a new set. They'd thrown the 800C out - it was old, didn't work any more, and there were great new TVs on the market, right?

My other nightmare memory is of an RCA CTC-100, the Merrill model that commands so much money today. One of my high-school classmates' family had it, having bought it cheap in the early '60s as an "old clunker," but hey, it was color.

Eventually, it gave too much trouble to fool with any more, so the family went and bought themselves a cheapie Admiral color set, and the Merrill literally hit the curb. In the rain. I called my dad (these folks lived two doors away from my great-grandmother, with whom I was spending the day), telling him about it and saying we should save it; I knew what it was because Dad worked for RCA. The answer came back loud and clear: Not only no but HELL no.

I only learned years later what a trial by fire the first two or three generations of RCA color sets had represented for service techs, which was what my dad was. To him, it was junk, and the faster it hit the landfill, the better.

Oy.

 

[paulg]

Got both

I have the 800C and the CT100. The CT100 does work but the cabinet needs refinishing.
I love the GE too. I bought it as a kid in about 1977 from AMVETS. Fixed it. Still works to this day.
It has no AGC so when you turn the contrast down both the picture and sound go out. However it is rather reliable.
On the GE, my vertical blanker cap was leaky causing DC on the CRT to go positive and the picture fade after about 20 minutes.
There's also that terminal strip in the HV cage that cracks.
Other than that, not much to go wrong with this basic and (I think) well-engineered TV.

 

[miele_ge]

danemodsandy... your dad worked for RCA?

That is so cool.  My brother also worked for RCA as a designer - deflection circuits, if I remember correctly (starting in 1984).  He was a huge television buff and collected many vintage sets.  One of my favorite memories is driving to the outskirts of Philadelphia in '82 or '83 to get a CT-100 that was in the home of a retired Philco engineer (apparently there was some sharing of technology between the two companies). 

 

We spent a bunch of time in Jersey in the early '80's visiting retired RCA and GE engineers trying to stir up stuff.  Very good times with my older bro.

 

 

 

 

[mpatoray]

Here it is with the CRT removed and stored in a safe place so I can work on the set better. Will deal with the rust using Naval Jelly. Already have the capacitors ordered. 630V poly film for the paper caps and high temp axials for the electrolytics.

Going to tackle the Bakelite the same way I did with my Philco "Hippo" radio a soaking in hot soapy water, then cleaning Brasso, and a nice coat of Johnson's paste wax (since that is real wax not like the Minwax paste wax).

Matt

 

[tomturbomatic]

3 things

1. Do old TV sets that have sat unused have to go through the gradual power up like old radios?

2. In 1957 or 58 a classmate's family was given a RCA Victor color TV by a wealthy aunt. When we had our 7th grade graduation party at their house in June of 1963, the TV was on, but the glass in front of the tube was almost entirely coated with black dirt the electrical charge from the tube had captured and the only way to see the colors on the screen was to look down through the very top of the glass.

3. What is the size of the picture tube in the "locomotive"?

 

[chromacolor]

Some people do the gradual power up, which is probably wise. I don't, but you have to figure ANY pre 1965 electronic device is going to need a recap. By about 1965 most products had mylar caps.

On that color set, did your friends parents smoke? That RCA probably had a non-bonded tube, and a "smoker" set would get dirtier than most. I remember when I would go out on TV repair house-calls with my Uncle, we'd get complaints of a dim picture, so we always carried some windex and paper towels with us. You'd be surprised on how many people were unaware you had to clean the TV screen.

 

[chromacolor]

oh.. and danemodsandy.. I'm laughing about your post. My Uncle and grandpa were TV repair men, and the CT-100 WAS a universally hated set with the techs back in the day.
I would always want to "save" some of the old stuff that came into the shop, but, like you, I not only got a no.. but a HELL NO!

It's kind of sad when I think of what went to the dumpster back then...

 

[rp2813]

Tom, my understanding is that the 10BP4 CRT is a 10" round tube.  A lot of manufacturers' cabinets and cases used a square screen in front of the round CRT's before square CRT's became commonplace.  My 1950 Admiral "consolette" has the same CRT, but its cabinet has what many refer to as the "double D" screen, with flat top and bottom and "parentheses" on the sides.

 

I've always liked the locomotive sets.  I'd grab one if I saw one.  The 10BP4 is one of the most commonly used CRT types on early sets, and they are easier to find than most other types.

 

Most old sets like this have CRT's that are just fine.  As Sandy described above, when these types of TV's stopped working, the CRT's in them still had plenty of life expectancy.  New, improved, larger screen sets were purchased instead of fixing the older one, so generally the CRT and vacuum tubes in these early sets are still good.  That was the case with my Admiral.  All it needed was a re-cap and it was good to go.

 

[cadman]

This GE locomotive was also made as a Double-D set. Not sure if they changed the model number or not. -Cory

 

[paulg]

TIP

Don't put ANY excess pressure on that lattice top.
I did ... many moons ago and had to find a junker set to replace the rear cabinet. Put my hand through the top.
That cabinet rear is a very fragile piece, probably made more brittle by the heat.

 

[whirlaway]

True!

I looked at a couple on e-bay,the back slats were cracked or broken,Admiral did the same thing as far as the picture tube.I have a couple same chassis but one is round and one is rectangular.I guess alot of them did at that time to give you the feeling of a bigger pic.I have a bakelite one 12inch in a floor cabinet. Works really well and I have had it 15 years maybe fire it up every 6months works really good.I have a maroon table model round tube an Admiral also,it works good.Also a little Motorola small screen from 48 it still works,bakelite cabinet,on all of them I have always used NaNor Bowling Alley wax on all of my plastic things and bakelite really keeps them shiney and clean and I guess well fed,I havent had any to dry up as such. Bobby

 

[mpatoray]

Ah the CT-100. a tour de force in color receiver design. 45 tubes 450 watts of power consumed.... Now days when restoring one of these engineering marvels we can do better then RCA ever could have with parts tolerances, 3% and 1% tolerance film caps, 5 and 1% resistors and 20% electrolytics.

Now the problem with the CT-100 is that conglomeration of parts that is the 15GP22, a lot of them go to air because the weld between the face and the bell of the tube failed, asme with sets that use the 16AP4 and with the 30BP4 in the Dumont Royal Sovereigns.

Matt