Hi guys,

I inherited a vintage early 60s AWA deep image TV from my grandparents. It's a really nice old unit, timber cabinet, big speaker at the bottom and large dial on the side. When it's plugged in, there is a hum and a few valves light up with an orange glow in the back, but no sound or image comes up.

I don't really have the time to learn TV repairs myself, and was wondering if anyone knew who could repair it back to working order for me in Victoria? I found an old radio repairer in Geelong, but not a trace of anyone who fixes old TVs.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Chris

There is a guy in Sydney somewhere who can get your old TV going. How old is the unit?

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"I'd rather have a CRT than nothing" - me
"people just throw working CRTs out, it is NOT FUNNY!" -me

Hi Chris,

I'd suggest not plugging the set in again, as this can destroy expensive, rare and vital components inside the set. Aged components can blow with the sudden application of mains, such as capacitors (condensers) and transformers. You could also damage valves and the CRT.

Nathan, re-read Chris' post - he's clearly stated that it's an early 1960s television, so we can assume it's between 49 and 54 years old. This guy in Sydney isn't your friend Steven, is he?

Chris, there are a few collectors from Victoria here. I'm sure someone may be able to help out.

Chris

I may know of someone and I can do some asking around.

Are you able to transport the TV to Melbourne to have it repaired?

While I may be able to find someone who can repair your TV they will only do so from their own home.
There is also the risk that the set may be unrepairable due to unobtainable parts. This needs to be considered before committing to transporting the set to have it looked at.

Hi guys, first off, I'm really sorry for the delay in reply to your posts!! I started moving house not long after I made the original post, and have only just had a chance to pull the unit out of storage to have a look and take some pics, which reminded me about this thread.

Nathan - Thanks, but unfortunately Sydney is a bit too far.

Chris - I'm not 100% sure on the age of the unit, I was only hazarding a guess, however I would say it could have been made anytime in the 1960s as I've seen some really early sets from the late 50s, etc, and it doesn't really look as old as these. Thanks for the info though, I have only plugged it in once but I won't be doing that again anytime soon, just in case.

TV Collector - Yes, Melbourne is probably my best bet - I'm based in East Gippsland approx 3 hours from Melb but do make the occasional trip. I don't mind if it is someone based at home, if they have the know-how I would appreciate their time.

According to the forum guidelines, I can't attach photos to this post at time of writing, however I have emailed them to the administrator who will apparently post them here in the near future. Just for the record, its an AWA Radiola Deep Image Television, receiver model number (D or O?)4SA.

Thanks for all your responses!

Hi ,

If you are willing to ship it to Perth I can restore it for you.

I have all the parts required but it would cost around $3 to $500 to ship.

Cheers
Vic

Nice looking TV.

Hope you can find a local person. It might be worth asking HRSA VIC branch about that:

http://www.hrsa.asn.au/.

The model number is D4SA which makes your AWA approx a 1962 model.

I spoke to one of the people I thought might be able to help but he was reluctant to take on an old TV for repair.

I'm quite surprised at how rapidly the group of people who would tackle these sorts of repairs is disappearing. Most of the valve radio people won't consider working on a TV even though the technology is similar. The old style TV repair man is almost extinct!

I do know one other person who might be able to help, I'll see if he can.

Hi Vic, thanks for your reply, great to hear you are still actively restoring these units. Perth might be a bit far unfortunately, however If I can't find anyone locally, I will get back to you.

Thanks GTC, I will give them a go.

TV Collector - great to finally put an approx year of production on it. Being in my 20s, my knowledge of early sets is not great to say the least. Thanks for trying anyway, yeah it's amazing how few people are repairing these early sets. It was common-place to repair your set once upon a time, now TVs are basically a throw-away item. Maybe there just aren't enough collectors out there to warrant repairing them. If you could chase this last person I would be grateful. Thanks.

Chris - good news, I've found someone who can help!
My second contact is still doing old B&W TV repairs, he is a retired TV technician so is quite familiar with these old sets. I can pass on his contact details so you can discuss arrangements with him if you want to proceed.

With free trade agreements about to be kicked in the guts in Japan, South Korea and China I would say the price of new televisions will make all repairs apart from warranty repairs more or less pointless.

Since Christmas a few of the new OLED screens have come onto the market courtesy of Samsung and LG. I am not a big fan of the curved models and will wait for a flat one to be offered and in a larger size. Picture quality is good though. The advantage of OLED technology is a slimmer screen due to the nil requirement for backlighting. Once this is offered by more manufacturers it will render LCD screens obsolete. This along with lower prices will see more older sets left on council clean-up piles.

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A valve a day keeps the transistor away...

Hi TV Collector, that is great news! Yes please, if you have them, thanks.

You'll either need to email me or unhide your email address on your contact page so I can email you.

Hi guys,

I've had a retired TV repairman kindly look at my set (photos of the set above), however sadly the CRT is damaged and I have no idea where to get it repaired or replaced. Apparently these CRTs were used in quite a few sets at the time. The only info I have is that it is 23" B&W.

Other fairly (apparently) easy repairs to be carried out include 'low bright' R340, 'boost cap' C415 and 'vent coupling' C318. I was also able to grab a photo of the schematic diagram courtesy of his old work book as the one inside my back cover was a bit moth-eaten.

Any help or info on CRT repairs would be terrific! I looked up the repair process and looks fairly complicated unless you have the right equipment.

Thanks
Chris

I've had a retired TV repairman kindly look at my set

Out of interest, how did you locate him?