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TonyDuell · 2nd Aug 2017, 5:12 am

It brings back memories for me too. The first TV my parents had (back in the early 70s) was an Ultra VP17-72. Much the same chassis in a grey case with a carrying handle. I think a 17" CRT. My father was given it by a friend, non-working- and I remember him borrowing an AVO VCM and spending a couple of evenings testing all the valves. Not the way I do fault-finding now, but...

I am sure he replaced valves that would still have worked in the set. I seem to remember him replacing both valves in the Fireball tuner, the frame output valve at the top, the line output valve and EHT rectifier (but not the booster diode). And possibly a few others.

Anyway, the set was in use for about 5 years before it failed again and was replaced by a Philips dual-standard set. The Ultra, alas, got stripped for parts, and I doubt I still have any recognisable bits from it. I remember the odd layout, the big metal rectifier under the chassis at the bottom, the loudspeaker mounted on spring-loaded pillars so it was pressed against the case, the swing-out PCB with the IF strip on it, etc.

2nd Aug 2017, 5:12 am	#63
TonyDuell Dekatron Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Biggin Hill, London, UK. Posts: 5,208	Re: Pilot PT650 "Spacemaker" Television It brings back memories for me too. The first TV my parents had (back in the early 70s) was an Ultra VP17-72. Much the same chassis in a grey case with a carrying handle. I think a 17" CRT. My father was given it by a friend, non-working- and I remember him borrowing an AVO VCM and spending a couple of evenings testing all the valves. Not the way I do fault-finding now, but... I am sure he replaced valves that would still have worked in the set. I seem to remember him replacing both valves in the Fireball tuner, the frame output valve at the top, the line output valve and EHT rectifier (but not the booster diode). And possibly a few others. Anyway, the set was in use for about 5 years before it failed again and was replaced by a Philips dual-standard set. The Ultra, alas, got stripped for parts, and I doubt I still have any recognisable bits from it. I remember the odd layout, the big metal rectifier under the chassis at the bottom, the loudspeaker mounted on spring-loaded pillars so it was pressed against the case, the swing-out PCB with the IF strip on it, etc.