Ekco TS88

[EF80TVVALVE]

Hi Everyone

I've just acquired this Ekco TS88. The back story is that it was an abandoned restoration after the original CRM92 was found to be flat. It arrived to me minus CRT but I hope to overcome that. The TS88 has been one of those sets that I've been after for many years but they are seldom seen.

The first task looks to be a clean up operation. I'm trying to work out if the LOPT has leaked. The top of the chassis looks to be covered in an ancient oily substance but from the top and sides I can't see any evidence of the LOPT leaking, can they leak from the bottom or are they metal-bottomed much like an electrolytic can?

I'm just wondering if anybody can advise on a suitable clean up operation. I do worry of the potential that the oil contains PCBs. Does anybody know for sure if Ekco used mineral or PCB oil in their LOPTs on these sets?

[newlite4]

The quantity of oil (if that is what it is) sounds as though it is fairly minimal. I would be inclined just to wear latex gloves and mop up with kitchen roll then dispose of in a plastic bag. That way, you can keep an eye on the lopt over a month just to see if any more has appeared. I have had one of these sets for over fifteen years and have not noticed any discharge. For many years, we had about twenty Lektrokit capacitor boxes at work. These contained paper/oil caps from 1uF to about 25uF and some of these were very leaky. I had them disposed of before I retired four years ago.
Neil

[EF80TVVALVE]

I was supposed to add some photos

Whatever it is has covered a fair bit of the chassis in the past and has blackened with age. It looks like somebody has started to clean it up at some point too. Shouldn't be too difficult to get it clean, I'll just have to do it with caution. I'd rather have this is all done first though before I go about working on it.

[Boulevardier]

I was once faced with a Pye valve radio with a chassis in a similar state. I concluded that it was the result of a lifetime of having been kept in a cigarette-smoke laden setting - perhaps a pub or a club.

It was beyond repair anyway, so I didn't have to clean it up, but I reckon that cleaning it up would have taken painstaking work with an old toothbrush and IPA or meths.

Mike

[Heatercathodeshort]

I don't think the LOPT in this chassis is oil filled. The insulated top is made from some sort of hard card that would leak. Worth a check. J.

[EF80TVVALVE]

Hi John,
I'm sure I read a thread of a similar EKCO set having the LOPT refilled by the author, may not have been the same set but the LOPT from memory looked the same if not very similar. I'll see if I can find it and reference it here.

I guess it's also hard to say for certain exactly what this greasy stuff on the chassis really is. It could even be a combination of nicotine, dirt or even oils that have settled if its been in an environment where cooking takes place (such as a kitchen/diner). Either way I'll give it a good clean before tackling the rest just in case it is something nasty.

I do also have concerns somewhat if the transformer is oil filled and exactly how much oil is left inside, I'd hate to see any damage result should it be an oil filled type and there's a lack of oil present.

[EF80TVVALVE]

Hi everyone,

I'm slowly getting there with the TS88 clean up. I've just about done the LOPT side of the chassis now and most of the RF deck looks to just be covered in dust rather than this black oily-greasy stuff.

I decided to remove the LOPT can for an inspection and this has somewhat alleviated any concerns of it coming from there. Considering how much of this stuff is on the chassis I'd have expected there to be a clear sign of where it had come from had it been from the can but in fact it is quite clean. Giving it a shake I'd hazard a guess that it's still about 4/5ths full of oil too.

There is a visconol long missing, I doubt this is from the guts of one exploding. Perhaps somebody decided to clean the chassis in the past with some sort of oil and gave up after making a mess of it? Who knows!

Once it's all cleaned up I'll start to work on it. I do for now have a mullard CRT that I'm planning to use for testing purposes but hopefully I have a plan in mind to return it to a Mazda triode once it's restored and working well.

[EF80TVVALVE]

Work has been continuing on the TS88, mainly cleaning that top deck but I'm now virtually finished with the task. I'm still no wiser as to where the oily grease has originated from but I'm quite certain that it couldn't have been anything that was part of the set itself and must have came from something externally.

I'm at a point now where I'm going to begin the restoration work and the most obvious problem is the lack of CRT which I'll need to sort. For now I have a spare MW22-14 (or 16) in the loft so I plan to fit this for restoration purposes until I have a replacement Mazda CRT to hand. I'll need to sort a suitable supply for the A1 voltage, if anybody has done similar it would be beneficial to me to know how you got around it, and it doesn't have to be a permanent solution either. I'm sure one of the 6.3v windings on the mains transformer will happily supply the CRT heater.

[Beardyman]

Pardon my intrusion but I can see from the photos that chassis is in a similar state to an Ultra Troubadour radio I recently acquired.
The chassis & inside of the case was absolutely caked in a greasy black deposit which definitely did not come from the radio!
All my usual go to cleaners barely made a dent, my wife suggested trying Elbow Grease kitchen cleaner.
Worked like a charm & cheap too!

[Reelman]

Another vote for Elbow Grease, it works on thick greasy deposits very well. Another product to keep in the arsenal of useful cleaners for our hobby.
Can be lent out to the person who cleans the kitchen as well.

Peter

[Welsh Anorak]

Ditto - it's very handy for cleaning up that awful goo left by disintegrating belts on tape recorders.

[Freya]

Originally Posted by EF80TVVALVE

I'll need to sort a suitable supply for the A1 voltage, if anybody has done similar it would be beneficial to me to know how you got around it, and it doesn't have to be a permanent solution either.

These are the circuits i have used before;

[EF80TVVALVE]

Thanks everybody for the cleaning advice, most of this stuff came away easily with white spirits but there are a few more stubborn patches so I'll get some elbow grease to see how well it cleans those parts up, never used it before but it sounds like a good cleaner, especially if it's able to clean up gooey belts!

Thanks for the circuits Stephen, I was thinking of building the supply from the mains if the HT hasn't enough oomph to supply A1 on its own, I'll likely use the HT for now to allow me to carry out restoration work then I can mess around with A1 at a later stage once I'm happy with the other bits.

[Heatercathodeshort]

The Ekco TS88 series originally released in 1949 covers a large range of models both TRF and Superhet including 9" 12" 15" table, console models, many with preset AM radio that performs very well.

There are few common faults, the most common the Mazda CRM92 CRT. The EHT Visconol is a change on sight. [just disconnect it]

The 6K25 Thyratron frame time generator mounted in the centre just below the tube will cause all sorts of odd frame faults as it ages. Take great care when removing it! The valve is very tight in it's sunken socket and if care is not taken when applying pressure to the valves Octal spigot from below the chassis, it will suddenly release with force hitting the CRT bulb and POP! You have been warned.

There are two 100pf capacitors in the line timebase oscillator [brown dominoes] that fail [OC] causing very high line frequency together with the cathode bypass electrolytic connected to pin 8 of the 6P28 LOP valve [very low EHT with folded picture.

Most of the superhet receivers will be fitted with a Band 3 converter. When I was a kid there were large numbers of these at jumble sales for 5/- [25P] or less!

This is a picture of my TS115 9" table model with AM radio. It has the original CRM92....! It's very bright and does not photograph well.

Good luck with it. John.

[EF80TVVALVE]

Thank you John, your example looks to have an excellent CRT! My TS88 had no visconol fitted when I received it but in reading the EKCO data it seems not all series of this chassis had one fitted, the mounting hole is present but it looks as though one has never even been there.

I'm slowly getting through the work on the chassis, replacing crumbling wiring and also rectified a couple of bodges too. I have a suitable socket for the Mullard CRT on the way so that'll be fitted in due course along with a suitable A1 supply wired up. I have test fitted the Mullard tube and it's a good fit but it may require some extra support at the front as the straps don't hold it very well. I presume there are some differences in the bulbs between the original CRM92 and the MW22-14, other than that it's virtually a perfect fit.

[Heatercathodeshort]

Lubricate the pins on the base of the MW22-14 CRT before you try to remove the base. They can become seized and pull out from the base. J.