some of you may have seen that a while ago I placed an add in the wanted section of this forum for a GEC C2103 , well I came across this set it’s a GEG C2115 this is the 20 inch version of the 2103(19 inch )
the set uses the same chassis as the C2103 its a hybrid set using the 2040 series chassis
i have been searching for one of these for years , it feels nice to finally find one close
i can’t wait to,get this one working again
Chris
I like these GEC sets ... they always seem to put up a reasonable fight!
It is a long time since I have seen one of these sets. Yours appears to have the Toshiba 510 BJ 22 CRT fitted. Some had the alternative Mazda A51-110X.
It brings back fond memories of repairing and testing the 2040 series boards sent back from 250 branches! Nearly all the IF boards had to be checked for alignment as there was a tendency for the field service engineers to 'have a tweak' and often ended up breaking the ferrite cores.
Look forward to seeing it working again.
Rich
I think it was one of these my parents rented from Granada, but had sliders for the controls & 6 channel buttons.
Certainly the cabinet looks familar, especially as the wood is lighter than most 1970s sets.
Hi Chris
I'm so pleased that you have finally obtained one of these. I have the same model and also the 22 & 26 inch version. Our first family colour was the 19" 2103 too rented in October 1971.
Regards. Gary.
Nearly all the IF boards had to be checked for alignment as there was a tendency for the field service engineers to 'have a tweak' and often ended up breaking the ferrite cores.
Rich
As the song goes “ When will they ever learn”
Never understood that, occasionally in some sets (BW) the sound detector needed a tweak with the correct tool but not wholesale twiddling. One thing I found with most sets was the stability of the alignment, no doubt using the correct equipment it may be shown to have moved a bit but not that would in most cases have made much difference.
I had the right equipment and did occasionally check some sets but they were usually within spec. There was only me to service them so perhaps that made a difference.
I couldn’t agree more Frank , why do people find it necessary twiddling i/f cores I don’t know , in all the years as an engineer I never had to realign a set , so why indeed
we used to call these guys twiddles and dabblers mainly because they used to dabble in tv repairs & twiddle every thing in sight
Slotted cores weren't much of a problem as the twiddlers usually confined their attention to the top of the upper core, so it was possible to remove it from the other end and replace it if it was damaged.
Then cores with hexagonal holes all the way through came into fashion and everything changed. Just one twiddle with a screwdriver was usually enough to crack the core in two vertically which, of course, jammed it in the former.
I spent many happy (?) hours, carefully enlarging the hole with increasingly larger drill bits until only a thin shell remained, then get a sharpened screwdriver and use it as a chisel to break up the remainder sop that it could be removed. I must have been very lucky never to have damaged a former!
Frank, were the sets that needed careful adjustment to the FM detector in the Pye 11U series, because those are the sets than rang bells with me when I read your posts. They were very touchy, I recall, and had to be spot on to prevent intercarrier buzz.
Thorn sets with the 850 chassis also needed the occasional tweak to the 41.5MHz adjacent channel sound rejector to eliminate sound on vision. I always assumed that it was a combination of the rejector sitting directly on top of the mains dropper and that we were in a Channel 1 service area, the sound carrier, of courser, being 41.5MHz.
Spot on with the Pye 11u. ?
Today I got a chance to have a quick look at the GEC ,a good look around the chassis & nothing looked out of place apart from a replacement boost capacitor that had been tagged on from the top side of the panel, everything else in the set looked almost as new apart from a bit of dust
I removed one valve (PCL84) then applied power via a variac with a current meter , I started at 10% & noted the current was 0.04 amp , 20% 0.06amp I left it at this for about an hour to give the smoother a fighting chance at reforming then I increased the variac to 50% & noted the current was at 0.10amp dropping to 0.06 after about 10 minuets so I gradually increased the voltage to full mains & the current remaining at 0.06 to 0.07amp by this time the crt heaters were running.
i refitted the PCL84 & powered up again , no horrible noises , the sound came up & to my surprise & delight so did the raster
from the screen I could see the colour decoder was working as the image sows the reference OST is slightly off as are the A1 controls , a quick set up & I got this
pretty good so far but I couldn’t get the width to set up with a full screen , a closer look at the lopt & I noticed this
a 1.5k ohm broken replacing this helped but not completely then looking at the raster correction panel I noticed these 2 resistors both open circuit
there is still a bit to do like some of the electrolytics on the cda panel are getting hot & need replacing & I still feel the width isn’t quite right yet but all in all not a bad start for a couple of hours play
Chris
Hi Chris
Excellent results so far, it looks good. When I got mine it was working so it's never had the back off yet. I like yourself have a soft spot for this model as it was our first colour set. When I think about it we were a 405 line household until 1971.
Regards.
Gary.
all in all not a bad start for a couple of hours play
Chris
I'd say !
Looks to be a great set and a pleasure to see it come back to life. ?
Looks great so far. At least your cabinet looks better than my C2103 ... what was the phrase used? Weetabix? ?
https://andydoz.blogspot.com/2016/04/1971-gec-colour-2103-tv-repairs-2040.html
The GEC C2115 was one of the first sets I bought from the company when I became a dealer for that brand in late 1972. Never had any problems with the sets. I kinda remember there was also a model C2108 which was a 26" model which was also fitted with the hybrid chassis. Varicap tuning.
Till Eulenspiegel.
Hi David
I have a 26" version with the common 4 button mechanical tuner with the loudspeaker underneath the tube. I have seen the varicap version which you mentioned. Was a 20 or 22" varicap tuner version ever produced.
Regards.
Gary.
I kinda remember there was also a model C2108 which was a 26" model which was also fitted with the hybrid chassis. Varicap tuning.
Till Eulenspiegel.
I don't know about a "C2108" but here is the 26" GEC 2108, the tuner certainly looks like a six-button varicap to me, note the tuning window to the left of the controls.
As when folk check Jon's "The valve Page" website for anything early B&W TV related, its always worth folk checking the Radios-TV brochure sections (under Articles) up top, for anything colour TV related.
For that matter you can also find extensive brochures not only for colour TV but also for Amplifiers, Receivers, Music centres. Turntables, Radios, Radiograms, Speaker, VCR's, Laserdisc & CED, even many late B&W TV's too right up into the late 70's. All manner of electrical home entertainment items can be found up there. ?
The 26" version with the mechanical tuner was 2107.
I was watching a programme from the 1970's yesterday called shadows and there was a I think a 26" version on the episode peronik. you can see it numerous times as the son keeps seeing something that's not actually there.
Cheers
Neil.
Finally got to have another look at the GEC C2115 ,after the first attempt at getting it going I was taken back slightly at the remarkable performance it gave with just minor attention all be it short lived
I was replacing some electrolytic caps on the cda panel as most of these are out of spec or leaky after returning the panel to the set for testing I had no picture, no raster , nothing on the screen whatsoever , rechecked the work I done on the cda panel reveals nothing .
Checking the eht shows virtually nothing there , the tripler had failed , not too worried at this point as I knew I had a nos one in my spares , now the replacement was a REMO the white type that had never been used so was fitted with confidence and hey presto ! It worked again showing some improvement after the cda panel repair .
I then turned attention to the timebase panel again the electrolytic caps all out of spec or o/c these where replaced as a couple of resistors in the frame & width circuits and also a new thermistor the one with the 3 legs .After setting up the frame & eht again the set performed well for the next 10 minuets the suddenly no picture again the replacement tripler had gone faulty,now I knew this was the only one I had that was a replacement for the original but I did have a couple of universal ones so one of these had to be fitted. Normal service was resumed , the i/f panel had the same treatment as did the the decoder thothing els seemed to be faulty except for the horizontal shift control was very spotty & didn’t take kindly to being cleaned so that had to be replaced too the set has now been on for most of the day without a murmur & giving pretty good results & seems to be improving as the crt slowly wakes from its long sleep .
