Westinghouse Attache 12
 

This Westinghouse 12” B&W TV was purchased new by me as a child around 1966. It was used for probably 10 years after which it was stored in basements. Other TV’s came and went but I didn’t part with my first. I suspect it’s fairly rare (I know this doesn’t necessarily mean valuable) given the brand and the fact it was made in the USA just before that all changed. All the original tubes are Westinghouse Made in USA.

About a year ago I decided to fire it up and perhaps address the horizontal issue it had 40 years ago. Thanks to the internet. I was able to troubleshoot and locate a few tubes to correct it. It now works well for a 52-year-old TV, I’d say.

As a non-tech, I have a couple of questions on how to best preserve my old Westinghouse. Is it best to power it up occasionally? I’ve heard that’s helpful although being stored for decades didn’t seem to hurt it. I’m concerned that anything beyond tube replacement would be a problem that I couldn’t resolve. Also. would it be wise to purchase some replacement tubes in anticipation of future availability issues? I’ve heard the 33gy7 Compactron is one that can be short lived. I wouldn’t believe this TV would in use on anything close to a regular basis. Thanks for any information you can provide, and I hope this was somewhat of interest to the forum.

It looks to be well cared for! The basements it was stored in must've clean and dry.
The set was a bit more stylish than the Admirals, Motorolas and Zeniths of the day. IIRC, it was a bit more expensive than those.
The tubes used in that model are probably on the Dollar list at ESRC in Florida. Most but the 33GY7, which is a bit higher priced. :scratch2:

You may already be aware, but just in case you aren't, be careful about the instant-on.

I'm not familiar myself with the set, but instant-on sets keep the tubes, picture tube included, partially warmed up when they're plugged in. Even if you turn it off. A few have a switch to disable that, but I don't know if yours is one of them. While in practice it makes power up much faster, it also shortens the life of your tubes. In general, I'd keep it unplugged unless you're using it to maximize their life.

That is a fine example of the seldom seen 12" Attache' model. Per CU pricing in the old buying guides, Westinghouse sets WERE more expensive, and in the 12" category, rarely found compared to GE's cheap 12" "Adventurer" models.

I have a 19" Attache' version a few years older and it too has the instant-on. It is simply a rectifier diode (cathode to line side) located on the on-off switch that allows half-cycle AC through to the filament string, blocking it from the B+ line

If the TV has two rectifier diodes as on a full-wave voltage-doubler supply, the on-off switch is two-pole. The 1968 Westinghouse 19" color set's instant on is like this. Westy seemed to get by on half-wave supplies, while others used doublers.

When I bought it new, I think it cost about $120. A lot of money for a kid to save in 1966. No worry about the Instant On feature now since it's not plugged in except for rare occasions.

I remember back in the day the thought was that the Instant On feature's warmth minimized humidity issues and lessened surges. I know it produced other issues at least for some TVs.

Instant on is probably a bad thing in tube sets. It drys out &
over heats the PCB. Tube life it a big argument. Some say since
the tubes arnt cycling hot/cold they last longer. Who knows?
I remember these well. Only major problems they had were slipping
wafers in the tuner & yokes. Other than that it was the usual.

BTW nice choice, most kids would have got a GE & saved $30 but
if you had done that it would be in the dump......

73 Zeno
LFOD !

Thanks for your comments. Nice to know I made a good decision selecting this set over the GE of the day. My brother had one of those which is long gone now. I suspect back then buying the Westinghouse was considered the riskier choice. Here is a picture of the circuit board to complete the views.

How is the UHF tuned? It looks like the concentric fine tuning control is used for station selection in the UHF position. Are the numbers visible through the same opening?

That looks to be a well made set. It is far better built than the GE sets of the same era. The only one that I know is better is the 12 inch Zeniths of the day. They used compactron tubes but were all hand wired. The one I had used a 38HE7 for the horizontal output and damper and a 17JZ8 for the vertical. I have a soft spot for small black and white sets.

Nice looking little TV set. There's a "Jet Set" of that same era on the Ashville, NC Craigslist page that has a radio and record player built in with the TV. I thought about buying it, but I need another TV like I need a hole in my head.

You are correct regarding the UHF tuning. The VHF channel selector is positioned between channels 2 and 13 where a window reveals the UHF channels. The VHF concentric fine tuning control now doubles as the 2 “speed” UHF channel selector.

This unit has 12 tubes other than the CRT. Only the 17JZ8 and 33GY7 are Compactrons. My understanding is Westinghouse quit making TV’s in Metuchen NJ a couple years after this one was produced.

I read somewhere that the CEO of Westinghouse at the time was looking to have black and white sets made in Korea. Even as far back as the '60s the American electronics industry was looking to outsource. Perhaps this is why so many small sets in the '70s were Japanese made.

I think the last Westy was from 1970 or so. Before 1954, their home entertainment was made in Sunbury, pa.

The corporate history of Westinghouse is kind of interesting. They were a big deal along with RCA and GE in the early days of both radio and TV. They had a respectable market share through the 1950’s. I read somewhere that they beat RCA to the market with the first consumer color TV. They were contracted by NASA to provide the camera and related equipment for the Apollo moon mission telecasts.

Ultimately competition forced them out of the consumer electronics business. The rest of the business followed suit to the point where now only the name remains where it is licensed to others. It’s American competitors all suffered similar fates unfortunately.

The 33GY7 is also on the Dollar tube list at that place. When I call to order tubes, I refer to it as the Dollar Menu like McD's.

Thanks for checking. At those prices it might be good to keep a spare, just in case.