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As someone not new to electronics but new to vintage TV, do most here prefer the Sams photofacts to the Tab books? I’ve obtained both for my particular area of interest (porta colors) and have found both to be a valuable resource in their own right: the tab books seem to be more oriented towards the inexperienced. Should I be seeking out yet another resource?

Never used Tab, sometimes OEM & Audells but have a STRONG
preference for Sams. Sams redrew all brands into the same format
so it was fast. When you use others you are dealing with multiple
formats. Some of the Jap ones were almost useless. There are
pros & cons to all of them but in an all brand TV shop Sams ruled
the roost.

73 Zeno:smoke:
LFOD !

For RCA TVs, the OEM manuals are much more complete than Sams. I think for a professional service man, Sams is probably adequate, but for an amateur working alone, it's good to have as much info as you can dig up. I also don't like how Sams part numbers are arbitrary and nearly never match OEM part numbers.

The good thing about Sams though is it's super easy to find, OEM stuff is like locating any rare antique book, elusive and sometimes impossible to locate. If you specialize only in portacolor TVs, it would be a decent idea to track down as much GE documentation as you can, to supplement the aftermarket stuff.

SAMS is kind of like getting a Haynes manual for your car, it will get the job done, but is nowhere near as comoplete or detailed as a Ford manual or a Toyota manual.

Tab manuals were reprints of the OEM manuals.
Later on, some firms would only offer Microfiche versions. I got an old reader from the firm I worked at so I could read them. :scratch2:

As someone who used to be a tech twenty years ago, I can appreciate and understand the Haynes reference! I’ve been lucky enough to have factory literature available for my audio stuff, so perusing sam’s and tab is new to me. I found a tab book covering the HE chassis on evilbay for twelve bucks including shipping and was happy to get it.

Though I've been tinkering on sets for the majority of my life, I certainly consider myself an amateur. Some of the most helpful books have been the TAB RCA Color TV Service Manual Volume 1 & the RCA Color TV Pict-O-Guides. Along with these tools, I always want the Photofact as well. The pictures alone makes them extremely valuable.