Sony 8-301W questions
 

I've run across a Sony 8-301W 8" B/W TV in an antique shop for $50. It's missing the visor, antenna, side chrome trim, and four rear knobs. Working state is unknown. How easy are these parts to obtain from a parts set? Think that's a decent price for it given the missing items?

Thanks guys!

You can do better on EBay. There is one currently available right now and complete. They come up every now and then, sometimes more or less.

I got one off Craigslist in great shape with the carrying case for $25 so there are better deals out there.
I think finding those parts will be very difficult, you'll probably have to buy another set to get them, unless someone here happens to have all that stuff at a good price.

BTW, I moved this thread to our new Transistor Portable Televisions Forum.

Gonna be HARD to find those. I'm watching that ebay one myself... It's hard to find one that the handle hasn't been chipped off in the corners. I want TWO sets to keep ONE in good nic.....and I can't really find just the three modules on their own. I have mine up and running, but it's still real finicky and I have to play with horizontal/vertical every fifteen minutes or so. Those four knobs in back seem REAL brittle and I have broken two of them now. They don't stand up to being taken on and off the shafts too many times. They still look fine on the set, but they are wrapped up in shrink tubing underneath where the shafts go :-(

I did find some guy on ebay that sold me six real nice shiny chrome metal knobs that WOULD fit, but they are of course wrong looking (GOOD looking, and would match the nice chrome strips...but not right). I've not tried fitting those yet to see how good they would look. They are big heavy ones...look VERY similar to the "pull on" knobs of the later Trinitrons. I have only recapped about half the set so far with the caps that were not difficult to find. I have no capacitor checker yet...so didn't really want to molest the set by recapping the WHOLE thing yet. It's MUCH MUCH better than the horizontal instability/vertical linearity mess it was when I got it. I still get an odd audio static "fit" every half hour or so that sounds like someone messing with a dirty volume pot...and it does it on it's OWN for like a minute out of every half hour. it isn't a dirty pot though. Something is still up with that board in back (sound/IF).

They WEREN'T called "Sony's Fragile Baby" for nothin'...

I have two of these, one works and one doesn't....the working one has a complete snowy raster and audio, but I can't get a picture on it.....I haven't removed the back yet to see if it's something as stupid as a broken wire...yet. The other has better cosmetics, but I believe both of mine have all the knobs.

I believe I'll have a lot of parts left over when I merge the two into one. Whatever you want, it's yours :) . I can kinda put this on the front burner, as my CTC-38 is now all done.

Get one of those to go Kamakiri....They are REAL fun to look at. The one I have is currently my "flagship" piece in my collection...since I don't really have room for the big-boy TV sets. Mine is having some problem with the back module of the three (I think it's the back one that handles audio...I'm not at the house where my SAMS is...or the set itself). My top handle is also all banged up just on it's two front corners...and the only other one I seen in person had that SAME "both front corners chipped off" on the black bakelite handle. The ebay one I'm watching.....does very deffinately have some vertical issues and a weird shadowing at the corners almost like the yoke is pulled back. Either that or the camera just added this real weird effect when he took a pic. His STARTING bid is $50....so it'll probly go too high for what is effectively a PARTS set for me.

UPDATE:
Just went and looked at the ebay one again. On seceond look...seems he does have MOST of just a white raster, and the "dark corners" actually appear to be the metal shade just blocking the two top corners of the CRT. His two top knobs are REAL rough, and missing the graphics. The four I want seem to be together and look okay. I figured that between the two sets I could mix and match the internal modules to get ONE set that requires a little less attention.

Like Sandy says though....."Sony's Fragile Baby" was actually infamous for having to be "babysit" while watching. I know the weird static "fit" mine has every once in awhile isn't normal though. Sounds EXACTLY like someone "messing" with a dirty volume control...but if I change the volume control DURING this, it won't go away...and gets louder/softer with the volume (so it's BEFORE that I guess and being amplified).

These are also a little bit frustrating on a workbench...because the three modules are sorta "sandwitched" in there....and you can't really meter or poke around without taking them out. THEN of course you can't run the set. All I could do was replace anything suspect....put the set BACK together and see if I did anything. The modules all coming out like that make it NICE to work on it at the component level, but NOT nice for probing "in-situ". I suppose you could MAKE something to service these modules while running with a big ribbon wire and some edge card connectors.....but that would be a bit specialized to work on really just ONE set.

Got one out of two running last night! :D

They're quirky little sets, for sure. The gain control seems to have a weird effect on the picture, it tended to "pie crust" a bit on the sides if the gain is up too high.....and for about the first half hour of play, if I bumped the set the wrong way, it would lose most of its vertical sweep. But hey, I'm kinda pleased with this one :)

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f9...0122155_22.jpg

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f9...1010122318.jpg

Once I get a few cosmetics swapped over, I'll offer up the pieces parts to the other one here, so that more can survive in nice shape :) . The cosmetics really aren't bad on the other one, it powers up and has sound but no raster.

In addition, I have to say that mine has dead solid sync lock and a darn good picture. It was a little wonky at first, but cleaning all the pots and letting it run seemed to straighten things out.

Mine seems to settle down after it's been on about five minutes....but even a complete recap of the little sound/IF board hasn't fixed the weird static crackle "fits" mine has. It's EXACTLY like someone messing with a dirty volume pot, but it's long before the volume (I can turn the crackling sound up and down...and have cleaned the hell out of that pot).

I could stand to do some more work on the sweep circuits....but I still hafta get something to test caps. Getting a bit tired of the "shotgun" approach....and am gonna NEED to start testing caps if I ever get to the little Singer TV6U (LOTS and LOTS of caps!)

I sure wouldn't mind being considered to buy that little sound/IF board from your old set since you seem to have solid sound. Deffinately agree that the "GAIN" control is sorta weird. SORTA like a contrast control at a very narrow part of it's range. I think I also do remember there actually IS a contrast pot, but it's one of the only hidden pots. Cosmetic condition of my 301 is almost spot on. I did end up breaking two of the four little knobs in back though. They seem awful tight on those shafts, and I broke two of them "underneath" where it doesn't show. Had to wrap them back together with electric tape and this doesn't LOOK like anything is wrong, but they are sorta loose on the shafts now. I got some nice big chrome metal ones from some ebay seller (look like the power/volume on the later Trinitrons). They work...AND look okay, but they are very obviously "wrong".

I'm going to have 3 good knobs on the parts set, and the handle is perfectly intact. Cosmetically, the remainder of the set will be fine, missing one rear knob and the visor. Antenna is fine too. Or, maybe you'll want the whole thing, and you can redistribute the parts if anyone has a need.

You may need to bite the bullet and replace the remaining electrolytics, if you want your set to work well. So many of mine were bad that I quit bothering to test 'em after a while.

http://www.antiqueradio.org/art/Sony...icDiscards.jpg

Swapping in a different board might or might not solve problems. If it's loaded with funky original electrolytics, they may fail at any time. Exchanging modules made sense when these TVs were new, but 50 years later you may just be installing a different set of bad components.

Phil Nelson
Phil's Old Radios
http://antiqueradio.org/index.html

I remember reading your extensive restoration of your 8-301W. Impressive job indeed. I'm amazed that this one I have is working as well as it is, honestly.

Actually....his write-up was the only thing that made me get the nerve up to start recapping this set. I recapped that whole first board and some of the bigger stuff on the sweeps board.

You reminded me that the handle on mine has the two front corners sorta busted off. I've actually seen three of these in person...and ALL of them had this sort of "busted on both front corners" of the bakelite handle.

I wouldn't be beyond buying the remainder of the "leftover" set from you if it wasn't gonna keep someone else from having the parts THEY need. I recently tried to buy a CRT from Eric.....but he seems to forgot about this (a small one NOT for this 301).

My only real need is for that board in back I can't get to behave...and maybe those small back knobs, and now that handle. I'm not really stressing about the handle so much though. It's not perfect...but obviously good enough I keep forgetting it's chipped. I have been looking to find a second "doner" set so I could pretty much do the same as you have and build one nice one. There is a REALLY rough one on ebay right now.....but that guy thinks he's gonna get like $250 for a set that has very deffinately been to hell and back.

How about I send it to you for free? Just pay for the shipping :)