Oh, yeah, also have the CT-101's bigger bro-a CT-3311-a 2.75" screen. Think they're supposedly even rarer than a CT-101-Who wants the SECOND smallest color set ever made, after all ?...Then there's the Toshiba CE035, a 3" color set, AM/FM, & detachable micro-cassette called a "Walky", from '83. Only seen one or 2 others like it on Da Bay...And a couple of GE 4CM3326X, a 4" color set-AM-FM-detachable microcassette stereo Box De Bume' from '82...It's amazing to me how much DEVELOPMENT time & money must have been put into these marvels of the Eighties-And I doubt their manufacturers made a dime offa 'em. Then there was the JVC CX-500US, a 4.5" color set/AM/FM/std cassette from '82...Seen it-Used examples- sold under several brand names. These puppies were all Muy Expensivo, I don't remember ever seeing ANY of 'em in a store, I special-ordered my CT-101 in '84, & got "Fish-eyes" shot my way over it. I also don't think any of 'em were on the market for any great length of time, I THINK I remember seeing the 4" GE advertised over a period of a year or 2, but that's it. These little "CRT" guys really weren't ever given a fair chance...And then unceremoniously shown the door when the color "Pocket sets" came out a few years later...

jr tech,

Thank you. Have to say, it was Jerome who alerted me to the auction. I probably would have missed it.

crtfool,

THANK YOU. "30-CTV1 4" Beam-Index color TV in the US, 1986" You got me going. If found, would be rarest of the rarest! :-)

Edit: Do you mean this one? http://www.ericwrobbel.com/books/rom0609.htm

If the Sanyo prototype made it to market, I think it would have been designed much like the Sony Watchman flat TV's of that period. The prototype shown was much like this, with the gun inline and below the screen.

Here is a photo of the Sanyo beam index tube prototype: http://books.google.com/books?id=lQA...n%20tv&f=false

etype2 - The link you gave is for the Sharp - I have seen that 1 several times. The TV that I saw a few years ago - before I knew about AK / VK, before I knew Jerome, and before I knew about Beam Index - definitely was a Sanyo, it definitely was pink, and the pedestal was like a bent boomerang with no electronics in it. I do not know the model number, or if it was even a Beam Index - according to Jerome's description, it could be the TV that he was looking for. This definitely is a mystery that needs to be solved!

crtfool,

I searched Sanyo Electric Global website- History- Time line 1980's, found no announcement of a beam index tube. Very curious, I will continue search.

When I first saw the Popular Science article about the Sanyo color lollipop prototype, I was quite skeptical, thinking that the picture showed the common Sony 04JM monochrome lollipop CRT.
Looking more closely, it appears that the gun on the Sanyo is larger, the tube is thicker and the deflection angle may be less than the Sony (picture 2). I guess that I am more or less convinced that the tube in the article was unique. :scratch2:
jr

I have no doubt that the reporter who went to that electronic show in Japan, 1985 as reported in the Popular Science article, actually saw a working prototype of the Sanyo beam index prototype. The reporter interviewed Sanyo representatives.

If it went to market as promised in 1986 or later, there should be a paper trail evidencing this.

That is why I'm intrigued by Jerome's sighting. I want it to exist.

So do I! And, If 1 ever does come up on eBay, I really hope that Jerome gets it because it is HIS Holy Grail.

Anyway, thanks for all your effort and research.

You are very welcome, crtfool.

And thank you to the members for your comments and Jerome for your help.

Time for me to bow out. :-)

Hello Gentlemen,

Interesting thread!

Here's an article from Popular Science Nov 1986 titled "Pocket TV Survey" where the Sanyo is mentioned.

It's only a TV, but chasing an elusive item is in a way more fun that actually owning it.

Story: the Popular Science article mentions the name of the Sanyo product manager at the time the TV was introduced to market (Chuck Davis). Two years ago, i managed to locate the guy in his current job, called him up & tried to learn some useful data on the product. Well, 24 years later, he didn't remember much but gave me a contact at Sanyo HQ japan of an American working as Coordinator, Global PR Relations (Aaron S. Fowles).

I made contact. Mr Fowles searched the Sanyo Museum at the Tokyo HQ and reported that there was no trace whatsoever of the 30-CTV1. End of trail (for now).

Years before (2000-2004) i queried all Sanyo US locations: Compton, Calif Main office & Sales), Forrest City, Arkansas, the former US factory and now TV spares. Results: nada. One old timer on the factory floor vaguely remembered the 30-CTV1 but it was never assembled in America.

I watch Yahoo! Japan from time to time. From our contact in Tokyo "TV Doctor" this model was never sold on the Japanese domestic market - because of high price maybe, Popular Science quotes the TV as having a US $500.00 recommended retail price, quite a sum in 1986.

Other micro-TV related items:
- the pretty incredible A04-JGM09X 1.5" color CRT used in the CT-101
- 2 x screen closeups of the CT-101

Although not a micro-TV, i acquired recently a Sony XEL-1 OLED screen, will soon post pictures on PhotoBucket.

Best Regards

jhalphen
Paris/France

Hi Again,

To further the topic of the beam-index micro-crts, here are some pictures given to me in 2004, courtesy of Charles Osborne (thanks!) who sometimes posts here.

The CRT is a Hitachi H-6289 single-beam "Indextron" CRT and at 1.5" screen diagonal it is truely a technology wonder.

Hitachi developped the CRT to bring color viewfinders to cameras and camcorders at a time when shadow-mask CRTs were deemed too dim and power-hungry to be acceptable in equipment running off batteries.

The "Wizard of Oz" pictures is courtesy of John Folsom Jr, Thanks! John.

The last document is from RCA cameras CC-030 and CKC-021 Theory of Operation section in the services manuals and describes the screen structure of the H6289 CRT.

One nuisance about repackaging the color viewfinders for use as micro-NTSC monitors is that there are 2 photocells for the indexing system, one sensitive to UV and the other to green (aside from the Green phosphor there is also a Green Index Phosphor) and both must face the screen and be shielded from outside light or the index sync goes haywire and the screen reverts to monochrome.

Another info learned from experience with these viewfinders is that obtained a constantly correct Red is near impossible. Depending on color content, Reds vary from having a purple tone to a dull brown, so flesh tones remind the user of the early days of NTSC - "stop twidling that Tint control!"

This is not the H6289's fault, i suspect some cost-cutting was done in the complex matrix processing required to produce the RGB/Y signals to keep component count and cost acceptable.

OT:
The Sharp 3.5" 3LS36 TV mentioned in this thread (sold in pink, black, white) uses an ordinary shadow-mask color CRT, a 100HB22.

Best Regards

jhalphen
Paris/France

Jerome - How did he get a color picture on the bare tube in the third photo without the photocells?

More OT:
I notice one of these on the 'Bay for about $300 BIN... Is that nutz or about what these little pink ones go for?
http://cgi.ebay.com/Sharp-3LS36-P-3-...item4cf0423038
I am not affiliated with this auction,
jr

Think I gave $50 or so for mine-But that was prolly 10 yrs ago. Think I gave $40 for the white one a year or 2 later. IIRC, I was either only bidder,or one of a handful of bidders on either one...Seems like for some reason, more pink ones have surfaced...Only seen one-I THINK-of the silver ones & maybe a couple black ones...Think I may have seen a couple of the ivory ones besides mine. Never did see one "In captivity" back in the day for sale that I can remember.

Hi to All,

For CRTFool, the photocells are there alright, it CAN't work without!

see this brighter pix with the photocells layed out in front of the screen.

The room was also darkened.

When the viewfinder's case is open, there is a small polished steel mirror at the top of the case, above the CRT. I suppose it's there to reflect the light down towards the photocells as synching the beam position with the RGB sequence is particularly important at the start & end of the TV field.

When you view a Sony Indextron CRT out from the chassis, there is a different appearance phosphor at the top of the CRT and on the left side, running continually from top to bottom.

From Andy's photo (Thanks! Andy) this is a "run-in" area reserved for sync before the active frame begins. The beam is also re-synched at each line start.

Best Regards

jhalphen
Paris/France