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-   -   A Little Flat Tube Fun (http://www.videokarma.org/showthread.php?t=246309)

bgadow 11-21-2009 10:14 PM

It may be that I had never seen one of these flat-tube sets in person. And then: a week ago I got a visit from a friend who volunteers with her husband at a thrift store. Periodically they will stop by with a box of stuff that came in the donation box but was not considered saleable. The most recent box included a Kmart table radio, an 80s Ford car radio, an old United electric clock...and guess what? An FD-10A. The batteries were pretty old and leaky-after a cleaning and new cells it worked great!

Now, today there were a lot of yard sales and at one (fundraiser at a fire company) a vendor had an FD-40A. He was trying to clear his inventory so it cost me $1. Not as nice a shape as the free one, but decent enough and it also works! The tuning string slips so I couldn't quite bring in a picture.

I was hoping these portables would start showing up cheap...I wonder what kinda color sets my start showing up? Should be an Indextron out there...

kx250rider 11-22-2009 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bgadow (Post 2960518)
I wonder what kinda color sets my start showing up? Should be an Indextron out there...

eBay is flooded with lollypop tube B&W sets, even new in the box. Right now, there is at least one each of the Magnavox and Zenith versions of the FD Watchman, as well as a plethora of Sonys including a few new-in-box.

As for the color sets, suddenly I stopped seeing the 5" early Trinitrons. It seems like the bulk of those went on eBay a few months before the switchover. I am seeing more 8" & 9" Trinitrons from the 90s, and a bunch of later model cheap LCD color pocket sets. I have picked up three of the Sony FDL-310 color LCD Watchman sets; the first Sony flat LCD color set. Amazingly, those are sleepers! I paid below $40 for a new-in-box one, and $.99 for a working but scratched up one. I probably will try to get the rest of the color Sony Watchman series. I do have the FDT-5BX5, which is a Sony rebadged cheapie 5" CRT color set, which for some sad reason, is underservingly named Watchman. It's not even a Trinitron tube copy. Just a cheap Chinese tube.

Charles

julianburke 11-22-2009 02:29 PM

I have a few Zeniths that were built as monitors that were used in police cars for the dash cameras. No tuners, just an RCA plug for composite video.

jr_tech 12-03-2009 06:37 PM

2 Attachment(s)
I have found a few more of these TVs recently... I think that I have a sample of all of the CRTs used in these sets.

04JM... nearly 4" diag. curved phosphor screen.
03JM... slightly over 2.5" diag. curved phosphor screen.
02JM... nearly 2" diag. curved phosphor screen.
ED15... nearly 2" diag. flat phosphor screen.

Pictures attached. Anybody know of other screen sizes/designs?

jr

wa2ise 12-03-2009 07:16 PM

Back around 1980, RCA was kicking around the idea of building color CRTs shaped like these, http://www.videokarma.org/attachment...4&d=1256351976 but about 20 inch diagonal screen size. Saw a demo prototype mock-up of such a tube in a TV cabinet, but never saw one working. Advantage would be a shallow cabinet. It never saw production. Convergence would be fun...

amptramp 12-03-2009 07:39 PM

I picked up a nice Sony FD-10A a couple of years ago at a garage sale for $3. It has the curved tube and works perfectly.

What might be interesting is to build a TV around the CRT's used in camcorders. They were smaller screens (some less than 1") and could probably be used for oscilloscopes as well. It should have all the HV and deflection circuitry, so most of the job is done.

Maybe we should have a contest: the best TV or oscilloscope or panadaptor or any other design of a useful product using these small tubes.

bgadow 12-03-2009 09:04 PM

RCA ran a great ad in the "trades" back around 1970 or so. It was for their components business and had a tagline of something like "if you can dream it up, we can sell you the parts to build it". It shows a mock-up of a CTC-53 style set, but flat. Gotta dig that out and scan it someday.

crtfool 12-03-2009 11:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by amptramp (Post 2961225)
What might be interesting is to build a TV around the CRT's used in camcorders. They were smaller screens (some less than 1") and could probably be used for oscilloscopes as well. It should have all the HV and deflection circuitry, so most of the job is done.

Maybe we should have a contest: the best TV or oscilloscope or panadaptor or any other design of a useful product using these small tubes.


Most camcorder EVFs are completely self contained video monitors - all you have to do is feed them either 5vdc or 12vdc and a composite video signal and you are all set. I built several of these, and have a lot more in my collection to complete someday. I used to buy junked video cameras and camcorders from local electronics junk stores, but now those stores are all gone, so I get my EVF modules from eBay. My favorite EVF comes off old Magnavox VR8276BK01 Color Newvicon Video Cameras because they are completely self contained and detachable with a built-in factory cable and connector. The only thing that they do not have is audio capability.

jr_tech 12-03-2009 11:22 PM

crtfool...I have to ask... what is the little tube on your avatar? 2" color Panasonic ??

jr

crtfool 12-03-2009 11:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jr_tech (Post 2961254)
crtfool...I have to ask... what is the little tube on your avatar? 2" color Panasonic ??

jr

It is a 1/2 inch B&W EVF CRT Assy - a very popular camcorder tube.

As far as I know, the smallest standard color CRT is the 1.5" tube that Panasonic made and used in the CT-101. I have not yet found a video camera with a standard color CRT EVF. RCA made an EVF with a 1.5" color BEAM INDEX CRT, I have several of these units.

jr_tech 12-04-2009 12:08 AM

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Nice!:thmbsp: I guess that I will have to look for one of those.

As far as the "contest" goes I think that Panasonic is the leader right now with this 1982 1" set (shown next to a D 5-100 W tube from a Sinclair portable). I once saw one of these installed in a dollhouse... The tube face was inside one of those "TV" salt & pepper shakers, with the end passing through a hole in the wall to an adjacent room where the circuit board was placed...very cute!

Pardon the condition of the Panasonic... it was my "rooftop" set for many years, and it once took a slide down a tile roof to land on a concrete sidewalk about 10 feet below...ouch!

jr

crtfool 12-04-2009 12:17 AM

2 Attachment(s)
Your TV is a TR-1010p - I have all of the Panasonic mini CRT sets except the TR-001 - I have the TR-1000p, TR-1010p, TR-1020P, TR-1030p, TR-1031p and the CT-101 color unit.

I collect all kinds of mini TV sets - CRT and LCD, and I am fascinated by the micro camcorder CRTs. I would love to get 1 of those Sinclair CRTs - I never bought 1 of those TVs, but I used to look at them in the store windows years ago - I preferred the Panasonic models over the Sinclair, they looked modern compared to Sinclair's old style design.

I think that amptramp wants to actually build a TV set out of these micro EVF CRT units.

kx250rider 12-04-2009 09:50 AM

I remember seeing a much larger display mounted in Los Angeles police cars in the 1980s. I don't know if it was a lollipop tube, or if it was a reflective system like a Philco Safari. They were used as "MDT" units; the first onboard communications computers for the LAPD. They might have been 8 or 10 inch viewable screens. Definitely not a standard CRT, and not any type of LED or LCD.

Any police officers on AK who might know, or who might remember more details about those 1980s MDTs?

Charles

jr_tech 12-04-2009 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kx250rider (Post 2961266)
I remember seeing a much larger display mounted in Los Angeles police cars in the 1980s. I don't know if it was a lollipop tube, or if it was a reflective system like a Philco Safari. They were used as "MDT" units; the first onboard communications computers for the LAPD. They might have been 8 or 10 inch viewable screens. Definitely not a standard CRT, and not any type of LED or LCD.

Any police officers on AK who might know, or who might remember more details about those 1980s MDTs?

Charles

An early entry into the field of flat displays for medical and government applications (read expensive) was a 1980s Tektronix spin-off called Planar. These displays were based on EL technology and IIRC, produced a yellowish monochrome display.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planar_Systems

jr

kx250rider 12-05-2009 09:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jr_tech (Post 2961275)
An early entry into the field of flat displays for medical and government applications (read expensive) was a 1980s Tektronix spin-off called Planar. These displays were based on EL technology and IIRC, produced a yellowish monochrome display.

Interesting... However, I remember gawking at one of those MDTs and thinking it was a CRT. I remember it having a bluish tint as a B&W tube. Also, if the Planar displays were expensive, that might answer it right there.... The Los Angeles Police Dept. has been broke for decades, and they usually hold off any spending. They were still using 1973 Plymouths into the 1990s, and today still are driving some Chevy Caprice and Ford LTD cars that are over 20 years old. :thumbsdn: . But hats off to them... They're doing a great job with what little they can scrounge up.

Charles


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