1959 Philco Safari, H2010 - Videokarma.org TV - Video

manhattanman · #1 12-20-2019, 08:19 PM

The following is copied from my December 18th, 2019 Facebook page:

The first truly portable transistorized television, a 1959 Philco Safari (Model H2010). This little gem retailed for $250.00 and was operated using either a battery or alternating current.

Based on a CPI inflation calculator, $250.00 in 1959 equals $2,209.69 in 2019.

I acquired this set on Facebook Marketplace. It was free! Took a train to Queens and picked it up this morning (12/18/19). The fifth picture shows the set as it appeared in the Marketplace advertisement. It was found in an attic and was filthy. Still needs cleaning, polishing and detailing. Untested.

Linked here is a 1959 Philco Safari television advertisement:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgVYiuLZ47g

MadMan · #2 12-20-2019, 09:16 PM

Nice. I'm assuming it needs some work to get it going?

Sandy G · #3 12-21-2019, 10:11 AM

Could be, maybe not. Think I've read-Likely here, but I've heard/read that these l'il guys were built like the proverbial battleships & sometimes need little or nothing to start going again. Naturally, since the gummint, in its INFINITE wisdom, killed off NTSC, their invincibility means little today. We had a local Channel 2 here in Bugtussle-the local PBS channel- about 15 miles distant from my house, & they came in better than cable. Would STILL like to find the FCC Nincompoop who signed off on killing NTSC, & plant my size 13 triple wide Redwings where the Sun don't shine...They were PBS for this whole area, we had a house near Boone, NC, 100 miles distant, & they put a passable signal in over there.

manhattanman · #4 12-21-2019, 12:22 PM

Yeah. I live on the first floor in Manhattan. Can't even get reception with a converter box. I knew when it all switched to digital signal everything would go to hell for vintage television collectors. I was right.

Anyone know how long this set was in production? I know Philco filed for bankruptcy in 1960 and sold to Ford in '61.

It'll assume a premium location on my trophy shelf. I'll restore the cosmetics so it looks nearly new. Lucky to have the screen door. Many are missing. Love the way it presents. Very 1959 (I was in second grade.). The price was right, too.

Sandy G · #5 12-21-2019, 01:32 PM

Mine's brown & the trap door over the screen is long since gone, too. Almost looks like it never had one.. Don't think I've ever seen one, black or brown "In Poison"...

manhattanman · #6 12-21-2019, 10:00 PM

Bet those screen doors might show-up on eBay occasionally. They fall out because there are 2 spring-loaded plastic dowel rods that pop out when the door's removed for cleaning the screen mirror. The dowels position and hold the door in place after being raised over the screen for viewing. I'm missing one of the spring-loaded dowels on mine. Need to look for a replacement.

Sandy G · #7 12-21-2019, 11:32 PM

Yeah, I THINK I saw a pic of a brown one opened, & you could sorta see inside the screen mechanism. From what I remember, it looked to be a bit on the Rube Goldbergish side of things... Just had that "NOT very substantial" appearance to it... Which is a shame as I said the rest of the TV is a very well built specimen..

Electronic M · #8 12-22-2019, 08:42 PM

I have 2 browns a black and a partial parts chassis. 2 actually work sort of and another is raster only....they average a lot less dead when found than tube sets of the day, but anything that old needs new caps and some TLC....the optics are really cool in that the farther away you get the bigger the picture appears. Reports of the day said that at optimal distance it was equivalent to a 17" screen.... with modern letterbox programming you can squeeze a bit more apparent size out by sitting far enough back that the bezel crops the black bars off.

Sandy G · #9 12-22-2019, 09:10 PM

Yeah, when I got mine, & its been a LONG time ago, seems like they were "Out of Favor" w/the TV collecting community, & I gave like a hundred bux for it. It has worked ever since, & I guess I oughta get it gone thru, but I hate havin' that done as long as it still works, y'know ?!?

manhattanman · #10 12-22-2019, 09:28 PM

Yeah, and the original Philco parts are nice to have, too. The original Philco battery is hard to come by. I haven't checked mine yet. Best Xmas present I've had in 18 years.

Sandy G · #11 12-22-2019, 09:33 PM

I wonder if my Blonder-Tongue Agile Modulator(Doncha just LOVE that name & the name of the instrument itself ?!?) could make my Safari work ?

judge · #12 12-23-2019, 01:25 PM

Nice find!

My wife got one of these at an estate sale. It has the hood and it even works, though the vertical linearity is a bit off. I took it apart to see if it had been re-capped, but it hadn't. It is a little fiddly to get apart - its kind of like working on a laptop - you need to make sure you find all the screws, unhook the cables, don't force anything etc. It even worked after I put it back together!

For picture I just tuned it in to my Blonder Tongue broadcast channel.

I'm considering disabling the charging circuit and using a Venom 5000 25C LiPo, instead of the usual stack of regular batteries. I'm not sure where it lies on my list of projects ATM.

manhattanman · #13 12-23-2019, 08:21 PM

From the vids I've seen, the vertical linearity is a common problem on these Safari's.

Dave A · #14 12-26-2019, 04:40 PM

The hood tension is a spring with a small rubber tip. A pencil eraser can be trimmed to use if needed.

koviatt · #15 02-13-2020, 03:40 PM

Here is a video of a completed Safari Screen Cover project. I designed this from scratch by looking at photos of the TVs from old advertisements. I have a couple of other videos in this series on my channel if you are interested in the design process.

https://youtu.be/6HBvgX6Mi3U

I'll post a photo of the finished painted version. Turned out nicely.

Kent