Videokarma.org

Go Back   Videokarma.org TV - Video - Vintage Television & Radio Forums > Transistor Portable Televisions

We appreciate your help

in keeping this site going.
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #16  
Old 11-21-2009, 10:14 PM
bgadow's Avatar
bgadow bgadow is offline
VideoKarma Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Federalsburg, MD
Posts: 5,814
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...
__________________
Bryan

Last edited by bgadow; 01-07-2017 at 10:17 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #17  
Old 11-22-2009, 11:23 AM
kx250rider's Avatar
kx250rider kx250rider is offline
REAL TVs have TUBES!
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Los Angeles & Dallas
Posts: 3,239
Quote:
Originally Posted by bgadow View Post
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
__________________
Collecting & restoring TVs in Los Angeles since age 10
Reply With Quote
  #18  
Old 11-22-2009, 02:29 PM
julianburke julianburke is offline
VideoKarma Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Knoxville, Tennessee
Posts: 644
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.
__________________
julian
Reply With Quote
  #19  
Old 12-03-2009, 06:37 PM
jr_tech's Avatar
jr_tech jr_tech is offline
VideoKarma Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 4,510
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
Attached Images
File Type: jpg DSCN0529.jpg (58.6 KB, 113 views)
File Type: jpg DSCN0532.jpg (60.0 KB, 185 views)
Reply With Quote
  #20  
Old 12-03-2009, 07:16 PM
wa2ise's Avatar
wa2ise wa2ise is offline
VideoKarma Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: USA
Posts: 3,147
Back around 1980, RCA was kicking around the idea of building color CRTs shaped like these, 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...
__________________
Reply With Quote
Audiokarma
  #21  
Old 12-03-2009, 07:39 PM
amptramp's Avatar
amptramp amptramp is offline
VK Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Mississauga Ontario Canada
Posts: 30
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.
Reply With Quote
  #22  
Old 12-03-2009, 09:04 PM
bgadow's Avatar
bgadow bgadow is offline
VideoKarma Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Federalsburg, MD
Posts: 5,814
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.
__________________
Bryan
Reply With Quote
  #23  
Old 12-03-2009, 11:09 PM
crtfool's Avatar
crtfool crtfool is offline
VideoKarma Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 200
Quote:
Originally Posted by amptramp View Post
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.
Reply With Quote
  #24  
Old 12-03-2009, 11:22 PM
jr_tech's Avatar
jr_tech jr_tech is offline
VideoKarma Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 4,510
crtfool...I have to ask... what is the little tube on your avatar? 2" color Panasonic ??

jr
Reply With Quote
  #25  
Old 12-03-2009, 11:37 PM
crtfool's Avatar
crtfool crtfool is offline
VideoKarma Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 200
Quote:
Originally Posted by jr_tech View Post
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.

Last edited by crtfool; 12-04-2009 at 12:11 AM.
Reply With Quote
Audiokarma
  #26  
Old 12-04-2009, 12:08 AM
jr_tech's Avatar
jr_tech jr_tech is offline
VideoKarma Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 4,510
Nice! 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
Attached Images
File Type: jpg DSCN0542.jpg (51.6 KB, 182 views)
Reply With Quote
  #27  
Old 12-04-2009, 12:17 AM
crtfool's Avatar
crtfool crtfool is offline
VideoKarma Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 200
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.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg ct101.jpg (84.6 KB, 75 views)
File Type: jpg micro EVF.jpg (40.7 KB, 90 views)

Last edited by crtfool; 12-04-2009 at 12:48 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #28  
Old 12-04-2009, 09:50 AM
kx250rider's Avatar
kx250rider kx250rider is offline
REAL TVs have TUBES!
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Los Angeles & Dallas
Posts: 3,239
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
__________________
Collecting & restoring TVs in Los Angeles since age 10
Reply With Quote
  #29  
Old 12-04-2009, 11:44 AM
jr_tech's Avatar
jr_tech jr_tech is offline
VideoKarma Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 4,510
Quote:
Originally Posted by kx250rider View Post
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

Last edited by jr_tech; 12-04-2009 at 11:50 AM. Reason: add link
Reply With Quote
  #30  
Old 12-05-2009, 09:42 AM
kx250rider's Avatar
kx250rider kx250rider is offline
REAL TVs have TUBES!
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Los Angeles & Dallas
Posts: 3,239
Quote:
Originally Posted by jr_tech View Post
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. . But hats off to them... They're doing a great job with what little they can scrounge up.

Charles
__________________
Collecting & restoring TVs in Los Angeles since age 10
Reply With Quote
Audiokarma
Reply


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 03:28 AM.



Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
©Copyright 2012 VideoKarma.org, All rights reserved.