Finally got a Sony Splashman!

[kx250rider]

I had been hoping to find one of these; a Sony FDL-KB300 "Splashman" portable color LCD set. Got this one on eBay after watching it for about 6 months, as it came down to $200 from originally $500. It's completely waterproof, including the battery charging base. Uses magnetic induction for charging, as opposed to metal contacts! As far as I know, these were never even sold retail, but a few hundred marketing prototypes were produced to feel out the market. I really don't know too much about it, but there is a service manual published, as there also is for the never-sold PVM-4300 CRT set.

Charles

[Sandy G]

An obvious question-"Why ?!?" Does ANYBODY really NEED to be able to watch TV in the shower, or in the pool ? Neat l'il playpretty, though...

[Eric H]

Cool, but now you have to get a waterproof converter box.

[WISCOJIM]

Originally Posted by kx250rider

I had been hoping to find one of these; a Sony FDL-KB300 "Splashman" portable color LCD set. Got this one on eBay after watching it for about 6 months, as it came down to $200 from originally $500. It's completely waterproof, including the battery charging base. Uses magnetic induction for charging, as opposed to metal contacts! As far as I know, these were never even sold retail, but a few hundred marketing prototypes were produced to feel out the market. I really don't know too much about it, but there is a service manual published, as there also is for the never-sold PVM-4300 CRT set.

Actually it's the Sony "Splash", not "Splashman".

They were sold retail, I bought my first one at American TV & Appliance in Madison, WI in the mid 1990's. Used it for about a week, then back into the box. Just a novelty, too small to really watch. Still have it.

Bought another one a few years back at a rummage sale just two blocks from my house.

[AiboPet]

Yeah....not TERRIBLY rare. I saw one of those a couple years ago. I deffinately remember the inductive charging base. The one I saw was this same white, and I couldn't figure out why I'd want an LCD set that small. I do have a funny little green Sony "clamshell" style thing with a very small LCD like this.

Still a neat find though.....but maybe 50 bucks tops.

[kx250rider]

Originally Posted by WISCOJIM

Actually it's the Sony "Splash", not "Splashman".

They were sold retail, I bought my first one at American TV & Appliance in Madison, WI in the mid 1990's. Used it for about a week, then back into the box. Just a novelty, too small to really watch. Still have it.

Bought another one a few years back at a rummage sale just two blocks from my house.

I'm still confused about that, as I saw a magazine ad saying "Splashman", and yet other references to "splash". Trademark issue maybe? I remember also seeing the name "CD Splashman" in the early 90s or so, on a Canadian ad for what we called the "Sports CD Walkman" in the USA.

Originally Posted by AiboPet

Yeah....not TERRIBLY rare. I saw one of those a couple years ago. I deffinately remember the inductive charging base. The one I saw was this same white, and I couldn't figure out why I'd want an LCD set that small. I do have a funny little green Sony "clamshell" style thing with a very small LCD like this.

Still a neat find though.....but maybe 50 bucks tops.

I'm happy with it at $200, although I wish I had the original box at that price. I know I've been accused of nutty-ness, when it comes to buying weird TVs and weird cars, but after all, I don't think $200 for that set is any further out of line than what others paid when there were a few Indextrons on eBay (or one which sold twice) for around $900-$1000, or $500 commonly for the fairly common Panasonic CT-101.

I have one of the greenish-clear clamshell sets, which is quite a bit newer than this one. Not sure if yours is the same, but mine's an FDL-250T.

Charles

[WISCOJIM]

Originally Posted by kx250rider

I'm still confused about that, as I saw a magazine ad saying "Splashman", and yet other references to "splash".

From Frank Günthör's tiny TV website:

[WISCOJIM]

Originally Posted by kx250rider

I'm happy with it at $200, although I wish I had the original box at that price. I know I've been accused of nutty-ness, when it comes to buying weird TVs and weird cars, but after all, I don't think $200 for that set is any further out of line than what others paid when there were a few Indextrons on eBay (or one which sold twice) for around $900-$1000, or $500 commonly for the fairly common Panasonic CT-101.

I just sold a pair of KVX-370 Indextrons (one in box) for under $300 earlier this month. Sold them at the Illinois ARCI meet. There was no real interest earlier for them at the ETF meet, other than a few curious people. I've still got plenty of those Panasonic CT-101 sets left, most of which have bad cases due to the very brittle plastic they used.

[AiboPet]

My CT-101 has that lousy case. It sees VERY little handling because of it. Always feels like it's gonna just fall apart, and does already have cracks in the corners. I was happy to find THAT set at around $150...but it was nowhere near ebay.

It feels so fragile, I dread the day I ever have to get into it. I don't think I would get it back together again. ASTONISHING little picture it gets though...even if you can quite plainly see the colored phosphors.

Never ever seen an Indextron yet. This is the famous "Apple" CRT isn't it?

$200 isn't as outa line as some weirdness I see on ePAY all the time. If it's mint, and you been looking for it for a long time, it falls in line with anything else someone REALLY wants to get ahold of. Hell, I've paid nearly $150 now for three of those Singer TV6U sets...and only have ONE between all the parts that is CLOSE to running (just a few more caps)

[WISCOJIM]

Originally Posted by AiboPet

Never ever seen an Indextron yet. This is the famous "Apple" CRT isn't it?

Hell, I've paid nearly $150 now for three of those Singer TV6U sets...and only have ONE between all the parts that is CLOSE to running (just a few more caps)

Yes, the Indextron was a reincarnation of the Apple CRT.

Those darn Singers (made by Mitsubishi). I think I have 5-7 of those sitting around here. Most always went to a "flat line" condition, that seemed to be the common fault.

[AiboPet]

Flat line....or lose the whole tuner/IF section. I'm stumped by the completely dead tuners, but have a handle on most the vertical problems on one. It's an "almost perfect" set now. Just has a very slow height issue. Starts out about a half inch underscan....and grows to perfect after like fifteen minutes. A recap of that sweeps board of just the 50uf cans will usually get you to something "not quite perfect yet"...but easier to work with as you go to the smaller cans. Almost all those 50uf cans show as completely open. I replaced them with 47uf ones since they were common and I have a BUNCH of them new. I'll find some 50s at some point and open this TV6U back up and finish it right.

I'm not sure if I have EVER seen a (small) LCD set die yet...DO they?? I really only have a few, since I don't find LCD as novel as CRT sets. I would likely just toss any dead LCD set since it's certainly to be surface mount stuff...and things I can't go get.

My pride is that I got and found most these sets broken...in some cases VERY broken, and had a lot of fun getting them to live again.

[WISCOJIM]

Originally Posted by AiboPet

I'm not sure if I have EVER seen a (small) LCD set die yet...DO they?? I really only have a few, since I don't find LCD as novel as CRT sets. I would likely just toss any dead LCD set since it's certainly to be surface mount stuff...and things I can't go get.

I've a lot of dead LCD sets. One day they worked, next time you put batteries in to try them out they are completely dead.

Mostly bad caps I suppose. Now that we've had the digital revolution, I don't much care to spend the time to fix them.

.

[kx250rider]

Originally Posted by WISCOJIM

From Frank Günthör's tiny TV website:

That's good enough for me... Thank you for the link; Splash it is!

Originally Posted by WISCOJIM

I've a lot of dead LCD sets. One day they worked, next time you put batteries in to try them out they are completely dead.

Mostly bad caps I suppose. Now that we've had the digital revolution, I don't much care to spend the time to fix them.

.

I wouldn't be surprised if half of mine are dead, as some of them I never tried even after buying them on eBay. I buy for physical condition; preferably "new in box", and don't care too much about working condition as long as there's nothing progressive going on such as leaky "cat piss" caps (the stinky surface mount 'lytics from the late 80s and mid 90s), which will eat through the foil on the boards.

My Indextron was "new in box", and I tried it once and it works fine (photos I posted here several years ago), but will never try again unless I completely recap it. Those are notorious for leaky caps causing an impossible-to-get regulator chip to blow.

Originally Posted by WISCOJIM

I just sold a pair of KVX-370 Indextrons (one in box) for under $300 earlier this month. Sold them at the Illinois ARCI meet. There was no real interest earlier for them at the ETF meet, other than a few curious people. I've still got plenty of those Panasonic CT-101 sets left, most of which have bad cases due to the very brittle plastic they used.

I have a CT-101 still with good plastic, and one "new in the box" all crumbly. I don't know what exactly is causing the deterioration of the plastic, but the Sony 20"-32" sets from the late 80s started doing that, and I lost a couple of them by picking them up, and the CRT and board just crashed out onto the floor; leaving me holding pieces of powdery plastic!

As far as the pricing I mention here & there, I don't mean to offend anyone by quoting what I pay or sell TVs for. I'm sure there are people who pay way more and way less, as well as those who sell or give away, what you or I might consider a valuable item. My philosophy is that a TV (or a house, or an ounce of gold or bag of manure), is worth exactly what someone is willing to pay, and what someone is willing to sell it for; no matter of the numbers...

Charles

[WISCOJIM]

Originally Posted by kx250rider

That's good enough for me... Thank you for the link; Splash it is!

Charles

I could have taken a picture of my own box, but it was easier just to Google one up.