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  #1  
Old 05-28-2015, 06:08 PM
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Fun with Griplets!

Remember the problems with GE sets back in the 80's.. The dreaded Griplets?

I bought an 1981 GE 19" color set from an Estate sale last week that had never been repaired, and likely never used since the 1980's!

It had intermittent Blue, and no sound.. I replaced the open speaker, and resoldered the griplets on the video board.. The thing looked like brand new inside. For as little as I will use the set, it will be fine for a couple years or more.. The proper repair was to run a wire through, and solder on both sides. Not something I wanted to do again, especially when I am not getting paid to do so!

It sure produces a nice picture though.. Watching Barney Miller on Antenna TV right now..

Last edited by captainmoody; 05-28-2015 at 06:12 PM.
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Old 05-28-2015, 06:25 PM
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Would that be an EC chassis?
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Old 05-28-2015, 06:39 PM
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Yes, EC it is.
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Old 05-28-2015, 08:11 PM
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Now we're talkin', those sets can't be common at all. May I see a couple of photos?
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Old 05-28-2015, 10:06 PM
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No, EC sets don't seem to be common anymore because most of them probably went in the dump 20-25 years ago. Even the PC chassis (made from about '82-'86) are not that common anymore and I used to see loads of those sets.
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Old 05-28-2015, 11:43 PM
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Yeah...most saw their date with a packer truck LONG ago...,and many probably had good tubes too. Just those darn griplets...

I have an "EM set" --a console with cold power supply, but the rest is a LOT like the EC chassis. Not sure how good the tube is..
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Old 05-29-2015, 09:39 AM
dieseljeep dieseljeep is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rca2000 View Post
Yeah...most saw their date with a packer truck LONG ago...,and many probably had good tubes too. Just those darn griplets...

I have an "EM set" --a console with cold power supply, but the rest is a LOT like the EC chassis. Not sure how good the tube is..
The CRT's seemed to stand up rather well.
I just got used to re-solder the griplets real well on both sides of the board.
When the sets were in warrantee, GE used to just furnish new boards. The dealers didn't have to return the defective boards.
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Old 05-29-2015, 10:34 AM
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Lets see W17 A-B-C did every one in Middlesex county I think.
Much more trouble than the AA-AB-AC chassii. Tap it anywheres
& every symptom flashed before your eyes. And there was
that damn one knob 82 ch selector
Well they did keep us fed for a few yrs so not so bad.
They did run good if you got all the ints.

73 Zeno
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Old 05-29-2015, 12:32 PM
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Quote:
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Yeah...most saw their date with a packer truck LONG ago...
So most of them are are up in Green Bay in and around Lambeau Field, eh?
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Old 05-29-2015, 03:20 PM
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My experience with GE CRT's from that era is that the 19" grey-faced tubes used in the EC chassis and early PC chassis held up the best. The later PC sets with the dark tinted CRT's didn't seem to hold up as well and I wonder if these later CRT's were from a different supplier (I have an idea that they may have been Matsushita-sourced)?
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Old 05-29-2015, 06:34 PM
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Make sure you do all the griplets on the power supply module too. EC extra crappy. lol. I bought a YM chassis set in 80 and it was great. Only thing I changed was the IC in the wideband amp and the Flyback and H output transistor. Replaced it with a Sylvania C9 Chassis. CRT was crap in 5 yrs.Dropped a JVC crt in it. Looked better than new too
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Old 05-29-2015, 07:12 PM
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We had a Montgomery Ward branded GE 19 inch set in 1980 that had the grey faced tube. I remember the color was fantastic. The set ran for three years before the white four lead safety cap shorted. After that was fixed the set ran trouble free for many years after. The plastic cabinet always felt rather flimsy but the set was a great performer. We never had trouble with any griplets. I suppose more of these sets would be around if they had better build quality but it was the Eighties after all when most electronics went through a quality slump.
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Old 06-02-2015, 10:13 PM
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If the Griplets had not been there, I think many more of this chassis would have survived. That one thing, the major weakness. The CRT was a good one, the design was otherwise decent. A little build quality and less cost cut nature would have made this chassis into one of the better ones.
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Old 06-03-2015, 08:43 AM
dieseljeep dieseljeep is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KentTeffeteller View Post
If the Griplets had not been there, I think many more of this chassis would have survived. That one thing, the major weakness. The CRT was a good one, the design was otherwise decent. A little build quality and less cost cut nature would have made this chassis into one of the better ones.
That was true of many of the other GE products.
If a GE product isn't built to a price point, they're rather hard to beat. Look at their medical products, Jet engines ETC.
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Old 06-12-2015, 03:37 PM
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A picture of the 1981 GE, still working great.
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