A Little Flat Tube Fun

[kvflyer]

I have too many of these little sets, most of which work regardless of condition (except the Panasonics ). I guess Sony knew their stuff.

Please don't show me more. I have very little resistance to hitting the BIN button...

[crtfool]

Sony also had issues with capacitors over the years. The CRT Watchman TVs generally worked well, but their LCD Watchman sets have major capacitor issues - FDL-310, FDL-320, FDL-370, FDL-380, FDL-3500 all die from bad SMT Can Caps. I have several of these models, and they are all bad - I will not buy anymore of them because of this, way too much trouble to replace these caps.

[timmy]

i still wonder how those beams are directed in a flat crt. its just amazing how they did this with the gun straight in and the screen tilted a few degrees and a pic is there.

[crtfool]

The screens in the CRT Watchman sets are not flat, they are sloped, and the beam is scanned with a standard magnetic deflection yoke - very complicated geometry though.

The real marvel was the original FD-210 CRT Watchman that did have a true flat screen - it used electrostatic deflection, and the geometry was much better than in any of the later models with the sloped screens.

[Sandy G]

I remember buying a Sony FD-2 or somesuch 1986,'87, maybe '88, & they had 'em on a "Hanging" rack in a blister pack...Think I gave $35 or so for it...It was the El Cheapo version, no AC plug or ext antenna connection...Cute toy, it did pretty good in a big town, but not so much out here in the Tuilies...

[crtfool]

I remember those. I bought my first CRT Watchman (FD-10, maybe) in 1992 from a garage sale for $5 - it was in pieces - I reassembled it, and it did not work, fried voltage regulator chip - I guess that they used the wrong adapter, and then someone tried to repair it. I did fix it, but was not impressed with the geometry - ended up giving it to someone. I did not buy another 1 of the later generation models, but I did finally buy an FD-210 original model - very happy with it.

[Dave A]

I have a FD-20 that I use for a portable analog test monitor for video paths. I threw a cross-hatch in it once and if it was a car it would have been pulled over for DUI. Movement on the screen hides a lot of sins.

I also have a FD-210 and I had to go look and never noticed the pure flat screen vs. the tilted screen. Now I have to throw a cross-hatch on it and see what happens. I'll try for comparison pix.

[AiboPet]

I run an 'ol FD10 in the front room just to turn on and see the inhouse transmitter and it's media player are still running (both run 24/7). The FD10 is the one with no AC adaptor...so it just sits in the front room on the coffeetable.

A crosshatch on an FD10 looks like BEER GOGGLES. Its a wonder that regular motion video actually does look okay on the little thing. A couple 42A sets I have do have "better" geometry, but they are still a bit strange. I did notice the 42A sets have BETTER geometry running on a wall wart than even a fresh set of C batteries.

[crtfool]

I think that the FD-10 was the cheapest model that they made - and it looks like it is too.

[jr_tech]

Originally Posted by crtfool

I think that the FD-10 was the cheapest model that they made - and it looks like it is too.

Good enough for the casual viewer!



jr

[Dave A]

FD-20 and FD-210 pix below. The 210 wins and I cannot figure out how they did the sweep. If you look at the edges around the screen there are three little ports. Two above the screen and one to the lower right. Not sure what they do but they have to play a part. Dilithium beams maybe? Now I gotta try the Pana CT-101 color.

[crtfool]

The FD-20 doesn't look too bad - I had a lot worse on the 1 I gave away, severe pincushion and trapezoid deformation. The FD-210 looks very good.

[compucat]

Originally Posted by crtfool

The FD-20 doesn't look too bad - I had a lot worse on the 1 I gave away, severe pincushion and trapezoid deformation. The FD-210 looks very good.

There are geometry adjustment pots on the FD-20 that correct for trapezoidal raster. I have noticed the screen geometry varies between examples of this set. The FD-20 does seem to be one of the better models, built before they started cheapening things with the FD-10 which had no picture controls and could not even use an AC adaptor.

The FD-230 is a good set, solidly built and with a 2.7 inch screen.

[timmy]

does anyone know if the plastic front cover can be removed for dust cleaning on the sony fd-10. i know the fd-20 has 2 screws to remove the front for cleaning. i dont want to pry on the fd-10 and break the front.

[jr_tech]

Originally Posted by timmy

does anyone know if the plastic front cover can be removed for dust cleaning on the sony fd-10. i know the fd-20 has 2 screws to remove the front for cleaning. i dont want to pry on the fd-10 and break the front.

I tried on a "parts set" that I have, using several different plastic pry tools, and could not budge it without messing up the plastic around the screen cover. It appears to be solidly glued in place. I think that you have to go in from the back, which is not an easy task!

jr