Hi Again,

To further the topic of the beam-index micro-crts, here are some pictures given to me in 2004, courtesy of Charles Osborne (thanks!) who sometimes posts here.

The CRT is a Hitachi H-6289 single-beam "Indextron" CRT and at 1.5" screen diagonal it is truely a technology wonder.

Hitachi developped the CRT to bring color viewfinders to cameras and camcorders at a time when shadow-mask CRTs were deemed too dim and power-hungry to be acceptable in equipment running off batteries.

The "Wizard of Oz" pictures is courtesy of John Folsom Jr, Thanks! John.

The last document is from RCA cameras CC-030 and CKC-021 Theory of Operation section in the services manuals and describes the screen structure of the H6289 CRT.

One nuisance about repackaging the color viewfinders for use as micro-NTSC monitors is that there are 2 photocells for the indexing system, one sensitive to UV and the other to green (aside from the Green phosphor there is also a Green Index Phosphor) and both must face the screen and be shielded from outside light or the index sync goes haywire and the screen reverts to monochrome.

Another info learned from experience with these viewfinders is that obtained a constantly correct Red is near impossible. Depending on color content, Reds vary from having a purple tone to a dull brown, so flesh tones remind the user of the early days of NTSC - "stop twidling that Tint control!"

This is not the H6289's fault, i suspect some cost-cutting was done in the complex matrix processing required to produce the RGB/Y signals to keep component count and cost acceptable.

OT:
The Sharp 3.5" 3LS36 TV mentioned in this thread (sold in pink, black, white) uses an ordinary shadow-mask color CRT, a 100HB22.

Best Regards

jhalphen
Paris/France

Jerome - How did he get a color picture on the bare tube in the third photo without the photocells?

More OT:
I notice one of these on the 'Bay for about $300 BIN... Is that nutz or about what these little pink ones go for?
http://cgi.ebay.com/Sharp-3LS36-P-3-...item4cf0423038
I am not affiliated with this auction,
jr

Think I gave $50 or so for mine-But that was prolly 10 yrs ago. Think I gave $40 for the white one a year or 2 later. IIRC, I was either only bidder,or one of a handful of bidders on either one...Seems like for some reason, more pink ones have surfaced...Only seen one-I THINK-of the silver ones & maybe a couple black ones...Think I may have seen a couple of the ivory ones besides mine. Never did see one "In captivity" back in the day for sale that I can remember.

Hi to All,

For CRTFool, the photocells are there alright, it CAN't work without!

see this brighter pix with the photocells layed out in front of the screen.

The room was also darkened.

When the viewfinder's case is open, there is a small polished steel mirror at the top of the case, above the CRT. I suppose it's there to reflect the light down towards the photocells as synching the beam position with the RGB sequence is particularly important at the start & end of the TV field.

When you view a Sony Indextron CRT out from the chassis, there is a different appearance phosphor at the top of the CRT and on the left side, running continually from top to bottom.

From Andy's photo (Thanks! Andy) this is a "run-in" area reserved for sync before the active frame begins. The beam is also re-synched at each line start.

Best Regards

jhalphen
Paris/France

Thanks Jerome - I knew it could not work without the photocells, but I did not see them in the picture, and I did not realize that the black think in the lower right corner was the photocell unit. I do know about the small mirror on top of the enclosed viewfinder assembly.

I have one of these! Found it on the curb in Flint, MI sans top cover. I needed to resolder the dc input jack, otherwise it's ok, great picture. The microcassette deck probably needs some work at this point.

Hi everyone,

I am very happy to announce that I have just acquired a WORKING Indextron in very good condition. This will be the bookend twin to the Indextron that I acquired last year that does not power on due to the fact that the main circuit board has a few damaged traces from 2 capacitors that leaked way back when. I do intend to repair this set, and do a complete recap job on both sets, when I can set aside some quality time to devote my complete attention to the job.

I decided to power up the set because the seller said that he was watching a movie on it just prior to posting it for sale, so if any damage was done, it would have been done at that time. The picture is excellent - I have posted some screen shots, but I had trouble getting nice clear pictures.

I am not going to use the set anymore until I can open it up to see if there are any issues with the capacitors, but there is no ammonia or capacitor oil smell coming out of the vents.

I also think that I am going to replace the old style transformer power supplies with new style switching power supplies like the ones used for LCD monitors because it will give the set cleaner power.

I also would like to thank Jerome Halphen for all his help - very much appreciated!

You need to sell/give/let me "borrow" the one that don't work...(grin)

Nice score! :banana::banana::banana::banana:
These are really cute little sets! :thmbsp:
jr

Sandy G - Me thinks not.

jr tech - Thanks. Did you get your viewfinder?

Hasn't arrived yet... I think that it shipped parcel post... hope to see it soon.
jr

YES! Thanks to a "heads up" from crtfool, I have a beam index color CRT for my collection. It is from a viewfinder to a RCA CKC021 color camera that was sold (cheap) on eBay. The camera went to Goodwill, but the viewfinder is working fine on my bench.:yes:
After applying 12V and a video signal, it produced a fairly decent picture...not bad for a color CRT with a face the size of a postage stamp! (about 1.5" diag.)
It is difficult to photograph with a simple camera, but here are the best so far.
Interesting CRT, I will disassemble (the housing) and take pictures of the gun structure and yoke later.
jr

Yeah-My Panasonic CT-101 has a very good pic on it, & its only 1.5" too...But I think they had a std, albeit very small, CRT design. I ordered that Bad Boi out special from the local hdware store in '84-Boy, did I get the Fish Eye..."Why do you want that tiny little thing ?!? For $350, I could gitchoo a TOTL 19" set...Maybe even a 23"...." Philistines....(grin)

Some more pix of the tiny beam index color CRT (Hitachi H6289) used in the RCA CKC021 viewfinder.
The actual screen size measures about 1.3" diag. The CRT is about 5.3" long. Two mirrors are contained in the assembly... the first at 45 degrees in front of the tube to direct the image to the viewer, and another above the tube (seen in the top part of the shell) to direct more light to the 2 indexing photocells (seen in the bottom of the case, below the mirror).
I assume that the small metal box behind the mirror contains an amplifier for the photocell signal.
jr

That is really cool!

Hi jr - glad to see that you got the viewfinder, and that it is in good working order. They are definitely fun to play with - there are several adjustments on the boards to adjust the picture quality, just like a real TV. You are correct in your assumption that the box behind the mirror is for the photocells.

"Reason: add "(the housing)", I am not taking the tube apart!" - When I was young, I used to literally "take apart" picture tubes to see what was inside, and how the gun worked. I never did find the lens and prism that they always showed in the diagrams of how the picture tubes worked - very disappointing, but then I had no clue that they meant "ELECTRONIC" lenses and prisms - not physical ones - what did I know - I was STUPID enough to bust open picture tubes then! I even handed in an electron gun from a very old B&W CRT with my report on CCTV for my Mass Media class in high school - got an A because of it.

Have fun with your toy!

Indeed, I did not want to give the impression that I was going to take the CRT apart... although I would love to find out what sort of design they used for the heater... low power Sony CRTs use a directly heated cathode which consumes only 1/4 watt (180mW on some models). I suspect that the engineers at Hitachi might have come up with a similar low power heater/cathode assembly, since the whole idea of using the beam index CRT in the first place, was to save power.

You handed in an electron gun? man, I am surprised that you did not get kicked out of school for bringing in a gun.:D

I am indeed having fun with this little monitor assembly... tonight I may rig it up as a crude projector, to project a dim image on the bedroom ceiling! Years ago, I used the Panasonic TR-1010 and a 50mm F1.4 Nikkor lens to produce a fairly respectable image for late night viewing*. :yes:

* I had to reverse the yoke leads to get the picture correct...I was concerned about doing this with the beam index tube (bet that would really mess up the color), but since it is normally viewed through a mirror, the scan is already reversed.
jr

"You handed in an electron gun? man, I am surprised that you did not get kicked out of school for bringing in a gun." - HEY, it was the 70's - the criminals didn't bring guns, they carried knives!

Hi JrTech,

Welcome! to the "Mini-Beam Index Club", other members already include John FolsomJr, myself, and a few others.

If you want it, i have scanned the service data for the RCA CKC-021 Beam-Index VF sub-assembly - includes schematics and alignment data.

Just holler if you & others want it - give Mail address please, too big to post direct on VK.

Best Regards

jhalphen
Paris/France

Congratulations crtfool on acquiring your Sony Indextron!

Post more pics please, I'd love to see them. :-)

Thanks etype2 - I have not turned it on again since I received because I want to look inside to see the condition of the capacitors, etc. Hopefully I will get to it soon, and if everything looks good, then I will try and take more pictures. How are things going with your Indextron?

Should have it up and running soon. I'm having a professional work on it. I will post some photos and details.

Great - looking forward to seeing it in operation. I know that all these surviving Indextrons must be recapped, but it would be great if there are any out there that can stay factory virgin! I would think it would be worth more that one that has been opened and altered.

OT - I sent you a PM.

Here is a major heads-up for any VIDIMAGIC INDEXTRON fans - it looks really nice!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Sony-Vidimagic-F...item3cafa5b0a1

I am not affiliated with this auction.

Thanks! I suspect that I will follow this closely and throw in a bid, if things don't get too crazy! :thmbsp:
jr

jr - Go for it, I am not going to bid - not really my thing, and also low on funds for toys at this time - I never know when a MUST have item will along.

:banana::banana::banana:
Won it! thanks for the tip!
jr

Hey! Well Done!

Now start hunting for a high gain metal or glass-beaded screen to really make it a pleasure to watch - Think Advent projector screen for instance,

others will surely chime in with other/more modern solutions.

Best Regards

jhalphen
Paris/France

jr - GREAT, glad you got it! I watched the auction end, surprised that there was only 1 bid - better for you!

Has'n Fras'n dirty Ras'n...Ahh HATE Yew....(Best Yosemite Sam imitation here) Seriously, GREAT score ! Glad to see it went to one of us !

Ok, lets keep this going.

I have one of the non-beta versions and will never do anything with it. Had it two or three years and forget if it even tries to work. The first one to PM me (via a reply here to determine first place) AND willing to pick it up at Kutztown in September gets it free.

I do not want to try to pack it for shipping. Pickup at Kutztown only. My little Indextron is enough for me. Get your pony-express going.

Well, I heard a pretty loud thump on the front porch today as the perspiring UPS man dropped off a 54 pound package... Wow! this is much bigger than I expected, I was thinking that it was not likely much larger than a Sony KV-5200 with the addition of a lens on the front and Beta deck on the back! The projector measures about 9"x9"x26" and must weigh about 40 lbs!
Without even giving it a second thought, after it was un-boxed, I plugged it in, hooked up a DVD player, and started watching a video projected (dimly) on the wall. :yes:
Perhaps I should have been more cautious and brought it up with a Variac, but it is playing fine! What a cool application of the technology of 1984.
I took a picture of the image projected on the wall (about 5.5 ft diagonal, 16:9 aspect) and you can see that it is fairly low resolution and the color stripes show up... Pix 1
If you "look down the lens" it looks like Pix 2 (except it is upside-down)
Great fun!
jr

PS: I suspect that the performance is similar to the tiny Pico Pocket projector... Pix 3

Anytime I read stories about this, or the CT-100, or any other kinds of long-ago exotica, I'm reminded of the scene in the FIRST "Star Wars" when Obi-Wan introduces Luke to the light saber..How it was an elegant weapon from a different age...That sentiment kinda sums up why I collect this stuff...I think of what our merry band of Mad Monks here cherish, Indextrons, CT-100s, 621TS, CTC-7s, etc, & then I stroll thru the local Screaming Yellow Zonker-style TV emporium w/all the cheap & nasty DLPs, LCDs, DVDs & hang my head in shame...

Hi Sandy,

I think that we love the vintage stuff because we understand how much research, long hours of work and sometimes sheer genius was involved to turn ideas into working products. They were also built as quality products because "last and repair" was the then current philosophy.

Personnally, i wouldn't jeer at what the last 30 years have brought us in terms of electronic marvels: Quantum-dot lasers, LCDs, taking a 150 year old chemical curiosity and turning it into bright colorful pictures, speaking of micro-projectors like the one showed above it uses a LCOS light engine and a 2W LED, what a wonder! and how about CPUs soon reaching the billion transistors per chip.

I have much respect for the people that developped these technologies. However they are let down by deliberate corner-cutting to force throwaway 2 years after purchase. THAT is where the problem resides, the technology is not flawed "per se" only the deliberate choice to produce it with a finite (short) life.

We make Comm' satellites that are sold with a guaranteed 12-15 year lifetime operating 60x 100W transmitters in the harshest environment known to man: Space, and we couldn't build an LCD/OLED/Plasma screen guaranteed to work for 15-20 years...

I bet that in the technologies described above, there will be some Nobel Prizes distributed, today's scientist are just as inventive as their colleagues of yesteryears.

Just my 2 Euro opinion

Best Regards

jhalphen

You're right, Jerome, I just get dismayed by all the "Cheap 'n' Nasty" stuff that seems to be the rule nowadays...A TV nowadays is an ugly grey-black plastic rectangle that displays pretty pictures for 2-3 years, dies, & then you have to go get another one...

In my excitement over receiving the Vidimagic projector, I neglected to post any pix of the actual unit. Here are a couple of shots of the unit set up in my "radio shack".
The "stand" at the front of the unit refuses to lock, so two of my favorite books, which are always at hand, "The Sony Vision" by Lyons and "The Cathode Ray Tube" by Keller are being used to prop it up. :yes:

jr

Geez - that thing is bigger than I thought! Nice images and good color reproduction.

So, when do we get to see pictures of the inside?

OT - I WANT a pico pocket projector - for me it will be totally useless, but it is COOL!

Dah-Yum, but that thing looks like the Eevil Dr Whoziwhatzit's Menacing Death Ray...Or at least could easily be turned into one for a homemade Sci-Fi flick....Damn, I need to get off this friggin' computer more often, don't I ?!? But I'd take it in a heartbeat...Eeevil death-ray machine or not...(grin)

Where you can download RCA CKC021 service manuals or schematics?
thks.