First Transistor TV ?
 

Who manufactured ther Worlds first fully transistorized television ?

In the US, it is the Philco Safari from 1959 or so using a 2" CRT. It had a battery pack with a built in charger or full AC operation with a selector switch. If you find one they usually work. The batteries are long dead.

Beat me to it. But, it was probably your knowledge, since I read it here originally. Those are nice little sets.

Was the OP giving us a trick question? "Fully transistorized" would imply no tubes, therefore any TV with a CRT would not qualify.

Besides the 2EP4 CRT being a "tube", there are also a pair of 5642 HV rectifier "tubes" in the Safari. www.wiwitubes.com/pic/tube/Jan5642.jpg

I believe the Sony 8-301 gets a bit closer to being fully transistorized, having the CRT as the only tube in it.

Actually both the Philco Safari and the Sony 8-301W had three tubes each, the crt and the two HV rectifiers. The Philco used two 5642 HV rectifiers tubes and the Sony used two 1DK1 tubes. High voltage silicon diodes were not yet available at the time.

Sony's web site incorrectly states that the 8-301W was the worlds first fully transistorized television, but the Safari beat it by over a year. So much for Sony revisionist history.

Darryl

well ?

Who made the first 1 tube tv ?

this is going to bug me all night - ha ha

Would it be the NEXT Sony, the ubiquitous 5-303 series of "tummy TVs" from '62 or thereabouts ?

Really hard to say which was the "first"... Agreeing on the Safari and 8-301 being the first "transistor sets", there was a flood of Japanese sets in the early 60s (Sony, Panasonic, Singer, NEC, JVC, etc etc). Any of those (some with solid state HV rectifier), could have been earlier than another. May we agree that the first in general, as Sandy says, is the 5-303?

There was another thread on the first American color solid-state set, and I think Motorola won that debate over the Zenith and RCA, which were hotly debated.

Charles

If we are going to talk about ALL transistorized, with no CRT, which would that be? Was that odd little screen in the 80's Sony Watchman still a CRT? If not then, certainly by circa 1990 when they made Watchmen models with a true LCD.

Did the Motorola Astronaut use a tube HV rectifier?

I have a brown Safari that still works-BIG surprise there-Too bad it'll be useless here in about 2 weeks...Guess I'll use it for Target Practise.....








Yeah, right...

!!! Please don't haha.

Who would buy the world's first transistor TV set? It was probably very pricey, and wasn't a tried-and-true, sure-thing for tv's yet.

The 1st 5-303 my parents got me for Christmas 1962 at General Products on Gay street in Knoxville was nigh on to $300,IIRC, BIG wampum back then...Sony stuff was NEVER cheap.

Don't shoot the safari mister g.


I watched a video of one on youtube - looks like a really kool little tv

Don't worry, fellers, the Safari is safe as a babe in its mother's arms...The only TV I ever shot was a late-60s B/W console that had the tit end of the CRT snapped off...This was like 20 odd years ago. I DON'T execute TVs, even BPC, much less something like a Safari...

Why would Sony claim it's 8-301W is the Worlds first, I would think the emails would be pouring in to the company to dispute this.

I'm putting an article together on Sony innovation regarding cassette players...TC-100, CF-550, etc. and wanted accurate dates on 'Firsts" by the company. Even notice folks questioning Sony's claim regarding early pocket transistor radios of the mid 50s.

I always thought Sony was particular about their history ?

One history I saw had Sony claiming that the 8-301 was the first DIRECT-VIEW transistor TV...And that prolly is true, since the Safari is a "projection" set. Mine sits across the room, on a big 1930s console, & it ASTOUNDS kids to see it "project"-because at that distance, it looks like a normal sized TV. B&W, of course-That's ANOTHER thing that wigs a lot of these kids out-Many of 'em have never seen a B&W set...

That's the quote I have seen as well from time to time, and that would be a true statement, not the absolute first, but the first direct view television. Unfortunately that's about the same as saying it was the first transistor television that was painted grey. Who cares about a subtle distinction? Philco got there first. And this fact seems to be conspicuously missing from Sony's web site: http://www.sony.net/Fun/design/histo...0/tv8-301.html

If this were true, they'd have to disclose that their "innovative" Trinitron color tube was designed & patented by Philco in 1945, as the Apple Tube.

Charles

I think this RCA prototype might be a contender for first SS, it does use a CRT. I believe it dates from the mid 50's, not positive. Maybe someone else here may have the story line that went with the picture.


Chuck

I haven't seen this RCA one before Chuck, but I remember a magazine cover with a prototype SS set from Motorola. The article made is sound like it was just an engineering exercise and they had no plans to build them. It was also in the mid 50's but I can't remember the magazine. If I come across it I'll post it.

Darryl

^Great photo.

My last TV execution was a 1986ish Sylvania Superset 25". Shot it good. :D

I thought it was based off the GE POF design of the 50's?

I had the magazine with the article on this, it was a SS Prototype, I don't remember the year.

If I find it I'll post it.

Another thing in the Safari's favor is that they tend to WORK, even after 50 years...The 8-301, OTOH, was known as "Sony's Fragile Baby", apparently they gave a lot of trouble. Mine's at Terry's, I sure do hope he can get it goin'...Prolly just in time to see NTSC sign off forever... Shit, that STILL makes me MAD...

...

I'd have to defer to Ed R. (Colortel) or one of the seasoned color TV historians, but I'm pretty sure it's closest to the Philco Apple tube. I'll search around and see if I can find any more details.

I've never had one that "really" worked, but then again, I've never recapped one thoroughly. The 5-303's never work until completely recapped. I've done a couple of those, and they're OK performers but not great.

Charles

RCA transistorized prototype - March 1953 Popular Mechanix
http://www.bretl.com/tvarticles/pm0353/pm0353.htm

Trinitron was not close to the apple tube - apple was a single-beam, beam index tube, whereas Trinitron used 3 beams which they stated as having a single gun because some of the electrodes were common to all three beams. Trinitron did have a wire grill shadow mask, as did the Lawrence tube, however, the Lawrene tube actually applied AC color-switching voltage to alternate wires so it could use a single gun, a process of "post deflection color selection."

The Philco Safari is recognized by virtually all collectors and publications throughout the world to be the "first" transistor television.

If you want to argue schematics, then the Casio TV 10, introduced in 1983 was the first full solid state television in production. It used a passive LCD to display a black and white (or in this case, shades of gray) image.


*Edit March 27, 2010 The Seiko TV watch was introduced in summer of 1982. It was in two parts, the watch and a "Walkman" like receiver that received TV and FM. The watch TV display was nematic liquid crystal, 16.8 mm (V) X 25.0mm (H). The watch also had a secondary display above the main for time functions. A cable connected the two and the ear phones acted as the antenna. It could be argued that this device was the first full solid state television in production.