Is this a Portacolor ?
 

No....

Portacolor sets had 10" screens...

Looks like an early solid state set.... possibly tube hybrid, but most likely early ss.

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Perhaps that tube chassis form about 1971 or so with the lead-covered HV rect. tube. C-something chassis.

The one that burned up the PS board a lot, from what I hear.

You think that tv is that old....?

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At least a JA or QA chassis set I would say--if not the tube set. 1975 or OLDER.

Pretty sure its a C-2 chassis 18/19" all compactron & lead
HV rect. Were common as hell under GE, Bradford ( W.T. Grants)
Packard Bell & others. Very low priced for a reason. Must be
rare now as so many were junked at an early age. I think
it would be a fun project. Some had a very good pix, never
could understand why:scratch2:
Dont think it the JA or QA SS chassis. If it were it would be a nice catch.

73 Zeno:smoke:

Probably has a 15-19" screen by the looks of it. If it is tube you should save it....Both on principal as a collector, and because non-portacolor color GE sets are rather rare. Some one may trade you a portacolor for that if it is a desirable enough chassis.

I remember working on one of those GE Color sets, years ago! IIRC, the set I repaired had a shorted LV Rectifier Diode. I'm quite sure that set has more than a few tubes inside. I saw many more Porta Color 10" sets, rather than those larger screen table top color GE sets. Worth saving, looks like nice cosmetic condition too.

If I found that set cheap I'd have to get it just to keep it out of the Recycle bin.

I think I have a QA chassis set--if it didn't get stolen, with a "truetone" label or something like that.

That's a "lug-a-color" set and probably the tube/transistor hybrid chassis (I think they continued to use a version of that chassis in low end models until '75 or '76).

I have a two 18" C-2 versions of this set from '72 or so. One is branded Packard-Bell and had a nearly dead CRT. After rejuvenating it and playing with it, I got a fair picture out of it; but, it still needs work for it to be reliable.

A few months ago, someone at the flea market gave me the GE-branded version; but, it's past going. It's been out in the weather for a long time and was full of mud when I got it. The plus side is that the CRT test very strong; so, that tube will probably end up in the other set.

During the past 25 years, I can count on one hand the number of 19" GE tube color TV's that I've found (probably because they didn't hold up well and most of them probably were junked by the early '80's). I recall having one cheap GE 23" color console that had basically the same chassis as the 19" sets and I had one nicer GE color console that used the KD chassis.

I've seen my share of tube porta-colors, 12"/15" tube B&W's, and solid state GE's from the late '70's and '80's; but, not much else by GE. Wait, I remember having an old GE hospital set. I don't remember the chassis; but, it was SS and I think it used a delta gun CRT. It was very beat up and I gave it to a friend for parts.

Here's the 1975 version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Pl1ReVL_2k

Being outside for even a few years is not necessarily the end of a set unless you let it be. I've gotten some hopeless looking outdoor sets to run. All outdoors means is more work to fix it. There are early radio equipment restorers who have taken marconi era sets that have been underwater (on sunken ships) for most of their lives and look like they are encased in concrete from all the effects of being underwater, and made those things back into working radios (somehow). If it is all there and nothing is smashed, then it should be repairable.

Last time I had a C-2 set was about 30 years ago. It had the woodgrain "fake console " cabinet. Worked some--but tube was not very good--even THEN. had no rejuv set back then to help it.

I STILL think that set is a C-2. A JA or QA would say solid state on it.

There ya go Robb, the votes are in, it's worth gettin'.....

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Ge never changed their cabinets much. Look at their radios. That one clock radio, must've been made for over 10 years, in both tube and solid state.
Their radios weren't that highly styled to begin with, not like some of the other makes.
Ge made a 15" set around the same time as the Porta-color. I saw one in the schematic book, but never ran across one. I heard, they were real dogs.

I had a 15" Truetone-branded SS version (QA chassis, IIRC) and I wasn't impressed by it. I've seen the tube version; but, only in a Sam's Photofact.

That was a rare set. IIRC it was 16". Had a Rube Goldburg channel
indicator w/ lots of CHEAP plastic gears. We were told NOT to try
fixing them, let them count from a known channel. Didnt matter
they only got the local Boston stations anyhows. A real piece of
crap. Made the portacolor look like a high end set........

73 Zeno:smoke:

It has been my experience when I had the shop that ALL GE sets were dogs. Average performance at best and usually unreliable. Having said that I know there are some few exceptions out there.

Frankly, one of the only "good" GE's was the PC chassis and that was one of their last efforts.

The "MA/MB/MC" was not too bad. Cold and easy to work on. Only saw a couple ever though. The YA which replaced it had at least THREE serious issues : The EP77W30 IHVT fly which ALWAYS died and was NOT cheap--even 25+ years ago, the safety caps would catch FIRE ( I SAW this), and of course...the GE inline tubes--NONE of the early larger ones--lasted NEARLY as long as the "classis tubes" we all love.

I've had a few of those YM sets and the flyback and/or CRT was bad on all of them. Sometime around '94, I replaced the flyback in one and I want to say it was around $80 (despite the fact that it was a discontinued part at the time and the local parts house just happened to have one left).

Then, there was the EM (25") and EC (19") chassis that was a pain to service and was full of griplets.

GE seemed to be in a hurry to dump delta gun CRTs. The YM is the oldest 25V television that I've ever seen with an inline tube and for the exception of that one early 19" SS set with a delta gun tube, I've not seen another 19" SS GE delta gun TV.

I think the JA and QA sets had delta guns didn't they ? At least the 17 and 19 inchers. been a while since I had one apart--never opened the one I have --if I still do.

Growing up we had a '76 ish GE Performance Television console with VIR and a slide out drawer that had all the picture controls in it. I don't remember it being too bad, ended up getting rid of it in the mid-80s, it still worked. I was young do details on it are foggy.

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The heater voltage was different on the 10" JA CRT. IIRC, the pinout is slightly different, as well.

Why do I think robb let excessive picky-ness convince him to let another uber-rare set sit and await an uncertain fate?....

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Im gonna check it out at an estate sale next week :)

I'd look forward to your super detailed pictures of that set, especially the insides,
if it's one of the later tube sets these guys are talking about.... Heck even if it's a SS set ! -
Anyway you NEED to add a few bigger sets to your collection !

Good Luck !

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If I buy it.

I hope so.

If I had a Portacolor to swap for it I would do just that.