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Old 09-19-2009, 10:55 PM
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Old1625 Old1625 is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Western MA
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GE made several models of what they called "Porta-Color" back in the day. The problem with them is while they were a neat novelty the phosphor dot resolution for their tiny screen was the same as for a 25" set of the day, raising havoc with resolution--picture definition.

But they had their cult following. And I had a good friend that had one that he liked. It was loaded with those dad-blamed "compactrons"--which were even back about 30 years ago when I worked on this set made of unobtainium.

I've posted this story before--I'll admit--but a synch failure after warmup I traced after heatup to a control grid-to-cathode short of a triode in one of these miserable--and unavailable--tubes. You could almost set your watch by the precision of the timing of failure.

I hunted high and low for a replacement of that tube. This was back before the magic and connectivity of internet. No dice on a replacement. Argghhhh! (Stupid Pirate expression--sorry for that!)

I called the owner with the tale of woe. "Isn't there anything you can do? I like that TV!"

In a fit of frustration and rage, I went out to my car, removed the battery, and rigged it up on my bench with heavy-duty electronics-bench jumper cables. And waited for the set to go out of synch, and roll and spin its picture. Connected the cables with negative to grid and positive to cathode.

POW!

Tube repaired--end of story.

That set is prolly dumpster fodder at this point; this was close to 30 years ago. But it worked for a long while after that radical measure I took--as far as I know....
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