Emerson 1270 Portable - Videokarma.org TV - Video

IsthmusTV · #1 06-04-2016, 11:34 AM

I picked up this cute little Emerson portable from a local antique dealer. The chassis appears to be identical to the model 1232 which I know has been discussed before. I think that the only difference is the color of the case (this one is bronze). The 8DP4 tests on the weak side, but will probably still make a decent picture.

Does anyone have a scan of the SAMS for this? It's in 354-7. Here are some photos. I forgot to shoot one before I took it out of the case. D'oh!

I'm not going to try a power-up until I replace the 'lytics in the power supply.

-Clark

robert1 · #2 06-04-2016, 12:16 PM

I have this model set. once re-capped & gone over, these little sets are good performers.

decojoe67 · #3 06-04-2016, 05:39 PM

These are great little sets in person with the radio being a nice add-on. I always known them to be excellent performers.

***Kamakiri*** · #4 06-04-2016, 07:39 PM

I should have the sams. Drop me a PM with your email address and give me a day or two to pull it and scan it.

IsthmusTV · #5 06-05-2016, 10:52 AM

Thanks for the replies, guys! This should be a fun restoration. For one thing, it's super easy moving it around on the bench

And thanks, Kamakiri (I think your name is Tim) I'll send you a PM shortly.

-Clark

IsthmusTV · #6 06-08-2016, 12:19 PM

Thanks to Tim, I got a scan of the SAMS and was able to make some good progress. I recapped the power supply with 'lytics I had on hand which meant paralleling some caps to get the right values. The new caps are so much smaller that it was no problem finding space.

I powered it up with a metered variac and got a raster right away. Current draw after warmup was about 850 MA from the AC line.

I fed it a signal and made the usual adjustments and got this:

Horizontal and vertical lock are very stable. Obviously it still has some issues, but not bad considering that it's still full of cruddy paper caps! Next, I fed it programming from a cable box. The picture looks pretty good, although the CRT is a bit dim (the brightness is up full). The sound works, but is very buzzy. I'll hold off on making any adjustments until I've finished the recap.

The contrast control is a bit flaky. I cleaned it, but I get the highest contrast in the middle of its range. Again, probably a leaky cap. All in all I'm happy with the first power-up

-Clark

***Kamakiri*** · #7 06-08-2016, 09:04 PM

Looking great! These are really fun little guys to restore, and surprisingly roomy inside. I rebuilt this one last year, here's a "before" shot. Ended up trading it to another collector and I believe he sold it on ebay.....

IsthmusTV · #8 06-09-2016, 09:56 AM

Thanks, Tim. Yes, I was surprised at how relatively uncrowded things are on the chassis. It's fun having such a small portable from the 50's, and it let me keep my promise to myself not to bring home any more consoles

It may be a while before I finish work on it (so many other projects) but I will definitely post photos when I do.

-Clark

*zenithfan1* · #9 06-19-2016, 07:48 PM

Looks great! One of these sets is on my want list, maybe I'll get lucky one of these days.

Phil Nelson · #10 06-19-2016, 10:27 PM

Nice job! The kitchen is the right room for this type of TV. I sometimes regret selling my little old 1232.

Speaking of 1232s, someone in ARF posted this photo of one installed in a 1959 Cadillac:

TV doesn't work well in a moving car, but you have to love the gadget-crazed nerds who thought of this.

Regards,

Phil Nelson
Phil's Old Radios
http://antiqueradio.org/index.html

wa2ise · #11 06-20-2016, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phil Nelson

TV doesn't work well in a moving car, but you have to love the gadget-crazed nerds who thought of this.

I remember finding a NJ DMV driver's manual from the early 50's in my parent's house, and one thing they banned even back then was a TV set visible to the driver...

"More accidents per mile!"...

IsthmusTV · #12 06-20-2016, 07:36 PM

Thanks, guys. Phil, I did see the postings in ARF about the Emerson 1232 in the Cadillac. It reminded me of the photo of Lawrence Welk with a 45 RPM record player mounted in the dash of his convertible that appeared on the cover of an issue of Radio and TV News from the 50's. Also not something that's going to work well while driving

dieseljeep · #13 06-21-2016, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IsthmusTV

Thanks, guys. Phil, I did see the postings in ARF about the Emerson 1232 in the Cadillac. It reminded me of the photo of Lawrence Welk with a 45 RPM record player mounted in the dash of his convertible that appeared on the cover of an issue of Radio and TV News from the 50's. Also not something that's going to work well while driving

Are you sure, it wasn't the Chrysler, Hi-way HI-FI. The records looked like 45's but were 16 2/3 RPM.
Dodge was his sponsor, for quite a while.

jr_tech · #14 06-22-2016, 07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IsthmusTV

Thanks, guys. Phil, I did see the postings in ARF about the Emerson 1232 in the Cadillac. It reminded me of the photo of Lawrence Welk with a 45 RPM record player mounted in the dash of his convertible that appeared on the cover of an issue of Radio and TV News from the 50's. Also not something that's going to work well while driving

Here is an article on the Chrysler "Highway Hi Fi", the picture of Welk shown at the bottom of the page is the only one I remember seeing.

http://www.imperialclub.com/Repair/A...Way/invent.htm

jr

Sandy G · #15 06-20-2016, 08:28 PM

These Bad Boiz used the same CRT that the 8" RCA portables of the late fifties do. How good is the AM radio ? AA5 quality, or did they jazz it up a bit ?