A 1957 General Electric 9T002

[Tom9589]

Not only that, the transformer was configured as an autotransformer. Kind of unusual for a filament transformer. However, that did eliminate one wire coming off of the transformer as well as some copper in the winding. I have a hunch that was a very small transformer.

[Electronic M]

Nice set.

My collection started with it's big brother the 14T series GE portables : http://videokarma.org/showthread.php?t=265871 The red set in that thread has the flyback from my green one (I never undid the swap). I sold (or did I give away?) the red one to dieseljeep who upon catching wind that another collector wanted me to restore another 14T series set (and that I didn't have time to do that) yanked the chassis out of the red one so I could pass it on to the fellow who wanted his set restored. That fellow hosts the Madison radio swapmeets and wanted a restoration bad enough to offer a 9" GE same as decojoes except for color....The 14" set he eventually had me do a chassis swap on was his family's set when he was a kid. Some day I may have to try and buy the 9" er off of him...
The chassis swap gave me a trade for some cheater cords and a Sam's I needed for my Motorola 21CT2B.

Most painted metal 50s portables look sort of like 50s cars (which is part of the reason I love 50s portables). I always considered the predicta to be the 57 Chevy of TV collecting. They both came out around the same time and we're modern designs for their time that were not the most popular at launch (Ford out sold Chevy in 1957) but after sales ended both achieved a huge cult following and have large collector communities...to the point that the first vintage car and TV a layman and many hobbiests picture if asked to picture one would be a 57 Chevy and a Predicta.

[Eric H]

GE took a completely different path from RCA on these small sets.
The RCA is heavy (20lbs without the stand), complicated and lasts forever, the set Dad would get for his Office.
The GE was light (13lbs) & cute & colorful, just right for the Kids at Christmas.

With a good CRT they can make a really good picture, finding one with a really good CRT is a challenge. The 9QP4 was apparently as big a disaster as the 21EAP4 used in the Philco Predicta.

GE was good at making cheap sets perform well. One of the best working 1950's sets I have is a 17" Hotpoint 17S301.

[old_coot88]

I always thought the Predicta and Edsel were the go-together icons. Sorry... back to corner.

[decojoe67]

Originally Posted by Eric H

GE took a completely different path from RCA on these small sets.
The RCA is heavy (20lbs without the stand), complicated and lasts forever, the set Dad would get for his Office.
The GE was light (13lbs) & cute & colorful, just right for the Kids at Christmas.

With a good CRT they can make a really good picture, finding one with a really good CRT is a challenge. The 9QP4 was apparently as big a disaster as the 21EAP4 used in the Philco Predicta.

GE was good at making cheap sets perform well. One of the best working 1950's sets I have is a 17" Hotpoint 17S301.

I agree with everything. The friend I bought the GE from has been repairing old TV's for decades and particularly loves the metal mid-'50's sets. I've heard a lot about almost all of them, and he has never seen a truly poor performer. These GE "personal portables" would be absolute tops if they only didn't have the CRT issues. I'm glad this one works at all.