"Television" on a 1933 documentary

[tubesrule]

Originally Posted by decojoe67

This is the best they would've had at that time - if you could talk RCA to sell you one of these experimental CRT sets!

Many of these prototype and field test sets were taken home by the engineers after they served their purpose, so some did survive because of this. This particular 1931 set survived in a warehouse in Indiana until being rescued from the dumpster by an RCA engineer who recognized it.

[peter scott]

Gives a good impression of a projection set (apart from not displaying any line structure. Perhaps it was film back projection?) but doesn't represent what was television state of the art in 1933.

Peter

[wa2ise]

One could modify an otherwise boring period cabinet like that by installing a small LCD flat screen display. It better be an uninteresting on its own cabinet, though

[decojoe67]

Originally Posted by tubesrule

Many of these prototype and field test sets were taken home by the engineers after they served their purpose, so some did survive because of this. This particular 1931 set survived in a warehouse in Indiana until being rescued from the dumpster by an RCA engineer who recognized it.

I read that story. Amazing. Also amazing to see it operating. I love that early green phosphor CRT. It really gives it an even more primitive look. I wonder what was involved it restoring it to play?

[tubesrule]

Originally Posted by decojoe67

I read that story. Amazing. Also amazing to see it operating. I love that early green phosphor CRT. It really gives it an even more primitive look. I wonder what was involved it restoring it to play?

Surprisingly little. It was more conservation than restoration. No original components in the main chassis' were changed. A few modern resistors and capacitors from work done by the RCA engineer in the 1980's to the vertical chassis' were put back to original. Even in the SPU, components like the filter caps are film type and are all still original. A few power resistors (50-100W) were open in the SPU.

Just as with the incredible luck of rescuing the set days before it was to be scrapped in 1984, by an incredible second stroke of luck, much of the original documentation and ephemera for this set was obtained a couple of years ago at a pawn shop in Tucson, placed there by the daughter of the engineer that was in charge of this project at RCA.

Darryl

[decojoe67]

Originally Posted by tubesrule

Surprisingly little. It was more conservation than restoration. No original components in the main chassis' were changed. A few modern resistors and capacitors from work done by the RCA engineer in the 1980's to the vertical chassis' were put back to original. Even in the SPU, components like the filter caps are film type and are all still original. A few power resistors (50-100W) were open in the SPU.

Just as with the incredible luck of rescuing the set days before it was to be scrapped in 1984, by an incredible second stroke of luck, much of the original documentation and ephemera for this set was obtained a couple of years ago at a pawn shop in Tucson, placed there by the daughter of the engineer that was in charge of this project at RCA.

Darryl

Do I understand that it's you're lucky find Darryl?! I've been fascinated with TV history since I was kid and been researching the subject since then. That console with the paperwork (and the story behind it all) is hands down the true "Holy Grail" find in TV history. I would love to see a video of it working.

[tubesrule]

Originally Posted by decojoe67

Do I understand that it's you're lucky find Darryl?! I've been fascinated with TV history since I was kid and been researching the subject since then. That console with the paperwork (and the story behind it all) is hands down the true "Holy Grail" find in TV history. I would love to see a video of it working.

I am the one who stumbled on the documentation and did the conservation work but not the one who saved the set from the dumpster.

[decojoe67]

Originally Posted by tubesrule

I am the one who stumbled on the documentation and did the conservation work but not the one who saved the set from the dumpster.

I see. The owner of the set must have flipped at your find. So great that both the set and documentation have been saved. Future generations will be in awe to see how far back electronic television went. I'm still in awe myself.

[peter scott]

Deleted