Found: 1976 MGA (Mitsubishi) Portable

[Eric H]

Picked this up since it was half off day, it's an August 1976 built MGA CS-1300 color portable. I thought it was missing a small knob so I almost wasn't going to get it, on closer inspection the "hole" where I thought the knob should be was actually the AFC indicator light.
One rabbit ear is mangled a bit but that's the only damage.

I feared the CRT might be weak because it looked pretty soft but after readjusting the focus and a slight tweak of the tracking it looks really sharp with good gray scale.

I like these 1970's "Mod" plastic sets, they are a nice change from the normal wood grain plastic.

This sucker is DIRTY! It smells like dryer sheets so maybe it was in a laundry room, there's a slightly oily grunge under the lint so perhaps some tobacco too.
The cabinet is in really good shape, it just needs cleaned and to buff out the white areas, it's not yellowed like a lot of these are.

Note: the test pattern needs to be redone, I forgot to crop off the bottom of the picture so it makes it look like it's off center to the top.

[lnx64]

Are you sure that's from 1976? That thing makes my mid 80's Samsung look older. haha

[Eric H]

Originally Posted by lnx64

Are you sure that's from 1976? That thing makes my mid 80's Samsung look older. haha

Absolutely certain.

[Username1]

I like sets like that.... easily discernible circuit sections.... Almost tube-like....

[Eric H]

Originally Posted by Username1

easily discernible circuit sections

Right now they are sort of just grey lumps, perhaps after I wash it off they will be discernible, the 3.58 crystal is easy to spot however.

I washed the back, the water just came out black! Going to have to take it completely apart to get this thing clean.

[TVTim]

What a cool find. Cleaned up, it'll be a great addition to any collection.

[lnx64]

I'll be damned, nice find then! Never seen a mid 70's TV look like that.

[Sandy G]

I got a 9" color Sears-Likely Toshiba-off the "Bay" several years back for the munificent sum of $1...It is a "Mod" shaped one like that, case is yellowed, & bears a vague resemblance to a muffin. Didn't really expect too much from it, but thr L'il Sucker has a VERY good picture.. I think its build date was in '76 or so, too..

[Dude111]

She is very pretty Erik,thank you for sharing it

[zeno]

Those early SS MGA's were the best they made.
Newer ones were OK but nothing special. Always
fun to work on & not a trouble maker. I could
work on them all day (wishful thinking !).

73 Zeno

[Eric H]

By the way, if you haven't already deduced it from the model number, this is a 13" set.

[zenith2134]

Have an '85 MGA 13" with LED readout tuner and remote. It was free and the crt is strong, but the color never looked right on it. Haven't taken the back off
Yours is a nice one for sure!

[Electronic M]

A professor I had last quarter said he bought a table top color Hybrid MCA or MGA (I forget which) in 76' and he used that thing 8+ hours a day for years until it became a bedroom set he would fall asleep by eventually it went to the basement until a neighbors kid needed a set. That thing is still going and IIRC without anything more than a tube replacement all these years later....Now that is reliability!

[Eric H]

Couldn't leave this thing filthy dirty like it was so I took it apart and cleaned it.

Everything is plastic or dipped in epoxy so this got the deluxe soap and water treatment, sprayed the chassis with cleaner and hosed it off with warm water, only thing that didn't get hosed off was the Tripler/focus block because it has areas where water could get in but I would never get it back out, as it is I'm going to let it sit for a couple weeks before I attempt to power it back up.


I'll have to do a purity and convergence setup since I took the components off the neck of the tube.

[Jon A.]

Man, and I thought my 1983 RCA portable was filthy when I got it. Nice to see an early solid-state set get some good treatment.