Color Television was disappointing when first introduced?

[Whirled One]

Originally Posted by kc8adu

next time i go there on a service call i will be sure to take a pic of that portacolor.

Please do-- I'd like to see that as well! Be sure to include a shot where the manufaturing date sticker is visible.

I've got five or six Portacolors ranging from 1966 to 1977, but I'd love to find a 1980 Portacolor..!

As far as weight goes, it's true that Portacolors aren't as lightweight as small portable B&W sets from the same era, but they're still pretty darn light in weight compared with most other 10" - 13" color sets up through the early 70's or so. Try picking up a Sony KV-1210 in one hand and a GE Portacolor in the other hand, and it's no contest that the GE is lighter in weight. No transformer + printed circuit construction + Compactron tubes + plastic cabinet = a rather lightweight tube color TV. Even GE's first attempt at a solid-state replacement for this set (the Portacolor II) weighs more than the ol' all-tube Portacolor (partly due to the power transformer) and the cabinet is basically the same size and shape.