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#1
09-24-2009, 06:57 PM
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Vintage screen magnifier
I recently picture up this 11" plastic bubble screen magnifier.
 Is anyone familiar with this model and how it attaches? There's a metal rod that can be unscrewed, but that's it. The best I could figure is to hang it from the top and put a little weight on that rod.  Sorry for the dim screen. I haven't had a chance to tinker with this set yet. Supposedly it has been restored and has a "new" picture tube  
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#2
09-24-2009, 09:27 PM
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I was always curious about these things-are they a solid piece of plastic, or are they filled with a medium like mineral oil? What is the magnification factor? Also, is the viewing angle cut down, so that you can only really view the screen headon without any distortion apparent to the viewer?
I imagine this magnifier came with some hardware-I would think a pair of semicircular fittings, like those you see used to mount copper plumbing to the wall for support, would have been mounted to the top of the set. Then, you would only need to slip the magnifier's bar through the fittings, and the weight of the lens would hold it in place. Of course, this means drilling into that Emerson, so I would just use a phone book in this case.
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#3
09-24-2009, 11:05 PM
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I'm guestimating 10-20% magnification. The viewing angle isn't cut down much, but it's a little distorted around the edges at any angle I think.
I did a little Google image searching and found this one that's almost identical but has a custom base. Mine has a little screw at the bottom too, and I was wondering what it was for. I was going to say solid plastic, but this site claims it's blue perspex filled with linseed oil. On the other hand this one is 22" in diameter (that's insane!) and mine's only 12". A 7" Motorola just sold today on eBay that had a magnifier with two brass rods attached right to the top of the wood cabinet kinda like you described with pipe fittings. Here's a pilot magnifier attached to the front. No way I'm drilling holes into my Emerson  I think I'll try making a little custom stand like in that link. Last edited by bandersen; 09-24-2009 at 11:12 PM. Reason: typos
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#4
09-24-2009, 11:35 PM
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Banderson, interesting stuff- I can't believe they ever made a 22'' magnifier!
I had tried to bid on the Motorola that just sold on Ebay, as it was just down the street from me, but I just couldn't justify the price. I did win a similar set (san magnifier) today, for less than half of what the set w/ the magnifier cost.
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#5
09-25-2009, 12:15 AM
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Quote:
I was a little surprised that set sold for so much (about $175 I think.) because of the screwed on magnifier. Some might consider that defacing the set. Did you win the suitcase model? If so, you got a good deal assuming the CRT isn't dead.
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#6
09-25-2009, 02:05 AM
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The rod may have been intended to go underneath the TV. I bought an RCA 8TS30 not too long ago with a glass magnifying lens that has two legs/rods that go under the TV.
__________________
Chris Quote from another forum: "(Antique TV collecting) always seemed to me to be a fringe hobby that only weirdos did."
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#7
09-25-2009, 02:26 AM
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Banderson,
Yes, I won the suitcase set that is up in Schenectady. Any suggestions that I can offer the seller on how to pack it? I'm with you on how the magnifier rails really messed up that set. It's so rare to find a magnifier attached neatly. I was already making tentative plans on refinishing the cabinet so it didn't look so terrible. Now, all I have to worry about is getting this other one to me in one piece... I meant to comment on your dim Emerson set: did you try adjusting the ion trap, assuming a new crt and full restoration?
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#8
09-25-2009, 03:16 AM
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 Ideally, the seller would remove the chassis and CRT, pack and ship them separately. Otherwise, maybe they could carefully pack some foam into the case to keep the CRT from flopping around. I had a Motorola shipped to me like that and it survived just fine. Good idea about the Emerson. All I've done is fiddle with the controls so far. I've peeked inside too and can see little sticky on each tube with Gm values on them. I got this from an audiophile 
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#9
09-25-2009, 03:19 AM
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#10
09-25-2009, 12:12 PM
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The magnifier on my Pilot TV-37 has two legs that slide under the TV. Solid plastic. It does cut down on the viewing angle.
I have seen other Pilot magnifiers with clips that hook into the grille louvers. Not the best design, since the magnifier can break the fragile slats. I believe this legged mount was built by the owner. His papers include a sketch with dimensions. I have seen a leg-less magnifier with the same paint color, so perhaps it was a generic add-on that some people modified. Phil 
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#11
09-25-2009, 12:28 PM
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Cool set Phil. How much does that magnifier increase the picture ? Do you think it's an improvement?
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#12
09-25-2009, 02:02 PM
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I'm not good at judging magnification. Maybe 1.5x ?
I find it kinda annoying to watch. You need to be right in front of the CRT. The lens is almost a hemisphere, so from about 45 degrees, you don't see the image at all. If your lens is shallower, maybe the viewing range will be better. Just noticed that you got your set from an audiophile. If you're lucky, maybe he installed some oxygen-infused wires to mellow out the harsh on those lows!  Phil
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#13
09-25-2009, 07:37 PM
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I have one of those magnifiers. Mine was made in Japan in the 1960's the brand is "MagnaVue" and it increases picture size to something like 24 or 27 inches.
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#14
09-25-2009, 09:33 PM
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Nope, no oxygen-infused wires
 . Just very clean tubes with little numbers written on them. leadlike - good call on the ion trap  . I loosened the set screws and fiddled with it. At first, I lost the picture entirely  Then, I search the AK archives and found this thread with good instructions about 15 posts down. A little more tweaking and I got a much brighter picture . A little more tweaking with the yoke centering lever finally got me decent picture. I've seen better, but it's certainly watchable  .Here it is with and without the enlarger. Not only enlarges but adds a blue tint and turns MTM into Rockford  .Here's a little YouTube clip showing off this set, its "picture enlarger" feature and the bubble magnifier.  
Last edited by bandersen; 09-25-2009 at 10:15 PM.
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#15
09-25-2009, 09:38 PM
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Linear Mode
