Portable color sets from the sixties

[captainmoody]

Here's my 1968 RCA 19" color portable that I purchased at an estate sale about 8 years ago, It even has the original stand, Although not shown in picture. Took a while to find this model, The last one I saw was when I owned a tv shop back in 1981!
Seems that heat related failure, I.E. caps, Tubes, P. C. boards and tube sockets (becoming brittle from heat)were a problem with these models. I saw the most come in when I was working for a shop in the mid to late seventies. Most were done by then, As I remember replacing a 6GH8 in one and having the socket crumble, When trying to replace that the pc board itself began to give way! It was a loaner we used for our customers so rather than have more problems, We tossed it into the dumpster!
This set in the picture had only been serviced by RCA under their service contract which ended in 1980. The elderly lady that I got it from stopped using it in 1981 due to a dirty tuner. So if she hadn't decided to put it in the basement, It would have been in the landfill years ago!:eek:

[drh4683]

Thats an excellent tv captainmoody! As you know, it is one of my favorites cabinet styles by rca and have never found one like it! Like any old tv, they are rare but the rca table models are impossible to find! They just would not hold up like the zeniths (even though they are gone too!) I will need to get a photo of my ctc22 up here one of these days!

[rcaman]

captain moody , i also have one just like yours. i playes great i replaced the picture with a nos rebuilt one. the only thing i dont like is the replacement tube is whiter than the original. this set weighs a ton. steve:)

[michael]

About '75 or so, I plunked down $60 for a 15" (?) RCA color portable which I think had the "New Vista" trademark on the control panel. It had a fungal CRT that got progressively worse even over the short time I had it. This was a cute little set and I'd like to find another, for no other reason that to attempt delaminating the safety glass and effecting a repair/cleanup. Three years ago, a neighbor had an estate sale in which there was an identical, working set. She was supposed to save it but it got tossed a day or two prior to the sale. She later added that it had "something wrong with the way the picture tube looked..." Yeah, I know...
I later picked up a Penncrest (Toshiba?) with the 15"-er but it's just not the same.

[andy]

Here's mine of the same model. I found this at the side of the road when I happened to glance up a side street on my way to a bowling league. It was in pretty rough shape with bad cataracts. It had most of its original tubes (and several very weak ones), but the CRT was in excellent condition.

The first time I plugged it in, it had no vertical deflection (bad connection to vertical tube heater) and the degaussing VDR started smoking because the thermistor was bad. I used a wire brish wheel to remove the rust and repaint the back, bottom, HV cage and IF cage. The chassis cleaned up ok. I scanned and reprinted the warning label on the HV cage after cleaning it up in paint shop. The only real electronic problem it had was failure of the degaussing thermistor/VDR pair and a few high ESR caps. It's now the TV I used every day in the work shop and hasn't given me any trouble in the year or so that I've been using it.

I'd love to get a new control door for it because the original was rusty and there's no way I can think of to reproduce the wood grain and the Zenith logo.

[andy]

Here's what it looked like when I found it. I think it was outside for a few years. There's something more satisfying about bringing back a set that's is really bad condition.

[andy]

I just found yet another portacolor at the side of the road near my house on my way home today. It's in pretty good shape apart from the broken shafts to the clock/sleep timer. Any idea wht kind of knobs it would have had? What remains of the shafts is the same size as a a typical volume pot shaft. I'm thinking it may have had the same type of knobs as the volume, color,... knobs. It also seems to be just a clock and sleep timer with no alarm or on timer function. It's model WM229HWD-3 and has a 1969 date code on the CRT. It worked as I found it, but the tuner and controls need to be cleaned. I also can't completely get rid of the green raster; hopefully it's a probelm with the green video circuit and not the CRT. If it is the CRT, I might cannibalize my mid 70's porta-color since this is a nicer set. It's the first portacolor I've had that didn't have a constant buzz in the audio. GE must have made millions of these!

[captainmoody]

Nice find Andy! That second generation model with the clock is harder to find nowadays. Here's a pic of my first gen, Also found in the trash! My friend said he got it at a sale, Then later confessed he found it when "picking"! It needed several cracked solder connections on the vertical output tube socket repaired, But works fine now. It has a date code 68-26 and has to be the last of this model, As your style started late 1968.

[kc8adu]

http://www.rwhirled.com/portacolor/
i have 3 of em.
considered the yugo of color tv but decent if they have good tubes

[kc8adu]

Originally posted by andy
I just found yet another portacolor at the side of the road near my house on my way home today. It's in pretty good shape apart from the broken shafts to the clock/sleep timer. Any idea wht kind of knobs it would have had? What remains of the shafts is the same size as a a typical volume pot shaft. I'm thinking it may have had the same type of knobs as the volume, color,... knobs. It also seems to be just a clock and sleep timer with no alarm or on timer function. It's model WM229HWD-3 and has a 1969 date code on the CRT. It worked as I found it, but the tuner and controls need to be cleaned. I also can't completely get rid of the green raster; hopefully it's a probelm with the green video circuit and not the CRT. If it is the CRT, I might cannibalize my mid 70's porta-color since this is a nicer set. It's the first portacolor I've had that didn't have a constant buzz in the audio. GE must have made millions of these!
if the crt is good there are 3 2w resistors in the rgb amps they change value.
replace with metal film types.common problen with greyscale issues.

[michael]

For some more info on GE's Portacolor sets, check out "In Living Portacolor" http://www.rwhirled.com/portacolor/index.html
It provides some interesting history on this set plus photos of several different versions that GE--and others--made.

Come to think of it, I've got an old Scott 370 tuner that uses Compactrons.

Michael

[Eric H]

I had one of those back in the late 70's. I got it from a TV repairman friend of mine.

It had a bad heater on one of the guns but I was able to get it working by whacking the neck of the CRT with a screwdriver handle.

I had to do that a few times but it finally seemed to take and worked for quite a while before I sold it at a garage sale.

It must have been an early one because I remember it had a really coarse dot pitch and really lousy color!

Later I had a 71 or 72 RCA XL-100 19" portable which I seem to recall was one of the first sets to use a slot matrix 110 deg CRT?
It was a solid state modular set and had great color.

Eric

[andy]

That's a great web page about the portacolor. Is there any chance you can send me a better picture of that first portacolor with the clock? I need a close up of the clock and it's knobs so I can figure out what mine should look like.

I think if the CRT is bad, I might try making the CRT from an early 80's solid state GE work in it. I would have to change the pinout of the CRT socket, drop the heater voltage to 6.3 and move the focus bleeder into the portacolor, but I think it would work. It has a 10VAHP22 CRT and it has external connections to each cathode, G1 and G2.

[kc8adu]

Originally posted by andy
That's a great web page about the portacolor. Is there any chance you can send me a better picture of that first portacolor with the clock? I need a close up of the clock and it's knobs so I can figure out what mine should look like.

I think if the CRT is bad, I might try making the CRT from an early 80's solid state GE work in it. I would have to change the pinout of the CRT socket, drop the heater voltage to 6.3 and move the focus bleeder into the portacolor, but I think it would work. It has a 10VAHP22 CRT and it has external connections to each cathode, G1 and G2.
the later (1975) uses the 10vah or 10vad p22 tube.
btw the old portacolor crt's rejuve well.
i did 2 a few weeks ago for another collecter.
both were really crummy looking till i hit them with the 467
so anyone with that adapter with the switch on it can dust it off and put it to use :)

[andy]

Here's an interesting stat I found today at this URL http://www.lancasterglasscorp.com/history.html

"1965-1977 Produced 2,250,000 portacolor GE TV bulbs"

Apparently they were the company that made the the glass bulbs for the portacolor's CRT. I guess that gives us a rough idea of how many were made.

[kc8adu]

that same crt was used in the aa series chassis up to 88!at least that is the newest set i have seen.
used up a lot of solder and wire jumpers fixing the griplets on that double sided board.

[kc8adu]

Originally posted by Eric H
I had one of those back in the late 70's. I got it from a TV repairman friend of mine.

It had a bad heater on one of the guns but I was able to get it working by whacking the neck of the CRT with a screwdriver handle.

I had to do that a few times but it finally seemed to take and worked for quite a while before I sold it at a garage sale.

It must have been an early one because I remember it had a really coarse dot pitch and really lousy color!

Later I had a 71 or 72 RCA XL-100 19" portable which I seem to recall was one of the first sets to use a slot matrix 110 deg CRT?
It was a solid state modular set and had great color.

Eric
correction edit
the first was probably the ctc74.
they were modular and folded down like a truck tailgate for service.
i remember that rca .
it was not an inline but looked like one.
110 degree small neck delta gun.
i think the first inline slotmask was in the ctc 88 (the chassis reminds you of a basket)

[andy]

Here are my other PortaColors. The one on the left is from about 1972 and the one on the right is from 1974. The one on the right has a bad osc transistor in the UHF tuner. Can you believe that the only transistor in the entire set failed.

[andy]

Here's a couple of early 70's sets that would have been competing with the portacolor. The one on the left is a solid state sony KV-9000 9" and the one on the right is a Panasonic 'Pana-Color' 12" hybrid with a solid state tuner, IF, and chroma, but everything else tubes. Both sets are from around 1972 and produce an excellent picture compared to the GE.

[kc8adu]

Originally posted by andy
Here's a couple of early 70's sets that would have been competing with the portacolor. The one on the left is a solid state sony KV-9000 9" and the one on the right is a Panasonic 'Pana-Color' 12" hybrid with a solid state tuner, IF, and chroma, but everything else tubes. Both sets are from around 1972 and produce an excellent picture compared to the GE.
i have several of the kv-9000 sonys and when working right they can outperform many new sets.but to get them right you must change a lot of lytics!

[michael]

Got this "little" set several years ago solely because of the unusual shape; it tapers to the rear to about half the dimension of the front. Inside, most components are made--and I presume the set--by Sanyo. Odd, too, that a MM like Sears would have sold a solid-state set so early on. The UHF tuner is a continuous-tuning type, no clicks. Note the resemblance to the Portacolor, right down to the red-YELLOW-and blue badge on the front!

http://www.members.aol.com/emelaich/sears.jpg

[rcaman]

here is a picture of my rca 19" table set manufactured april 1976.
this set has very little use on it. has a power transformer and weighs a ton. how collectible are these going to be in the near future... steve

[rcaman]

has a great picture bright and razor sharp

Moderator's Note: I deleted the attached photo to save bandwidth as it was apparently a duplicate.
Rob

[Eric H]

Steve, that RCA is the set that replaced my XL-100!

I got it from my friends TV shop, the neck of the CRT had been blown off, supposedly from a lightning strike. It was only about 3 years old at the time.

I replaced the CRT and it worked great.
You're right about the weight, I remember it being extremely heavy!

Eric

[Eric H]

Drifting way off topic here but... I was given a 1982 Sears 13" portable yesterday. It was headed for the trash.

It works but has some retrace lines, bad caps?

I think it is a Sanyo, I had forgotten how lousy the color was on these, you can have pink orange or green people but no natural looking people :)

Eric

[captainmoody]

The newest tv in my collection is a Zenith Digital system three 27" (1989 model) that I sold new when I owned my tv shop. Had teletext option with printer and picture in picture. Got it back from the first owner in 99 and still is as new in every way, Unusual for this model as they were plagued with problems! (9-700 module) I fixed a lot of these. One of my favorites is a 1979 system three with zoom (remember that!)Not a portable but worth mention. It's a really neat console that will fit nicely into the corner of a room as the cabinet is semi round with a cool silver front ( Very 70's!) I'm sure someone remembers these! I have 2 of them presently. Still an easy trash day find. And are already picking up in popularity. I sold one 2 yrs ago for 300.00 in clean, working cond!

[Jeffhs]

Captainmoody, when you mentioned the problems those early RCAs had with circuit boards becoming brittle over time from heat, it reminded me of a similar set (marketed by Silvertone in the early Sixties, with the RCA CTC12 chassis) I owned over 30 years ago. The set worked well for me until 1973, then I had to replace a tube (a 6GH8 video output) and--wouldn't you know it (darn it!)--the socket broke out of the board and clunked to the bottom of the set. :(

(OT now, but it sort of ties in with the foregoing)-- RCA's newer sets (at least the CTC185 chassis) seem to have the same problem. I bought one of these sets in late 1999 (RCA XL-100, CTC185A7 chassis); although it works well on cable and has a beautiful picture, I have had to have it repaired twice for the same problem: the RF connector to which the antenna or cable connects breaks off the tuner PC board if you put the least little bit of pressure on it. :( The technician who repaired my set told me this is a weak point in the design of this chassis; I hope this issue has been addressed and corrected in the newer models.

[rcaman]

come and pick up the rca that i have the picture posted. you will be darn lucky if you dont have a hernia. do we need to go to another board to talk about tv sets. steve

[captainmoody]

I see quite a few of the CTC 175 to 187 models out in the trash, If they are the 27" to 32" stereo variety I pick them up! Once the ground connections are soldered, And on occasion, An Eprom replaced, Those sets work great! Great picture quality and quite reliable once repaired. I have sold a few on ebay with good results. With the money I make from those, I can then buy my vintage goodies!:D

[andy]

While the older the better, I do have some interest in hybrids and early solid states. The number of hybrid sets made has to be small compared to even 21" round screens. I'd participate in a group for late tube and to early solid state TVs. Such interesting things as sony's 7" chromatron would fall into that.

That RCA you posted has an identical cabinet to an all tube one from the late 60's that was given to me about 10 years ago. I was probably in junior high at the time. The set did work, but the CRT was weak so I didn't keep it long. It had one of those low focus voltage CRTs that were popular in the late 60's. RCA referred to it as an einzel lens system. It's interesting that these CRTs only require at most a few hundred volts to focus and it isn't dependent on the HV. However, I've never seen one with very sharp focus and they seem to go out of focus badly with age. The usual lack of a real focus control doesn't help either. I think this RCA had a 3 or 4 position jumper.

[captainmoody]

I can see that Rob is getting upset about this forum becoming "corrupted" with our late sixties and early seventies sets, Even solid state stuff! Rightfully so, After all The title is "Early Color Television" A lot of the televisions that my friends and I have are of the much neglected "rectangular" variety. However these have their place in history, As well as collections. Most of the sets that I collect represent firsts for the companies that made them, Such as Motorola's first solid state color set or their first rectangular tube model, Etc. Maybe we could see if we could get our own forum for these orphans, It seems that there are enough of us now....
Anyway, Respecting Rob's wishes, I will no longer post any more pictures of sets here unless they fall under his guidelines.

[Kamakiri]

That is an excellent idea, captainmoody. Let's try an additional forum.

There's plenty of room on the server, so let's expand the forums to cover your interests :)

Now that I've added this forum, please make sure that you use it! :beerchug:

[captainmoody]

Thanks for starting the new forum!

[Rob]

Thanx for opening this New Forum for the collectors of the newer interesting TV's Tim!

Rob

[wvsaz]

Originally posted by captainmoody
Most of the sets that I collect represent firsts for the companies that made them, Such as Motorola's first solid state color set or their first rectangular tube model . . .

Do you have a Motorola TS-908? If so, would you post a picture?

[drh4683]

a 67 rca ctc22. Is this the 22 the first truly portable color tv from rca?

[drh4683]

I found this at an estate sale last october. It was kind of expensive considering what it was, $25. It did come with the manuals and is in really nice shape. couldnt pass it by or else the estate sale people would through it out. Of course, a hybrid. Looks to be possibly a ctc53 layout.

[rca2000]

Hello all- I also have several non-round color sets from the late sixties and early seventies. I knew that they were worth saving. Lets see if i can remember all of them(they are in my storage areas). I have a ctc-19,like the one posted ,a zenith 15y6c15, like the one posted a zenith 16z8c19, 19" set, a sony kv-1201, i think, from 1968 or so, and several 25" table and console sets- A ctc-40(and at least 2 complete chassis), a heath gr-395(?) 20" set from 1970, a zenith 25mc36 set form 1965(this was their first rectangular set)a ctc -68 rca from 1974, and then theres my crown jewell--My rca g-2000--with the ctc-47 chassis, from 1969.I also have at least a dozen rectangular b.w.sets, from the early 1950's to the early to mid 1960's. so, i do save the rectangular sets.

Right now, the only round color sets i have are my zenith 29jc20, and an rca ctc-11. I have a couple of ctc-12 chassis, and maybe ,some other parts for round sets.

Anymore, if i am at a sale ,or auction, and a color ,or b.w.t.v that is the least bit worth saving turns up, i go for them, if they are cheap, and i can afford them. I have also found a number of nice sets in the trash(the latest one was an rca kcs-102, i think, 15'" b.w. portable, from 1956. i found it last fall.) They turn up on e-bay regularry, and go for anywhere from $15 to $100.00 .

The same goes for old radios, and hi-fi items .You just never know what you may find out there. A couple of years ago, i found a chassis from a guitar amp using two 6l6"s (i do not know what brand it is, it is in my garage.) And last year ,i found a mcintosh mr-71 tuner, which i sold on e-bay, for $600. 00!!

[kc8adu]

thats a wells gardiner made sears.
our family got one new in 73 and when it broke it was my job to make it play so mom could watch dallas:puke: :puke: :puke:
this thing ate 40kd6's about 1 a year.it became a rifle target when the fly went.


Originally posted by drh4683
I found this at an estate sale last october. It was kind of expensive considering what it was, $25. It did come with the manuals and is in really nice shape. couldnt pass it by or else the estate sale people would through it out. Of course, a hybrid. Looks to be possibly a ctc53 layout.

[drh4683]

I found this one at an estate sale this weekend. You need a forklift to move this one around:) Its a 22" with no green halo, this is somewhat of a surprise. Beautiful picture on this zenith after a complete alignment. This is a 20X1C38, 1967. I was fortuntate enough to have the matching cart for it and all original tubes. The 6Z10 of course needed a change. Only one transistor in this chassis, a video driver. (and the UHF, but we all know that:) )

[drh4683]

I love the zenith chassis, the best! I like looking at them more than the tv itself :D

[captainmoody]

Here's my 1972 Zenith 20" Still works fine even after 15 years of storage.
It amazes me that the last time I used it was the summer of '88 and it is still in excellent shape, I thought that at least it might need a 'lytic after all that time.

[captainmoody]

My 1968 Admiral didn't do as well as the Zenith, The Horiz out went to air and the pva got a LOT worse. After replacing the bad tube though, The set came up with a great picture.

[Jeffhs]

Captainmoody, I'm glad to hear your '72 Zenith still works after 15 years in storage. Those old sets were made to last, that's for sure.

As for the electrolytics in your set, back when those TVs (and others before them) were new, the filter capacitors seemed to last forever. My grandmother had a 1936 Silvertone table radio that still worked with no hum even 40 years and more later, and with the same electrolytics as (I think) when the set was new. I purchased a 1951 Zenith table radio on ebay last year that still works like a champ (very little or no hum that I can hear), even with its original filters. I think this might be close to a record for a set made in the early '50s.

I used to collect old TVs and such back in the 1970s, but had to give it up when I moved to an apartment late in 1999. I had just about every major make of TV except Magnavox in my basement by the time I moved (the first time, in mid-1972), and many of the sets worked for quite a while, but some of them (like my old Philco Microgrid 390 console TV) developed very expensive problems which sent them straight to the junkpile.

Good luck.

[captainmoody]

Here's a Portacolor I found in the trash this morning, It was four houses down from me.
Manufactured April 1975, All original and works great!

[captainmoody]

I recently put an ad in the local paper looking for tube type sets,
I have gotten a LOT of test equipment so far and only 3 sets.
Here's one of them.
What I like about this RCA is that it still has the original stand.
Will have to get to the pva removal next weekend.

[drh4683]

Nice! Looks like a ctc22 for sure! I need to try the newspaper ad thing. Seems like it works well for those who have tried it so far!

[captainmoody]

I think it is a great way to go, Have been getting tv sets off and on that way since 1981! I would run an ad every so often back then saying "Wanted: Junk tv's free pickup" used to get a lot of sixties stuff as well as newer ones that I could make money on repairing and reselling.
After reading about Kam's success, I thought I would try it again, This time though, The ad reads "Wanted: tv's from the 50's and 60's especially round screen color sets"
Doug, I think you will do especially well in your area of Chicago.
Go for it!!

[captainmoody]

Just found this one today, 2 houses down from where I got the portacolor last week!
1972 Motorola 18" portable TS-929 chassis.
Another one in like new condition, Working just fine. Guess they got tired of it.....

[captainmoody]

Got rid of that nasty pva, Tube looks nice again.
Only took 1/2 hour to remove! It's pretty easy and fast to remove once you get the hang of it.

[Kamakiri]

Originally posted by captainmoody
I think it is a great way to go, Have been getting tv sets off and on that way since 1981! I would run an ad every so often back then saying "Wanted: Junk tv's free pickup" used to get a lot of sixties stuff as well as newer ones that I could make money on repairing and reselling.
After reading about Kam's success, I thought I would try it again, This time though, The ad reads "Wanted: tv's from the 50's and 60's especially round screen color sets"
Doug, I think you will do especially well in your area of Chicago.
Go for it!!

My recent stuff is nothing, I scored about half a dozen roundies with the last 2 week ad, and those ended up at Rob's place due to limited space here at the time. I let the ad expire recently just because I have to take a breath and clear more room :eek:

[Tony V]

I've had an ad running for about two months here and so far no call's what so ever. I guess theres no roundies left here in central VA. I'm not giving up though as i know sometime or another one will turn up. I'd just like to have another roundie besides the RCA combo i'm restoring to put in my computer room.
Tony

[captainmoody]

We should have a "how to" thread on removing the pva from these old sets. How about it drh4683 and kc8adu?
Did the Admiral today, What a difference!