Page 2 

Solid State Picture Tube Television

All Transistor and Sold State Televisions 

Started in 1959 with the Philco Safari. Transistors would take almost 20 years to completely replace the vacuum tube. Soon after Integrated Circuits and large scale microchips would become common. Digital tuning replaced mechanical tuners in the late 1970's. RCA was one of the earliest to use keypad tuning. One of the big reasons why vacuum tubes lasted so long was cost. It was difficult to design transistors and diodes to replace horizontal deflection and high voltage circuits and when it was possible expensive and such designs were restricted to high end models. The early transistor designs were more complex and expensive compared with tube designs. The development of power MOSFETS and stacked silicon rectifiers finally put an end to vacuum tubes other than the CRT. The CRT was finally replaced in the early 2000s with LCD flat panel. The switch over to digital TV (ATSC) reception in 2007 ended picture tube TV in the United States.

 

SHOWCASE

The World's First Transistor Television- The Philco Safari (1959-60) Model H2010  


Philco was working on high frequency transistor for RF applications. Their germanium Surface Barrier Transistors (SBT) were some of the earliest high frequency low noise devices. They found their way into military equipment, computers and finally the first transistor television, the Safari. Uses 21 PNP germanium transistors and 2- 5642 subminiature HV rectifier tubes. So it was almost ALL TRANSISTOR. It sold for $250 in 1959 and can run on AC or using a 7.5 V Rechargeable Akaline Battery. It used a 2 inch CRT and was set up as a projection TV using a mirror allowing the screen to be about 7-10 inches in diagonal. With battery weighs about 15 pounds.

   -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

       BLACK AND WHITE TV 

          COLOR TELEVISION 

Sony 5-303W (1962) 5" AC/DC Portable (VHF reception- optional UHF) Made in Japan
Sony was formed by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita in 1947. Started as a radio repair shop in Tokyo and soon into design and manufacturing under the name Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo
Sony's second attempt to build a true portable television. 24 or 25 Transistors (depends on serial number). Much more successful and reliable. A major milestone for Sony. It is mentioned in great detail in the history of Sony (go to their website). Still a hybrid TV the tubes are 3- miniature high voltage rectifiers working as a voltage tripler. Comes with a carrying case and sold with optional separate rechargeable battery in its own carry case. 

Zenith H091J (1975) made by Zenith Taiwan Division
 9 inch Diagonal BW TVHas over 35 transistors. One of the last ALL Transistor TV's before the use of Integrated circuits and modules. Typical of Zenith products,  repairable and well made television. The following year Zenith made their smaller TV's come with auto adapters to plug into the car's cigarette lighter socket.
INSIDE ZENITH H091JCHASSIS ABOUT 8"X10'
Panasonic TR-4001 (1979) 3" DIAG Boombox with AM/FM/WB and Cassette Recorder. Made in Japan.
RCA "Playmate" AFR095 shown (1980-81)  9" portable AC/ 12 VDC BW TV with optional rechargeable pack. 
TMK (Toyomenka) 717 (1984) 2" DIAG Micro TV with AM-FM-SW radio (Japan).
Runs with AC adapter, optional rechargeable pack or 6 AA Cells.
Panasonic TR-1020P (1984) Travel-Vision Series 1.5" DIAG
with magnifier and AM/FM Stereo. Made in Japan.
Magnavox BD 3902 SL01 (1983)  2 inch diagonal  TV, AM, FM and Clock, travel style portable (Made by Sanyo, Korea)
Travel lunchbox style. The clock is LCD with wakeup to radio/tv or alarm. Sleep mode, clock night light and can run on rechargeable, AC adapter or 5 AA cells.
Compare the 1983 electronics of this set with the 1992 electronics of the Kentech below. Although there is a radio and clock with the Magnavox, advances in micro chips changes things greatly!

Prison Style TV's

Prison style TV's had transparent cabinets for security reasons, became a popular feature in portable TV's starting around 1990's and faded out around 2004. They came in all kind of colors.
Ken-Tech TVP45 (1991-92) 4.5" DIAG Prison Style Portable (CHINA)
This and similar sets were made into the mid 2000's.
The electronics in this set are simple with a TV micro chip performing most of the functions and uses manual tuning.
Supersonic FC-9200  (Made in China) 5 inch diagonal BW Television and AM/FM Radio. Many of these generic low priced type TV's were made in China and took all kinds of forms, including prison style TV's.
RCA 16-3004 (2002) 7" DIAG with AM/FM Radio and Video Monitor
.Call the Micro TV. In 1960s technology very tight layout,
The Sony 5-3-303W Travel Set Carrying Case and 12 V Battery Pack<<<<<<<<<
                                                                                                










































Picture Tube Display<<<<<<<





























Basically an all transistor TV, with single 14 pin dip IC, the electronics are spread over several PC boards, all fairly difficult to access.

RCA playmate series (late 1970s-mid 1980s) originally were all small black and white sets that were portable. All had manual tuning. Some were radio, tv and clock combos while others were equip to plug into the AC outlet, 12 V car plug or run on rechargeable batteries. When RCA came out with small color models by the mid 1980s the Playmate name was dropped.
OPTIONAL (Above) Rechargeable Battery Pack (seldom seen)





ABOVE:Compare the screen size of the  13" DIAG TV on the left with the TMK 2" DIAG screen.
Has switch for radio BW variations in US and UK and Europe.





















































Not much room to work. Not really meant to be repaired!

































The TV's shown are an example of early mass produced consumer electronics from China. These sets were very reasonably priced and all required an AC adapter for power, which kept prices low.  None of these set show any originality of engineering. They are basically generic products with the same technology in different names and cabinets.































BELOW: Runs on 12V car adapter, 12V AC adapter or 8- D size cells. This set had input for composite video and audio  to be used as a monitor.
ABOVE:Uses CSC5151A (AN5151A) TV RF and IF Chip. BELOW: CRT display, showing TEST Pattern.

























Sold through Radio Shack Stores. Radio Shack for a time used the RCA label for their TV sets. One of the last BW TV with screens over 5" DIAG. Uses a separate 12 Volt Power Source. Made in China.



















 Picture Tube Display
Sony KV-5000 (1972) Trinitron Color Portable
This was Sony's first color portable, featuring a 5 inch diagonal screen. It looks similar to the 1963 Sony TV 5-300 Black and White TV including the fold out stand. Uses mechanical tuner for UHF and VHF. 
The KV-5000 came 10 years after Sony's introduction of their first 5" TV the 5-303W BW TV. Sony made the KV-5000 in a similar style and layout as the 5-303W TV. Below is a visual comparison of the two sets.
Toshiba (Tokyo Shibaura Electric Co LTD) Blackstripe C095Z (1975-76) 
9 inch diagonal portable. Made in JapanToshiba was formed by the 1939 merger of  Tokyo Electric Co LTD (Ichisuke Fujioka, founder) and Shibaura Engineering Works (Daikichi Tanaka, founder)
Toshiba was one of the first Japanese manufacturers to be licensed by ATT for the manufacture and design of transistors. Some of Japan's earliest registered "2S" transistors were Toshiba.
2018 US Womens Olympic Hockey TeamWinning the Gold MedalPyeongChang, S. Korea
RCA EFR-291G Colortrak 9 inch diagonal Portable TV with Varactor Tuning (1981) Made in Taiwan by RCA Taiwan LTD.
This model uses varactor diode tuning that allows you to set your stations (VHF Ch 2-13 and 6 UHF stations). Can be used in the car with a 12 volt adapter.
The Colortrak was the highline of RCA color tv's. Colortraks were usually the larger sets, so the 9 inch was probably the smallest and most basic of this series.  Colortraks have better color filtering circuits like SAW filters to give accurate color levels. Finally the larger Colortraks tend to have digital random access tuning and full feature remote control and video inputs compared to the lower line XL-100 line.
Panasonic  (Matsushita Electric LTD) CT1110B 11 inch Diagonal Portable Color TV, with Quintrix 2 Picture Tube (1982). Made in Japan.
CT1110 series had numerous upgrades from 1979-1984, all the way to version D. This features a color pilot control similar to the Toshiba above (ABC control), where one can choose personal setting or allow the TV station to dictate the color intensity and tint. Also has a manual AFT button which can be useful for fringe reception. The mechanical tuners are at the bottom of the set which was not very common even in portable TV set and is why I acquired one.
Below crt display of the Panasonic CT1110B. This is an example of how a vintage TV (4:3 aspect ratio) displays. Compare this to the image on the right showing the current standard 16:9 aspect ratio displayed on this TV.




Sony KV-4000 (1984) Trinitron Color Portable (Donated by David Asahina). At 3.5 inch diagonal was the smallest Trinitron and color TV made at the time. Panasonic would make a smaller one about a year later. Uses electronic scan tuning. A color bar would sweep horizontally until a station was received and the bar would disappear. Made in Japan.
Talked to David about the story behind the TV:
"It was a Christmas gift from my parents at about the time it was introduced. I had it on my nightstand. Somewhere It was my only television set until the early 1990's at which time I bought a larger Sony TV (about 19"?) and a Sony VCR at FEDCO. I still have that Sony VCR."
RCA EMR295V (1987)  XL-100 (XL= Extended Life) 9 inch diagonal Color Portable.
RCA 16-3000 (1999) 5" DIAG Color TV/Monitor with scan tuning.Sold through Radio Shack Stores. Made in MalaysiaThis and other RCA sets sold by Radio Shack are not made by RCA but uses the RCA name as a selling point. These "generic" type TV's tend to have design compromises. Examples are significant overscan resulting in edges of picture cut off and color and sharpness adjustments are limited

SONY Trinitron


SONY didn't make color televisions until the late 1960's. Morita the head of SONY disliked the existing color picture tube design (shadow mask three gun system), because the colors tend to  smear causing the picture to be slightly off focused. SONY engineers worked on bringing the three color guns together allowing for sharper focusing then inserting a slotted mask to remove fringing. The result was one of the sharpest pictures with little color fringing there was at that time. Patented the Trinitron, Sony would use this design all the way to the 2000's with slight improvements, until digital TV became the standard. The model shown below is a 12" model with early digital tuning. SONY made picture tubes from 3.5" to 36" DIAGONAL Picture. If you look at a vintage Sony with a Trinitron I think you can admire how sharp the picture is. The Trinitron Color TV's were very reliable and many are still operating years after they were made.
SONY Trinitron Portable 12" Color Television KV-1224R (1983). Early random access digital tuning TV set.
SONY Trinitron KV-13FM12 13 Inch diagonal pure flat portable (2000)
Before Sony ended the Trinitron for digital LCD TV, this model illustrates the best Trinitron tube Sony developed and was the basis of their big picture tube consoles. For SDTV (480 dpi) this model can outclass many Flat Screen Models in picture quality and sharpness. Features on screen display, sleep timer, antenna/cable and video inputs. Most controls hidden in hidden door panel on the right of visible controls.
Picture Tube Display


































You know this was a 1970s set, with the bubble look and in "avocado green".
Features instant on picture and automatic brightness contrast (ABC). 
"Blackstripe" is a Toshiba trademark is for the shadow mask Toshiba used to enhance the picture and reduce color fringing. 
Uses UHF click stop tuner with gear drive direct view digital readout.

 





The RCA EFR-291 has photo sensor to adjust picture based on area lighting. Horizontal and Vertical settings are preset. 
SIDE PANELAdjustment of Varactor Diodes to tune stations
INSIDE THE SET


CLICK on the picture below to know about the Quintrix picture tube, see the inside and maintenance of the Panasonic CT-1110 TV by Jordan Pier on You Tube.:



Tuning Bar and Picture Tube Display
































Made in Taiwan by RCA Taiwan LTD. Uses electronic scan tuning. A color bar would sweep horizontally until a station was received and the bar would disappear. This model comes with a sun screen that fits over the picture tube and can be used in the car with a 12 volt adapter or run on house voltage 117 VAC. Picture Tube Display
   Scan Tuning Bar (green bar)

The electronics are fairly compact. 4 separate circuit boards.


















ABOVE: TV Disassembled show simplicity due to microchips. The CRT is made by Samsung. 
BELOW: Adjust screen drive and focus controls on HV assembly module.
This model comes with detachable battery holder that holds 8- C Cells. The battery holder doubles up a a TV base. My set did not have the battery holder.























































































Bright and sharp color separation in this Trinitron is shown here. The photo does not give it proper credit.

SHOWCASE 2: 

Digital Reception (ATSC) CRT Television: Last of the Picture Tube (CRT) Televisions

When USA television stations dropped the NTSC analog color TV standard and switched to ATSC (Advanced Television Systems Committee) digital processed video. The LCD or flat panel TV immediately made CRT TV obsolete. LCD TV's were designed to accept the full potential of what digital transmission had to offer,  something CRT models could not. However LCD TV's were expensive initially. For a short time some manufacturers made digital converter boxes for conventional analog TV and new CRT models that can receive digital broadcasts. The FCC wanted the transition from analog to digital to be smooth, so they subsidized the sale and manufacture of digital converter boxes allowing digital broadcast to be viewed with older sets. Consumers jumped into LCD TV's and their prices dropped quickly. Not many digital CRT TV's were sold quickly ending the last vacuum tube used, the CRT.
RCA "TruFlat" 14F514T 14" DIAG digital SDTV (2008) Made in China for TTE Technologies, Thomson SA. One of the last CRT based models sold that year in the United States. This model features reception of analog (NTSC) and digital (ATSC) TV, stereo audio and AV/Component Video inputs. Other features include, selective picture aspect ratio and zoom in and out.

By the 1990's RCA existed as a brand name for Thomson SA, a French conglomerate who bought the RCA TV division from GE. Thomson as TTE  contracted various manufacturers (mainly from China and Thailand) to make sets and add the RCA name to it. The results are variable quality and reliability in models. Ironically RCA produced the world's first mass produced CRT television in 1946 and possibly the last US CRT television in 2008 with the RCA name (62 years).

  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Return to Television Home Page:  TV HOME PAGE    

GO TO NEXT PAGE >>>   SONY Watchmans

Return to Photo Index:    PHOTO COLLECTION INDEX