Chapter Fourteen

This page is devoted to showcase your televisions. Show the world your favorites. Send your photos with a brief description and where your from. Photos should be at least 525 pixels wide. Send to my contact email address and I will post them to this page.

IS THIS THE SMALLEST LCD PANEL?

A fellow collector from Paris, France, J.Halphen sent me this photo of his Sony XC-M07P 0.75 inch LCD color monitor. Yes you read right, 0.75 inch! Now that is micro size.

This screen shot is scaled to be actual size on a 1600 resolution monitor. If viewed on a 1024×768 monitor, image will be larger then actual size.

NEXT,

SINCLAIR MTV1 BATTERY SWITCH OVER

Here is an excellent tutorial from Jim deMercado of Port Huron Michigan describing his battery switch over for the Sinclair MTV1.

Hi Marshall,

Attached is a zip file containing 19 pictures showing the battery switch over from start to finish. By the way, I am from Port Huron Michigan. The following is a brief synopsis:

The photos are arranged from start of this project to completion. There are a few Sinclair MTV1s with a broken face plate all because the hobbyist / technician was unaware that the antenna pulled straight up to facilitate the removal of the chassis. There is also a plastic retainer where the antenna goes through that slides out. Two screws can be found under the label (the only access to these screws is to poke through the label). If an upgrade from NiCad cells to NiMn is not desired, at least remove the old ones before serious damage occurs. As you go through the process of removing the circuit boards and old cells make sure you mark all components for ease of assembly. Carefully remove the corrosion from the copper tracings of the board making sure there is continuity from one end to the other. Use a fine wire to assemble the replacement cells. It is a good idea to “tin” the wires and cells so as not to overheat them. The old insulator from the stacked cells were used on the new ones. Carefully push the tinned wires of each cell through the circuit board making sure to solder the wire on top as well as the bottom of the board. Use hot glue to hold the cells on the board. In the future, when the cells need changing it will be much easier to accomplish. When assembling the TV, make sure the link wire has continuity between the solder joints. Now the question remains, will the MTV1 circuitry allow the NiMn cells to accept a charge like the NiCads did. After two hours of being plugged in, the cells did not overheat. The last two pictures shows a test pattern on the screen of the MTV1 running on battery power for well over an hour before I turned it off.

Jim

Thank you, Jim.

NEXT,

Panasonic TH3-W3VG Color

Here is a never seen in U.S. (correction please) Japanese market model Panasonic TH3-W3VG 2.6 inch color television. It is finished in a premium cabinet and base, gold color and wood. A variation of U.S. model CT-3311 from 1982, see page two. Looks great.

This photo is from an unknown Japanese collector and sent to me by a Micro Television enthusiast. If you are the owner or have more information, please post a comment.

From Mike Doyle in Lake Havasu, Arizona, a collection of Sony televisions and one micro Panasonic.

NEXT,

RESTORATION OF THE SONY TV 8-301W

This model is shown and described on PAGE ONE. I asked Mike Doyle of Lake Havasu, Arizona to help me with the restoration of my Sony TV 8-301W, a rare television seldom found in good working condition after 51 years of use after it’s introduction in 1960.

Mike’s commentary:

“Initial inspection showed that this set was basically untouched inside except there was evidence that some adjustments had been made over the years, i.e. vertical height, linearity and bias. There was no evidence that any components had ever been replaced.

Symptoms included the Horizontal Oscillator was off frequency, there was retrace in the raster, the vertical sweep was shrunk and non-linear and all of the controls were dirty and in some cases almost non responsive.

The power supply capacitors were working well and they were not replaced since they are usually non problematic anyway.

All of the small electrolytic type capacitors were replaced on all of the removable boards.

The Vert. Height, Vert. linearity, Vertical Bias controls were all replaced. They would not hold adjustment due to corrosion on the rivets where the carbon trace meets the lugs.

One defective resistor in the Vert. Bias circuit was located and replaced.

The neon lamp that illuminates the channel selector indicator was replaced.

This repair job required NO transistor replacement at all.

The fine tuning knob was repaired. The piece was found inside the set and superglue did the trick.

All necessary adjustments were made to make the set work as good as possible.

Servicing Technician: Mike Doyle”

Here, a few photos of the repair process:

Old 1961 magazine advertisement

Here, you can see one of the two rectifier tubes on the left hand side. This television is not 100% solid state.

Defective parts replaced.

Partially reassembled and tested.

The next three screenshots were photographed by Mike Doyle in his shop on July 10, 2011, after reassembly and prior to return to me.

As you can see, Mike did a great job in restoring this television. I highly recommend Mike for any restoration work you may require on vintage television. You may contact me and I will pass along your requests to Mike.

A screenshot from the television series, Streets Of San Francisco, Episode 12, Season 1, Bitter Wine, originally aired, December 23, 1972 and rebroadcast July 13, 2011 by the Me TV network. Captured on the fly from the telecast.

Steve Dichter Los Angeles, California

A few photos of Steve Dichter’s collection from Los Angeles, California. Steve worked in the broadcast industry for 40 years for ABC, CBS and KTLA-TV Los Angeles. Be sure to visit Steve’s website, “Steve’s Vintage Color Page” in the links section.

Casio TV 21 given as a gift to Steve by KTLA-TV Los Angeles.

Casio TV 500 given as a Christmas gift to Steve from a television show he worked on. The sticker below the screen reads “Just The 10
of Us” ABC-TV.

Posted December 20, 2015. Steve’s Sinclair MTV1.

Michel Regnier, Belgium

Michel Regnier a television collector from Belgium, sent these photos from his collection.

Sony TV 511UK

Roadstar

Mini Roadstar

Tele STAR 4004

Brionvega Algol

Brionvega Algol

Just a few models from Michel’s collection and thank you for sharing.

Robert Gatarz, Harpers Ferry, WV.

November 20, 2011: I came across this television for the first time, a few weeks ago. It has renewed my interest in post war television. One of the most beautiful televisions from this time period, a 1947 Du-Mont RA-102 “Clifton” with 12 inch black and white CRT. I have learned that Du Mont was a pioneer in television, introducing the first American televisions in 1938. Du Mont televisions were considered “high end” in the industry. Certainly not a micro television, but I made exception to include this exceptional television.

Robert, graciously gave me permission to post these photos from his collection.

DUMONT CLIFTON RESTORATION PHOTOS PARTIAL

In 1947, this price tag equaled approximately 2 months salary for the average American worker.

FROM MY WIFE’S COLLECTION

Norman Rockwell

“Their First Television Christmas”

Oil on canvas, 28 X 35, signed

Commissioned by DuMont Television Inc. 1950.

Colin Maclagan, Tucson Arizona

Colin is a collector/restorer of classic television. Colin sent me photos of his restoration project, a 1950’s era Natalie Kalmus Black and white television.

From Wikipedia: Natalie Kalmus, was credited as the “color supervisor” of virtually all Technicolor features made from 1934 to 1949. She was the wife of Technicolor founder Herbert T. Kalmus from July 23, 1902 to June 22, 1922, although they continued to live together until 1944.
Originally a catalog model, then an art student, Kalmus made sure that costumes, sets and lighting were adjusted for the camera’s sensitivities. She was generally regarded as a nuisance, but her services were contractually part of Technicolor’s services. In her attempts to keep colors from being rendered improperly onscreen, she was accused of going to the other extreme of mildness. She wrote: “A super-abundance of color is unnatural, and has a most unpleasant effect not only upon the eye itself, but upon the mind as well.” She recommended “the judicious use of neutrals” as a “foil for color” in order to lend “power and interest to the touches of color in a scene.” Producer David O. Selznick complained in a memo during the making of Gone with the Wind:
“ [The] Technicolor experts have been up to their old tricks of putting all sorts of obstacles in the way of real beauty. . . . We should have learned by now to take with a pound of salt much of what is said to us by the Technicolor experts. . . . I have tried for three years now to hammer into this organization that the Technicolor experts are for the purpose of guiding us technically on the [film] stock and not for the purpose of dominating the creative side of our pictures as to sets, costumes, or anything else. . . . If we are not going to go in for lovely combinations of set and costume and really take advantage of the full variety of colors available to us, we might just as well have made the picture in black and white. It would be a sad thing indeed if a great artist had all violent colors taken off his palette for fear that he would use them so clashingly as to make a beautiful painting impossible. “
Director Vincente Minnelli recalled of making Meet Me in St. Louis, “My juxtaposition of color had been highly praised on the stage, but I couldn’t do anything right in Mrs. Kalmus’s eyes.”
Her association with Technicolor was severed in 1948 when she named the corporation as a co-defendant in an alimony suit against Herbert Kalmus, when it appeared he was about to remarry. She sued unsuccessfully for separate maintenance and half his assets of Technicolor, Inc. In 1950 she licensed her name for a line of designer television cabinets made by a California manufacturer. Her personal papers are now in the Margaret Herrick Library at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Colin’s project follows and thank you for sharing.

Scott Buchanan, Phoenix Arizona

This is the * first color compatible television to go on sale in the United States, the Westinghouse H840CK15, with a 15 inch color CRT. It went on sale, March, 1954 with conflicting reports that it beat RCA’s first color model to the market by 3 weeks or by several months. It is reported that only 500 were made and only a very few sold, the remainder destroyed. It measures 41″ H x 27 3/4″ W x 31 3/4″ D. This extremely rare piece of television history is in working condition, but the red and blue guns appear to be very weak, displaying a mostly green image. It could be another problem however. Scott will attempt to test the CRT in the near future. All around very good condition, the cabinet would require refinishing. This television has been in Scott’s family since the 1960’s. (Posted March 16, 2013)

I met Scott at his home to view the set and he gave me permission to post my photos to this website. Thank you.

Update March 21, 2013: Great news, all three color guns tested “good”.

* The Admiral C1617A or C1617B color television is said to have gone on sale December 30, 1953, but collectors discount the claim of the Admiral being the first color compatible set because of very low production numbers and some say it was only a prototype. What do you say? Contact me.

Fraser from Melbourne Australia sent a photo of his Sony KV 1300AS from 1972. In America, this set is known as the KV 1212U. Thank you Fraser.

Robb from Toronto is a collector of vintage television and sent us these photos of his recently found Sony KV 1210U. In the second photo below, you can see the “crate” style speaker grill. This indicates that this set is a later production version, because the original had single hole perforations in the speaker grill. Thank you for sharing Robb.

From Steven Fowler

World’s smallest TV?

“I recently discovered your site while doing some research on a Sony Watchman FD-20A that I bought. I’ve been interested in portable televisions for a while now and your collection is amazing, but there is one that you are missing that I wanted to share, the NHJ VTV-101.

This is the second wristwatch television ever made, about 20 years after the famous Seiko that you have. I bought it shortly after graduating high school in 2007, literally as soon as I was old enough to sign up for an eBay account. I believe it was originally made in 2004 and they were being cleared out for pretty cheap by that time, I think I only payed around $40, but I can’t seem to find any for sale online now. I can’t be sure, but I think there is a very good chance that this is the smallest self-contained television set ever put into mass production. It has a 1.5” full-color active-matrix LCD screen with surprisingly good color and contrast, a one-hour rechargeable battery (with a battery base that will provide an additional 3 hours using four AAs), digital tuning, a built-in clock, and a wrist strap that allows it to be used as a (very bulky) watch. The only downside is that it uses a proprietary audio jack due to the integrated antenna, so it can only be used with the cheap earphones that came with it and requires them to pick up a signal. It didn’t get the best reception, but it did pretty well and looked great. I haven’t been able to use it since 2009 due to the switch to ATSC, but it does still work and hold a charge.

I’ve included several pictures, unfortunately there are no more analog broadcasts left in my area so I wasn’t able to get a picture of an actual show but you can see the static.”

The set attached to the docking station. The set can run independently of the station.

A size comparison.

Steven is working on a modification to allow a video signal to pass since analogue is now dead. Thanks for sharing Steven. I believe you are right, I can’t think of another set smaller and now I want to find one for my collection.

A later version, the NHJ VTV-201 was even smaller. NHJ removed the LCD watch module from the case and instead, at a touch of a button, you could see the time displayed on the TFT LCD screen. This made the device more wearable as a watch. See it here.

Ron Smith from Pasadena, California

Ron sent these photos in. He was given a Sony Micro TV 5 303-W Gray as a Christmas gift in 1962 by his parents. See below, the nostalgic photo of Ron with his original Sony 5 303-W, together with his mother and sister, Christmas 1962.

In college, the Sony was stolen from his dorm and recently he found the same exact model on line in great condition. He is currently having it restored. Ron, please send us some screenshots when you have it working.

From Vladimir, Moscow, Russia.

“Thank you very much for your interesting content to your site.
Familiarization with him has brought me a lot of useful information. I do not want to stand aside, and send you photos of the CRT that was used in a number of TVs.
JM02 – Sony TVs FD-10, FD-20, FD-30, etc
JM04 – Sony TVs FD-40, etc
JM03 – Sony TVs FD-230, FD-250, FD-270, etc.
ED-15 – Sony TVs FD-200, FD-210.

85XB22 – Panasonic TV CT-3311 and it’s variants. Big red scale sqare on screen – 1mm side.”

Vladimir is an electrical engineer living in Moscow. His interests includes photography, horses and collecting CRT’s, which he began at the age of 10.

Thank you for your contribution to Visions4, Vladimir.

In the photos below, you can see the variations from one CRT to the next.

Another set from Mike Doyle, Lake Havasu City, AZ. This is a 24 inch RCA, vintage about 1955 or 1956. It looks very much like the 1955 RCA color CTC4 Director 21.

My former RCA CTC-7 now owned by Mike Doyle.

From Al Hagovsky, Maryland.

Tap on any image for an enlargement.

Dave Arland, Indiana

Dave sent these photos of his RCA CT-100.

From

Valerio Marchesi, Italy

Author: Beautiful!

UPDATE, JANUARY 6, 2019

From Michael Jung, Germany.

Dear Marshall,

First, i wish you a good and successful 2019.

So I promised to come back after the restoration job on the SONY 7010 UA. There was some aluminum- decoration elements missing, so i replaced this missing parts by hand- forged and polished aluminum- parts. Also a lot of dirty contacts in the tuner switches and so on must be fixed. Some more work was the lack of the Y-Amp, to less amplitude for full black at full beam power. Your schematics helps a lot but the reason of missing the half of the possible output voltage i never found. All components was in right order, also the function of the IF- Stage, video rectifier and so on was perfect but too less output voltage (2.1 VSS versus 4.2 VSS). So i put a self designd Y- amp between and now the ful range of black level is given, see the pic’s in the appendix.

Best regards:

Michael Jung

UPDATE, OCTOBER 16, 2019

From Michael Jung, Germany

Dear Marshall,

After a long period of searching i found the ultimate “Grail” of my collection: A SONY XKV55 set with original box and also the accessories- kit- all complete. This set i found on Ebay in August this year, an offer out of the Philippine’s (!) 

Unfortunately, the set didn’t work, first analysis was a short cut in the tv- internal power supply. Also unfortunately, no schematic of this set i could found at a World-wide search. So i try to fix this set without any knowledge regarding the strange circuit- design they made in this set. Obviously one big electrolyte was heavily leaking and this mess (see pic.) shorten the main stage control transistor and unijunction transistors. After replacement of this (ultra rare) J-Fets, transistor and another 30 leaking electrolytes, the set cames alive. The signal board is almost the same like in the XKV 370, so the tune up was not the big thing. All functions of the set are now present, a really super- bright color saturated picture you can see on the pic’s. Only drawback is, the set was originally made for 12 up to 24V DC, below the 17,5V from the original wall- plugged power supply, the current went up to more than 4Amps and the Index- control becomes worse. But with the original- power supply the set works great. Maybe this was the reason to recall all XKV55 sets back to SONY, the set do not work proper on 12V DC on a car outlet like proposed.

So far about the XKV55 set. If you hear something about an IDX-5000 set, dont hessitate to contact me.

Best regards:
Michael Jung

Michael, a friend alerted me to the auction. I was going to bid and lost track of time. My loss and your gain. Congratulations on acquiring this rare set. Great job restoring the set. For some reason, Sony’s supplier was notorious for having bad, leaking caps. Virtually every KVX-370 I know of had to have caps replaced. Where are the color and hue controls?

Regards, Marshall

UPDATE, FEBRUARY 2, 2020

From Mike Manlee

We saw this very rare color television on the Vintage Television Collectors Facebook page. Mike Manlee graciously gave permission to post these photos and description.

Some photos of my Zenith NTSC Color Field-Test Prototype. It has a November, 1953 date-stamp on the inside of one of the cabinet panels. These images are scans of photo prints that I took years ago, so the image-quality appears accordingly. I have had this TV in my collection since about 1994, when I purchased it at auction from the mom-and-pop Zenith retailer in Festus Missouri when they went out of business and were clearing-out the space.

This TV is constructed with a metal cage-frame which has finished wood panels clad to the framework. It may be possible that the date-stamp might reflect the date on which these blonde-finished panels were installed on an already existing frame. It is rather massive, as I was barely able to load it standing up in a full-size Chevy Van – barely clearing the rear door-opening by about one-half inch. According to anecdotal information previously related to me, no more than about fifty of these color field-test prototypes were constructed, and about six are known to still exist. It appears to have a RCA-sourced 15-inch CRT. They were built with two internal chassis. The main chassis being vertically-mounted behind the front-panel controls, and a secondary chassis for the power supply and high voltage sections mounted in the lower section of the framework. Unfortunately, my set is missing its secondary chassis.

August 18, 2022

Today, a beautiful photo sent of the 3.7 Watch Cube Indextron CRT from Kevin G.  He found it new in box.  What a great find and thank you!

September 24, 2022

More from Kevin, AKA as Supraguy88.

How many times do you get to see three Sony KV-4000 sets side by side?  These are in superb condition and all working!  This model is one of my favorite Sony sets, love the design.

And here, the iconic Panasonic CT101A photographed with macro lens.

Kevin is currently recapping the Sony KVX-370 Indextron. These shots show some of the circuit boards in detail.  The KVX-370 was notorious for leaking capacitors which ironically were high grade quality.  This is a work in progress and we wish Kevin success in the project.  Thanks for sharing.

Posted July 8, 2023

One more from Kevin G.

Beautiful Sony KV 1722.

If you would like your television(s) added, just send me a note.

Back to Vintage Micro TV.