http://cgi.ebay.com/1966-Motorola-color-TV-working_W0QQitemZ160128261719QQihZ006QQcategoryZ36 38QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Looks like a nice addition to someone's collection here
http://i10.ebayimg.com/03/i/000/a5/3d/bbe0_3.JPG
http://i21.ebayimg.com/05/i/000/a5/3d/c19b_3.JPG

Someone has to get this set. It is well worth preserving. I'd hate for no one to bid and the seller trash it thinking it is of no value. It looks like a handwired chassis too.

Don't worry about the set being junked... I know the seller, and he's a TV nut like us and he wouldn't do that. Those Motorolas, when they do show up, are nearly always missing the 23" tube. It was an awful tube, so Motorola put out a kit to retrofit to a 25XP22. I might grab this set because it's so rare to find one with the 23EG, but I don't know about the $100..

Charles

The guy I worked for in the 70's had been a Motorola dealer starting around 1961 till 1968 or so and he must have sold a pot load of these sets. I had so many problems with those I don't have any kind feelings toward them at all. It was unusual to see an EGP22 that worked when it was 3 years old, this set must not have been used very much. We didn't do many conversions, customers were usually so disgusted they just wanted rid of the thing.

Good evening -

The conversation about the picture tube in this set has got me interested and I'd like to ask a few questions if everyone's willing to oblige.

I've heard a few people on the forum say that the 23EGP22 picture tube is no good - usually in a Motorola/Quasar set. I'm just curious as I have one in my '65 Admiral and I always get compliments on the picture whenever people see the set.

AFAIK, my set had approximately 12 years of unknown use by the original owner and then possibly some time put on by her son. The grey scale sets up nicely, and the CRT bias pot is all the way CCW.

Is there something intrinsic to the tube that qualifies them as "awful", or is it a function of the set driving it, or a combination of both? What is it about the picture that makes it "awful"?

-Jim

I don't know that the tube itself was that bad. It had a reputation for short life though. I think the Motorola designs were just as much a problem if not more. I have seen an egp22 with a good picture, just not in a Motorola set. At least not in most Motorola sets, as I am sure even they produced some higher end product.

Bill R

Bill -

Thanks for the reply. I never thought of it that way, but I guess there could be a significant difference over a manufacturer's product line.

Out of curiosity, if the tube has a reputation for being short-lived, is there anything that can be done settings-wise to maximize its life? I don't use it much, maybe a couple times a week, but it is not uncommon for it to be on for 3-4 hours at a time. I have the screen and drive controls set per the Sam's and the brightness at maybe 75-80%.

-Jim

Bill -

Thanks for the reply. I never thought of it that way, but I guess there could be a significant difference over a manufacturer's product line.

Out of curiosity, if the tube has a reputation for being short-lived, is there anything that can be done settings-wise to maximize its life? I don't use it much, maybe a couple times a week, but it is not uncommon for it to be on for 3-4 hours at a time. I have the screen and drive controls set per the Sam's and the brightness at maybe 75-80%.

-Jim

The best thing I know of to maximise picture tube life is to use conservative settings for brightness, contrast and color. Not only does this drive the tube less hard but it will also give you the most natural and eye pleasing color picture. Also, if the brightness is not too high, the picture is less likely to bloom during bright scenes and less likely to lose focus.

Another tip for tube longevity is moderate use. Not lack of use, but moderate use. By this I mean an average of six to ten hours a week. The heat buildup in the set also helps to dry out any moisture that may be in chassis components.

I know some of us TV nuts make maintaining a set seem like servicing an Italian sportscar. It's not because vintage TVs are particularly delicate or temperamental. It's just that we love 'em so much.

What compucat said. A lot of people would turn the brightness, contrest, and color up to max. It is better to dim the room if necessary than to raise the brightness. Use the lowest settings of the crt bias control that is possible when doing grey scale setup.

It is also important to disable any instant on feature so the tube filiment is not on all the time.

Bill R

Looks like it's got a bid! Anybody from here?

Charles

I wonder if the difference in those tubes had to do with the supplier? Was it someone like National Video or something like that who made the tube for Motorola? I don't know if RCA, Sylvania or someone else might have also been offering it. Admiral started color picture tube production of their own sometime in the sixties but they had a bad reputation as well. (Despite one of the longest warranties in the business) Check the label on your crt and see if it has an EIA number, which would tell us just who made it.

our first color set was an admiral roundie color 1966 ran it hard for 9 years and only one repair under warranty some small tube the pix tube was still ok when we traded in for a 1975 25" rca xl-100
steve

Beautiful!

Bryan -

I will check the label on the tube for an EIA number and report back as soon as I get a chance. Hopefully sometime in the next couple days I have to pull the back off to change the dial lights in the tuner. Will check it then.

Thanks!

Jim

The 23EGP22 tube was developed by Motorola and National Video Corporation. NVC was about bankrupt and this joint venture saved them for a little while longer. This 23" tube was the first rectangular tube to hit the market and was long awaited. NVC had poor labor and this tube was a rush to get it out to market. I don't know how many in warranty tubes I changed out but there were quite a few. Even new, these tubes were "soft" at best and 1-3 years was good life for them. What makes them bad you ask?? If they only worked!! They had problems in their process from start to finish. Poor frits, poor vacuum, early gun design and so on. Some of the sets were converted to a 25" but it was labor intensive and CRT's were so expensive that the customer at last posting said, were thoroughly disgusted. Also the tube sockets were brittle after hours of use and pulling a tube to put it back in was sometimes a nightmare. Sockets would disintergrate and you would have a real problem then! I hated those sets and they did quickly dissappear from the scene. When I was sellling used color TV's, I never sold Motorolas unless it was a Quasar or later model.

Julian -

Thanks for the information. I still haven't gotten around to pulling the back off yet to look for an EIA number on the tube, but from everything I've read in this thread I must either have a tube with low hours on it or I've lucked out and gotten one that wasn't a Monday or Friday tube.

When I got the set, the tube had the worst case of cataracts I've ever seen - there was only a 4-5" circle in the center of the screen that was still bonded to the face of the tube.

About that 23" to 25" conversion - how did the new tube fit in the hole left by the old one? Did that include a new bezel around the CRT? different mounting hardware?

It's incredibly interesting to hear stories and information from people who worked on these things back when.

Jim