Where are all the Motorola "Astronaut" tvs drifting?

I have a brown one, but have only seen a few, they come in black as well. Most are missing the front cover... I have never seen one working! Perhaps they are somewhat overlooked by collectors, as they look much like ordinary 17"-19" portables of the era?:scratch2:
In the thread "A Little Flat Tube Fun" one can be seen on the shelf next to a Philco "Safari", that I am comparing to a flat-tube Sony "watchman":

http://www.videokarma.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=165283&d=1256351976

We have had several discussions about the first commercial transistor sets...I think most agree that the Safari was the first, but the 8" Sony and the "Astronaut" are close contenders for #2 and #3 ranks.
jr

Nice group photo J R (win place and show) with a few others crowding in
I have a Electronics world publication nov. 1961 featuring the Sony 8-301W
here is the opening paragraph (The advent of a transistorized,independently powered tv receiver no longer rates as a revolutionary development, with the Philco"safari and the Motorola "Astronaut" already on the record. however, such sets being far from commonplace, Japan's first entry in the domestic set-of-the-future sweepstakes, the Sony 8-301w, is still important news.)E.W.
mike

I think the whole issue of win, place and show is complicated... several reasons:

1. Sony very likely introduced the 8" in Japan before it was exported to America.
2. Many use the term "direct view" in the description, which eliminates the Safari from contention.
3. Some use the description "personal portable" which may eliminate the Astronaut from the contest.

Actually all 3 of these sets used vacuum tube HV rectifiers (as well as the CRT), so none are all solid state. Even the tiny Sony 4-204 UW (on the shelf above the 8" Sony) uses 5 HV rectifier tubes!

jr

Here are some of my observations The Phico Safari veiwing is so personal even two midgits in circus would be hard pressed to watch at the same time it's not practical but more a novelty.Looking at the Motorola it's alows a family or large enough group to gather around and the fight over what channel to watch,anything this big will be plugged in and stay put. The folks a Sony realy nailed this one,it can be viewed in small groups and is very portable, for the typical North American who likes to do everything to,with and in their cars, having a 12 v dc input the Sony is a winner.
Looking a the boxes and publications Sony was careful to lable the 8-301W All channel transistor tv as for the Motorola and her 1S2A hv rectifier tube
advertising "All-transistor tv"? corporations would't lie certainly not in America.
Except for a working Safari i have no other imfo. Please weigh in!
Knowledge is King.

Hi newcomer! I'm the AK/VK unofficial import-basher. I sit with my jaw on the floor scratching my head (what a picture that brings to mind) why folks are drawn to Sony and other imports like lemmings. Motorola used to make TV's in Canada as well. Sorry to see those jobs evaporete as well, but I cannot find info on when or exactly why those jobs were lost.

As far as lying about being 100% solid-state, you have to remember that in 1961, semiconductor technology was still in its adolescence. There were Thyratrons still doing what SCR's would one day do, and vacuum-tube rectifiers were still cheap to produce (and fairly reliable) versus their evolving SS counterpart. There was also an attitude at other manufacturers that transistors would NEVER replace vacuum tubes in many applications! It probably contributed to the concept that an HV rectifier didn't count.

As a builder of hobby projects since 1963, I can personally attest to the fragility of Germanium devices back then. Ironically, Motorola, which is unfairly treated in this thread, was a pioneer in silicon transistor development, leding to one of the world's most-used transistors, the 2N2222 - shown off at the IRE convention in 1962...

As for Knowledge is King (nice that you didn't say Cash), havva look at this - a transcript of the PBS Frontline documentary on the fate of the Motorola TV factory in America:

http://www.bcit-broadcast.com/monash/matsushita.pbs

Ironically, Motorola, which is unfairly treated in this thread, was a pioneer in silicon transistor development, leding to one of the world's most-used transistors, the 2N2222 - shown off at the IRE convention in 1962...


I hope that you did not take my comment about "never seeing a working one" as a bash to Motorola... as explained, I have seen very few of this rare set (4 or less) so my sample size is very small, but the statement is true for the sets that I have seen!
On the other hand, most of the Safaris that I have seen either operate, or are fairly easy to repair, with the exception of perhaps one very tough "dog". The Sony 8" sets that I have seen usually require some repair work, and have a reputation of being somewhat temperamental. Again, sample sizes for all of these sets is small.
I would love to see a picture of an operating Astronaut... if anybody has one working, please post it!
jr

PS: The Astronaut could operate on (and recharge) an 18V silver cadmium rechargeable battery, so it was not confined operating on AC power only.

As far as tubes being used as the HV rectifier in TV's, I think it was the late '60's-early '70's before the solid state "stick" HV rectifier began to be used in B&W portable TV's. I've gone through my Sam's Photofacts and I've seen some portable B&W sets as recent as the early '70's that retained a tube HV rectifier. I had a late '60's 12" GE solid state B&W AC/DC portable that used a 1X2 tube for the HV rectifier.

Speaking of Motorola, I believe they made the first solid state large screen color set, the Quasar works-in-a-drawer, in '66 or '67. This set also used a tube HV rectifier, as did the RCA CTC40 ('69), and the early Sony color sets from the late '60's-very early '70's.

No, the "Sony wins" was the comment that set my alarm off...I didn't mean to be too harsh myself. Everyone should feel free to speak their mind.

I have a Safari as well. It had a problem with intermittent bursts of noise in both audio and video. One day it made a click, like it usually did, then it went quiet and had just a white raster, and the screen started getting brighter and brighter. I flew to turn it off, and haven't had the desire to face the fact the CRT heater may have opened. It was running on AC, and the random noise-burst symptom was suggested to be two sections of a multi-section 'lytic shorting together. Need to go and copy the Sams at the library, I guess! I have a parts unit that I was told works, but it's buried in storage somewhere.

I. too would love to have an Astronaut. Motorola TV's were sold here in the 50's (there was an older building downtown with the early 50's logo painted on the back wall), so I suppose there was one sold here as well.

I have a couple of middle 1960s GE solid state TVs(with leatherette cases and about an eight inch screen) that have some type of solid state high voltage rectifiers, not tube. I guess the high voltage for the small screen was low enough to use these.

As a side note, these were weak and I was able to get replacements from Moyers.

I also have several small screen solid Philco/Ford TVs of about same vintage. These all used tubes for the high voltage rectifier.

Thankyou for your imput and especially writing whats on your mind, a lot has been brought to light. What better way is there to preserve the history of a turning point in electronics.
mike

http://www.pbase.com/image/130866995.jpg

Very nice picture...Win, place and show all operating at once! Do you have the front cover for your Astronaut ?
Did it take a great deal of effort to get it going? The one I have was one that a talented technician friend "gave up" on... I believe that he could not find suitable transistors to replace several in the horizontal circuit.
jr

I had an Astronaut in the mid 60's. It also had a cover for the screen. Bought from a dealer that took it in trade for $25.00. Big money in those days for something that didn't work. I checked with the Motorola distributor and they said that the parts were very expensive, so I lost interest. It got trashed about a year later. Dave.

J R; the set is a Black Onyx complete with cover in great cosmetic shape.
it was missing the power cord (that was a good thing) I used old stock
ECG/NTE 127s for the horiz output transistors also in my set i found two low value eletrolytics bad C19,C20 in the horiz osc circuit. i was able to get a complete Howard Sams service manual for the chasis TS-432 set 520 i can scan/copy make available if needed.
mike

p/s just like the hubble it's not space junk it can be fixed!

The NTE 127 looks like a good sub for the #4459 germanium Horizontal output transistors...Thanks! Was your Horiz. driver #4460 ok? Regulator, 4570 ok?
http://pdf1.alldatasheet.com/datasheet-pdf/view/9448/NTE/NTE127.html
jr
PS:found some discussion of this rare set here on ARF:
http://www.antiqueradios.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=73695&highlight=&sid=56844b0fdd711f8b75a4a4ee1bef7137

J R; Yes but frequency was way off so i changed the bad caps and adjusted the horiz. using the service manual as there are steps to follow to get it right and quickly.
mike.

Does anyone have an Astronaut working powered by it's internal battery?

Was the battery a option sold separately?, my set showed no evidence of having a battery installed. Does any one have a picture or the 18v batt in captivity?
Mike.