Hi,
Does anyone have some photos of a Sylvania Halo-vision tv set lit up?
Did they use incandescent lamps to light the frame?,also how many years were they made?

They used a cold-cathode fluorescent, I believe - not sure how it was powered.

They used white neon sign tubing and a small step-up transformer to power it. IIRC, it had a selector switch to select different briteness levels. I used to unplug them because most buyers didn't like them. I was doing repair work in a used tv store many years ago.

I restored one about a year ago: http://www.videokarma.org/showthread.php?t=242474&highlight=halolight

http://miniman82.4t.com/images/IMG_0420.JPG

http://miniman82.4t.com/images/IMG_0421.JPG

I've only seen one set, and the white neon was already broken, and the step-up transformer was burned out.

Miniman, your set looks really nice.

I don't have it anymore, I sold it on Ebay to a guy in Minnesota.

I restored one about a year ago: http://www.videokarma.org/showthread.php?t=242474&highlight=halolight

http://miniman82.4t.com/images/IMG_0420.JPG

http://miniman82.4t.com/images/IMG_0421.JPG



Thanks for the great pictures!
That's a beautiful Tv,I actually like the idea of the backlit frame!

I'm suprised to learn they used neon though.

Could you leave the "Halo" lit even if the tv itself was off?

I don't have it anymore, I sold it on Ebay to a guy in Minnesota.


How rare are they?
Was the Halo-Vision available as a portable too or only on consoles?

No, the set have to be on for the frame to be lit. I suppose you could wire it to it's own wall plug though, it's easy to disconnect from the chassis and has it's own transformer. They are not rare at all, I see them on the net all the time (edit: guy I sold it to had like 15 of them!). I've seen it in tabletop versions, nothing portable to my knowledge.

were they still being made as late as 1957?

The cabinet on this one is a bit to conservative for my tatses,I'd like to see a modernistic one with tapered legs and a blonde finish!

Thanks for the great pictures!
...!

I'm suprised to learn they used neon though.

...

Neon (orange-red if really neon) tubes use cold cathode discharge. Use a different mixture of gasses (probably with a little mercury) and a phosphor coating, and you have a cold-cathode fluorescent lamp.

Here is a pic of my den with one of my Halolights. I have 4 of them that I have restored. Two are blonde like this set (23" - identical), one is similar but a little older with a darker cabinet and the last one has a similar protruding halolight but with a base that has simulated drawers. Got that from a VK member here about 5 years ago.

As a sidenote, those models were also available in Canada (although I have never
seen one with my eyes). According to some service data I have come across,
those sets were also available with 25-Hz (or rather 25-cps...) power line
capability, which involved a somewhat more complex power supply for that
fluorescent light. 25-Hz power was used in some areas of Canada as late as
1964, so there was a demand for electronics compatible with that frequency.
The only 25-Hz unit I have is a Motorola clock radio.

You will reduce eyestrain if there's ambient light in a dimly lit room where you're watching TV. But it works best with a TV lamp like the classic black panther that softly lights the room behind the TV. Locating the light in front, as Sylvania did, just makes you squint more, and that's why customers paid to have them disconnected.

Phil Nelson

Here's a link to a 1956 Sylvania Halo-Vision ad:1956-SYLVANIA-brochure-HALOLIGHT.jpg
Address:http://www.tvhistory.tv/1956-SYLVANIA-brochure-HALOLIGHT.jpg Courtesy: TV History site

I believe Sylvania offered Halo-Vision sets until at least 1960.

-Steve D.

Guess I was right on my previous post. Here is a link to a 1960 Sylvania ad that includes the "Halo-Light" feature: Google Image Result for http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_L8BTRutV0uk/SGGT80Ll3aI/AAAAAAAAEy4/yFtTBNCxvrw/s400/Sylvania+Tv+Ad+1960.jpg
Address:http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_L8BTRutV0uk/SGGT80Ll3aI/AAAAAAAAEy4/yFtTBNCxvrw/s400/Sylvania%2BTv%2BAd%2B1960.jpg&imgrefurl=http://oldmagazineads.blogspot.com/2008/06/1960-sylvania-tv-magazine-ad.html&usg=__Ibik9Uf6Ha4pXQ4QSPmkzj5ehdY=&h=400&w=330&sz=29&hl=en&start=6&zoom=0&tbnid=xS1I-UZBTXyH6M:&tbnh=124&tbnw=102&prev=/images%3Fq%3DSylvania%2BTV%2Bad%26hl%3Den%26gbv%3D 1%26ie%3DUTF-8%26tbs%3Disch:1&itbs=1

-Steve D.

Here is a pic of my den with one of my Halolights. I have 4 of them that I have restored. Two are blonde like this set (23" - identical), one is similar but a little older with a darker cabinet and the last one has a similar protruding halolight but with a base that has simulated drawers. Got that from a VK member here about 5 years ago.


168801

WOW!
Gary,thanks for sharing that great photo!
The tv and your furnishings are truly amazing!
Nice to know there are other people stuck in the 50's and 60's too!

What year is that Halo-Light? Are your three others just as modernistic looking?
y

Guess I was right on my previous post. Here is a link to a 1960 Sylvania ad that includes the "Halo-Light" feature: Google Image Result for http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_L8BTRutV0uk/SGGT80Ll3aI/AAAAAAAAEy4/yFtTBNCxvrw/s400/Sylvania+Tv+Ad+1960.jpg
Address:http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_L8BTRutV0uk/SGGT80Ll3aI/AAAAAAAAEy4/yFtTBNCxvrw/s400/Sylvania%2BTv%2BAd%2B1960.jpg&imgrefurl=http://oldmagazineads.blogspot.com/2008/06/1960-sylvania-tv-magazine-ad.html&usg=__Ibik9Uf6Ha4pXQ4QSPmkzj5ehdY=&h=400&w=330&sz=29&hl=en&start=6&zoom=0&tbnid=xS1I-UZBTXyH6M:&tbnh=124&tbnw=102&prev=/images%3Fq%3DSylvania%2BTV%2Bad%26hl%3Den%26gbv%3D 1%26ie%3DUTF-8%26tbs%3Disch:1&itbs=1

-Steve D.

Interesting!
So Sylvania stuck with the Halo-light for many years.
Why would they do that if people were complaining and having the lights disconnected?

I recently parted out a Halolite console that was from 1962, if not 63. That one wasn't real attractive. I saved the tube and power supply (works), you could easily connect this seperate from the chassis. I have another one, similiar to the what is pictured in this thread. The light works fine but I haven't tackled the chassis yet. I seem to recall that it has an actual dimmer switch.

By the time these sets were being made, the TV market was really being saturated and you needed a good gimmick. As an old salesman's pin I have declares, "only Sylvania has Halo Lite". Really cool pin, and really cool gimmick!

I just found in my storage, a NOS Neon tube for the Sylvania "Halo-Light" or Halo-Vision.

Great picture, real nice style. I hope to find one like this someday, or maybe a clean table model.

Here is a pic of my den with one of my Halolights. I have 4 of them that I have restored. Two are blonde like this set (23" - identical), one is similar but a little older with a darker cabinet and the last one has a similar protruding halolight but with a base that has simulated drawers. Got that from a VK member here about 5 years ago.


168801

Great picture, I do not have one, but will look for one now. Your set has a clean modern look to it. Thanks for the picture. Perphap's there be a halolight or two at the ETF convention this year.

Where is the Etf convention?
How large is the swap meet section?

Columbus, OH. I wouldn't call the swapmeet a huge affair but then, I don't know where else you would find that many TV-only vendors. Here is a page about the last convention:
http://www.earlytelevision.org/2010_convention.html

Thanks Bryan,have you been there before or to the museum?

I went to the convention in 2005, and would like to get back out there again someday. The museum is worth the trip. I especially liked the prewar sets and the first-generation color models. If you go to the ETF convention you will find yourself rubbing elbows with the foremost experts in the old TV hobby. I don't do well in that situation myself and so spent most of my time in a corner talking with a couple of the more down-to-earth VK'ers or browsing the museum.

Gosh I hate reading about sets that I remember busting up 25 or more years ago! I scrounged a Halo-light console from our high school electronics class where we had over half of a room full of donated TVs of which I would say a third were 50's sets! There was even a junky Predicta in our storage room that I would tinker with. The Sylvania was probably a good set, but between my lack of skills at the time and my dad always raising hell about a house full of "junk", I used to periodically bust a few sets up to make him happy and make room for more. I still battle the constant need for space to justify bringing home another set! I never could find a taker for my super clean 58 Space Command 24" so I decided to just keep it around till I can take the chassis to the college and break out a Huntington Tracker on the ceramic disc caps. Actually I will take the time to look at ALL caps with the expensive equipment that enables me to look at a wave form of sorts called a "footprint" that tests components IN CIRCUIT! YES! If there is an overlooked bad component, I should be able to sniff it out. Here at home I don't have a scope or a jig to support the big crt while the set is powered up for voltage checks, nor do I have a signal generator to go that route. I am anxious to see how the new equipment serves me on this.

I went to the convention in 2005, and would like to get back out there again someday. The museum is worth the trip. I especially liked the prewar sets and the first-generation color models. If you go to the ETF convention you will find yourself rubbing elbows with the foremost experts in the old TV hobby. I don't do well in that situation myself and so spent most of my time in a corner talking with a couple of the more down-to-earth VK'ers or browsing the museum.

Bryan,
I don't blame you,I'm intimidated by the electronic knowledge of some of the members on this site,so I just look at the pictures!:D:D
That museum sounds very cool!,too bad it's so far away from me.
Does the museum have Predictas and fiberglass tvs too?
How about the 1957 Teleavia?,I've always wanted to see one of those in real life,I would imagine they are quite scarce.

I decided to just keep it around till I can take the chassis to the college and break out a Huntington Tracker on the ceramic disc caps. Actually, I will take the time to look at ALL caps with this expensive equipment that enables me to look at a wave form of sorts called a "footprint" that tests components IN CIRCUIT!

I want to correct my mistake in the name of this device. It is a Huntron Tracker. Also, today I found out that it is not necessarily as big of a magic troubleshooting tool as I initially thought. I found out that the expected "footprints" are atered by components in parallel when it comes to resistors, capacitors, inductors etc. So, unless there is some hidden secret in the manual it is still snip-a-lead! I think this device is more suited to semiconductor devices. :scratch2:

Here's a cool looking Halo lurking in WI. Looks like blond metal cabinet with black trim. I've been eyeing it for a couple weeks now. Someone should come get it so I can focus on other things :yes:

Kevin

No affiliation.

http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/atq/2204549289.html

Here's a cool looking Halo lurking in WI. Looks like blond metal cabinet with black trim. I've been eyeing it for a couple weeks now. Someone should come get it so I can focus on other things :yes:



Unfortunately the seller thinks it's a museum piece and still wants a fortune for it.


From the seller: "cash ill take $700 trades just let me know what you have to offer"




.

Unfortunately the seller thinks it's a museum piece and still wants a fortune for it.


From the seller: "cash ill take $700 trades just let me know what you have to offer"




.

Oh my! That explains why it's been on CL for sooo long.

BTW I finally got the Admiral home, thanks for the tip on that one. :thmbsp:
I had specifically asked the seller if there were any issues with the cabinet...any cracks, breaks, anything unusual. He said nothing he had noticed. First thing I see, there's a 3/4" hole drilled in the side of the cabinet with like a conduit clamp mounted in it. :tears: Why people think they should hide things like that is beyond me. :dunno: Otherwise it's in very nice condition and I'm still happy with the deal.

Kevin

You're welcome.

Bakelite would be tough to patch, unless you wanted to paint the whole cabinet. (Coca-Cola red with some decals added? Lots of eBay sellers seem to have good luck selling those.)

It could have been worse. I've bought TVs online only to find the sellers had used "borrowed" pictures in their eBay listings. Thankfully Square Trade came to my rescue. Some were seriously messed up.

At least when you pick up a TV in person (before paying) you get the opportunity to walk away from the deal.

Actually an off-white Admiral console would look sorta cool, but I'll likely leave it as is. It's just part of the sets history, we don't live in a perfect world.

Kevin