Hello,

I posted some info this morning in the classifieds about a no-name TV and wondering who was the OEM (original equipment manufacturer), and it got me thinking about the UL tags most TVs have... I know that in the 90s or so, UL started identifying manufacturers via a seven-digit identifier, and they started printing that identifier on the tags near the UL logo. For example, I just grabbed my Motorola phone charger and it has "E199967" next to the UL logo. By going to http://database.ul.com/cgi-bin/XYV/template/LISEXT/1FRAME/index.htm and entering the identifier code in the UL File Number field, I can determine that "POWER SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGIES FAR EAST LTD" was the OEM for my phone charger.

My question is, can the four-digit codes on older (pre-90s) UL tags be correlated to the OEM in any way, or do they have some other meaning? The only code on my mystery TV's UL label is 628E. Doing some googling on that returns references to Samsung TVs but maybe that's just a coincidence. Samsung projection TV recall (http://www.freelists.org/post/techassist/Samsung-Mod-PCJ522R-XXA-Man-May-2002-UL-628E-Projo-liquid-leak,4) Curtis Mathes V-chip issue - appears to be Samsung OEM (http://www.justanswer.com/tv-repair/43quq-unblock-tv.html) I took a look at some of my other gear, my 1991 Sony KV-20EXR10 only has a 4-digit code, a late 90s Sony VCR has a different 4-digit code and of course my 70s-80s gear only has the 4 digit codes as well.

If there is a manufacturer identification in that 4-digit code, is there a database out there to look it up in? This would be a great resource for identifying private-label and no-name gear.

TY, RPM

I had never thought of the UL codes but, yes, it could be a good resource. I have used the EIA codes, which can be found on most older TV sets. (it can take some digging) Sams included updated EIA lists periodically with Photofact sets; I've never found a complete list online but it seems they would be out there somewhere.

UL codes were extensively used in the 90's to identify who made a particular CRT-type Computer Monitor, particularly when looking for service info, or when the monitor wasn't up to FCC Part 15 regs. I had one given to me that would broadcast a nice herringbone pattern on a Sylvania Superset 25 feet way, and connected to cable. Got a new one out of that - FCC said fix it, or replace. Manufacturer's rep out of New York (SamFoo of Taiwan) sent me a letter and purchase order to get a replacement at CompUSA. The UL code led me to a phone number, and things rolled quickly after a demo at the FCC field office.

ET-D magazine (Electronic Technician-Dealer, later Electronic Servicing) had a UL database article in one issue, with a majority of VCR manufacturers listed, so you could really find out who made the XAM or Harley-Davidson VCR you had to service. I'll see if I can find it. Some of the TV repair databases (RepairWorld and others) had a web-driven lookup by UL or FCC codes.

EIA (formerly RETMA) codes were published in certain Photofact Sets in the 50's and 60's. They are largely done away with now, as Electronic Industries in America almost seems like an oxymoron. I can name about 20 US manufacturers with factories here in the US, but all of the biggies have fabs outside the US for the most part.

Cheers,

Ok, I know this is for older EIA listings, but it is handy..
http://www.triodeel.com/eiacode.htm