View Full Version : 1960's Westinghouse color TV sets.


Electrohome
05-21-2011, 12:55 AM
Hello, I just got a circa 1966 Westinghouse 23-inch color console TV with screw-on legs. According to my research, Westinghouse stopped making TV sets in 1969. Now the question to all VK members-I'm wondering if any members here on VK have ever seen any 1960's Westinghouse color TVs, both the roundie-type from 1963-66 and the rectangular-type color sets from 1966-69?
Just curious because I have never seen any 1960's Westinghouse color TVs on eBay, Harry Poster's website and only mentioned 1 time here on VK as well. Westinghouse 1960's color TVs also never show up on Craigslist as well.
Thanks a bunch and very much appreciated-Thanks-:banana:
It feels like with this 1966 Westinghouse 23-inch color TV I just got it's like I've found something that just doesn't exist anywhere much like any non-RCA 1950's color TV set. I've also never even seen any 1960's Westinghouse color TV on the ETF site either. Oh well, I found another one of those "ghost" TVs that doesn't exist anywhere. It's the same with Clairtone(Canadian) TVs as well as I've only seen 5 in the 14 years I've been collecting TVs as well-This includes the 1961-63 Clairtone "International Theater" 23-inch combo with turntable and AM-FM radio I got in 1999 and the 1967-68 Clairtone C-15 23-inch color console with doors I got just last month in April-it's another "ghost" TV that doesn't exist anywhere else except for 2 1967 Clairtone G-TV color TVs, one at the MZTV Museum in Toronto and another in a dedicated Clairtone collector's collection here in Canada as well. Clairtone existed from 1958-71. Clairtone stereos are very well know with the G-series as well.

radiotvnut
05-21-2011, 12:02 PM
I think Westinghouse '60's color TV's are as hard to find as Emerson color TV's from the same period. The only Westinghouse color TV I've ever seen was a late '60's console on ebay and after it didn't sell, I think the seller stripped out the insides and listed the cabinet only.

Years ago, I had a high end early '60's Westinghouse B&W combo with full remote control (even the record changer could be operated by remote). It was about 7 ft. long, was very heavy, had many problems, and I ended up junking it.

ctc17
05-21-2011, 12:41 PM
Sounds rare. Some pictures would be cool, I would be interested to see some shots of the inside. What crt and horizontal output tube does it use?

kx250rider
05-21-2011, 12:47 PM
I've had a few Westinghouse metal 19" table model color sets, but they were kind of unreliable and had weird series string tubes. I bet that's why they're rare today ;) . I haven't seen one in 25 years now, at least.

Charles

Electrohome
05-21-2011, 08:37 PM
I'll have to get to my parent's shop where the TV now is to get some pictures. I will have to check the tube location diagram to see what CRT and horizontal output tube is used as well. I know that Westinghouse was primarily an appliance and electrical company and TVs were just a sideline product of Westinghouse until 1969 when they pretty much could not compete with RCA and Zenith anyway in the TV market.
I know that this 1966 Westinghouse color TV I just picked up is made in Canada as I saw that on the back of the TV when I picked it up. It's a VHF-only set also as UHF tuners were not manditory on TVs made in Canada until about 1970 here.

rca2000
05-21-2011, 10:32 PM
I have had exactly ONE--and that was over 30 years ago--late 1980, to be exact.

One was in the trash--and I had NO way to get the set, since it was a BIG console, dual--speaker mode rectangular l color set. But--I DID swipe the chassis, speakers and tuner and take it home. A year or so later, it got "tossed" when I was "forced to get rid of most all of my old stuff, for my "own good", by a "friend of the family" ( a NOT funny story, that my mom DEEPLY regrets allowing to ocucr..), and I never saw another one a few months later when I was again "allowed to collect things again", since that time, , or one like it, or ANY westinghouse color tube set of ANY kind.

I remember a few things about the chassis::

The chassis was that goldish/bronze color, like some eniths and admirals,

It was NOT a "hot chassis" but had a BIG tranny,

The speakers were those 6X9" ones with that funny little"cap" over the magnet that Quam or someone like that came up with for color sets, to prevent "stray magnetic fields from hurting the color".

Seems that the HOT was a 6JE6 or such.

bgadow
05-21-2011, 11:26 PM
I've been curious about them for years, and have never stumbled upon one in person. I know that at least one VK'er has/had one. Things I know: in the later 60s, when everyone was coming out with tuning gimmicks (GE used meters, Philco had eye tubes, etc) Westinghouse had an on-screen indicator. I've only seen it in a magazine ad, but apparently a vertical band would appear on the screen and you would tune the station until that band was the optimum width. (I can't recall if it was supposed to be wider or narrower) The other thing, and nobody ever has any information on this: I have a reliable chassis-i.d. guide put out by Sams or maybe one of the electronics magazines, showing what all the color chassis looked like for that year. (probably 67 or 68) The Westinghouse is very clearly identical to the Magnavox. It appears that the same basic chassis may have been used for a short while by Curtis Mathes. So, who designed that chassis, and who really built it?

Westinghouse did build its own color crts and continued to manufacture them long after it got out of the consumer electronics business. I have seen their EIA code on picture tubes in Motorola and Magnavox color sets from about '74-75.

Electrohome
05-21-2011, 11:59 PM
Cool, I didn't know Westinghouse was still making color CRTs in 1974-75 for both Motorola(Quasar) and Magnavox color TV sets. I pretty much knew of the different tuning gimmicks, like Zenith Space Command and RCA's Wireless Wizzard remotes as well as remotes like the Magnavox Phantom as well of the 1960's with Magnavox Touch Tune TVs in 1975 with an on-screen display in 1975-76 also. Sony had it'ds Trinitron CRT TVs in the US in 1969 also. There was very heavy competition from Zenith, RCA as well as TV manuafactorers from Japan as well in the 1960's and 1970's with a large array of gimmicks to get you to buy their TVs. Department stores were also in on the TV gimmick selling game as well in the 1960's and 1970's also.

radiotvnut
05-22-2011, 12:14 AM
I had a '74ish Curtis-Mathes solid state 23V color TV/stereo combo that used an NEC chassis; but, the CRT (delta gun) was made by Westinghouse. The set had "instant on" and the CRT was toast; which, is one of the big reasons the set was junked.

holmesuser01
05-22-2011, 09:27 AM
I had a 1968 era Westinghouse that someone gave me when I was in college. It had the rocket shaped HV cage. It had been dropped, so I worked on it for several days repairing broken PC connections in the burst circuitry.

Turned it on, and got an incredibly clear and sharp black and white image. We could never get color on it, so I sold it to a guy in the dorm for something like $40, and he played it for years.

Hey, I was in college. I didnt have any test equipment, except a VTVM and a soldering gun.

I remember that all of the Westinghouse branded tubes in it were built by GE. Also, it was loaded with 6GH8's

Robert Grant
05-22-2011, 12:07 PM
I've been curious about them for years, and have never stumbled upon one in person. I know that at least one VK'er has/had one. Things I know: in the later 60s, when everyone was coming out with tuning gimmicks (GE used meters, Philco had eye tubes, etc) Westinghouse had an on-screen indicator. I've only seen it in a magazine ad, but apparently a vertical band would appear on the screen and you would tune the station until that band was the optimum width. (I can't recall if it was supposed to be wider or narrower) <snip>

My aunt/uncle/cousins' family 3 hours to the west, who we would visit every summer, replaced a Packard Bell roundie (a rarity in MI) with the newest thing - a Sony Trinitron, in 1972. They chose it because the picture was so bright, sharp and colorful (which is certainly WAS!), but the 12" set was just too small for the living, IMHO.

It had something like the Westinghouse you describe above. just touching the channel knob produced a blue horizontal bar at the top - you tuned to make the bar as fat as possible for best reception.

Electrohome
05-22-2011, 08:00 PM
Just curious, was that 1972 Sony Trinitron that you got in 1972 either a KV-1201 or a KV-1212, just curious as a I got a Sony KV-1201 from 1972 earlier this year. The KV-1212 had the woodgrain side panels while the KV-1201 didn't.
I have another very rare set-an Airline 21-inch roundie combo from 1964ish that was sold by Montgomary-Wards department stores as well. I know Doug here on VK has an Airline basic 21-inch roundie console from about 1964-65 in his collection as well.
I would have to agree a 12-inch screen was a little too small for a main TV in 1972-73 as well. I would have to say a minimum 19 inch screen size would have been an apropriate minimum screen size in 1972-73 for a main TV.

reeferman
06-02-2011, 05:59 PM
Enjoy the set. There aren't many of the 23EGP22 based sets left for the same reason as there aren't many Yugos on the road. My advice is to install a 25AP/XP CRT if you feel up to the task of putting 5 pounds in a 4 pound box, but it can be done. If your set has reached the point where the tube sockets on the rear of the chassis under the CRT are turning to powder, time to give it the old heave-ho. Worked on a lot of them, put a lot of bread on the table.
I worked in an independent TV shop in the late '60s and don't remember any Westy roundies.

Electronic M
06-03-2011, 12:40 AM
I've got a 1967 Airline rectangular screen set that is virtually mint. I only had to tweak some adjustments to get it working to my satisfaction. I got it at the original owners home from the same spot that it stood in since new. I accidentally broke a prong off of the original power cord after testing the set(I've found a similar cord that does not attach to the back, but should work), and I also lost two screws(it was on the second floor and I had to pull the chassis to lift it). It had most of the origional Airline tubes, the original instruction manual, and a copy of the schematic!

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/DSCN0250.jpg
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/DSCN0252.jpg
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/DSCN0730.jpg

Tom C.

Electrohome
06-03-2011, 01:15 AM
That 1967 Airline(Montgomery Wards) is one really nice looking color TV for 1967:-) I have an Airline Roundie combo from 1964 with this same maple finish as this 1967 Airline. I also noticed that the CRT on this Airline also has that "green halo" as seen on Zenith CRTs both round and rectangular from about 1964 to about 1970-71 as well as this Airline may have a Zenith CRT from 1967 also. A label can be found on the back of the CRT indicating the brand of the CRT. Zenith could have made this CRT and then re-branded it for Airline. Airline in the 1960's is what Durabrand would be to Wal-Mart today. This is a private-label store-brand TV. Airline TVs are quite rare today as many were most likely trashed in the 1970's for the then-new Zenith CCII and RCA XL-100 TVs of the 1970's. That Airline is a real collector's item and to anyone who finds an Airline TV, you've just found a real collector's item:-)

ChrisW6ATV
06-03-2011, 02:41 AM
Doesn't that woman on the instruction manual also work for RCA? :)

Electronic M
06-03-2011, 03:28 AM
I believe the CRT is airline or some other brand than Zenith. I need to haul it and the set on top of it away from the wall for purity adjustments and will post the brand of CRT then. Also I think the vert cent pot is open because it only affects the vertical on a tiny portion of it's rotation. Not only do I not know of a source for this pot, but I don't know it's value(neither the Sam's nor the factory manual that came with it lists a vertical centering pot!:tears:

Would it be okay to use the same value pot as in my roundys which both seem to have the same CTC-16 clone chassis as it does(plus or minus a few factory addons).

The top roundy is a Silvertone BTW.
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/DSCN0429.jpg

I don't know who the(not half bad looking) lady worked for as my dad was about two years old when this set was new so this was well before my time.

Tom C.

bgadow
06-03-2011, 09:44 PM
Regarding the Airline, I'm guessing it uses a Sylvania-built crt. Look for the EIA number on the crt label. I have an Airline combo that age, probably the same basic set. What I find unique about them is they were built by Muntz. Mine remains available, if anyone is interested.

NowhereMan 1966
06-13-2011, 08:15 PM
I believe the CRT is airline or some other brand than Zenith. I need to haul it and the set on top of it away from the wall for purity adjustments and will post the brand of CRT then. Also I think the vert cent pot is open because it only affects the vertical on a tiny portion of it's rotation. Not only do I not know of a source for this pot, but I don't know it's value(neither the Sam's nor the factory manual that came with it lists a vertical centering pot!:tears:

Would it be okay to use the same value pot as in my roundys which both seem to have the same CTC-16 clone chassis as it does(plus or minus a few factory addons).

The top roundy is a Silvertone BTW.
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/DSCN0429.jpg



I don't know who the(not half bad looking) lady worked for as my dad was about two years old when this set was new so this was well before my time.

Tom C.

I have that same exact Zenith on the upper left, that was our first color TV we got in April of 1971. I remember watching the 1971 World Series with the Pirates on that. I'm glad to see that others still exist.

Electronic M
06-13-2011, 08:41 PM
I got that Zenith from Doug about three years back. It was my first vintage color set, and has perhaps the best picture of any color set I've owned. To this day it has been my primary set and is been ran almost daily for usually for several hours each time it is turned on. They are not trouble free though, I've had to do many adjustments, battle an arcing focus lead, inoperative color circuits, and now there is bad noise that comes in several minutes after warmup that I have to deal with on top of several adjustments.

Still I prefer it to any modern set.

Tom C.

kc8adu
06-15-2011, 09:51 AM
i remember seeing a few westinghouse "rocket" chassis sets in my younger days but never a roundy other than the early 15".
one i kept going for a regular customer over 25 years till lightning burned the house down for them.it was a decent performer for the time.developed some oddball problems though.ceramic caps in the 3.58 that went leaky.

Electronic M
06-23-2011, 02:36 AM
Electrohome I also noticed that the CRT on this Airline also has that "green halo" as seen on Zenith CRTs both round and rectangular from about 1964 to about 1970-71 as well as this Airline may have a Zenith CRT from 1967 also. A label can be found on the back of the CRT indicating the brand of the CRT. Zenith could have made this CRT and then re-branded it for Airline.
The CRT appears to be a blue label Rauland(I believe that they were affiliated with Zenith). The lable is mostly hidden under a shield so it was hard to read or get a picture of, but I did spot the letters OEM on the label so it may be original. Here are the photos I took.
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/DSCN0838.jpg
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/DSCN0841.jpg
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/DSCN0835.jpg
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/DSCN0834.jpg
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/DSCN0849.jpg
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/DSCN0850.jpg
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/DSCN0851.jpg

I'll post a good picture of the label when I get around to preforming a cateract removal on the CRT.

Tom C.

sampson159
06-23-2011, 06:24 AM
i found several rauland crts in box store sets,ie,pennys,sears,etc.wells-gardners used these.very sharp pictures!i personally like the rauland brand crts.a zenith with a different name.

Electrohome
06-23-2011, 08:28 PM
Rauland CRTs are indeed Zenith made CRTs as I have noticed some Zenith Porthole TVs with Rauland replacement CRTs over the years as well. Many store brand TVs outsourced their CRTs to Rauland(Zenith) and then had the CRTs labeled as OEM for their particular TVs. So next time a Rauland CRT is spotted, you know it's a good ol' Zenith CRT under a different name:-)