Life is funny. My parents (especially my mother!) is not very happy that I collect old TVs. I have now over forty sets and I can understand. This is why I try to limit my collection to the tube sets, the deltas, the early Trinitrons and a few good inlines (Philips, Grundig ...). Last week my father had gone at dump to throw something and back at home with this old Radiomarelli.

For this fact, in northern Italy it rains from a week :D:D

The set is in very good condition, it turns on but has problems of vertical deflection (horizontal line on screen)

http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/2671/dsc04417c.jpg

http://img560.imageshack.us/img560/68/dsc04421j.jpg

You have not done your homework??? No Pokémon today!!! :D
http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/2296/dsc04426h.jpg

Rear cover (http://img836.imageshack.us/img836/6795/dsc04424q.jpg)

Electronic (http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/3152/dsc04415e.jpg)

Tube sheet (http://img807.imageshack.us/img807/2161/dsc04425m.jpg)

Kewl ! Looks like a kissin' cousin' to one of many US sets early-mid '50s...Horizontal line ? I'd say a general recapping oughta help that...But it also tells you that yr CRT & flyback are prolly good to go...

Kewl ! Looks like a kissin' cousin' to one of many US sets early-mid '50s...
Hehe you're right, for example, many models of Geloso are similar to US sets
http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/geloso_gtv1014gtv_101.html

Yes, needs recapping... Flyback and CRT looks good :)

http://img853.imageshack.us/img853/4849/dsc04415y.jpg

That's a beautiful television. Congratulations!:thmbsp:

I was going to say the same thing, very American in appearance. Was that lock a common thing in Italy or was it limited to this make/model? Great find!

Can't wait to see pics of it workin' !

That set looks like it could be used in the US as well as in Italy, with the voltage selector switch near the power transformer. (The tube layout chart also shows American tube types.) That switch has a 125-volt position, so the set would likely power up on US power lines, unless the difference in power supply frequency (50 vs. 60 Hz) would make a difference; however, the broadcast standards are different in this country, so the set will not operate here. I don't know if Italy has converted to digital TV yet, but the US has, as of June 12, 2009 (over two years ago). I would not expect this Italian set to work on our standards; moreover, I do not think American ATSC->NTSC converter boxes would work very well (if they work at all) on European TVs, because of the differences in broadcast systems. I wonder, therefore, why this set even has a tap selector on the power transformer. :scratch2:

I was going to say the same thing, very American in appearance. Was that lock a common thing in Italy or was it limited to this make/model? Great find!
I know only few sets with a similar key. For example a model built by Phonola in the early sixties. This is the first time I see a key in a TV.
Can't wait to see pics of it workin' !
I hope to finish soon to fix my 1974 Grundig Super Color :naughty:

The set has various voltage settings because when it was built various voltages were in effect in Europe. I lived in several houses in Spain 40 years ago that had 125/50, while new construction generally had 240/50.

Thats a fascinating TV! Looks to be in good shape, good luck with getting it going :) Cheers

Radiomarelli was the radio-tv division of Magneti Marelli, a motor magneto company that still produces devices for car ignition, injection and other car and motors related electronics.
In early 1930's it started to made in Italy some American Bosch models with only slight difference (cabinets and multi voltage power transformer) using initially Arcturus blue tubes. Just later was created FIVRE, the Marelli's tube division and started a collaboration with RCA, so RCA tube types were made in Italy by Fivre. This collaboration was effective even for sets: almost all Marelli sets were "american style", this collaboration continued up to Radiomarelli closed down in 1970's (the brand still exixts but as most of historical brands now is only as a rename for shitty poor quality imported sets) excepting the WW2 era in which some odd tubes were designed in Italy, sometimes with the same name of USA tubes but totally different. (6BN8 is an example: in Italy and France a octal about like 6B8, in the rest of the world a noval dual diode triode) After WWII the collaboration restarted, and some 1960's Radiomarelli TV are very close (or almost clones) to RCA models, this also justify the presence of a selftransformer in some models to adapting the mains voltage. The first Marelli color TV in 1967 was also substantially a RCA chassis modified for CCIR standard and PAL color system, and obviousely with a different power transformer.
Due to the Fivre American tube production in Italy, a lot of Italian sets used American tubeline and consequentially american style schematics but only Marelli look so American shaped!
Some manufactureer (Italian Siemens, Allocchio Bacchini, Firte used a melting pot of USA and european tubes in their sets, and even the circuits were an "hybrid" of two styles. I don't like so much these sets.
Geloso models were a true Italian exception: also American style in circuits, but look is unique, typically Geloso at first sight. John Geloso was from an Italian family but born in USA and in 1920's returned in USA at PILOT radio, and also studied at Cooper Square University. In early 1930's come back to Italy and found the Geloso corp, initially producing in kit form only then even complete sets. Initially all american style projects (except some rare kits adapted for European tubes). I presume continued a sort of collaboration with Pilot, the early Geloso fm tuner had exactly the same tubeline of Pilot, but this is an unconfirmed mine idea. Only the last production in late 1960's moved totally to European tubes and Philips ispired circuits, then Geloso closed down in 1972 and was told this was due principally to exasperate syndacalism in the factory.

Returning briefly to Radiomarelli, all Marelli component (caps, resistors, transrformers, speakers...) are American shaped, Marelli made in Italy on RCA licence even a clone of the famous RCA74JR ribbon microphone....

After WWII RCA by itself also opened a tube factory in southern Italy (Sicily) that produced RCA Italy branded tubes. (Probably consequentially of Marshall helping plane)

There were also other American brands sold in Italy, like Admiral, Emerson, Dumont; initially were original American chassises imported or built here with the necessary modifications for Italian TV standard, but in late 1960's these brands were applied to all Italian project TV's, with european style chassises.

This Tv will work almost well on American standard but with no audio. For have the sound is necessary retune the audio IF transformers (and related traps on video IF) for 4,5 Mc audio/video intercarrier. CCIR standard has 5,5 Mhz audio/video intercarrier and a 7 Mhz channel instead of 6, so a IF retune should be reccomandable for obtain better performances and proper selectivity. Working with 525 lines / 30 frame (60Hz) instead of 625 lines / 25 frame (50Hz) usually don't require modification, only slight adjust to vertical and sometimes horizontal hold control. For color TV's is more complicated, due to the differences in color standards, but these don't affect B/W sets.

At today, after analog tv shutown (here in nothern Italy the complete analog TV switchoff has done last 2010 November, but in some countries a bit of analog signals are still on air at today) it is possible even in USA to remodulate with a CCIR modulator droven by a NTSC videocomposite and audio signals and using the TV without modify anything: audio will be remodulate at 5,5 Mc and 525/60 videocomposite signal is well accepted. Different IF wideband with this mode is not a problem due to the absence of other signal that could interfere.

Here in Italy I do the opposite thing, driving a 1951 Hallicrafters 821 Tv set with a 4,5 Mc U.S. standard modulator on channel 4, with CCIR 625/50 video signal optaining a perfect and stable picture. I didn't want to modify it, keeping it original, with this system I can enjoy it!

Enrico,
Thank you for the informative posts on the development of Italian TV, they were very interesting.
Rob

Enrico,
Thank you for the informative posts on the development of Italian TV, they were very interesting.
Rob

Thanks Rob :)

Here in Italy actually mains voltage should be 230V 50Hz as European standard, resulting by the unification of continental 220V mains with UK 240V mains, but in many cases we still have the old 220V waiting the renewing of the transformers. Before 1970's there were a lot of different voltages in use depending of the energy providers, that usually were little local companies. 110, 125, 140, 160, 220 V were voltages in use, before television era in many zone mains frequency was 42 Hz instead of 50.
(Milan for example, 140V@42Hz)
Some zone still have 125V transformers and 230 V is obtained by two phases of 125, so there is not a neutral.