1964 GE 19" Portable Century

[init4fun]

A Question for John ;

In the last photograph , there is at the lower right hand side of the photo , what appears to be a "loopstick" variable inductor that is just hanging there . I'm curious as to what it is , since it appears in the photo to not be connected to anything ?

[holmesuser01]

It's a width control. I can remember that from my old set.

[bgadow]

We used to have one of these in white-about 1980 my aunt and uncle gave it to my sisters and I. It was put in their room so I didn't get to watch it as much as I'd like. I know it got awfully hot after being on for a few hours. Toward the end, reception got really bad-I'm sure it was just a weak tube-but it got junked and replaced with a hand-me-down Curtis-Mathes color set that our neighbor was getting rid of.

[egrand]

Originally Posted by holmesuser01

It's a width control. I can remember that from my old set.

Yep. It's kinda wedged into that cardboard with slots on the ends of the stick I guess to insulate it from the chassis. It does seem a little flimsy but it has lasted this long.

[init4fun]

Thank You for the answers , both holmesuser01 and John . And yes , John kinda read my mind where I was surprised at the flimsy looking mounting of that coil , and that's why I asked . In truth , it almost looked like an afterthought on the part of the manufacturer or maybe a TV repair shop modification from some time over the years , and so I was curious .

[zenithfan1]

Nice set! I really like the GE portables. I love the color too!

[zeno]

Originally Posted by init4fun

Thank You for the answers , both holmesuser01 and John . And yes , John kinda read my mind where I was surprised at the flimsy looking mounting of that coil , and that's why I asked . In truth , it almost looked like an afterthought on the part of the manufacturer or maybe a TV repair shop modification from some time over the years , and so I was curious .

Being GE dont forget they would do anything to save a penny
on a set. Gets really bad in the next generation sets.
GE stands for "good enough" .

73 Zeno

[egrand]

Originally Posted by zeno

Being GE dont forget they would do anything to save a penny
on a set. Gets really bad in the next generation sets.
GE stands for "good enough" .

73 Zeno

Wasn't that true of every maker? Even Zenith met the day where they did that.

And, pretty much the next generation of B&W portables were made overseas by everybody too.

[Bill Cahill]

A fair warning. I would replace that 400 volt paper cap on the yoke with a 1KV mylar cap. They had a big tendency to short, and, explode.
Paper was bad enough. 400 volt make matters worse.
I remember when the one on my mother's GE blew. It spille it's gutts on the circuit board, and, blew the house fuse.
That cap went with quite a BANG!
Bill Cahill

[Bill Cahill]

I think we replace at least three, or, four of that cap over the years.

[egrand]

Thanks for the advice on the caps. I guess I will replace those, but I think I'll try to see how long the lytics hold out. I'm guessing it got turned on fairly often in its life to keep them formed up.