Sony KV-1520R

[GhoulyGoblin]

Hi all,
I picked this little guy up from an estate auction recently and I can’t find any information on it. I’m assuming early 70’s? I’m new to collecting vintage televisions and want to know if this is a keeper/valuable?
Thanks!


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[dishdude]

I think that's a little later in the 70's than you think. Sweet find!

[Electronic M]

Not a lot of remote Sony's that old remain in existence. Between that and the good condition it's in I would consider that a keeper or (since I try not to collect solid state sets) a good set to keep as trading stock for something else I might want (I've encountered some collectors that will trade, but won't sell).

[etype2]

Congratulations! Your model is close to the original first generation KV1510, from 1972. There was a 1511 and 1512. You can find a service manual for this set available at EBay. Have you checked the operation? If in good condition, will produce a beautiful image.

[Airedale]

That is a very handsome set, plus it has a remote! I'd say it's a keeper! It looks to be in very nice condition, you certainly found a real gem!

[vortalexfan]

That looks like it may have been a shelf queen all its life since it has all of the original paperwork with it yet and everything. Nice find, I wish I could find one an early remote control set like that (all of the old vintage sets I've found were sets that were remote control capable but weren't equipped with the remote control circuitry.)

[probnot]

Is that a varactor diode tuner on a rotary knob (like RCA used)? I didn't know Sony used that on any of their TVs.

[zeno]

Yes it is. Note the "numbers" sheet in pix. Much like the Zeniths used.
Most of the Sony remotes had a slide rule tuner in these days like on the 19 & 21 inch sets. Also used the same hand unit.
Funny thing is for all its engineering Sony was late with varactors & random access ( RAT ) keyboard tuners. You could get it all on a cheap GE.

73 Zeno
LFOD !

Originally Posted by probnot

Is that a varactor diode tuner on a rotary knob (like RCA used)? I didn't know Sony used that on any of their TVs.

[probnot]

Originally Posted by zeno

Yes it is. Note the "numbers" sheet in pix. Much like the Zeniths used.
Most of the Sony remotes had a slide rule tuner in these days like on the 19 & 21 inch sets. Also used the same hand unit.
Funny thing is for all its engineering Sony was late with varactors & random access ( RAT ) keyboard tuners. You could get it all on a cheap GE.

73 Zeno
LFOD !

I was actually recently chatting with someone about how I don't remember seeing rotary varactor tuners on the Japanese brand TVs (Sony, Hitachi, etc).

I'm sure they existed (clearly...this TV right here) but all I ever saw was the old ratchet tuners, followed immediately by the pushbutton preset style varactor tuners.

On the flip side I remember seeing a bunch of RCAs with the rotary varactor tuners, and a few Zeniths.

[vortalexfan]

Originally Posted by zeno

Yes it is. Note the "numbers" sheet in pix. Much like the Zeniths used.
Most of the Sony remotes had a slide rule tuner in these days like on the 19 & 21 inch sets. Also used the same hand unit.
Funny thing is for all its engineering Sony was late with varactors & random access ( RAT ) keyboard tuners. You could get it all on a cheap GE.

73 Zeno
LFOD !

I have a great-aunt and great-uncle out in Myerstown, PA that had one of those old rotary knob Veractor tuner Zeniths from the early 1970s, I believe it was a Chromacolor TV set.

[Electronic M]

If this Sony doesn't have UHF and has a normal VHF tuned it could be a Canadian model....IIRC Canada waited till some time in the 70s to mandate UHF tuners.

[Jeffhs]

I had two great-aunts, now deceased, who had a Sony color portable TV similar to yours. Theirs was a 12-inch all-channel TV from, IIRC, the late 1960s or maybe the early seventies; I'm not sure, but since it was all-channel I'd guess 1970s. Their set did not have remote control, that I was ever aware of, but since they were always within a few feet of the set when watching it they really didn't need a remote. They lived in a third-floor apartment in a Cleveland suburb; the TV worked very well, as it should have in a third-story dwelling (their building did not have any kind of master TV antenna service, and this was long before their area ever had cable), using only its built-in VHF dipole and round UHF antennas. I don't know what became of the TV after they died, but I do hope it found a good home since it was working extremely well as long as they were alive and needed no service, that I was ever aware of.

[jr_tech]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

If this Sony doesn't have UHF and has a normal VHF tuned it could be a Canadian model....IIRC Canada waited till some time in the 70s to mandate UHF tuners.

The accessories pictured include a UHF loop and a 14 to 83 channel number sheet, it is likely a UHF model.
It will be interesting to find out how the tuner/remote functions on this set. I am not ruling out mechanical 12 channel with a few extra positions for UHF....yet..

jr

[Electronic M]

Originally Posted by jr_tech

The accessories pictured include a UHF loop and a 14 to 83 channel number sheet, it is likely a UHF model.
It will be interesting to find out how the tuner/remote functions on this set. I am not ruling out mechanical 12 channel with a few extra positions for UHF....yet..

jr

You're right, don't how I missed the loop. The standard mechanical tuner with extra positions seems plausible to me. Most varactor tuner sets I've seen didn't have a concentric fine tuning knob like this so my intuition expects it to be a mechanical tuner.

[probnot]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

If this Sony doesn't have UHF and has a normal VHF tuned it could be a Canadian model....IIRC Canada waited till some time in the 70s to mandate UHF tuners.

You're right about the UHF mandate though. I have the late 60s Portacolor without UHF to prove it

I think by 1970 our sets all had UHF. Everything 1970 and after that I've found had UHF tuning.