Why no love for this GE roundie ?

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by Old Moto Nut

I agree there were some GE chassis that weren't so good, like the JA and QA. But, the KE's were good sets. So were the KC's. I always thought the early H sets were really good at the time and for the money. I mean, they were pretty reliable and didn't need much adjustments, and were cheap for a color set in 1966. You couldn't say those things about a roundy set a few years earlier. Sure, by the 70's there were much better portables, but GE kept cranking them out. All manufacturers made gems and lemons in their history.

BUT, I don't remember people believing GE sets were bad in general. It wasn't until I started reading posts on here that I ran across anybody generalizing them that way, and from one person in particular.

What I can generalize about GE consoles is that they had two problems: cabinets and pictures. GE cabinets were nothing special, and they were one of the first to adopt laminated particle boards. I remember when a GE console would come into our family's store and it would be put next to a Motorola set with a Drexel cabinet, there was no comparison. When you'd turn the GE on and look at the picture next to a Sylvania, again there was no comparison. The GE's usually had to sell for $50-100 cheaper to make them competitive. HOWEVER, the Motorola and the Sylvania sets were more likely to be back in the shop getting fixed before the GE would. And, the GE CRT's lasted longer too.

I'm colorblind and my eyesight's not the greatest, so personally I never minded the softer picture and colors of GE's. That's what kept me out of the electronics business, I couldn't read resistor codes or wiring colors. My granddad said I'd never make it because I took too much time having to rely on schematics and tracing to fix stuff. By 1980 my dad had moved on to a different business and my granddad sold out, so I wasn't around much newer GE stuff.

I wonder who that one person is?
BTW, I have several GE sets in my collection. Three Porta Colors, An HD and two HE2's.
A great working 9", made by Samsung and three 5" portable, undercabinet color sets, I think, made by Samsung. Plus a few Portsmouth built sets.
So, I'm not a complete stranger to GE products.

[zenith2134]

I had a '66 HE portacolor which ran like new. I installed a NOS picture tube in it though since the original was dim. Also, the AA/AB/AC sets with the through-hole solder connections that everyone complains about? Well, I've had two of the 17" ones and a 13" one and they were all superb performers as foun on the curb, with extremely bright images and deep natural colors.
And again, my 19" PC chassis set from the mid eighties had a FANTASTIC picture, but I blew the h.o.t. while setting the width by slipping with a metallic adjustment screwdriver. Still have it for repair someplace.
I have in my collection a few SE/SF tube hybrid chassis too which usually work well but have a weak crt.
The only G.E. I could say was a real piece of garbage, that I owned, was a '71 all tube 18" color I picked up at one point. I could NOT get it working at all. The circuitboards were scorched from heat and basically disintegrating. Which chassis did that likely have?

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by zenith2134

I had a '66 HE portacolor which ran like new. I installed a NOS picture tube in it though since the original was dim. Also, the AA/AB/AC sets with the through-hole solder connections that everyone complains about? Well, I've had two of the 17" ones and a 13" one and they were all superb performers as foun on the curb, with extremely bright images and deep natural colors.
And again, my 19" PC chassis set from the mid eighties had a FANTASTIC picture, but I blew the h.o.t. while setting the width by slipping with a metallic adjustment screwdriver. Still have it for repair someplace.
I have in my collection a few SE/SF tube hybrid chassis too which usually work well but have a weak crt.
The only G.E. I could say was a real piece of garbage, that I owned, was a '71 all tube 18" color I picked up at one point. I could NOT get it working at all. The circuitboards were scorched from heat and basically disintegrating. Which chassis did that likely have?

IIRC, Your '66 Porta-color is an HB chassis, the first one of its kind. They originally had the course dot-pitch CRT, the 11SP22.
Those 18", early 70's sets, had the super-size horizontal output tube and the lead coated HV rectifier. I junked one that was branded Packard-Bell.

[zenith2134]

You are spot-on with both sets. My portacolor had the coarse phosphored 11SP22. And the 18incher did in fact look as you described inside. At the time, I went to the public library trying to find Sams for it and they had already gotten rid of most of their inventory. I junked it. Funny though, how I'll probably never see another again.

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by zenith2134

You are spot-on with both sets. My portacolor had the coarse phosphored 11SP22. And the 18incher did in fact look as you described inside. At the time, I went to the public library trying to find Sams for it and they had already gotten rid of most of their inventory. I junked it. Funny though, how I'll probably never see another again.

I used to go to the public library, to get Sams information.
You could easily tell what sets were less than reliable, by the condition of the Sams. Some were rather tattered, from all the handling. They had to be photo-copied on site. They didn't allow removing them from the building.

[Old Moto Nut]

IIRC those 18" sets from the 70's were intended for hotels, and I think they were actually hybrids. They had AFC and a dummy ring around the channel knob. The color controls were behind a screw on panel in the back. They also had large x-ray warning labels on the inside designed to scare the bejeezez out of you.

GE also had a kit for some of their other sets that covered the controls. I think they called it a kid-proof kit because kids always got blamed for the color being off in a set.

I remember they had a smaller tube color set about then too that was 15" or 16" and I think those were the first color sets from Singapore. They seemed to run hot. Otherwise, I don't remember seeing burnt boards or bad solder joints on many American made sets. GE used to gtd their boards for life, that was a selling point for them. But that stopped when stuff started coming from Singapore.

[Old Moto Nut]

Originally Posted by dieseljeep

I used to go to the public library, to get Sams information.
You could easily tell what sets were less than reliable, by the condition of the Sams. Some were rather tattered, from all the handling. They had to be photo-copied on site. They didn't allow removing them from the building.

Hahaha. The ones in the shops were the same way and usually had big circles penciled around the trouble spots.

[Old Moto Nut]

Originally Posted by Findm-Keepm

JA and QA were far better than the real GE lemon: EC Chassis.



You don't recall the Ethan Allen GE Sets - all wood, and the only plywood in the whole set was the back - a piece of Baltic birch three ply. I first saw one with a MA chassis, but later serviced several - all were easy fixes. In one GE Service guide I have, there are 18 Ethan Allen models for the represented chassis. I'm not sure if they ever had a tube set or a hybrid chassis in an Ethan Allen cabinet - I know I've never seen one.

GE got banged around by the consumer magazines. They won a few battles - Consumer Reports reported they only had 7 new models one year in a misprint, and two months later, they gave GE a whole page to display several nicer models among their 67 new models - and the apology from Consumers Union.

I don't remember them in TV's, but I do remember them in stereos. GE had some very nice stereo consoles.

I think the other thing that hurt GE was the x-ray rectifier tube scare. In fact, I think that hurt color tv sales in general because everybody thought color sets gave off x-rays.

GE appliances were another story though. The damn things practically walked out of the store by themselves they sold so well. People specifically sought out GE appliances and wouldn't bother to look at other brands.

[tvcollector]

My mover delivered last night at 3am.. I tried to do a soft power up but I realized nothing happens when powered on.. hmmm wonder if it's a thermistor, or a component pointed out below that broke from the chassis..




Tested the tube with both the Beltron and BK.. Beltron does not like very well..



Originally started with the BK.. Here are the results.. Another with green being the weaker.. After 15 mins.. And it does take a long time for it to climb..



The Flyback looks to be in great shape.. Looks like a silicone replacement.. No wax droppings..



Chassis:



Two wires coming from the board that aren't connected..


looks like it has all the original GE tubes.. One is out and broken.. TV was shipped upside down.. May have came out and broke.. Something else is also lose and not in place.. Hmm.. Could this be why the set doesn't power on?



Looks like this coil of sorts is suppose to go here, close to where the tube should be.. May have had a square can around it..



Tuner:



Control:


Missing the inner knobs.. Does anyone have a spare set of knobs?


It's got the original Rare Earth tube

[DaveWM]

wires are cut to test the degauss circuit, they should be left open.
coil looks like maybe the eff coil, def kill the HV. never mind looked again not the eff coil.

if no pwoer at all check switch, often wire will break there. That got the AB chassis the GE design, not the RCA clone in the 1st sets they did.

[tvcollector]

The wires connected to the power switch are connected and not loose.. the coils behind the plug where power cord plugs in look burnt out and broken winding on coil... I tested the tube again using my Sencore CR70.. When I go into emissions on each gun the needle jumps well into the good range and then slowly goes into the bad.. Does that each time testing each gun.. I go back into the cut off settings and the settings go off after testing... Think I should zap this tube using the BK or Beltron with the cleaning function, or should I wait and see what happens when the set is functioning and HV has been to it?

[old_coot88]

Zap it now? Are you kidding?

[DaveWM]

burnt coil at interlock not good, sometimes opens from bad solder you will just need to check continuity from Power trans back to interlock (which may be bad too, wiggle the plug wire there). I generally will just hook up a meter to the AC plug and check for continuity, switch on, if nothing then just trace until you find where it breaks.

No reason to mess with the CRT until you see what kind of pic it makes.

you need to start looking for a coil at least to replace the broken one.

thermistor is often broken, check across it, cold prob 100 ohms, or turn on set for a few seconds, then off. if its cold you know its bad.

On mine one of the power resistors on that board with the thermistor had been replaced as well (incorrectly of course), so you may want to sweep thru them as well.

[Findm-Keepm]

Don't rejuv just yet - I'll check my stock of GE parts to see if I have a coil, or a replacement. CB chassis was GE's version of the CTC15, with improvements. I'll pull my sams and see about your coil - most of the coils are interchangeable with the CA chassis, a sister to yours, and better yet, Miller, Workman, and Merit all made replacements.

Cheers,

[tvcollector]

According to the Sams the coil is L46 item number - Horiz Osc - GE part number ET36X727 - Miller part number 6350... Others are blank including Thordason.. Looks like there is a few other of these coils that are the same throughout the chassis... If anyone has this part.. I'll be the buyer..