Richard D
05-30-2007, 07:17 PM
I have no idea why I did it, I guess it seemed like the thing to do at the time. I came across a Sony component TV system at a yard sale and even though I have no flat surfaces left without stuff piled on top I bought it anyway. It does produce a great picture, I am using the RGB outputs from the tuner to the monitor. The monitor accepts composite video, S/video, RGB and digital, the monitor is a KV 1901, I can find no info on this. Can anybody let me know when they were built and what they cost? It seems really well built. Also if anybody has a need for it they can have it for shipping and the $25.00 I paid for it.
Thanks to all,
Richard.
ChrisW6ATV
05-30-2007, 11:31 PM
Richard-
Your Sony equipment is called Profeel. The monitor is actually a KX-1901, and its original U.S. retail price was $850.00. They also had the KX-2501, at $1500.00. The tuner is the VTX-1000R, and its price was $390.00 if I remember right (or maybe that's what I paid for mine, with a list price higher; I paid $650 for the KX-1901). They were first announced in spring of 1981, and were on the market as of late '81 or early 1982.
Your connection from the tuner to the monitor is not actually RGB (I am assuming you are using the fat cable from the tuner), but is still composite. That cable also carries stereo audio and the remote control signals, I believe. The RGB connector accepts 15 kHz digital RGB (as available on the first IBM PCs, the Commodore 128, and some other computers of that era). A later model, the KX-1901A/KX-2501A, accepted analog RGB as well as digital, and looked really great with a Commodore Amiga computer. The tuner was also replaced later by the VTX-1100R, along with the optional MLV-1100 MTS stereo sound decoder.
As you noticed, the picture quality is excellent, simply unprecedented for consumer equipment of that time. The tuner (VTX-1000 only) also has a unique feature. A switch on the back lets you choose "intercarrier" or "split carrier" audio. Intercarrier is the standard sound. Turn up your audio on a regular TV signal, then switch to split carrier, and listen to the background "buzz" just go away a second later.
Paladin01
12-02-2008, 03:14 PM
Richard;
Is your offer for the KX-1901 Sony monitor still available? Mine lost the color red, and my TV repair guy is pretty sure it's the CRT. While it still plays black&white, I'd like to get another that plays color.
thanks!
Bill R
12-03-2008, 01:01 AM
Richard;
Is your offer for the KX-1901 Sony monitor still available? Mine lost the color red, and my TV repair guy is pretty sure it's the CRT. While it still plays black&white, I'd like to get another that plays color.
thanks!
If you still have a good black&white picture it is not the CRT.
Bill R
radiotvnut
12-03-2008, 01:25 AM
The problem could be in the video driver or chroma circuitry. I'm not knocking your technician; but, I have found that a lot of techs will blame the CRT as a means of getting out of repairing something that they don't want to mess with.