Hi there. My name is Dave and I live in Phoenix. My parents have had this old TV in their garage for years. They were going to throw it away but i thought it looked too good for such a fate.
Anyone have any information on this set? My pops worked for motorola in the 60's & 70's and got some special deal on this set (employee pricing). Mom said they paid around $1000 in 1968.
I've done a little searching around here (nice community. . ) but can't seem to find too much info on this set. Can anyone help me out with some history?
Also, as far as I know it does not work and has not worked for 20+ years.
Is it repairable? How much? and if not I was thinking of turning it into a little wine/bar cabinet/ Thoughts?
http://www.videokarma.org/picture.php?albumid=540&pictureid=3075

http://www.videokarma.org/picture.php?albumid=540&pictureid=3074

Hi Dave, welcome to VK.

Nice looking set, possibly a "Works in a Drawer" model?

Does that tag on the lower right say Cabinet by Drexel" ?

Yes it does. My father must have mentioned that it was a Drexel cabinet 50 times by the time I drove off with it.

**runs off to search 'works in a drawer'***

There is a picture in the first post?
jr

Update: Never mind... My MacBook sees it :scratch2:

I moved this post to Rectangular & Solid State because I thought you would get a better response.

From Audubonxxxx, I dont know if this is relevant...?
http://justsmog.com/wid.jpg

Welcome to Videokarma!! That is a beautiful set Dave! and yes a works in the drawer set and sounds like you are right about the date. Repairing should be relativly inexpensive. Could be somerthing simple as a HV rectifier tube or could be something futher complicated as a flyback or something. But you for sure came to the right place. Iv'e been on here since 2007 and have never met a nicer crowd!

Very similar to the Quasar we had when I was a kid - our family's first color TV. :ntwrthy: I watched a LOT of Saturday morning TV on that set. Ours was a performer - it spent it's last years in an uncooled summer rec room for us kids, where I learned what Charlie's Angels were all about.....

Repairable? Yes - there are still plenty of "panels" floating around. Motorola was about the only manufacturer that called them panels - pretty much all the other manufacturers called them modules. Most issues were with the early power supply and sweep panels, but Motorola mod'd many to improve reliability. Don't immediately worry about the green halo (cataract) on the CRT - if it tests good electrically, the halo is almost unnoticeable when viewing a picture. There's nothing esoteric about the rest of the set. I may have some service lit for your set - post the model. Yours is an early Quasar works-in-the-drawer, and my lit is spotty for the early sets.

Drexel cabinet? That's all the more reason to keep it/restore it.

Best of luck - we're all here to help!

Cheers,

As a former resident, almost nothing (besides automobiles) seems to exist in Phoenix if it's more than 15-years old. That would make this set all the more unique and rare.

Since it has doors, you needn't be embarrassed if your friends see it.

Thanks everybody for the warm welcome.

. . . and so it begins.

So where do I start?

I slid out the drawer and other than some dust, nothing looks to be burnt/fried. Wow, I'm amazed by the amount of huge resistors, hand bent to fit & attached by large globs of solder.

Question #1, can I still power the unit while the drawer is slid out? I plugged it in to try & power it up, but got nothing. zip. I was going to get the voltmeter out & start troubleshooting, but the batteries were dead in the fluke and I thought I'd ask some advice before poking around.

http://www.videokarma.org/picture.php?albumid=540&pictureid=3076

http://www.videokarma.org/picture.php?albumid=540&pictureid=3078

http://www.videokarma.org/picture.php?albumid=540&pictureid=3077

Motorola used to be the largest employer in Arizona. Then they spun off the semiconductor operations into On Semiconductor and Freescale. Next they sold all of their defense/space operations to General Dynamics. I am not sure if they have anything left there.

Is it totally dead? Nothing? A bad power switch isn't that uncommon. I've never had the chance to play with one of these. I do have a couple spare chassis out in the shed, waiting for a home.

Probably something more complicated than a switch, of course. See if you can find line voltage.

If it has a circuit breaker try pushing and pulling on the red reset button. Also inspect the cord at both ends and like said check the power switch. It may have a fuse too.

Its safer to check these items with the set unplugged using your ohm meter.

It may have a safety interlock that disconnects the power when its pulled out.

Once you get it working it will blow your friends away. Much better as a tv than a bar.

It may have a safety interlock that disconnects the power when its pulled out.



I'm pretty sure it does... I think I asked this question to a Quasar expert once.

If you look on the back, you'll find the interlocking power cord disconnected from the drawer. Remove the back and see if the envelope of information is still there. It's a complete troubleshooting and service manual. A large transformer power supply is on the other side cabinet. A lot of those sets ran for several years. 18 to 20 years not uncommon.

Hope you have shelved that 'wine/bar cabinet' project by now... Good luck!