Guess what's still being produced in China?
 

I was browsing alibaba.com for some reason, and I came across this. This looks like a set designed in the late 70's-early 80's at newest. My question is, where would there still be a market for a set like this?

Maybe for some grade-z chain store, for little money...

Depends how cheaply they can make it for all those underpaid poor factory workers who are producing all the good stuff we buy over here .....

I wonder how cheap you can buy these in quantity? I wonder what they cost to produce? I'd suspect that picture tube costs less to make than a compact flourescent light bulb. In the early 80s these things were $89, then you'd see them for $79, $69. I was amazed when they hit $59, stunned when I saw one advertised for $49. I think the last new ones I saw were in the $39 range, probably back before Ames went under. They had a little ac/dc portable (5"?) that would reguarly go on sale for $15. I still find it amazing that a complete, working tv set can be made for that money.

I've seen 5" AM/FM combo sets go for $10... I bought one, it DID display pictures, the radio DID receive stations, but it wasn't exactly what I'd call a primo set, by any means...

I would think it would be much cheaper to make a set with electronic tuning rather than all the mechanical components of the VHF/UHF manual switch/turret type tuners.
The last knob-tuning 13" B/W sets I saw in a store used a varactor tuner controlled by a thumbwheel pot under the screen, and a switch for VHF low/VHF high/UHF...much like the 5" sets.

The set here in question may be a new old stock set from the 80's or early 90's or maybe is just made up of NOS parts that were sitting around.

Here is the link to the tv:
http://www.alibaba.com/catalog/45401/Television.html

Here is another old-fashioned looking TV
http://www.alibaba.com/catalog/11594...te_B_W_Tv.html

What is the law about U.S. TV's requiring digital tuners? Only those made after a certain date?

Well, they may be working off NOS parts. That area of the world when political turmoil was the norm used to produce way way way more than they needed as a subsidy to keep the people employed. They might have warehoused stockpiles of old parts, and now some nuevo-entrepreneur is putting people to work assembling old stock. The 50's-era Soviets were big at this also, and they used to keep factories running producing obsolete stuff just to keep the people working. And therefore happy. And therefore quiet.

As our NTSC over the air broadcasts will go dark in a year or so, these portable TVs will be useless for normal use. Anyone going to use a set top box converter with these sets?

I wonder if we could get one of these factories to start producing discontinued CRTs? New Predicta tubes maybe? You'd have to think that the whole b&w CRT production process has been perfected to a point now that they could be made cheaply.

Probably, but to what end? Is the niche market so small as to warrant any investment?

'Twould be nice if they'd run off a few hundred 15GP22s, too...<sigh> If they could be persuaded to run off a thousand 7JP4s, I'd bet they could sell 'em.

The chinese being as good as they are at copying things,It would be neat to see if they could pull off a line of replica ct-100's.

Wait for it. I looked at a Rado Ceramica watch that was identical to one that I own, down to the sapphire crystal and ceramic band and all Rado logos and Swiss made on the dial. For sale at $160.00, A Real Swiss made model is about $1350.00. That said to make a replica of a 50 year old RCA would be neat!

That TV is not limited to NTSC or the US market. It runs on 110/220/12 and the receiving system is to buyer's request. It is not likely intended for the US market. The minimum quantity is probably a shipping container. It would be useful in developing countries and high risk neighborhoods.

A visitor that flew out here (australia) for business recently told me that they sold one of his companies products into China but sales then dried up. They went to china on a sales expo or something and saw copies of their product at the expo........ complete with one bracket that the Germans had incorrectly installed in reverse on the one they sold originally, but had been replicated exactly by the chinese......... in reverse on all the copies.

I have an chinese ripoff of an ipod shuffle that is almost a PERFECT copy of the real thing, down to the serial number and apple logo screened on the back. The actual hardware was another story, hidden inside is a generic thumbdrive based MP3 player.

We have this stupid little thing kicking around at work. The boss got it as some kind of compliment from a company. This one was free, and more could be obtained for $8 or something. If you load it with batteries, they are probably worth more than the TV itself. There was also included an AC adapter and a car cigarette lighter cord. I've offered him to "take it for a little trip" several times, but he always refuses and says "No, no, you can't do that, it works, man!". I have tried to place it on a shelf where someone may accidentally sweep it down on the floor, but haven't had any luck yet. It displays some fuzzy b&w pictures and make some sounds, but...

I can regularly buy those little 5" B&W sets for $2 here. The retail price is $10-15, but it seems like they are at every thrift shop, junk auction, market and recycling center I go to. I guess many people buy them because they are so cheap then realise they can't bear to watch a B&W set. I don't buy them, I find them just too ugly. The funny thing is the same set without the tuner is often sold for $99 as a security monitor (for example http://www.altronics.com.au/index.as...=item&id=S9090). Another variant is the crappy 5" TV/CD player boombox. I've seem a lot of them lately and the TV seems to be the most reliable part. I actually have the CRT and chassis from one sitting in one of my many junk boxes. I grabbed it intending to make a mini replica of an old B&W set, but them I realised how much I suck at woodworking.

I saw an add on one of those chinese wholesaler sites for little 7" 16:9 B&W sets once. I'd buy one of those for the hell of it, but I've never seen one for sale anywhere.

Yep, Lars, that looks like the "double-1st-cousin" to the one I have...

I paid 90 dollars for an 'RCA' 9" B&W set with built in AM/Fm. This was about 1996, and I thought it would be a cool mountable-under the cabinet set for the kitchen. What a piece of crap. The radio was an absolute joke and the TV looked like it had about 3 horiz lines. I returned it. Right now I've got a 1970-something 'XAM' tube hybrid b&w in there on the countertop. :thmbsp::thmbsp:

Wow!! that's probably the nicest set you can still buy new today!!

And i bet it's also nicely built and based on good ol' single faced phenolic PCBs and discrete transistors... A LOT better than modern nasty robot assembled SMD-based digital stuff...

Francesco

I have the EXACT same set, bought it at Job Lot for 10 dollars last summer,
have NO use for it but i couldnt pass it up. AM/FM and TV, yeah doesnt really work to good but it was a 10 dollar TV so i couldnt resist. :music:

QUOTE, And i bet it's also nicely built and based on good ol' single faced phenolic PCBs and discrete transistors... A LOT better than modern nasty robot assembled SMD-based digital stuff...

Francesco

I sure hope that is the case. Besides for myself how many other AKers have seen their careers fade as more and more non-repairable SMD stuff is used, even when board real estate is not an issue?

Im wondering what that CRT could be used for. Maybe trying to build a DIY tube set using that tube and yoke assembly? Also, are there any 5" direct view tube sets that that CRT could be jerryrigged into?

SMD's are great for computer motherboards and ipods, but expensive consumer electronics devices like television sets should be repairable without having to buy thousands of dollars of soldering equipment. Even the new LCD tv's have plenty of room inside to use standard through the board mounted components. That way if a cap or resistor failed, it would at least be replaceable by any service tech.

Some of the older (mid '80s and earlier) 4" and 5" B/W sets with completely rectangular flat picture tubes can have very good resolution. I have a 1986 Soundesign 4" set w/cassette player, clock and AM/FM radio on the shelf in the bathroom and it still works great...only problem is the clock vacuum fluorescent display is weak.

There are a lot of those Chinese-made mini-TVs (about 6" screens in small plastic cases) floating around the flea market and trash dumps here in Hong Kong. They come in white, black, and red (possibly other colors, too). I think they were some kind of promotional give-away (by a Bank, probably), for there to be so many around.

I noticed a resemblance between the mini TV cases and robot heads, so I took one (non-rorking) and turned it into the head of a robot sculpture, complete with automotive light-stick antennae and a body scavenged from some scrapped beauty-parlour equipment. Makes a much better robot head than television! :yes: :D