My Latest Acquisition
 

I just scored this great little GE 12" B&W off Ebay for $12.00. I know some may think that is $11 more than it's worth. This is one of my favorite GE models from the Seventies. I like the styling and the cabinet is made of very thick plastic. These are generally very solid sets, especially for the time in which they were made.

The set appears to need only one thing to be complete. The telescoping antenna is broken off at the end as is so often the case with small sets. Does anyone know where I can buy a replacement rod for this? It is the typical antenna GE used all through the '70s and '80s. It attaches with two screws into a flat metal base. Anyone who has a GE of this era will know exactly what I'm talking about. It is the shorter antenna used on the B&W sets, not the long ones used on most of the color TVs GE made.

I love 12" B&W sets. They are simple, stylish and great fun to use.

Nice little set!
It would be neat to have a whole collection of brightly colored sets from the 70's, if I only had the room...

I used to have one of these in a grey cabinet but gave it away. I actually prefer the more conservative colors, especially if I'm going to have it sitting out on display. I've wanted another one of these for a long time so I jumped on this one. This same model is also available in a Bicentennial edition.

I had this same set in a beige cabinet back around '95. Mine worked well and had the solid state 12XB chassis in it. I've never seen the Bicentennial version of this set. I have seen a few Bicentennial tube GE sets (SF chassis) on eplay. I think the solid state XB chassis was better than the SF tube chassis. It seems like the SF chassis sets I would bring home were always full of problems and often wouldn't stay fixed. I would probably buy one of the SF chassis Bicentennial sets if I could find one reasonable. I think '76 may have been the last year for a tube B&W set by GE.

I'll check with my Dad - those antennas were quite common on many brands - having a GE dealer just up the street helped, because we could buy the GE replacement far cheaper than the Russell Industries one. If he's got it, it's yours for shipping, albeit it may be a used antenna. Dad's never charged me anything for vintage parts for members of AK..

Cheers

That would be great. I don't mind if it is used as long as it is intact and not bent obviously. I have not received the set yet but it looks to be in otherwise excellent condition. I like my sets to be as complete and pristine as possible. Let me know if you can get that antenna and thanks again.

Nice looking TV! Yeah the SF was a problem-plagued chassis, due to its having the tubes soldered on top of the pc board. Heat damage was likely a main issue with this chassis. My '75 12'' b&w GE with the SF shows some signs of board damage from heat, but has been ultra-reliable since I found it. All I did was fix the power/volume pot.

A solid-state like yours likely outperforms mine since it was likely built to a higher standard, than a set which still used mostly tubes in 1975 (built for cheapskates).

i had one in the woodgrain cabinet. it sat out on the deck in the weather top only on the deck. watched it every morning you could hear the high voltage sizzling because of the humidity but it chugged along for a long time. actually the crt was getting dim when i tossed it out. steve

I have noticed with the SF chassis sets, that the CRTs do seem to be weak in some of the ones that are showing up now. I don't think GE put their best tubes in them.

I would say that the 12" B&W sets of the Seventies were the TV equivalent of the AA5 tube radios of the Forties and Fifties. Growing up in the Seventies it seemed like every household had at least one in use somewhere. Often they could be found sitting atop a non-working color console

There was an SF chassis set on Ebay not long ago in the Bicentennial color scheme. It looked to be in near mint condition and went for quite a modest price. I almost bid on it.

Here's a picture of it: These sets are actually quite common.

I notice it still has "60 cycles" listed instead of 60 Hz, even in 1976.

Interesting observation.


I still refer to it as "cycles" myself. It seems a more appropriate descriptive term.

It is a nice set but I'm glad I didn't bid on it now that I have found the XB chassis set.

Very true about the SF being like the All American Five's. Gets the job done, minimalist design, and usually pretty reliable.

As for the crt's being lower-quality, you know, mine isn't very bright, but the tube has gotten dimmer with use, and I've only run brightness at 75% and contrast at about half (only since this has no dc restoration circuits). Definitely has gotten dimmer though.

I seem to recall AK'er BGadow mentioning that these used Clinton crt's.

Yes, I was going to mention that again. I had a pair of these GE sets, one from the sixties and one from late in the production run. The older one used a GE crt that actually had a shorter neck. The newer one was labeled GE but with an EIA code for Clinton. I suspect the bean counters at the General crunched the numbers and found they could outsource it cheaper than building it.

Good to see the bicentennial set again. I had one in the 80s; worked, but something was burning up in the HV section, beyond my abilities at the time. A neat set.

Well my little GE arrived Saturday. I have not opened it up yet but I did get to check it over a little. I am trying to finish my Sony 5-303w first. The set works and the picture tube is like new. All the controls need to be cleaned and lubed and the UHF fine tuning is stuck, presumably from hardened grease.

It is a definete '70s shade of yellow and it should clean up nicely. I'm going to give it the full disassembly and servicing and it will become a permanent part of the collection. This is definetely one of my favorite 12" sets from the '70s. It has build quality, style and good performance. I wish I had room for more of these sets.

About a month ago, I was at a thrift store and saw a portable B&W RCA (early 80s). I was going to get it but when I tested it, the picture was dim and blurry, so I left it.

It might come to life if run for a while. I have noticed when some old B&W sets sit unused for a year or more, the CRT needs to be "awakened" either by using the set or puting it on a CRT tester and runing it at slightly elevated heater voltage for a while. It might be worth getting after all.

The antenna arrived yesterday. It is an exact match for the original . It is not often I have everything I need to make a set complete before I even take the back off. Many thanks. Another Seventies TV shall live on.

Well I finally tore into the GE last night. I could not believe that it actually has a Sarkes Tarzian turret type VHF tuner in it. I thought surely it would use the wafer type. There is a problem with the UHF. The fine tuning control is frozen and attempts to free it have been unsuccessful. I am going to have to find a parts set and salvage the UHF tuner from it because attempts to free this one are resulting is a cracked plastic fine tuning shaft. Also, the cord needs replaced but on the whole it is in good shape. When finished, it will be a nice performer.

I'll be on the lookout for one of those junk sets for you. They used to be pretty common around here. BTW, I like the roundie in your avatar!

Thanks. That roundie is my 1965 Zenith. I just restored it this summer. I waited years to find one and it was worth the wait. Round color sets are the way to go for vintage color TV. Let me know if you find a parts set for the GE I'll even buy a complete one and make one good one using the best of both. This one of my favorite GE models.