USA TV with European Bezel???
 

This has been bugging me for more 35 years. In the article below, it shows TVs being used in an experiment at Emory U in Atlanta. The TVs have the European style bezel around the picture tube, the type I would see on episodes of Monty Pythons Fling Circus. I've never seen USA TVs with this type of bezel used before. Are these PAL TVs converted to NTSC?..

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c4...TV_10_1971.jpg

Hello,

I trust you would have told us if it was readable, but did you try to make
out the 8-letter brand at the bottom left of the screen in the biggest
picture. Maybe your original has enough resolution and you could decode
at least some of the letters. Let us know.

Maybe it is seven letters followed by some logo?

They're definitely European B/W sets from the 1964-1966 time frame... likely Telefunken or Nordmende...

This kind of bezel was used for the "shellbond" Philips CRT that came out in late 1963, it was the first CRT to feature a true integral implosion protection based on a tensioned rimband, there was no separate or bonded safety faceplate, the screen was actually part of the CRT envelope

This style of bezel was needed to conceal the large rimband/metal frame which extended on the edge of the screen, later Shellbond CRTs had a recessed rimband and did away with the need for any kind of bezel.

It seems a bit strange to me that anyone bothered to import them in the US, they also had to be modified to work with NTSC and 110v 60Hz mains...

Perhaps that's precisely the reason these sets were used: in case the monkeys, chimps, orangutans, baboons, etc, knocked over a set and risked an implosion and resulting injury. Just a guess. :dunno:

Tom

Hello again,

I thought you might have consulted the researcher mentioned in the
article (Geoffrey Bourne), but a search on wikipedia shows he died in
1988. He would be 98 at this time... Maybe someone who worked with
him could tell.

The first letter appears to be M, and the last letter A. That leaves one possibility, Its a Motorola. Weren't there some Canadian sets that used the European Rimband Crt's?

Does anyone happen to have a motorola catalog for around the time this study was taking place?

Hello again,

This is exciting (to me anyway)! Motorola is definitely possible. As for
the question regarding Canadian TV sets with Euro parts, I can only think
of Rogers and Philips, but I do not believe they were officially exported to
the USA.

Maybe these sets were some kind of 'fleet' model, not sold to the general
public but to hotels, hospitals, etc. Hope this mystery gets solved,
but it makes you realize that possibly tens of thousands of TV cabinet
designs were used over the years, many of which may be completely
forgotten (and completely destroyed to the last unit, unfortunately).

Maybe they were made in one of Motorola's European plants,

AFAIK there were Motorola plants in France, Germany and Italy

Seems like I remember seeing a US TV w/that style of CRT/mask, long ago..I could be mistaken, however.

I have a '63 Sylvania 19" B/W with that same European bezel. Evidently, that style was available on some U.S. built sets.

It looks like the letters could be Motorola
 

The knob layout reminds me a little of a Moto I have seen.
It would be interesting to know why they didn't use more common local sets.
Maybe Moto donated them for potential publicity. If so, perhaps the engineers thought that was thier best set to give to real monkeys.
It looks the kind of set I would love to give to a deserving monkey. Like if I needed bananas or whatever else a monkey might want to throw at me.

I was sorting some Sams the other day when I came across these 2 sets featuring the "European" bezel. On the left is a Curtis Mathes #7323 (Sams 468-1, 12/59) and on the right is a Hoffman B3683 (Sams 477-1, 3/60) Both sets use the same crt, 23CP4. My GE Essential Characteristics book states they use a "molded glass implosion panel attached to face" which is not uncommon...and is a fancy way of saying, I think, bonded safety glass.

Could it have been possible that the european rimband CRT's were used on more sets here, but just hidden behind an american style bezel?

EDIT: Well, lookie here. Polaraman found this Capehart b&w console that also used the 23CP4 CRT last summer. The rimband is partially hidden behind a normal looking bezel.
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/sho...d.php?t=113477

I've seen Emersons, Admirals, and Motorolas with the bug-eye bezels. Particularly in the larger screens; as those appear to be 23" or 24" table models. That way, they made the cabinets look thinner. I had Sony monitor that looked an awful lot like those. It was actually a rebadged Admiral that Sony bought to go with their B&W reel-reel videocorder in the early 60s.

Charles

Here's a motorola that looks similar, look at the motorola name plate and compare that to the one in the picture. This one is a 1960 model.