Motorola tv
 

Hi
Picked up this 1960 black and white solid state Motorola suitcase TV a couple weeks ago and thought you guys would like to see it. I think it is a rare set because I have never seen one before. This set has a solid state chassis except the crt and the rectifier tube. This set also had a rechargeable battery pack that was attached to the lower part of the chassis inside the cabinet, And when the set was not plugged into the wall it would run on the battery. The battery was missing when I got it but think that is good. The battery could have leaked and destroyed the cabinet and chassis. I did recap most of the chassis and it seems to work well but there is a bow on the bottom of the picture. I did look for the model # but the tags are missing. Cool set...
Ed

Nice find! I'm sure that one cost a few $ back then. Is the chassis metal or a PC board?

Nice set, one of the first solid state I believe.

If you test the CRT beware, it,s an odd voltage, 2 volts or something like that.

That looks like quite a find!
Dan

Yes, nice find! The bow in the pic could be a partially shorted yoke or leaky transistor or out of tolerance component in the vertical deflection circuit.

Here is a picture of the chassis and as you can see it is nice and clean. I was wondering about the crt heater voltage too and did not attempt to test it.
I will recheck the vertical circuit but I think it is the yoke. Was thinking what would it do if I pulled the yoke back a little and moved it up and down to see if it helps correct the pincushion. Also I should check if there are any magnets on the yoke but I don't recall seeing any when I was working on it.
Ed

That picture distortion doesn't look that bad, I've seen worse on new TVs. Also, playing with the magnetic centering rings (usually located on the yoke's back) may correct it. Just keep track of where they were before you start futzing with them, so you can return them to their orginal positions if things get worse. Also be careful you don't get your fingers on wire terminals back there. Horizontal and vertical deflection waveforms can be pretty big (higher voltages).

I agree the above. The yoke may have pincushion magnets molded into the front, but they are for side correction and not adjustable. The distortion is likely coming from the yoke or cross over distortion in the PP horizontal output stage. It looks pretty good. I doubt yokes can be found. Probably best to forget it.

The CRT is 12.5 volts, at a battery saving 150 ma. Make sure the 19.5 volt supply is set on and the 13.5 volt supply is right. The 13.5 feeds the audio and CRT filament. The 19.5 feeds everything else.

The Astronaut was Motorola's first attempt at a B&W portable solid state TV and definitely collectable. It is loaded with germanium transistors and can be temperamental, but a solid performer.

I'm no TV scholar, but no dummie either. That's a very interesting TV. Never even heard of a suitcase TV before. That must've been real Star Trek stuff back in 1960. Great find! For a 48YO TV, that's a damn good pic.

I did mess with the centering rings but it did not correct the bow on the bottom.
Oh yes, Have had my run in with the yoke voltages before. Color roundie yokes will put a nice burn on the hand when you touch the wires in there.
Did this repair in the blind as I did not have a service manual for this set so I will double check the crt and b+ voltages. The geranium transistors are temperamental. The b+ regulator transistor tested shorted, So I took a pnp vertical output transistor from a ss ge parts set and replaced it with that. Seems to be working and have put many hours on it since I replaced it.
This tv is interesting and I have never seen one either. When I opened it up I was shocked that it was solid state. Your right, For a 48 yo tv the picture is good and I will leave it as is.
Thanks
Ed

That one is a GREAT find!!!!!! I have the feeling that very few of those were made, and I definitely have never seen/heard of one before. So it's a '60 model? That predates the Philco Safari, which is universally considered the first solid-state portable TV! That was '61, if I'm not mistaken.


Charles

000

Found this blurb in TIME, June 6, 1960:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/ar...874157,00.html

says first "big-screen" transistor portable

If anyone has access to the July, 1960 of Popular Electronics (I read it years
ago but have long misplaced it), look for a news item describing a similar
TV introduced by Sony around the same time.

P.S.: maybe the one mentioned by andy earlier...

A friend found an article and pictures of the Philco safari. It was made in 1959 and the first solid state tv. It"s batteries provided four hours of tv viewing. The screen is larger on the 8-301w so it would be the first large screen solid state TV if made in 59.
Ed