Last model year for Motorola-designed Quasar sets?

[Whirled One]

Finally getting around to post about this, but here goes...

Some weeks ago, I was out yard-saleing and spotted this tube-hybrid Motorola 14" color portable. Actually, at first glance, I just noticed the Quasar rainbow-logo on the front and the click-stop UHF tuning knob and figured it to be from the Matsushita era, and a solid-state TV at that. **yawn** Then I saw the Motorola name and logo at the bottom left-hand corner of the screen bezel, so I took a closer look. Hmm., interesting; not only does it not say "Solid State" anywhere, but the the back of the set has tell-tale signs of a tube or tube-hybrid TV (warning label lacks key phrases like "NO USER-SERVICABLE PARTS INSIDE", relatively high power consumption shown on label, etc.) The owners (an elderly couple) let me plug it in (there was a power outlet nearby anyway), and sure enough, I could see the glow of at least a few tubes through the ventillation slots on the top. The set was in great cosmetic shape-- it'd have looked practically new except for the vinyl covering peeling from the carrying handle-- and it appeared to function okay aside from a moderate case of vertical linearity trouble. Eh, I figured I'd buy it just out of curiosity, and besides, the couple whose garage sale it was seemed to be glad someone actually showed any interest whatsoever in the TV.

After taking it home, I noticed a few kinda interesting things about it. I'm not very familiar with Motorola's later TVs, but (in some ways, at least) this thing has got to be one of the more "service-friendly" sets I've seen from the 1970's. For one thing, aside from one hex-head screw near the AC interlock plug, the back of the cabinet is removable without any tools. Just turn two plastic knobs by 90-degrees and flip two latches, and *ALAKAZAM!* the back cover comes right off! Then, on the inside of the back cover, there's a *huge* decal with a detailed diagram pointing out the location of all major components and service controls, along with various service informational tips. [About the only thing better than that I've seen provided within a consumer item like this would be General Electric and those mini service manuals they tucked away inside the back cabinet cover of TVs they made during the early 80's and thereabouts.] Then there's the convergence panel. It has a delta-gun tube, so it has the usual convergence controls. The fact that the convergence panel can be unmounted from its usual location and reposititioned at the top of the set (for easier adjusting) isn't terribly unusual, but what is a bit interesting is the printed cardboard "overlay" placed over the convergence controls. The overlay provides text labels and iconic illustrations indicating the function of each control, with the coils and pots themselves being accessible through holes punched in the cardboard overlay.

Anyway, this TV is a Motorola WP412JW (CTV-6), which the SAMS index shows as folder 1327-1, which would have been from 1973. That sounds reasonable given that it's still a Motorola-built Quasar, and that it's a tube hybrid set (it has five tubes aside from the CRT). However, that sounds rather early for a set with a click-stop UHF tuner-- I didn't think any of the major manufacturers switched to those until 1975 (when they essentially became required), especially for lower-end products like this. I can't find any date codes on the tubes or the CRT (though it's certainly possible that the CRT has a date code but is obscured by the various hardware around it).

Questions: What year did Matsushita buy Motorola's TV/radio division (along with the "Quasar" name)? I was thinking it was about 1974. When that happened, were all of the Quasar-branded TVs *immediately* switched over to Matsushita (Panasonic) designs, or was there a phase-in period where they were still producing already-existing Motorola-designed products for a while?