Smallest all tube portable? - Videokarma.org TV - Video

maxhifi · #1 12-30-2010, 03:56 PM

As the title says, I's like to tap into the knowledge available here to find out what some of the most compact all tube or hybrid TV sets produced were. I am aware of the 8 inch RCAs from the mid 50s, but they despite having a small screen, are not light. I am also not that interested in owning a transformerless set with a metal cabinet, for safety related reasons.

ctc17 · #2 12-30-2010, 04:06 PM

I have a 7" japan built all tube Packard Bell BW thats the smallest set I have ever seen. Its transformerless and very light. I would call it kids size.

maxhifi · #3 12-30-2010, 04:43 PM

Interesting! I've never seen anything smaller than the RCAs I mentioned in the earlier post. Does it have any issues with heat build up? There can't be much space around the power tubes in such a small set.

Sandy G · #4 12-30-2010, 04:44 PM

CTC 17- I am in SERIOUS "Lust" over some of the beauties on yr Site...Please favor us w/a pic of the l'il Packard-Bell...(grin)

radiotvnut · #5 12-30-2010, 05:02 PM

I may be way off base; but, didn't Panasonic build a 7" or 9" color set that used tubes?

jr_tech · #6 12-30-2010, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by radiotvnut

I may be way off base; but, didn't Panasonic build a 7" or 9" color set that used tubes?

Wow! I would love to see that! Up till now, I thought the 10" GE "porta-color" was the smallest tube color portable.

On the RCA 8PT.... series they have lots of louvers and ran warm, but not terrible. Power transformer added weight, but also safety. I remember being a little kid and hauling my 22lb 8PT7032 (black) around with only moderate difficulty.

Decent Pix here...too bad this one is missing the mount for the stand on one side:
http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-RCA-VICT...item35aee72e57
Not affiliated,
jr

Un-restored childhood set, with stand:

compucat · #7 12-30-2010, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jr_tech

Wow! I would love to see that! Up till now, I thought the 10" GE "porta-color" was the smallest tube color portable.

On the RCA 8PT.... series they have lots of louvers and ran warm, but not terrible. Power transformer added weight, but also safety. I remember being a little kid and hauling my 22lb 8PT7032 (black) around with only moderate difficulty.

Decent Pix here...too bad this one is missing the mount for the stand on one side:
http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-RCA-VICT...item35aee72e57
Not affiliated,
jr

Un-restored childhood set, with stand:

That is your childhood set? You should definitely restore it. I have one of these in grey. It is the version without the stand or antennas and it is one of my favorite sets. I definitely prefer it over the comparable models produced by GE and Admiral. The main reason being is that there are no PC boards. The RCA is all hand wired.

maxhifi · #8 12-30-2010, 09:35 PM

I never realized the RCA has a power transformer, that wins it some big points as far as I am concerned. Yours looks a lot nicer than the one on eBay, they sure also look sharp in red. How do the picture tubes hold up over time?

jr_tech · #9 12-30-2010, 09:53 PM

Indeed, that is the set that I bought as a kid with the first $100* I ever earned...washing the family dishes at 25 cents a meal. Been collecting TVs for a while

Since, I have collected Red, White, and Silver models with stands, and a Silver model without a stand, but with "feet" attached to the bottom. The "stand less" silver model that I have has a plastic implosion shield rather than glass. Has anybody collected the "stand less" model in any of the other colors?

*I believe list price was $129, but my parents had a friend at the RCA dealership.

jr

Update: It looks as if Phil has restored a Black "stand less" model:
http://antiqueradio.org/rca16.htm

The CRTs don't appear to have any unusual life problems, my orig CRT is still plenty bright/good focus. Right now the set has a horiz frequency problem that I need to fix
jr

compucat · #10 12-31-2010, 08:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jr_tech

Indeed, that is the set that I bought as a kid with the first $100* I ever earned...washing the family dishes at 25 cents a meal. Been collecting TVs for a while

Since, I have collected Red, White, and Silver models with stands, and a Silver model without a stand, but with "feet" attached to the bottom. The "stand less" silver model that I have has a plastic implosion shield rather than glass. Has anybody collected the "stand less" model in any of the other colors?

*I believe list price was $129, but my parents had a friend at the RCA dealership.

jr

Update: It looks as if Phil has restored a Black "stand less" model:
http://antiqueradio.org/rca16.htm

The CRTs don't appear to have any unusual life problems, my orig CRT is still plenty bright/good focus. Right now the set has a horiz frequency problem that I need to fix
jr

Mine is a stand less model in grey. It has four plastic feet on the bottom and the implosion shield is acrylic on mine. I do have a bezel with the glass shield I salvaged from a beat up red one that I parted out. I have thought about putting that bezel on mine. Mine has the original CRT which is still very strong and bright. These sets seem to hold up very well despite the fact they run so hot. If you look at the schematic, the circuitry is very simple. Being so compact there are no circuits that are not completely essential. I think the whole set only uses eleven tubes. Another thing i like is they are so common that getting parts is not difficult.

Chad Hauris · #11 12-31-2010, 11:55 AM

On these RCA sets as I remember almost all of the functions of the set except the horizontal output, HV rect. & damper use 6U8 tubes. Even the audio output stage uses either the triode or pentode portion of a 6U8.

kx250rider · #12 12-31-2010, 12:52 PM

There were some really small JVC and other Japanese all-tube portables in the 60s and even early 70s. I think the JVC Delmonico 7" portable from the mid 60s might be my vote. I think it's a series set (non-power transformer), but not sure.

Charles

Username1 · #13 01-08-2011, 10:43 AM

I have 2 of these sets, I got them years ago when you could toss out a tv on the front lawn and the town would take it away. I used this one for several years, never had any trouble with it, heat does not seem to be an issue with this set at all. The pc board has no heat marks on it, no warping etc. It even has a few nice big wire wound resistors mounted up near the top of the plastic case, and still no melting or warping of the case either. I think both of these sets worked when I picked them up too, no telling why they got the hook, its not like they took up much more space than a shoe box.

Panasonic Model: AN-109
Screen: 8 1/2"
Width: 13 1/2"
Height: 9 1/2"
Depth: 10"

jr_tech · #14 01-08-2011, 12:42 PM

Close, The RCA 8PT7032 measures:

Screen: 7 1/2" (diagonal)
Width: 8"
Height: 8 1/2" (counting wire stand, but not the fancy tilt stand)
Depth: 13" (counting the antenna housing)

Total: 884 Cubic inches, vs 1282 for the Panasonic, but I bet the Panasonic weighs less than 22 lbs.

jr

Phototone · #15 01-08-2011, 02:42 PM

Just before introduction of the GE PortaColor sets, GE made a very light small 12" b/w set that used Compactrons, and very few of them at that, and it was a good performer and very light and small. They retailed for (I think) $99.95. I had a red one (They came in colors). Alas, my dad got rid of it when I talked him into getting me a PortaColor, which I still have. Those GE b/w sets were made well up into the PortaColor era.