Can someone tell me about this Andrea TV?

[Username1]

Hi all; I found this tv for sale locally and there really is not a lot of info around about Andrea TV's, or at least I have not been able to find it. I have attached a few pictures. She is VHF only, and looks to be a short neck tube, so I'm kinda placing the year she was made around 1961 - 1964 but I am not sure. I asked the guy what screen size she is and he is going to the house today, so I may get an answer this evening. Sure does not look like a 21" so I'm thinking around 23"...... I blew up the picture with the knobs on it, and it looks like it says "push on/off volume" Have not run across a push on/off volume knob before either.... I have seen lots of pull on/off.... Just a wording thing? As far as the knob setup she almost looks like our old Magnavox tv we had when I was a kid. It had a short neck tube, and was made around '59 - 61 as far as I can think, but had a place holder on the tuner for UHF, this Andrea does not....
Thanks Guys....

[Reece]

Andrea was an old name in TV, didn't know they had hung around until about 1960.

[Username1]

The tv history site says the last year of production was '78 no details on that, who knows how they ended, maybe by the time they ended it was just a name.

[Username1]

Been looking up picture tubes, found a note somewhere that 21ECP4 may have been used in an Andrea TV with no pictures of the set. The tube description matches the way this tv looks. Production by RCA '56, used in sets from '57 - '59.... Comments...

[kx250rider]

I think that might be a Canadian set. I don't know, but I've seen Andreas newer than the ones we're used to seeing in the USA, for sale in Canada. Most of ours were branded FADA, but a few did use the Andrea name (FADA=Frank A. D. Andrea).

Charles

[electroking]

FYI, Canadian sets were not required to have a UHF tuner until June, 1970, so this
set could be somewhat newer than you think (but not much later than 1964
from its looks). Good luck!

[Username1]

I got another picture of the tube layout, and it includes a 5U4GB and a 23HP4 picture tube. "Andrea Sharp Focus Television" made in USA 117V 60Hz Picture tube info online says it was used for a short time in 1960... Why do you think that tube had a short life on the market? I ran across a story also saying sets in the US by that company were under the name FADA, thank you.

I was kinda hoping it was not a 23"er. I had a Zenith 23" metal cabinet tv once, and the scan lines were huge! I hated watching it...... A little less excited now....

Back on the fence he goes......

[Eric H]

If the scan lines were huge and annoying it probably had an interlacing problem where the lines were pairing up.
A 23" tube shouldn't make them all that much more noticeable.

Andrea was using the "Sharp Focus" trademark back in the late 40's!

[WISCOJIM]

Originally Posted by Username1

I blew up the picture with the knobs on it, and it looks like it says "push on/off volume" Have not run across a push on/off volume knob before either.... I have seen lots of pull on/off.... Just a wording thing?

Push on/push off switch failures were one of the most common faults of the Philco Predicta line of TVs.

.

[David Roper]

A prewar Andrea TV kit...

[bgadow]

Frank Andrea left FADA by the early 40s (don't know exactly when) and then started Andrea. No connections between the two after that, that I know of. The FADA TV sets I've seen were on the cheaper side, while the Andrea's tended to be more expensive. They had some color sets in the 60s and 70s and were maybe best known for a line of sets with round cabinets (shaped like a table). By the time the set posted here was built the industry had largely moved on from 21" to 23" as the standard in BW consoles. If the original crt is bad, you can often get creative in subbing them for something like this. There, now you know more than I do!

[silverfox]

RE: Andrea/FADA

In 1920 Frank A D Andrea started a company called F A D Andrea, Inc. At this time the only products were radio parts. He used his initials as the brand name, FADA. In 1922/23 he produced his first complete radio and was one of the early producers of the popular Neutrodyne sets under the Hazeltine patent. Expansion was explosive and FADA was in the top five by the late 1920's. In about 1930/31 he formed a new company called FADA Radio and Electric Corporation and was President. In 1932/3 he retired and sold this company to a Boston group of investors. They did not last long and FADA was in bankruptcy. A New York group bought the company from the court and changed the name to FADA Radio and Electric Company, Inc. This company under the leadership of Jacob M Marks lasted until the late 1950's. They never got into color but I did see a prototype using the Lawrence tube in the mid 1950's. Patent searches will show some assignments that do not seem related to electronics in 1958.

Meanwhile Frank Andrea Sr., a millionaire, apparently did not like retirement and was back in business producing radios for export only. I am guessing that this was probably due to a non compete clause in the sale of FADA as around 1937 under the corporate name of Andrea Radio Corporation and the brand name of Andrea he re-entered the US market. In 1938 Andrea produced their first television the 1F5. Produced defense products during WWII receiving numerous awards. Back into consumer goods in 1946/47. Still heavy in defense products including the intercom system used in our first into space trip. In the '50's, '60's, '70's, Andrea produced a complete line of upscale consumer products including portable and console record players plus B&W and color TVs in some beautiful cabinets. Company is today headed by Douglas Andrea, great grandson, and is more of an OEM supplier but does have some computer related microphones and headsets. Still producing products that are a leader in their chosen field.

[bgadow]

Great information! I really like to see histories like this documented and shared. Thanks!