WORKING Sony Indextron on eBay

[YamahaFreak]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-1989...31579296083553

I wonder for how long? This is the first one I've seen that actually WORKS, before being redone. But look at that price!

[Sandy G]

Why, that's a Bar-Gain at Twicet th' Price !! Whatchoo talkin' 'bout, Willis ?!? (grin)

[jstout66]

It's cool.... but let's face it... That Sony was a POS. And I'll probably offend some, but not unlike the CT-100 being a POS.
The Sony was cool, but didn't hold up and hardly any of them work, unless being done over, hence what makes it rare to collectors.
It's the same with the CT-100. I've seen a CT-100 in operation, and yes.. stunning picture.. and the utmost in cool to own one, but in its day... a flub.
RCA cranked it out, and realized the picture tube was a huge flaw, which is why they developed something else ASAP and never used that design again. So.. cool to us collectors, but a ticking time-bomb.. just like an Indextron.
I guess I'm just on a rant, because the coolest sets that we all want to own, basically are because of the rarity, due to the design flaws within the sets themselves...

[compu_85]

If there's a bunch of something it can't be rare... and lots of something don't hang around if tons were sold and tons are still working. Look at the Hammond Novachord... same scenario.

-J

[jstout66]

well.. to a point.
Most people collect an item from their youth. So mainly items that were mass produced, but were thrown out in droves when something better came along, or the item was replaced. So as the years go by, it's rare to see that item, and if you get enough people looking for it..well.. you know the rest.
I do laugh when looking under the "collectable" section on CL. So many many "Franklin Mint" items. You gotta love how companies like that market the items as RARE, and limited production, then you have these poor fools listing them, not realizing they are worth pennies on the dollar what they paid.
I'd have to say the CT-100 IS pretty rare tho. (because of its inherant flaws) but hey.. it was the 1st color set mass produced for the consumer market, and RCA had to start somewhere. It's because of the issues they had with it that they made something better.
The indextron was just an ODD techie toy.....

[Sandy G]

Yeah, you just gotta ask yrself "WTF ?" when it comes to the Indextron...Did it offer as good , or better picture than the existant Trinitron ? Was it cheaper to produce/sell ? Was it as/more reliable than the Trinitron ? It must have been some Big Shot at Sony's personal Wet Dream-They HAD to have lost a BUNDLE on the Indextron program, not to mention what they lost in PRESTIGE & REPUTATION when they tried to get 'em all back & stuff...

[jr_tech]

It seems to me that the Indextron had the potential for improvements over conventional shadow mask design.

1. No shadow mask... Increased brightness.
2. One gun design... No convergence problems.
3. Simplified beam landing requirements... Shorter, higher deflection angles possible.

So why did S0ny fail? Were the sets really turkeys?

jr

[andy]

...

[fujifrontier]

I have a Vidimagic that uses an Indextron tube. Even in complete darkness it's a piece. Extremely dim picture that strains my eyes... I feel sorry for it, which is the only reason I keep it around.

[jr_tech]

Originally Posted by andy

Beam landing is actually very tricky on these because it's easy for the beam to miss the correct color stripe if the timing is off. It also requires razor sharp focus which limits brightness, and causes the color to degrade as the CRT ages. I've never seen on of these with very good purity. Even at 3.7", they require dynamic focus, and two horizontal deflection circuits to maintain precise horizontal linearity.

Good points ... THANKS!
I guess that I had assumed that the sweep rate was somehow re-adjusted on a micro basis as a result of the information provided by the index stripes, but that must have been impractical at that time with analog circuits.

jr

[etype2]

I can't be sure, but in early September, 2011 a black Indextron sold for $304.00 on Ebay by a Canadian seller who said that the set had a replacement antenna and it was working.

You can see in one of the photos that this is a Canadian set and the antenna is a replacement. If it were original, it would have a black outer sleeve. This set was listed for a month at $975.00 with no takers.

What makes this set so interesting to collectors is that it is*the one and only stand alone working Index beam television to make it to market anywhere in the world. Correct me if I'm wrong about this. (* Only beam index set sold to the public) Hitachi 1 1/2 inch index color viewfinder and Sony Vidimagic excluded.

[Sandy G]

Before y'all think that I DON'T like Indextrons, though, just Hide in the dam Bushes 'n' WATCH how fast I'd make that on on Evilbay mine if I had the Do-Re-Me...By the Bye, theres also a Zenith Stratosphere from 1936 that I'd about sell my soul for...But my soul wouldn't bring the $15K he wants for it...(grin)

[kx250rider]

I have a working one, but I'm not impressed with the picture as compared to the 3.7" Trinitron tube. Poor contrast. To find a working one is nearly impossible unless it's been recapped, and once they blow, the IC which blows, is no longer available.

I have mine for the same reason I have a 1982 Cadillac Diesel that RUNS. I don't watch the Indextron because it will probably fail the next time I try to turn it on, and I don't drive the Cadillac because it already is pushing 2000 miles on the head gaskets, which is borrowed time ;-).

Charles

[Sandy G]

2K miles on a set of head gaskets ? SOMEBODY up there LIKES-or hates you Charles, dependin' on how you wanna look at it...(grin)

[jstout66]

HAHA Charles!
Ya.. I wouldn't turn down a working Indextron or a CT-100. I tend to like things that in hind site, weren't the manufactures best choice to put on the market.
The CT-100 can be forgiven because hey... it WAS RCA's 1st attempt
The Indextron.... well, if Sony would have had a decent cap supplier for that set.
Ahhhhhh those 80's GM diesels.... Now THAT was a blunder!
When I was 15, our Drivers ED car was an 81 Caprice with that wonderful diesel.
Now totally off the subject... but what is your opinion on the Cadillac 4-6-8 option.?
I remember thinking that body style of Caddy was so cool, and thinking that option would have been PRIMO!