Somewhat Mystery Magnavox 60's color set

[Whirled One]

Hi all,

I picked up this Magnavox color set at an estate sale this weekend. The sale was actually at a former TV repair shop which had probably been closed (or at least out of the TV repair business) since the 1980's. Any real 'gems' among TV stuff had evidently been pretty well picked through at one time/point or another, but there were still a few somewhat interesting items. Among them was this Magnavox, which was found among a group of very beat-up TVs, all of which appeared to have kept around only as "donor sets," as most had obvious missing parts and the store owner had marked the CRT type somewhere on the cabinet on each one (I assume for reference so that the CRT could be used in the future to replace one in a customer's set).

This Magnavox is pretty rough looking, but I guess I sorta liked the "mini console" style wood cabinet, and it seemed pretty early for a 19" rectangular color. Also, it was only $2.50 (it was half-price day), so I figured it was worth a shot if only for educational value. Also, unlike most of these sets, this one looked pretty much untouched and complete, even after pulling the back cover. One thing that I thought was odd, though, was that the CRT number marked on the cabinet by the shop was a Japanese type number (490GB22). I don't think I've ever seen a large USA-made set from that era by a domestic manufacturer that uses a Japanese CRT. The CRT itself has no markings I can see other than a Magnavox tag pasted on it, which has only a serial number.

The cabinet of the set has the usual Magnavox little cardboard tag with the model number and other ID information. The tag indicates the model number as 10T510G, but I couldn't find anything like that in the SAMS index. I couldn't find a chassis number anywhere. However, I did notice a hand-written number ("887-2") penciled on the inside of the cabinet, probably by the shop owner long ago. Assuming this to be the Sams photofact number, I checked, and, sure enough, that is the folder for a Magnavox color TV. Also, I already happen to have that Photofact set, so I dug it out, and indeed, it appears to cover this TV. However, the model numbers and chassis numbers on the Photofact don't come close to matching any numbers I can see on this TV, so I'm not certain. This same chassis was used on a large number of individual Magnavox models, including 23" and 25" sets. The CRT for the 19" version is listed as 490GB22 (same as that written on the set by the shop owner), but also as standard US types 19EXP22 and 19EYP22.

I haven't tried powering it up yet. I want to check it over a little bit first, as it looked like every other TV in that shop had some sort of "gotcha" waiting to happen to whatever unwary individual that might come along to try to plug it in without looking.

Anyone know anything else about this TV? I'm not very familiar with older Magnavox color sets.

Oh, one other thing. The CRT looks like it has a frosted finish, and the face is rather scratched up in the center. Will Novus polish work on this, or will it just make it look worse?

By the way, it's been a few years since I've been here. I kinda fell out of the community for a while, mostly due to some Real Life stuff. I'll probably end up just popping in and out, but I'll try to keep in more than I had been the past couple of years. Thanks!

[RobtWB]

i think i have the same set ... let me look through my pics

well it's close ...

[holmesuser01]

Thats a sweet old set. I'd love to have it! Good luck with it!

[DavGoodlin]

It sure looks like a chassis used in a 25" set as well.
Look for a T931, T939 or similar number on that small tag.
Mag model numbers are usually not found in the sams indexes.

Like most Mags of that vintage, the original CRTs were not very durable and may have been replaced.

[Whirled One]

RobtWB, that set does look very similar, especially the chassis. The cabinet on yours is certainly in nice shape! :thumbsp: The front panel style has a more modern appearance though. Wonder how long Magnavox continued with this chassis?

Your pictures do remind me; one thing my set is missing is the built-in antenna; mine just has empty holes in the cabinet where the telescoping antenna rods once were. I noticed that before I bought the set, which was one reason I checked the inside to make sure nothing else looked to be missing.

By the way, among the service controls on the back is a switch labeled "Chromatone". Looking at the schematic, it appears to be one of those controls that was briefly popular that adds a color tint to B&W pictures, although in this case it would affect color transmissions as well. I guess I'll find out once it's powered up. I'm surprised that a switch like that wouldn't be more prominently located, since I'm sure that was a "sales point" for this TV.

Incidentally, there are threaded sockets on the bottom of the cabinet evidently for attaching legs to make it into a consolette of sorts. Unfortunately, part of the cabinet bottom is sort of bashed up and took one of the leg mounts with it, so I guess I won't be doing that with this set anyway.

Thanks for posting the pics, RobtWB!

[Whirled One]

Incidentally, the CRT checks out OK on my B&K 466. Red has the lowest emission, and reads at about 71 on the 100 scale; blue is highest and goes over 80. Certainly good enough. Life test (cutting off the heater voltage while continuing to read emission) on the red gun (since it was the weakest) was acceptable, though not really fantastic. So, at least things look pretty good from that perspective.

[RobtWB]

have not powered on my set in a couple of years ...
right now it is in storage in a utility closet
i was fortunate enough to stumble upon the original owners manual while browsing through papers at the estate sale i got the set from
i seem to remember that my set has brackets on its bottom for screw in legs

picked up another maggie tube set at same sale but it was far gone ... it has resided outdoors for 2 years now ... has slide rule uhf tuner

[bgadow]

I have a used Magnavox branded tube that was made in Japan, with the metric numbers-I think it is the same 19" equivalent. Pulled it from the attic of a closed TV shop. The compact size helps this TV, in my opinion. I'd probably have to make room for it at that price!

And, good to hear from you, Whirled One. Your Portacolor site still gets referenced on a regular basis.

[old_tv_nut]

That greenish face would say its a sulfide tube, pre-rare-earth. Being rectangular as well, that particular tube must not have been built for too many years

[radiotvnut]

I had one or two of those compact 19" Magnavox TV like this one, a long time ago. One had a toasted CRT, complete with a brightener hanging off of it, and I ended up junking it. The other one had a bunch of chassis problems, along with a not-so-great CRT. That one was also junked. Today, I would go to more effort to try and save them.

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by RobtWB

i think i have the same set ... let me look through my pics

well it's close ...

I had one of those as well, when I used to buy and sell used sets.
It had a Japanese CRT which was wasted. I replaced it with a 19EYP22.
There was a tube number on a Magnavox label, with the letters NEC.
There was a label stating that it was built under license of CBS labs.