Hi all,

If anyone is interested, there are about a dozen 12" TEMPEST TE-12M B&W portable television sets in the top of a dumpster at TAFE, Port Macquarie. They are interesting sets, with a plastic wood grain case, VHF turret tuner, UHF tuner and telescopic antenna. I would guess that they are from the 1980's/early 90's.

A search on the internet has turned up nothing on this brand, so these could be rather uncommon little tellies to run into. If anyone is interested, I can email you a map and directions to find them.

I only have one, but will try to rescue one or two more tomorrow. I don't know when the dumpster will be emptied, but probably soon, as it is pretty full (with the televisions on the very top).

Cheers,

Chris

Tempest were a commonplace 'cheapie' brand during the 1980s.

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A valve a day keeps the transistor away...

Hi Brad,

Thanks for uploading the pictures and the info! Do you know of any information about them? I've done a lot of searching on the internet, but the only results I get are for some television show called 'Tempest', and some results for e-waste recycling. Don't know why I get the e-waste results though.

They're certainly cheaply made sets, but I like the look of them, and there don't seem to be too many around. I also love the woodgrain finish, even if it's fake!

Do you know how you turn these sets on and off? I think it's like a usual set, where you use the volume knob for power. The knob on my sets doesn't seem to turn off though...

Chris

It might pull out for on and push in for off.

That set looks like used to hang from a ceiling bracket in a classroom. If that is the case then it probably had a wired remote control like a hotel or hospital MATV system. Check the back for a weird socket like DIN or D format. More modern sets had/have ethernet sockets for this purpose.

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A valve a day keeps the transistor away...

Brad, that's my guess as to the bracket on the top. These would've most likely been classroom sets once-upon-a-time. Mind you, 12" is pretty small for a classroom set, but maybe they had several set up per room. The only reason TAFE kept all these old sets is because some of the kids in the electrical courses would pull them apart and re-assemble them as part of their training.

As for the jacks, there are only four antenna screw terminals on the rear (two VHF, two UHF).

Chris

I think that "Tempest" AV items were among the first Chinese-made electronics to be sold in either K-Mart or Big W, maybe other places. I still have a basic LED
clock radio somewhere from about 1990.

It is one of those brand names that sounds better in the original Chinese than it does in English translation. Do you really want a storm in your electronic appliance? Up into the 1980s, the top brand of valve radios in China had the brand "Spring Thunder", which sounds poetic in the original but for the export models conjured up thoughts of explosive disaster.

On the other hand, Nissan's first entry into the Australian car market was branded the "Cedric", which at that time was common local slang for a wuss with suspect romantic interests.

Maven

Chris could you grab one for me? I like the styling

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"I'd rather have a CRT than nothing" - me
"people just throw working CRTs out, it is NOT FUNNY!" -me

Nathan, I don't know if there are any left. I'll keep an eye out when I go to TAFE on thursday.

Chris