Welcome to Australia's only Vintage Radio and Television discussion forums. You are not logged in. Please log in below, apply for an account or retrieve your password.
Australian Vintage Radio Forums
  Home  ·  About Us  ·  Discussion Forums  ·  Glossary  ·  Outside Links  ·  Policies  ·  Services Directory  ·  Safety Warnings  ·  Tutorials

Vintage Television

Forum home - Go back to Vintage Television

 General Electric CRT TV - Model TF-1
« Back · 1 · 2 · Next »
 Return to top of page · Post #: 1 · Written at 9:19:18 PM on 12 November 2014.
Weee Ben's Gravatar
 Location: Melbourne, VIC
 Member since 2 January 2014
 Member #: 1477
 Postcount: 31

Hii Guy's, remember me? I had a few radio's I sold here once and a couple of you came over and we talked TV's for a while.

Anyway, I been scrapping like a lunatic as usual, CRT's have certainly slowed up on the scrap heaps, most i'm getting now are one's forgotten about in the shed.

This one here is a General Electric portable telly, model TF-1

 photo 104_1784_zps6de79e7a.jpg

Not sure why the screen is yellowish.

 photo 104_1785_zpsdfb1dcb3.jpg

 photo 104_1787_zpsbf2e6907.jpg

 photo 104_1789_zps44ae11fd.jpg

 photo 104_1791_zpscd21bf5a.jpg

So what have I got? it's got some damage to the base. looks like it could of been dropped.

Would this have any sale value of should I just scrap it?


 
 Return to top of page · Post #: 2 · Written at 9:25:27 PM on 12 November 2014.
Brad's avatar
 Administrator
 Location: Naremburn, NSW
 Member since 15 November 2005
 Member #: 1
 Postcount: 7290

The colour of the phosphor is a mystery to me but the other marks on the screen looks to me like the neck on the picture tube has been broken - perhaps when it was dropped. Definitely do not power up this set until the integrity of the picture tube, and the telly in general, has been checked. Also, if the picture tube is busted be careful about how it is handled. Inside are many hazardous materials, namely lead, cadmium, the phosphor coating and mercury.


‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
A valve a day keeps the transistor away...

 
 Return to top of page · Post #: 3 · Written at 9:55:09 PM on 12 November 2014.
Weee Ben's Gravatar
 Location: Melbourne, VIC
 Member since 2 January 2014
 Member #: 1477
 Postcount: 31

Ok thanks.

I don't have the plug anyway, I believe this one required an external transformer and the model afterwards had it built in. so the plug is a two pronged circular pin thing.

I've done a lot of crt's so i'm used to handling them with broken tubes, If no-one thinks it's worth trying to sell it then i'll open it up and have a look, maybe the board itself might come in handy to someone.


 
 Return to top of page · Post #: 4 · Written at 10:00:42 PM on 12 November 2014.
TV Collector's Gravatar
 Location: Ballarat, VIC
 Member since 4 January 2011
 Member #: 803
 Postcount: 456

Don't scrap it, it's worth selling!

Glad to see you back Ben. I'd be interested in saving this set, it's small enough to make room for it. Your right, it needs an external power transformer to run it. The strange screen colour is probably due to the plastic screen guard fitted over the CRT.


 
 Return to top of page · Post #: 5 · Written at 12:34:55 AM on 13 November 2014.
Weee Ben's Gravatar
 Location: Melbourne, VIC
 Member since 2 January 2014
 Member #: 1477
 Postcount: 31

Thanks, ok no worries, i'll put it aside for you, lmk when you'd like to pick it up, weekends are best.


 
 Return to top of page · Post #: 6 · Written at 10:11:25 PM on 13 November 2014.
TV Collector's Gravatar
 Location: Ballarat, VIC
 Member since 4 January 2011
 Member #: 803
 Postcount: 456

Thanks, I'll let you know a time when I'm picking it up. It will be sometime this weekend.


 
 Return to top of page · Post #: 7 · Written at 11:44:16 PM on 22 November 2014.
NewVista's avatar
 Location: Silver City WI, US
 Member since 10 May 2013
 Member #: 1340
 Postcount: 977

I don't have the plug anyway

Chassis power connector is 1960s style US polarized standard for AC cord (I have these cords if you need)
Similar to earlier non polarized version.


 
 Return to top of page · Post #: 8 · Written at 8:08:50 PM on 28 January 2015.
TV Collector's Gravatar
 Location: Ballarat, VIC
 Member since 4 January 2011
 Member #: 803
 Postcount: 456

This little GE portable lives again.

After a complete strip down and a thorough wash in detergent the case cleaned up to near new condition again. It is no longer nicotine stained brown but a pleasant mid grey colour. The CRT is coated with a plastic film that has reacted to the nicotine turning the film permanently yellow. It's not so noticeable once the set is running.

Electrically, very little has needed to be done. After letting the electrolytic capacitors reform on a reduced voltage supply it fired up with no fuss. The controls were very noisy a common problem with this model. A quick spray of contact cleaner sorted out the worst of the problems and the TV was displaying a decent picture. Only remaining issue is poor vertical sync stability.


 
 Return to top of page · Post #: 9 · Written at 7:33:22 PM on 12 February 2015.
Labrat's avatar
 Location: Penrith, NSW
 Member since 7 April 2012
 Member #: 1128
 Postcount: 368

I just thought that I would add a little comment to this thread.

In 1977, I was doing Field Service, driving an old H.R. panel van with a mattress in the back, as the service vehicle. The boss called it the "Blue Flash". An amazing vehicle. I would pull into a service station and say to the attendant "Fill up the oil, and check the petrol" To younger members, back in those days, SERVICE STATION, meant that YOU, were given service. The attendant would greet you and ask what you would like, he would pump your petrol , check your oil (a big profit maker) clean your windscreen, and take your money, and return with your change.

Whenever a set could not be fixed in the customer's home, a loan set was offered. My loan set was one of these, General Electrical sets, with the external transformer. The transformer reminds me of the Starwars fighter craft.

These little sets, and they were little, compared to other sets of the time, used Compacteron valves. I still have a set of them. The horizontal output valve, what was it called? a 38HE7? Well the heat from this valve would bake the case of the set causing it to become brittle and break revealing the valve inside.

The most common fault would be dead! No heaters. Almost always in a series heater string it would be caused by either the horizontal output valve, or the boost diode valve. The other most replaced item on this set was the the pot unit (Height, hold lin)? Available back then.

Wayne


 
 Return to top of page · Post #: 10 · Written at 9:38:45 PM on 12 February 2015.
GTC's avatar
 GTC
 Location: Sydney, NSW
 Member since 28 January 2011
 Member #: 823
 Postcount: 6678

The attendant would greet you and ask what you would like, he would pump your petrol , check your oil (a big profit maker) clean your windscreen, and take your money, and return with your change.

add to that :Ask if you wanted a shot of Redex, and would put air in tyres that needed it.

Many people had a monthly account with their local servo (and there would often be a servo on every corner of a major intersection), which came in very handy during the numerous petrol tanker driver and oil refinery strikes of the 1970s and the associated petrol shortages when many stations put up signs "account customers only".


 
 Return to top of page · Post #: 11 · Written at 11:08:43 PM on 12 February 2015.
Brad's avatar
 Administrator
 Location: Naremburn, NSW
 Member since 15 November 2005
 Member #: 1
 Postcount: 7290

There's still a corner servo at the intersection of Miller Street and Falcon Street in North Sydney. Like the rest, it is self-serve these days though.

The brightly lit 'plastic' servos that are more common these days are just a licence to print money. They might not be making much from the petrol on a per litre basis but they more than make up for it with the price of groceries, sweets, lolly water and the hot food bar. They also have a much greater market share these days, with the number of servos in a given area being less than half of the number in business 20 years ago, not to mention a much larger number of people.


‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
A valve a day keeps the transistor away...

 
 Return to top of page · Post #: 12 · Written at 11:56:11 PM on 12 February 2015.
GTC's avatar
 GTC
 Location: Sydney, NSW
 Member since 28 January 2011
 Member #: 823
 Postcount: 6678

There's still a corner servo at the intersection of Miller Street and Falcon Street in North Sydney. Like the rest, it is self-serve these days though.

The bloke who owned that servo for decades (name escapes me) was quite a character, known for his witty slogans on his sign board on the footpath. The one I will never forget during the worst of the protracted petrol strikes was "Alas, no gas".


 
 Return to top of page · Post #: 13 · Written at 7:32:19 PM on 13 February 2015.
Brad's avatar
 Administrator
 Location: Naremburn, NSW
 Member since 15 November 2005
 Member #: 1
 Postcount: 7290

Yeah, the good old days - strike at the refineries, followed by secondary boycotts from the TWU followed by rationing - even number plates today and odd number plates tomorrow. The tanks would empty out at the servos then people would cram onto the buses, then the blokes who refill the buses at the depots would go on strike, pushing people onto trains and then the train drivers would walk off the job claiming it was too stressful. The government would then let cabbies double-hire to discourage them walking out. Great times the 1970s. Smile


‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
A valve a day keeps the transistor away...

 
 Return to top of page · Post #: 14 · Written at 12:35:37 PM on 2 October 2016.
Irext's avatar
 Location: Werribee South, VIC
 Member since 30 September 2016
 Member #: 1981
 Postcount: 470

Back in the day when I fixed consumer electronics (1974-1981) I repaired quite a few of the GE TF-1 sets. Seeing those photos brought back some memories. They are 110V and have a satellite transformer for 240V operation. Most techs hated them because they were so crammed in and difficult to work on. I actually didn't mind working on them and they produced a very respectable piccy once all their I'lls were sorted out. A lot of problems were heat related but the Compactron valves and the CRT seemed to last pretty well. To me it was a feat of engineering at the time to get all that stuff into such a small space. They were also very light. Obtaining the Compactron valves would be difficult I reckon. I've never seen them on Ebay. Good luck.


 
 Return to top of page · Post #: 15 · Written at 5:59:08 PM on 2 October 2016.
FrankR's Gravatar
 Location: Ballarat, VIC
 Member since 23 December 2013
 Member #: 1469
 Postcount: 11

I fixed plenty of these sets, among stacks of others of course, working as a TV tech in years gone by. However those compactron valves were an absolute dog of a thing! Inherent instability due to the close proximity of the multiple electrodes within the small glass envelope, they ran extremely hot, and failed if you so much as looked at the set the wrong way when it was running. Add to that that every time you did replace one of them, there was always need of adjustment, as no two compactrons of the same type ever seemed to have the same characteristics!

Contrast that to the all Australian set of the same era, the AWA P1, also all valve, but using conventional valves in a similar sized cabinet. They ran much cooler, produced a far superior picture, and rarely needed servicing, except for the line output valve, a 6CM5 as I recall. Those were the days when we designed and built our own TV's in Australia, using parts designed and manufactured in our own local factories. Generally Australian sets were at the leading edge for reliability and design, and well worth the premium price that they attracted - you'd save twice the difference in servicing costs in the first couple of years!


 
« Back · 1 · 2 · Next »
 You need to be a member to post comments on this forum.

Sign In

Username:
Password:
 Keep me logged in.
Do not tick box on a computer with public access.