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Old 18th Feb 2018, 9:55 pm   #1
Colourstar
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Default RGD 'Diadem' Range

Here's a good gimmick from the early 60s- a screen surround shaped to reduce eye strain. In case the brochure is illegible, the blurb reads:

"RGD's 19" television screens with 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 facets revolutionise television viewing. They spotlight the picture and make viewing easy by cutting eye strain and fatigue down to virtually nil. Heres how: Each of the eight facets of the frame acts as a trap preventing loss of light through diffusion, thus reducing what Eye Specialists call 'Specular Glare'. The octagonal frame optically increases the screen size, again reducing what the specialists call 'Fixity of Gaze'. It all adds up to a new dimension in television - viewing perfection"

Surely one of the greatest pieces of sales puff of all time! Still, the sets look quite pretty although I don't think I've ever seen one of them in the flesh. Do any survive? Also what (or whose) chassis did they use?

Steve
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Old 18th Feb 2018, 11:34 pm   #2
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Default Re: RGD 'Diadem' Range

I bet that took some time for the sales department to come up with that slickly written piece of pure nonsense
Would RGD have used ITT/KB (handwired in Footscray) chassis at that time?
It's great to see these brochures- maybe we ought to have a sticky thread where they could all be collected together?
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Old 18th Feb 2018, 11:57 pm   #3
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Default Re: RGD 'Diadem' Range

The 1961 Diadem range of TVs employed a 405 line chassis which looked in terms of construction like the 625/405 convertible chassis. A similar chassis was fitted in the Regentone models 191 and 192. Diadem is a silly concept but at the time manufactures were willing to try any gimmick to sell sets, 1961 was a bad year for the industry.
The big 723 employed a chassis similar to the Regentone model 17/18 which in turn was a development of the model Ten-Four.
These sets were made in the Regentone works in Romford.

DFWB.
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Old 19th Feb 2018, 7:02 am   #4
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Default Re: RGD 'Diadem' Range

I take it the '1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 facets' were just some features in the bezel surrounding the screen?
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Old 19th Feb 2018, 10:25 am   #5
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Default Re: RGD 'Diadem' Range

Quote:
Diadem is a silly concept but at the time manufactures were willing to try any gimmick to sell sets, 1961 was a bad year for the industry.
I actually owned one of these sets back in the 70's, I remember the odd screen bezel.
A pretty far fetched piece of marketing BS

Does anyone remember the KB 'Deep Scene' range with it's claims of picture quality?
All the sets I ever came across had knackered CRT's due to the fact they were over run due to the black perspex screen, cool looking set though.

Mark
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Old 19th Feb 2018, 10:43 am   #6
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Default Re: RGD 'Diadem' Range

Fascinating! Marketeers were always seeking to baffle the customers with pseudoscience in the search for greater sales.

As well as this RGD thing and the Sylvania (US) 'Halolight' illuminated screen-surround, I'm sure there were other gimmicks.
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Old 19th Feb 2018, 11:02 am   #7
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Default Re: RGD 'Diadem' Range

Mark Pirate wrote: "I actually owned one of these sets back in the 70's, I remember the odd screen bezel.
A pretty far fetched piece of marketing BS"

I can remember these sets when they were new in 1961. Even then we questioned what the benefits of the "Diadem"eight facet screen were all about. Picture of the later version of the KB Deep Scene TV.

DFWB.
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Old 19th Feb 2018, 8:02 pm   #8
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Default Re: RGD 'Diadem' Range

Quote:
Originally Posted by G6Tanuki View Post
Fascinating! Marketeers were always seeking to baffle the customers with pseudoscience in the search for greater sales.

As well as this RGD thing and the Sylvania (US) 'Halolight' illuminated screen-surround, I'm sure there were other gimmicks.
I think Ferguson in the U.K. had a halo light tv, be sometime in the 1950’s.

Much later, 80’s? Philips had different coloured lights shining on the wall behind the set.
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Old 19th Feb 2018, 8:43 pm   #9
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Default Re: RGD 'Diadem' Range

Philips Ambilight. It's a current feature.
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Old 19th Feb 2018, 8:48 pm   #10
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Default Re: RGD 'Diadem' Range

Picture of the later version of the KB Deep Scene TV.

Correction: it's the first version. The later model had a tidied up control panel.

DFWB.
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Old 19th Feb 2018, 9:57 pm   #11
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Default Re: RGD 'Diadem' Range

Black oroglass, Polaroid screen, 'Diadem', filter screen, pink screen, grey screen, Halolight. I've serviced them all! The 619 did look pretty. The push button tuner was an absolute horror but other than a NASTY video amp burn up, were quite reliable for their time. John.
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Old 19th Feb 2018, 10:34 pm   #12
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Default Re: RGD 'Diadem' Range

Hello Gents,

Here's my RGD version of the 'Deep Scene', fortunately the CRT in mine has more life in it than many others I've seen or read about. I've never seen the 'Diadem' before!

Regards

Stu
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Old 19th Feb 2018, 11:02 pm   #13
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Default Re: RGD 'Diadem' Range

In 1958 RGD introduced the Deep 17 TV set. Again, just a marketing gimmick.

DFWB.
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Old 20th Feb 2018, 11:40 am   #14
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Default Re: RGD 'Diadem' Range

Quote:
Black oroglass, Polaroid screen, 'Diadem', filter screen, pink screen, grey screen, Halolight. I've serviced them all!
I have a few sets in my collection using some of these gimmicks, notably the Pam 600F with the Polaroid screen. Sitting side by side with my Philips 17TG100U it gives a much more contrasty picture as shown in the photo below. (both sets use the same 17" CRT).

Going back a decade, I have a couple of the Pye & Ferguson models with the pink screen, this again was supposed to give better contrast by filtering out room lighting.

I am sure that some of these different screen filters did make a difference, but some manufacturers never produced any such sets. Bush sets never seemed to have any added marketing gimmicks, but judging by how well they sold, did not need them!

Mark
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Old 20th Feb 2018, 2:46 pm   #15
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Default Re: RGD 'Diadem' Range

...unless you count the living fire gimmick of the Bush CTV25!
As said above, the Philips Ambilight was another silly idea with varying coloured tubes behind the TV. Last seen around 2010, though Maarten will surely be more informed.
Glyn
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Old 20th Feb 2018, 3:58 pm   #16
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Default Re: RGD 'Diadem' Range

HKS wrote: The push button tuner was an absolute horror but other than a NASTY video amp burn up, were quite reliable for their time. John.

The push-button tuner was the horrible Cyldon PC80. It was used in earlier Regentone and RGD TVs. Regentone called the tuner "fingermatic" how about that for gimmicky name? Receivers with the rotary channel selection employed the reliable "fireball " tuner.
The resistor that used to cause the burn-up was R35, a 27Kohm 2watt carbon resistor which was connected between the cathode of the PCL84 video amplifier and HT. The function of the resistor was to introduce a degree of DC stabilising into the cathode bias.
A similar chassis was used in one Co-op Defiant TV, even in 625 convertible form.

DFWB.
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Old 20th Feb 2018, 4:52 pm   #17
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Default Re: RGD 'Diadem' Range

The stabilising resistor was used in Ekco chassis, T368 and the like, that was a 27k 2 watt if I remember correctly and that burned up.
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