Best CRT colour TV? - Page 6 - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

hans · 20th Jun 2016, 12:42 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Welsh Anorak

So we are looking for a set with stunning performance and good looks that rarely went wrong and, when it did, was easy and rewarding to repair.

The only set that I can come to think of that has a good combination of the aboved must be the late 70's BO sets.

They had good (but not the best) picture quality. (I think some had "HIFI" speakers.) They were the best looking. I never had a problem fixing them, and since they were expensive (and good looking) I made good profit on them.

Hybrid tellies · 22nd Jun 2016, 3:09 pm

To tick all three boxes is certainly difficult. For looks you will have to remove most TV's made from the mid 1980's, horrible ugly black/charcoal or silver boxes.
For performance looks and reasonable reliability you have to go back to the 1970's. I nominate the Decca Bradford and the excellent ITT/KB CVC5/9 chassis. We loved them as they were great to work on when they did break down. Our customers were also very happy with their looks and performance.
As part of the engineering team we all had that critical eye and I think it was an equal 50% split for those of us that owned either a Decca or ITT.

Clydeuk · 22nd Jun 2016, 8:34 pm

In my opinion the CVC5/9 was the best of the hybrid's, we were seeing these coming for service into the 1990's. The 20 inch ones I encountered always had a great tube and picture quality. In contrast most of the Bradfords and Philips G8's we saw at this point had tired CRT's. Was this because of the Mullard tubes or was the ITT just kinder on it's tube?

Maarten · 22nd Jun 2016, 10:41 pm

What tubes were in it? German ITT tubes weren't too good.

Clydeuk · 22nd Jun 2016, 10:52 pm

Most of the CVC5/9's I saw were 20 inch models, I can't remember what tubes were fitted though I have a feeling they might have been Japanese? I did see one with a Thorn New Life regunned tube, which I think wasn't too good. I don't remember seeing any 22 inch ones, but it's all a distant memory now. The Bradford and G8 sets used the Mullard A56-120X and by the 90's most of the survivors were flat.

hans · 22nd Jun 2016, 11:54 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maarten

What tubes were in it? German ITT tubes weren't too good.

The smaller (ITT/SEL) tubes better than the larger ones. 99% of the ITT sets I worked on were German. There might be different tubes in UK sets.

To be fair: Allmost all of the ITT sets were 10+ years when I worked on them.

FERNSEH · 23rd Jun 2016, 9:51 am

Anyone mentioned the Ferguson TX10? Best models for picture quality were those fitted with the Mullard 30AX CRT.
The chassis can be modified for RGB drives. S4 CRT is good but the 30AX display is better.

DFWB.

mhennessy · 23rd Jun 2016, 10:40 am

I preferred the pictures from a K30, even though mine had less good EHT regulation than the TX10. But the TX10 obviously had the advantage of the isolated chassis. My uncle - who worked in Enfield at the time - gave me a TX10 (with an almost dead CRT) along with a teletext and frequency-synthesis board from a TX100, and a bare PCB for a Scart interface (totally undocumented), and I made them all work together when I should have been studying for my A-levels. Learnt a lot about TVs during that time...

When the TX10 was finished, I transferred the good CRT from my K30, but after a month or two, I put it back in the Philips! It might have been different if we'd been using digital set top boxes or DVD players, but in 1990, all we had was analogue off-air, and the K30 was just so much better at dealing with those signals. I think I slightly offended my uncle at the time. He did the tuner design

Along with various Sony sets, I used a K35 until about 6 years ago. I gave it away on this forum, and the new owner gave it away a few years later. Hopefully it's still alive. I modified the Scart input to take RGB, which was well worth doing. The teletext printer was working, but sadly not much use today...

Goldieoldie · 23rd Jun 2016, 8:39 pm

Hi
I remember in the 70,s there were Finlandia TVs .They seemed to be quite good quality and produced a nice sharp image .Also Very reliable.
There were valves certainly in the lopt stage but can't remember if they were hybrid.
I think they were rented out by Granada ,anybody remember those ?
Cheers Pete

Welsh Anorak · 24th Jun 2016, 1:07 pm

Hmm.
Not sure I've ever seen a hybrid Finlandia - it was Granada's badge for the Salora sets they imported. The most popular was the Salora-J chassis (with the IPSALO PSU) though I have seen the earlier G and H chassis - both solid state. Maybe they badged the hybrid Luxor set as a Finlandia?
There also was the K chassis - vertical chassis and not too bad to work on, then the horizontal M-chassis which used the ITT digital chipset and their own dry joints! There was an N-series, with an inflammable LOPT and a PCB made of toast - not their best moment.
Glyn

22nd Jun 2016, 3:09 pm	#102
Hybrid tellies Nonode Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: 1966-1976 Coverack in Cornwall and Helston Cornwall. 1976-present Bristol/Bath area. Posts: 2,967	Re: Best CRT colour TV? To tick all three boxes is certainly difficult. For looks you will have to remove most TV's made from the mid 1980's, horrible ugly black/charcoal or silver boxes. For performance looks and reasonable reliability you have to go back to the 1970's. I nominate the Decca Bradford and the excellent ITT/KB CVC5/9 chassis. We loved them as they were great to work on when they did break down. Our customers were also very happy with their looks and performance. As part of the engineering team we all had that critical eye and I think it was an equal 50% split for those of us that owned either a Decca or ITT. __________________ Simon BVWS member

22nd Jun 2016, 8:34 pm	#103
Clydeuk Hexode Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Liverpool, Merseyside, UK. Posts: 453	Re: Best CRT colour TV? In my opinion the CVC5/9 was the best of the hybrid's, we were seeing these coming for service into the 1990's. The 20 inch ones I encountered always had a great tube and picture quality. In contrast most of the Bradfords and Philips G8's we saw at this point had tired CRT's. Was this because of the Mullard tubes or was the ITT just kinder on it's tube?

22nd Jun 2016, 10:41 pm	#104
Maarten Dekatron Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Haarlem, Netherlands Posts: 4,203	Re: Best CRT colour TV? What tubes were in it? German ITT tubes weren't too good.

22nd Jun 2016, 10:52 pm	#105
Clydeuk Hexode Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Liverpool, Merseyside, UK. Posts: 453	Re: Best CRT colour TV? Most of the CVC5/9's I saw were 20 inch models, I can't remember what tubes were fitted though I have a feeling they might have been Japanese? I did see one with a Thorn New Life regunned tube, which I think wasn't too good. I don't remember seeing any 22 inch ones, but it's all a distant memory now. The Bradford and G8 sets used the Mullard A56-120X and by the 90's most of the survivors were flat.

23rd Jun 2016, 9:51 am	#107
FERNSEH Dekatron Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, UK. Posts: 7,444	Re: Best CRT colour TV? Anyone mentioned the Ferguson TX10? Best models for picture quality were those fitted with the Mullard 30AX CRT. The chassis can be modified for RGB drives. S4 CRT is good but the 30AX display is better. DFWB.

23rd Jun 2016, 10:40 am	#108
mhennessy Dekatron Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Evesham, Worcestershire, UK. Posts: 4,244	Re: Best CRT colour TV? I preferred the pictures from a K30, even though mine had less good EHT regulation than the TX10. But the TX10 obviously had the advantage of the isolated chassis. My uncle - who worked in Enfield at the time - gave me a TX10 (with an almost dead CRT) along with a teletext and frequency-synthesis board from a TX100, and a bare PCB for a Scart interface (totally undocumented), and I made them all work together when I should have been studying for my A-levels. Learnt a lot about TVs during that time... When the TX10 was finished, I transferred the good CRT from my K30, but after a month or two, I put it back in the Philips! It might have been different if we'd been using digital set top boxes or DVD players, but in 1990, all we had was analogue off-air, and the K30 was just so much better at dealing with those signals. I think I slightly offended my uncle at the time. He did the tuner design Along with various Sony sets, I used a K35 until about 6 years ago. I gave it away on this forum, and the new owner gave it away a few years later. Hopefully it's still alive. I modified the Scart input to take RGB, which was well worth doing. The teletext printer was working, but sadly not much use today...

23rd Jun 2016, 8:39 pm	#109
Goldieoldie Octode Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: Petersfield, Hampshire, UK. Posts: 1,043	Re: Best CRT colour TV? Hi I remember in the 70,s there were Finlandia TVs .They seemed to be quite good quality and produced a nice sharp image .Also Very reliable. There were valves certainly in the lopt stage but can't remember if they were hybrid. I think they were rented out by Granada ,anybody remember those ? Cheers Pete

24th Jun 2016, 1:07 pm	#110
Welsh Anorak Dekatron Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: North Wales, UK. Posts: 6,925	Re: Best CRT colour TV? Hmm. Not sure I've ever seen a hybrid Finlandia - it was Granada's badge for the Salora sets they imported. The most popular was the Salora-J chassis (with the IPSALO PSU) though I have seen the earlier G and H chassis - both solid state. Maybe they badged the hybrid Luxor set as a Finlandia? There also was the K chassis - vertical chassis and not too bad to work on, then the horizontal M-chassis which used the ITT digital chipset and their own dry joints! There was an N-series, with an inflammable LOPT and a PCB made of toast - not their best moment. Glyn