I just purchased a used General Electric TV at a church market and would like to know the approximate date of its manufacture as its date tag on the back is not there. The TV's date tag is missing on the back cover; however, I have the following information to help determine the model year: the model number is NAA5901WD, the chassis is AA-E, the TV is a 13" color set with two seperate VHF/UHF tuners, the cabinet is woodgrained with black trim, the back cover says "The attractive cabinet of this television receiver is made of molded plastic Polymers to provide the ultimate in sculptured beauty", and on the front it says "Performance Television" with the familiar blue color GE logo and words General Electric. Made in College Park, Portsmouth, Virginia 23705. Any idea of the dat of manufacture?
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GE TV date of manufacture
- Thread starter alg2468
- Start date
> I just purchased a used General Electric TV at a church
> market and would like to know the approximate date of its
> manufacture as its date tag on the back is not there. The
> TV's date tag is missing on the back cover; however, I have
> the following information to help determine the model year:
> the model number is NAA5901WD, the chassis is AA-E, the TV
> is a 13" color set with two seperate VHF/UHF tuners, the
> cabinet is woodgrained with black trim, the back cover says
> "The attractive cabinet of this television receiver is made
> of molded plastic Polymers to provide the ultimate in
> sculptured beauty", and on the front it says "Performance
> Television" with the familiar blue color GE logo and words
> General Electric. Made in College Park, Portsmouth,
> Virginia 23705. Any idea of the dat of manufacture?
>
With out seeing it, it's a little hard to tell what you have, but I think you will find that it is actually a 10" set. I believe it was generically called a "10AA-E."
If it's what I think it is, GE brought this small portable color TV to market about the fall of 1966 and sold it through the rest of the decade in various trim and color schemes. It was quite revolutionary in it's day, probably the first small portable color TV. As I recall, it was a hybrid set. Mostly tubes with a few solid state devices. The picture tube was unusual. Rather than having the red, green and blue phosphors arranged in a triangular pattern, they were on the screen side by side. This greatly simplified convergence, which allowed the set to be very compact (and inexpensive) for its day. It was quite reasonably priced, about $199.00 retail, in an era when RCA's cheapest set was about $350.00. Keep in mind that $2.25 - $2.50 per hour was pretty good pay back then. $10,000 per year was a dream job. By the late 1960's, there were several "reasonably priced" color TV's which did a lot to put a color set in every home.
> market and would like to know the approximate date of its
> manufacture as its date tag on the back is not there. The
> TV's date tag is missing on the back cover; however, I have
> the following information to help determine the model year:
> the model number is NAA5901WD, the chassis is AA-E, the TV
> is a 13" color set with two seperate VHF/UHF tuners, the
> cabinet is woodgrained with black trim, the back cover says
> "The attractive cabinet of this television receiver is made
> of molded plastic Polymers to provide the ultimate in
> sculptured beauty", and on the front it says "Performance
> Television" with the familiar blue color GE logo and words
> General Electric. Made in College Park, Portsmouth,
> Virginia 23705. Any idea of the dat of manufacture?
>
With out seeing it, it's a little hard to tell what you have, but I think you will find that it is actually a 10" set. I believe it was generically called a "10AA-E."
If it's what I think it is, GE brought this small portable color TV to market about the fall of 1966 and sold it through the rest of the decade in various trim and color schemes. It was quite revolutionary in it's day, probably the first small portable color TV. As I recall, it was a hybrid set. Mostly tubes with a few solid state devices. The picture tube was unusual. Rather than having the red, green and blue phosphors arranged in a triangular pattern, they were on the screen side by side. This greatly simplified convergence, which allowed the set to be very compact (and inexpensive) for its day. It was quite reasonably priced, about $199.00 retail, in an era when RCA's cheapest set was about $350.00. Keep in mind that $2.25 - $2.50 per hour was pretty good pay back then. $10,000 per year was a dream job. By the late 1960's, there were several "reasonably priced" color TV's which did a lot to put a color set in every home.
> I just purchased a used General Electric TV at a church
> market and would like to know the approximate date of its
> manufacture as its date tag on the back is not there.
Good info on GE AA chassis TV's (midway down the page): http://www.rwhirled.com/portacolor/notPC.htm
(Hey, I know this thread's off-top for "radio engineering"...but what's a mother to do?)
> market and would like to know the approximate date of its
> manufacture as its date tag on the back is not there.
Good info on GE AA chassis TV's (midway down the page): http://www.rwhirled.com/portacolor/notPC.htm
(Hey, I know this thread's off-top for "radio engineering"...but what's a mother to do?)
The TV looks like a cross between these two TV sets (click on the links):
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3320&item=5785454216&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=15081&item=5785646008&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW
The TV is totally solid state and has no CATV type connector on the back; it's definitely a 13" screen. I found a GE TV brochure from 1984 and it looks quite similar to a 13" TV in the brochure.
> > I just purchased a used General Electric TV at a church
> > market and would like to know the approximate date of its
> > manufacture as its date tag on the back is not there. The
> > TV's date tag is missing on the back cover; however, I
> have
> > the following information to help determine the model
> year:
> > the model number is NAA5901WD, the chassis is AA-E, the TV
>
> > is a 13" color set with two seperate VHF/UHF tuners, the
> > cabinet is woodgrained with black trim, the back cover
> says
> > "The attractive cabinet of this television receiver is
> made
> > of molded plastic Polymers to provide the ultimate in
> > sculptured beauty", and on the front it says "Performance
> > Television" with the familiar blue color GE logo and words
>
> > General Electric. Made in College Park, Portsmouth,
> > Virginia 23705. Any idea of the dat of manufacture?
> >
>
> With out seeing it, it's a little hard to tell what you
> have, but I think you will find that it is actually a 10"
> set. I believe it was generically called a "10AA-E."
>
> If it's what I think it is, GE brought this small portable
> color TV to market about the fall of 1966 and sold it
> through the rest of the decade in various trim and color
> schemes. It was quite revolutionary in it's day, probably
> the first small portable color TV. As I recall, it was a
> hybrid set. Mostly tubes with a few solid state devices.
> The picture tube was unusual. Rather than having the red,
> green and blue phosphors arranged in a triangular pattern,
> they were on the screen side by side. This greatly
> simplified convergence, which allowed the set to be very
> compact (and inexpensive) for its day. It was quite
> reasonably priced, about $199.00 retail, in an era when
> RCA's cheapest set was about $350.00. Keep in mind that
> $2.25 - $2.50 per hour was pretty good pay back then.
> $10,000 per year was a dream job. By the late 1960's, there
> were several "reasonably priced" color TV's which did a lot
> to put a color set in every home.
>
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3320&item=5785454216&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=15081&item=5785646008&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW
The TV is totally solid state and has no CATV type connector on the back; it's definitely a 13" screen. I found a GE TV brochure from 1984 and it looks quite similar to a 13" TV in the brochure.
> > I just purchased a used General Electric TV at a church
> > market and would like to know the approximate date of its
> > manufacture as its date tag on the back is not there. The
> > TV's date tag is missing on the back cover; however, I
> have
> > the following information to help determine the model
> year:
> > the model number is NAA5901WD, the chassis is AA-E, the TV
>
> > is a 13" color set with two seperate VHF/UHF tuners, the
> > cabinet is woodgrained with black trim, the back cover
> says
> > "The attractive cabinet of this television receiver is
> made
> > of molded plastic Polymers to provide the ultimate in
> > sculptured beauty", and on the front it says "Performance
> > Television" with the familiar blue color GE logo and words
>
> > General Electric. Made in College Park, Portsmouth,
> > Virginia 23705. Any idea of the dat of manufacture?
> >
>
> With out seeing it, it's a little hard to tell what you
> have, but I think you will find that it is actually a 10"
> set. I believe it was generically called a "10AA-E."
>
> If it's what I think it is, GE brought this small portable
> color TV to market about the fall of 1966 and sold it
> through the rest of the decade in various trim and color
> schemes. It was quite revolutionary in it's day, probably
> the first small portable color TV. As I recall, it was a
> hybrid set. Mostly tubes with a few solid state devices.
> The picture tube was unusual. Rather than having the red,
> green and blue phosphors arranged in a triangular pattern,
> they were on the screen side by side. This greatly
> simplified convergence, which allowed the set to be very
> compact (and inexpensive) for its day. It was quite
> reasonably priced, about $199.00 retail, in an era when
> RCA's cheapest set was about $350.00. Keep in mind that
> $2.25 - $2.50 per hour was pretty good pay back then.
> $10,000 per year was a dream job. By the late 1960's, there
> were several "reasonably priced" color TV's which did a lot
> to put a color set in every home.
>
> The TV looks like a cross between these two TV sets (click
> on the links):
>
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll> ?ViewItem&category=3320&item=5785454216&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW
>
>
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?> ViewItem&category=15081&item=5785646008&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW
>
>
> The TV is totally solid state and has no CATV type connector
> on the back; it's definitely a 13" screen. I found a GE
> TV brochure from 1984 and it looks quite similar to a 13" TV
> in the brochure.
>
Well then, we know what it isn't, but thanks for making me think of the old GE "Porta-Color." It was at least "portable" in name, since it had a handle - that made TV's qualify as "portable" - but it isn't what you have.
Your set must be quite a bit newer. Maybe late 1970's or early 1980's. I'm not sure when GE sold their TV brand name to Thompson, but I think it was mid 1980's. I'm surprised your TV claims to be made in the USA.
> on the links):
>
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll> ?ViewItem&category=3320&item=5785454216&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW
>
>
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?> ViewItem&category=15081&item=5785646008&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW
>
>
> The TV is totally solid state and has no CATV type connector
> on the back; it's definitely a 13" screen. I found a GE
> TV brochure from 1984 and it looks quite similar to a 13" TV
> in the brochure.
>
Well then, we know what it isn't, but thanks for making me think of the old GE "Porta-Color." It was at least "portable" in name, since it had a handle - that made TV's qualify as "portable" - but it isn't what you have.
Your set must be quite a bit newer. Maybe late 1970's or early 1980's. I'm not sure when GE sold their TV brand name to Thompson, but I think it was mid 1980's. I'm surprised your TV claims to be made in the USA.
W
westlife
Guest
> Well then, we know what it isn't, but thanks for making me
> think of the old GE "Porta-Color." It was at least
> "portable" in name, since it had a handle - that made TV's
> qualify as "portable" - but it isn't what you have.
My parents had a GE Porta-Color from the early '70s to the early '90s. It was a heavy sucker, but even as a kid I could lug it around by myself for short distances. I even had it hooked up to my Commodore 16 computer in the late '80s. It was finally laid to rest around 1992 when the audio turned to a constant buzz (the video was still fine) and it needed a tube which the local TV/VCR repair shop declared to be unobtainable.
An even older TV I once had was a classic 19-inch Zenith Space Command set, which my sister picked up from the curb about 5 years ago. It worked perfectly, but she gave it to me because it was only black & white. I just wish it had come with the matching Space Command remote control, because it would've been fun to watch it operate the mechanical VHF tuner. It also had the old-style "free-floating" UHF tuner knob, since it came from before the time when the FCC mandated clicker-notches at every UHF channel increment (all the way up to Channel 83!).
<P ID="signature">______________
</P>
> think of the old GE "Porta-Color." It was at least
> "portable" in name, since it had a handle - that made TV's
> qualify as "portable" - but it isn't what you have.
My parents had a GE Porta-Color from the early '70s to the early '90s. It was a heavy sucker, but even as a kid I could lug it around by myself for short distances. I even had it hooked up to my Commodore 16 computer in the late '80s. It was finally laid to rest around 1992 when the audio turned to a constant buzz (the video was still fine) and it needed a tube which the local TV/VCR repair shop declared to be unobtainable.
An even older TV I once had was a classic 19-inch Zenith Space Command set, which my sister picked up from the curb about 5 years ago. It worked perfectly, but she gave it to me because it was only black & white. I just wish it had come with the matching Space Command remote control, because it would've been fun to watch it operate the mechanical VHF tuner. It also had the old-style "free-floating" UHF tuner knob, since it came from before the time when the FCC mandated clicker-notches at every UHF channel increment (all the way up to Channel 83!).
<P ID="signature">______________
I just wish it had
> come with the matching Space Command remote control, because
> it would've been fun to watch it operate the mechanical VHF
> tuner.
The Zenith Space Command remote was actually a pair of mechanical tuning forks and hammers, mounted in a plastic box. The button made the hammer hit the tuning fork. It was completely passive. Before Infrared remotes became the norm, remote controls used ultrasonic audio for their signaling method.
The black & white Zeniths just did on-off, volume and channel. RCA tried this with an electronic remote that also controled color and tint. This caused all kinds of interesting problems in most homes. My dog's license tags could make one of those TV's go crazy. Every time the dog would walk by the set, it would change channel, or the color would go out of whack.
> come with the matching Space Command remote control, because
> it would've been fun to watch it operate the mechanical VHF
> tuner.
The Zenith Space Command remote was actually a pair of mechanical tuning forks and hammers, mounted in a plastic box. The button made the hammer hit the tuning fork. It was completely passive. Before Infrared remotes became the norm, remote controls used ultrasonic audio for their signaling method.
The black & white Zeniths just did on-off, volume and channel. RCA tried this with an electronic remote that also controled color and tint. This caused all kinds of interesting problems in most homes. My dog's license tags could make one of those TV's go crazy. Every time the dog would walk by the set, it would change channel, or the color would go out of whack.
> Well then, we know what it isn't, but thanks for making me
> think of the old GE "Porta-Color." It was at least
> "portable" in name, since it had a handle - that made TV's
> qualify as "portable" - but it isn't what you have.
>
> Your set must be quite a bit newer. Maybe late 1970's or
> early 1980's. I'm not sure when GE sold their TV brand name
> to Thompson, but I think it was mid 1980's. I'm surprised
> your TV claims to be made in the USA.
>
GE & RCA TV's were made in the USA until the mid 1990's. I had an RCA TV that was made in 1987 and was made in the USA. As for the GE/RCA electronics divisions being sold to Thomson Consumer Electronics, it was done in 1986 when GE bought RCA for the NBC network. When they bought RCA, they sold off the NBC radio stations and sold the electronics division to Thomson, but licensed the GE & RCA names to them. GE maintains control of the major appliance division, NBC & Telemundo networks, and many other divisions that I can't think of right now. My last TV was an RCA 20" stereo model TV that I bought from Wal-mart in 1994 for $247 and lasted me 10 years before the picture started going bad. That one was made with numerous American & Japanese parts with final assembly in Mexico. The TV I have now is an RCA 24" stereo model I bought from Kmart last year for $170. I don't remember if this TV is assembled in Mexico or China. At the time I was looking at TV's, the Sylvania & Funai models made by Matsushita didn't have built-in cable TV tuners and had poor menu controls that I took a pass on it. The Sanyo models at Wal-mart were sold out that I had no but to purchase another RCA TV, but from Kmart this time around. This was Christmas time.
> think of the old GE "Porta-Color." It was at least
> "portable" in name, since it had a handle - that made TV's
> qualify as "portable" - but it isn't what you have.
>
> Your set must be quite a bit newer. Maybe late 1970's or
> early 1980's. I'm not sure when GE sold their TV brand name
> to Thompson, but I think it was mid 1980's. I'm surprised
> your TV claims to be made in the USA.
>
GE & RCA TV's were made in the USA until the mid 1990's. I had an RCA TV that was made in 1987 and was made in the USA. As for the GE/RCA electronics divisions being sold to Thomson Consumer Electronics, it was done in 1986 when GE bought RCA for the NBC network. When they bought RCA, they sold off the NBC radio stations and sold the electronics division to Thomson, but licensed the GE & RCA names to them. GE maintains control of the major appliance division, NBC & Telemundo networks, and many other divisions that I can't think of right now. My last TV was an RCA 20" stereo model TV that I bought from Wal-mart in 1994 for $247 and lasted me 10 years before the picture started going bad. That one was made with numerous American & Japanese parts with final assembly in Mexico. The TV I have now is an RCA 24" stereo model I bought from Kmart last year for $170. I don't remember if this TV is assembled in Mexico or China. At the time I was looking at TV's, the Sylvania & Funai models made by Matsushita didn't have built-in cable TV tuners and had poor menu controls that I took a pass on it. The Sanyo models at Wal-mart were sold out that I had no but to purchase another RCA TV, but from Kmart this time around. This was Christmas time.
W
westlife
Guest
> The Zenith Space Command remote was actually a pair of
> mechanical tuning forks and hammers, mounted in a plastic
> box. The button made the hammer hit the tuning fork. It
> was completely passive. Before Infrared remotes became the
> norm, remote controls used ultrasonic audio for their
> signaling method.
IIRC, at Graceland (Elvis' home), they have an old Zenith TV on display, with the correct Space Command remote on the coffee table. To turn a Space Command TV set off using the remote, you tuned it to a channel not used by any local TV station, which had been assigned to turn the TV off. In my TV's case, it was Channel 10. I suppose to turn the TV back on, you'd have to walk up to it and manually switch it to a different channel.
p.s. When I was in Europe about 15 years ago, some of the older TV sets only had 8 channels, each custom-tuned to one of the local TV stations. These TVs were also unusual in that the picture tube had its edges exposed (rather than covered up by the cabinetry) and the channel selector buttons were tiny metal strips which were sensitive to your body's conductivity, thus they did not need to be pushed -- you just touched them lightly.
<P ID="signature">______________
</P>
> mechanical tuning forks and hammers, mounted in a plastic
> box. The button made the hammer hit the tuning fork. It
> was completely passive. Before Infrared remotes became the
> norm, remote controls used ultrasonic audio for their
> signaling method.
IIRC, at Graceland (Elvis' home), they have an old Zenith TV on display, with the correct Space Command remote on the coffee table. To turn a Space Command TV set off using the remote, you tuned it to a channel not used by any local TV station, which had been assigned to turn the TV off. In my TV's case, it was Channel 10. I suppose to turn the TV back on, you'd have to walk up to it and manually switch it to a different channel.
p.s. When I was in Europe about 15 years ago, some of the older TV sets only had 8 channels, each custom-tuned to one of the local TV stations. These TVs were also unusual in that the picture tube had its edges exposed (rather than covered up by the cabinetry) and the channel selector buttons were tiny metal strips which were sensitive to your body's conductivity, thus they did not need to be pushed -- you just touched them lightly.
<P ID="signature">______________
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