Revamping an Old TV as a Gift (2019)(blog.davidv.dev)
blog.davidv.dev
Revamping an Old TV as a Gift (2019)
https://blog.davidv.dev/posts/revamping-an-old-tv-as-a-gift/
33 comments
I have two ancient TV's I desperately want to restore .. a Sony TV8-301, which was Sony's first successful consumer product, a truly beautiful relic of 50's/early-60's design ethos, which I found abandoned on the side of a country road in the Austrian countryside, and a black and red mini-TV that would look so great paired up with my Oric Atmos retro computer.
The Sony, in particular, would make an amazing terminal screen.
Trouble is, it is becoming harder and harder to find repair manuals for these.
If anyone knows of a community where these kinds of repairs are executed successfully, I'd love to hear about them. I've kept these things on my shelf for decades now, and I remain committed to their restoration. I'm pretty sure the tubes are still viable .. but maybe the capacitors aren't.
The Sony, in particular, would make an amazing terminal screen.
Trouble is, it is becoming harder and harder to find repair manuals for these.
If anyone knows of a community where these kinds of repairs are executed successfully, I'd love to hear about them. I've kept these things on my shelf for decades now, and I remain committed to their restoration. I'm pretty sure the tubes are still viable .. but maybe the capacitors aren't.
this what you're looking for? https://antiqueradio.org/art/Sony8-301WTelevisionManual.pdf
Chatgpt (especially deep research) is pretty good about digging up stuff like this
Chatgpt (especially deep research) is pretty good about digging up stuff like this
Thanks for that - yes, I haven’t quite gotten on the “just use AI search for everything now” bandwagon, but of course it makes a lot of sense that it’d be in there somewhere.
Guess I’m gonna go to a local service place with this PDF and the TV and see what they can do. I’m filled with anticipation for the day that I can boot up a terminal on Sony’s first TV and include it in one of my exhibits.
I do retro computing exhibits, in case you were wondering why I have all this junk… ;)
Guess I’m gonna go to a local service place with this PDF and the TV and see what they can do. I’m filled with anticipation for the day that I can boot up a terminal on Sony’s first TV and include it in one of my exhibits.
I do retro computing exhibits, in case you were wondering why I have all this junk… ;)
Oh man, I had a good friend who collected repair manuals for electronics, especially those built before in the 80s and earlier, basically everything he could get his hands on. He was a huge (and gifted) hardware tinkerer who always had a cool project going. When he passed away, his wife basically threw the whole collection away. She wasn't trying to be malicious or anything, just trying to clean up old junk and get ready to downsize her life (and holy cow that room was quite daunting and disorganized, and frankly looked like piles of trash even it wasn't). Those early manuals were absolutely incredible. I read quite a bit through one that for a post WWII radio that badly made me want to become a collector. I remember seeing a model much like it at my grandparents house as a kid and one of my biggest life regrets was not trying to acquire that after they passed. Same with a really cool sewing machine from the same era.
There is something so magical about those early products.
There is something so magical about those early products.
For sure, they are so .. serviceable .. yet also so .. inaccessible, nevertheless.
Not inaccessible in a modern “can’t de-cap that chip without killing the machine” kind of a way, but more of a “so many bespoke parts which are just not replaceable any more, unless you wanna Frankenstein the thing with 3D printed parts .. eventually ..”
I’ve since been directed towards the manuals I might need, by other HN’ers, so I’m going to have a renewed attempt at getting this old Sony and the Red/Black TV up and running. I do retro computing exhibits in my region (Vienna, Austria) so if I do end up getting these TV’s working again, they’ll be featured for sure. Recent efforts on my part have introduced over 40,000 people to retro computing platforms at a local museum, so it’ll be really fun for me to introduce the Sony TV, which is delightful bit of technological history, to the exhibit manifest.
When I think of all the folks with great stuff in the attic, potentially being lost to the landfill, it just motivates me harder to get all my own junk in good shape that will make sense for someone to maintain for decades after I’m gone ..
Not inaccessible in a modern “can’t de-cap that chip without killing the machine” kind of a way, but more of a “so many bespoke parts which are just not replaceable any more, unless you wanna Frankenstein the thing with 3D printed parts .. eventually ..”
I’ve since been directed towards the manuals I might need, by other HN’ers, so I’m going to have a renewed attempt at getting this old Sony and the Red/Black TV up and running. I do retro computing exhibits in my region (Vienna, Austria) so if I do end up getting these TV’s working again, they’ll be featured for sure. Recent efforts on my part have introduced over 40,000 people to retro computing platforms at a local museum, so it’ll be really fun for me to introduce the Sony TV, which is delightful bit of technological history, to the exhibit manifest.
When I think of all the folks with great stuff in the attic, potentially being lost to the landfill, it just motivates me harder to get all my own junk in good shape that will make sense for someone to maintain for decades after I’m gone ..
Like rebuilding a classic car, you have to make the decision pretty early on if you’re going for a genuine original restoration, or something that just looks and functions similar to how it was.
The second is much cheaper.
The second is much cheaper.
That's very true - mostly I want to just keep the original working as long as possible, such as is the case with the Sony TV (because its such a significant product all things considered) - but in the case of the Red/Black TV I've often thought about just gutting it, using the case and replacing everything inside with an LCD screen/power supply, other peripherals for the Oric Atmos ..
Members of the forum "Elektrotanya" have collected a nice set of service manuals and schematics over the years: https://elektrotanya.com/content/about-site
I also see Polish forums when looking for TV stuff but I don't have a specific suggestion for that corner of the web.
I also see Polish forums when looking for TV stuff but I don't have a specific suggestion for that corner of the web.
Ah that is great, thanks for that - I’ll spend some time digging in to see if I can indeed restore these TV’s. Would be so nice to wire up the Sony and use it for something, probably log related, lol ..
Note that I'm only appreciating them from a safe distance (and from the front). For an introductory list of the many things that can harm someone opening the cover, here's one: https://www.ifixit.com/Troubleshooting/Television/CRT+Repair...
Oh yeah, one of the reasons I’ve not yet poked at any of these TV’s with a screwdriver myself (besides the fact that my country offers a 50% credit on electronics repair by certified repair buro’s) is due to early childhood trauma getting zapped by a TV in some empty lot I once tinkered with .. ;)
Wow, that Sony is beautiful!
It sure is! My heart skipped a bit when I saw it abandoned on the side of the road. It's a really delightful thing to look at for now - one of these days I hope to log in with it, too. ;)
FOLKS PLEASE BE CAREFUL DON'T OPEN OLD TELEVISIONS UNLESS YOU GENUINELY UNDERSTAND THE RISK.
Just touching the insides can kill you worst case and that can be days or longer after it was switched off. Sometimes the chassis itself is live.
This is not like fiddling inside a computer where you tend to be pretty safe.
So if you value your life, sure play with old televisions - without opening them.
Just touching the insides can kill you worst case and that can be days or longer after it was switched off. Sometimes the chassis itself is live.
This is not like fiddling inside a computer where you tend to be pretty safe.
So if you value your life, sure play with old televisions - without opening them.
For sure, but I probably naively think that those who have the gumption to take the back off a TV would know this. As a kid, I used to play with an old TV by connecting the second anode lead to a 50 ft extension cord and walk around our damp basement zapping spiders with inch-long sparks. Fun times.
My worst shock was from an old tube shortwave receiver when reaching over it and learning that the antenna lead was hot by touching it.
My worst shock was from an old tube shortwave receiver when reaching over it and learning that the antenna lead was hot by touching it.
When I was very young (~10yo), I was obsessed with taking apart any electronics I could get my hands in an attempt to figure out how it all worked.
Somehow I got my hands on a semi-functional CRT oscilloscope and of course took it apart. Within minutes of the initial disassembly, I accidentally discharged a large capacitor through my body. I still remember the blinding pain and passing out from literal shock. I'm lucky to be alive today. I gained a healthy fear of electricity that day.
Through the many years that followed I continued my trajectory in electronics, eventually designing and fabbing my own analog and digital circuits. Today I continue to be extremely careful whenever dealing with power circuitry. Always proceed with caution!
Somehow I got my hands on a semi-functional CRT oscilloscope and of course took it apart. Within minutes of the initial disassembly, I accidentally discharged a large capacitor through my body. I still remember the blinding pain and passing out from literal shock. I'm lucky to be alive today. I gained a healthy fear of electricity that day.
Through the many years that followed I continued my trajectory in electronics, eventually designing and fabbing my own analog and digital circuits. Today I continue to be extremely careful whenever dealing with power circuitry. Always proceed with caution!
Side note: why is xitter still serving the linked FozzTexx post even though they've deleted all of their posts?
- https://x.com/FozzTexx/status/825358304515747840
- https://x.com/FozzTexx
- https://x.com/FozzTexx/status/825358304515747840
- https://x.com/FozzTexx
how do you figure they've deleted all their posts? When I click the second link I seem to find a normal profile with several posts (although it hasn't been used since 2023)
nothing is ever deleted on the internet
We were the last people in town to get a flat screen TV. In 2015. We still had a 27" Sony CRT TV. That thing was beautiful. It didn't bother me really until one day.
A young person about 10 years old came over "What's that thing hanging off the back of your TV?"
I got some nice parts out of that TV, and cracking the vacuum seal on the CRT was just so satisfying.
A young person about 10 years old came over "What's that thing hanging off the back of your TV?"
I got some nice parts out of that TV, and cracking the vacuum seal on the CRT was just so satisfying.
> cracking the vacuum seal on the CRT was just so satisfying.
I've totally felt this before! As a teenager we were offered an old CRT for free if we would pick it up. We spent several days trying to fix it but ended up breaking it much worse than it already was, to the point where my friend's dad (who was a programmer but also did a lot of electronics repair) basically told us to take it to the dump. We did, but not until we took it deep into the mountains and shot the vacuum tube with a .22 long rifle :-D (we did get our asses reamed because we didn't know there was mercury in there, but even after that the consensus was still "it was worth it" though we never had the guts to tell parents that). We did at least have the foresight to put it on a big drop cloth so cleanup was pretty easy, though I later became mortified at our recklessness. The only thing better than shooting that was being able to shoot an old church bell that somebody dumped in the woods.
I've totally felt this before! As a teenager we were offered an old CRT for free if we would pick it up. We spent several days trying to fix it but ended up breaking it much worse than it already was, to the point where my friend's dad (who was a programmer but also did a lot of electronics repair) basically told us to take it to the dump. We did, but not until we took it deep into the mountains and shot the vacuum tube with a .22 long rifle :-D (we did get our asses reamed because we didn't know there was mercury in there, but even after that the consensus was still "it was worth it" though we never had the guts to tell parents that). We did at least have the foresight to put it on a big drop cloth so cleanup was pretty easy, though I later became mortified at our recklessness. The only thing better than shooting that was being able to shoot an old church bell that somebody dumped in the woods.
Man. This is so genial, exactly because you've gone the extra mile to make it look real.
I've seen similar projects, but using an LCD, or a remote, or that had a software menu with a remote, and this always rob the experience a bit. This is fantastic product, even if was not made to be sold, and it was one of thing.
This idea of a curated "weird video clips" stream has always interested me. I've seen a few variations over the years.
It's on my back-burner list to make a portable projector that does this.
For a purely-online version, check out: https://exptv.org/ (warning: sometimes has nudity and stuff)
It's on my back-burner list to make a portable projector that does this.
For a purely-online version, check out: https://exptv.org/ (warning: sometimes has nudity and stuff)
Exptv.org is really cool thank you. Reminds me of why I like FM radio. I miss not being in control of what is coming on and how it exposes you to new stuff you wouldn't watch or listen to otherwise.
What a fun project. Well done.
The easy way to do it is get a VCR to go with the TV. VCRs hold up really well with age, better than top of the line cassette decks and you can often pick them up for $12 or so.
The earlier VCRs definitely did. We had either a Sony or a Toshiba (can't remember exactly) and that thing lasted decades with heavy use. It even survived disassembly/reassembly by a horribly underqualified kid (me) after having a PB&J sandwich shoved in the front (which was not me). Taking that thing apart was absolutely fascinating!
At the time, it was pretty far outside my comfort zone and I had a looming deadline (dad's birthday). Writing the software to work "as I intended" turned out to be much harder than I'd expected, so I ended up hacking things and making single 8-hour long video for each channel (with some persistence, so on next boot it'd continue from where it was)
On the positive side, Dad loved it, and keeping the tuner (the channel dial) with some high resistance made the TV feel as if it was truly an original TV.
Unexpectedly, everybody loved the ads that I added! I think my family mostly felt nostalgic about them