Ideas for a homemade tv set?

[RayRay1132]

I've recently been finishing up my vacuum tube projects, and I was looking for new ideas of stuff to build in my free time; maybe over summer break too. I've been wanting to build a tv from scratch (mostly vacuum tubes if possible). Can someone please recommend a good, old-fashioned schematic for a relatively simple vacuum tube tv design. (and yes I know that analog broadcasting is no more)
Thanks in advance -Ray

 

[audioguru]

I think you have already finished with your antique vacuum tube circuits. Now try making modern solid state circuits.

 

[RayRay1132]

I think you have already finished with your antique vacuum tube circuits. Now try making modern solid state circuits.

I would but I have a bunch of old tubes and parts around, and I'm also somewhat good at making things out of wood (for the chassis) I was thinking of making a replica of an old tabletop tv from the late 40s' maybe.

 

[canadaelk]

There are to many obsolete parts in an old TV. I would just buy an old, working TV, find the service manual and take it from there. E

 

[atferrari]

I have no experience at all but I vaguely recall Stromberg Carlson of a certain period (ca. 1960 maybe?) kind of a classic valves TV, even copied freely.

 

[picbits]

Personally I'd make an old style "TV" with tubes etc that light up but use a cheapish LED / LCD projector inside to project to the inside of the screen - best of both worlds then

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

We used to have an old book at work "A Homemade Televisor" - the old chief engineer (prior to me) actually built one, which was the first TV in the area.

BBC1 only, 405, TRF set.

 

[rjenkinsgb]

There are plenty of service manuals for old valve TVs, including full schematics etc.

This is just the first I found:

Elektrotanya for electronics experts

Electronics forum for electronics experts to repair defective appliance.

elektrotanya.com

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

There are plenty of service manuals for old valve TVs, including full schematics etc.

This is just the first I found:

Elektrotanya for electronics experts

Electronics forum for electronics experts to repair defective appliance.

elektrotanya.com

That's a fairly 'modern' one

It even has flywheel sync!.

But the entire problem with this thread (apart from there's nothing to watch even once you've built it) is that the parts aren't available (and would cost far too much anyway).

So you're reduced to getting parts from an existing old TV - so why not just use that one in the first place?.

Historically, home made TV's have come in two types - the very early types (like the Televisor I mentioned, where you built it entirely from scratch - using radio and radar surplus parts from the war, the Televisor used EF50's for example), or later sets where you made a TV using larger chunks of existing TV's. So, for example, you'd scavenge the tuner and IF strip out of one TV, the frame stages out of a second, and the line stages out of a third.

The second method meant you could build a TV for very little money, as you could usually get the parts for free - with the exception being the tube. It gave you the chance to make a TV as you wanted it, and you could add extra improvements such as the afore mentioned flywheel sync.

 

[Ian Rogers]

One question??? when you finished.. What will you tune it in to, as you already said? No analogue!!

 

[KeepItSimpleStupid]

I actually have two antique television sets, that actually have a Channel 1. One has an aftermarket blue magnifying "Bubble" installed on it. That one, my parents purchased new. The other is made by RCA.

 

[Les Jones]

My father built our first television mostly from WW2 surplus parts. The sound and video receivers were totally separate. I think they were probably originally radar receivers. I remember the IF section consisted of a large number of octal based pentodes (SP61 / VR65) and a large number of IF transformers. the CRT was a 6" diameter with green phosphor and electrostatic deflection. (VCR97) We lived in Liverpool and the nearest TV transmitter was somewhere in the midlands.. It was later modified with a 9" (I think) white phosphor tube.

Les.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

My father built our first television mostly from WW2 surplus parts. The sound and video receivers were totally separate. I think they were probably originally radar receivers. I remember the IF section consisted of a large number of octal based pentodes (SP61 / VR65) and a large number of IF transformers. the CRT was a 6" diameter with green phosphor and electrostatic deflection. (VCR97) We lived in Liverpool and the nearest TV transmitter was somewhere in the midlands.. It was later modified with a 9" (I think) white phosphor tube.

If I remember correctly, Sutton Coldfield (Midlands) was on channel 2, and Holmemoss (Yorkshire) was on channel 4 - Alexandra Palace (London) I think was on channel 1?. All were BBC only of course back then.

In our service area we had a mix of Sutton Coldfield and Holmemoss, depending where you lived.

 

[JimB]

If I remember correctly

Nigel, your memory has transposed channel 2 and channel 4.
Look at this table cribbed from an early 1960s RSGB Handbook:

I remember Holme Moss on channel 2 and the ITV from Emley Moor on channel 10 from my days of growing up in South Yorkshire.

As for building a TV receiver, try building the RF/IF/AF/Video stages from scratch but use an old oscilloscope for the display unit.
Then build a little signal source and modulate it with video for something to display.
or
Find an old TV test signal generator, there must be lots of them lying unwanted and providing a home for spiders!

JimB

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Nigel, your memory has transposed channel 2 and channel 4.

It was a very long time ago

I thought I was doing well to remember it was 2 & 4

ITV wise it was 8 & 10, with a bit of 9 when Emley Moor fell down.

Incidentally, you still see massive double BIII aerials that were put up for Winter Hill at that time, and are still on roofs. Considering it's almost 60 years now, I always wonder how safe these huge aerials are?.

 

[JimB]

While we are in reminiscing mode, it occurs to me that one place missing from the list which I just posted, is Bressay in the Shetland Islands way up north.
I don't know when TV reached Shetland, but I do know that the never had ITV on Band3, they bypassed band 3 and went straight to UHF.
The VHF Band 1 transmitter was decommissioned in about 1984, we ended up with most of it at the Lerwick amateur radio club.

JimB

 

[RayRay1132]

One question??? when you finished.. What will you tune it in to, as you already said? No analogue!!

I have one of those old home video broadcaster things and a digital to analog converter box. Useful for watching tv on my old sony watchman in the backyard.

 

[RayRay1132]

There are to many obsolete parts in an old TV. I would just buy an old, working TV, find the service manual and take it from there. E

I have a good surplus of old parts; tubes, transformers, capacitors, etc.

 

[Ian Rogers]

I have one of those old home video broadcaster things and a digital to analog converter box. Useful for watching tv on my old sony watchman in the backyard.

Cool... I have several retro computers... All need is a flat screen with analogue in... But nostalgia would be cool...

 

[KeepItSimpleStupid]

Is a TV a settop box and a monitor? So, create composite video. You can display that on a VGA monitor with a converter.

I think the tuner would be the hardest part. The tuner of yesteryear was a big rotalry switch that switched in components an dit had a tunable slug for each station for fine tuning. Not frequency synthesis.

The display used to be surplus radar sets for the DIYers.

An audio tuner is not much different than an FM tuner, On an analog FM tuner, you could tune in sound from NTSC channel 6.