Could someone please tell me How I can test this tv? How the features on it work? Is it battery and plug operated? Mine did not come with a plug, can I get a duplicate somewhere? My tv looks different in the back it has this box shaped attachments where on the net I dont see that piece there, was mine made in america where as those were made in japan or vice versa? Its a beautiful kool looking set and Id really like to test it, thanks.

Those AC/DC sets usually had multiple connections on the plug connector, some were active for AC operation while others were for the DC operation...

Hooking it up incorrectly very possibly will produce smoke and damage components...

Being from the early 60s, it probably would need the electrolytic caps replaced to get it into operation, that set likely has 50 or more... in the early '60s, none of the Japanese mfgrs had plants in America, it would be imported(No doubt has Made In Japan on it)...

It would help if you'd post a picture of the set and the "box" you are referring to...

Tom

That set has an oddball power connector in the back, two pins for AC and two for DC as mentioned. You won't find a replacement at Radio Shack.

It's a bad idea to just plug it in, for the reason mentioned. Not likely to work, and not reliable enough to play regularly even it does work, sort of, kind of.

This kind of thing will be a beast to repair if you're not experienced with solid state electronics. Perhaps you can find someone in your area willing to tackle it. Meanwhile, hotwiring it for a test is risky. If it goes Poof and fire comes out, the repairs will be even more expensive.

Phil Nelson

This was Sony's first set introduced into the USA and all solid state. I doubt any were made here, Sony had no manufacturing presence here in 1961.

There are two connectors on the back, one is a sort of cheater cord style for AC and the other, a larger male thing which is actually the same connector used by 1950's vacuum cleaners and home appliances in the USA. If I remember correctly it had an outrigger battery pack consisting of two 6 Volt batteries if you wanted to run it on batteries.

I brought mine home from the Sony store where I worked in 1983. Some customer had given it to our shop as we were one of the first and largest Sony dealers in the country at one time. I took it home and it fired right up, although the AGC was a bit squirrely.

I still have it and although it's in the basement somewhere, I don't recall any extra box on the back. I am thinking that provided the CRT is still good today, most of these would just need a check and replacement of the electrolytics as necessary. Mine is missing the sun shield and the correct channel selector knobs, as a lot of them seem to be.

This set is considered a piece of modern art and a couple of museums have them on display.

i have this set but it has no sound or picture just a very slight buzz or noise . although i thought of this as first solid state tv , i saw on sams photofact 588 two tubes listed hv rectifiers v1 and v2 . i did'nt open it up yet perhaps this is where my problem is

Scroll back to the previous advice about electrolytic capacitors. No doubt some of them (perhaps most of them) are bad. Much more likely to be a trouble source than tubes. If you open up this set, you'll see how small the components are. Not a good beginner's project.

The first transistorized TV sold in the US was the 1959 Philco Safari. Perhaps this was the first mostly-solid-state TV made by Sony. Both of them have a couple of rectifier tubes.

If by "solid state" you mean "no tubes including picture tube," then the first true solid state TVs were the later flat-screen sets.

Phil

I played with those little sets a lot back in my mis-spent youth.

I may even have a brand new picture tube for one.

The four pin connector is for 110 AC or 12 V DC.

The set has a power transformer in it if you get a Sams you can identify the pins that 110 VAC go to. I don't recall if the power cord tripped a switch.

The worst problem was the pots get dirty.

The caps do fail in the sweep section and the tuner is hard to clean and don't use solvent.

The rest should be fairly easy to work on.

Jim

More reply here

We used to modify these for external video input which may be the added box on the back.

The back was absolutely flat with a hole for the power plug. As I recall you plugged in a little plastic adaptor for external antenna. As I recall four little chrome plated screws on the back and the entire case slid off. The two PC boards are hinged and plug into connectors.

I believe the HV rectifiers were 5642 tubes in a doubler circuit and they rarely fail.

The first version only had a VHF tuner (2 through 13) and then later they added the UHF tuner which put a slide rule dial down the middle of the front panel.

The battery pack was a grey cardboard thing with a 12 volt rechargeable battery. The battery was tricky to recharge and was only good for a small number of re-charges. It was not NiCad. They used a similar battery technology in the Philco Safari. The actual battery was similar to a lantern battery like 3” by 5” by 4” something inches, painted red and blue. The pack then plugged into the TV with a cable. The pack did not physically attach to the TV.

Jim

Sorry My-Bad:

Forgot about that 8 inch one. I was actually thinking the little 5 inch one was their first all solid state. Model was like a TV 300 or TV 500

The 8-301 was nasty to work on as I recall although there may be similarities in the circuitry to the little 5 inch set.

As long as were on the subject of first solid state, the Philco Safari was actually the first solid state TV, A safari usually works from the get-go without any re-capping.

Jim Sorry to mislead

Jim..
Thanks for the info on the "tummy TV". I have two that need restoring, and an actual plug-in UHF adapter...

BTW, the closely spaced pair on the power plug is AC in. The widely spaced pair is battery power in.

Yes you will need to replace electrolytic capacitors to get the set working properly. I have a Sony TV5-307UW TV that would not work right and I found some bad capacitors on the vertical/horizontal sweep board. I replaced all caps on that board and the TV works nicely now.

I repaired a Sony Micro TV-400U, a totally unreliable set. Made in 1969, the capacitors and Ni-Cads were bad by 1979, and I spent more time repairing it than watching it. I just turned it on, and it picks up one low-power UHF analog station. I could connect it to a cable box or digital converter. It uses a heavy wall wart for power. Don't bother, new cell phones will have a better picture and sound.
Don

i found this tv for 5 buck but i have no idea if it works cause it didnt come with a plug

what kind of plug would i need and where would i get one

The box on the back of the 8-301W is the optional battery pack. It contains two 6V wet cells and screws to the back. You should remove it and inspect the batteries for leakage that may have damaged the battery box or the set. I have an NOS battery pack I just use for show. I can't imagine the batteries would still be good after 50 years.

For what it's worth, here is an article describing how I restored my 8-301W:

http://antiqueradio.org/Sony8-301WTelevision.htm

If you can get one to work well without electronic restoration, you are a rare and lucky person. In my set, more than 30 electrolytic capacitors tested bad and were replaced.

Many of these are missing the power cord. I don't know where to get a correct replacement. If you get something like an old electric razor at a thrift shop, perhaps that cord could be adapted to fit the AC prongs.

Phil Nelson
Phil's Old Radios
http://antiqueradio.org/index.html

This might help you get started: