Stunning but BROKEN eBay 1978 CROWN Portable TV / Radio 5TV-65R - TRYING TO FIX

[@JerryEricsson]

In 1971 I was stationed in Vietnam with the 45th Engineers, my wife was home and very pregnant, so in order to get home to be with her at the time of our son's birth , I took a short re-up for 12 months and extended my tour for 2 months so I could get the bonus and take a re-up leave. On my way, our plane stopped at Yakota Air Base and while there I went to their PX for a bit of shopping and purchased a CROWN Television/AM-FM Radio. It was much more compact but did run on AC/DC taking a bunch of C cells or plugging into a car 12 volt system, or had an AC adapter that replaced the battery pack. It was much more compact then yours but she served me well on my last 7 months in Vietnam. When I got home and plugged it into the 110 volt power it blew a resistor. I took it to the on base repair center at Fort Bliss but they could not repair it as the model was never sold in the US and there were no schematics on it. So I took it home and found the bad resistor, or what was left of it, no bands left as she blew, and I just wrapped a bit of wire around the two leads and the little set ran just fine for the next few years. I finally sold it to a fellow who worked part time as a security guard driving his car around some warehouses, he mounted the set under the dash of his 65 Chevy and used it to watch TV on the job. She was still working last I talked to him in 74 when I transfered up to DC to be a ceremonial soldier with The Old Guard.

[@AtomSquirrel]

Interesting story! Thank you for your service 🫡

[@Tronicsfix]

This is so cool! I've been thinking of buying one of these to fix for a long time. Just haven't done it yet. Anyway, great find and great video!

[@Mymatevince]

Cheers Steve 👍👍👍

[@carlondouglas5741]

Tronics fix really want to see u fix a fat ps3 with ylod it will be great content

[@iamwonderFil]

@@carlondouglas5741 repair more fat ps3! save all the backwards compatible hardware! and why not a sony lf-x1??

[@LevelCrossingFan92]

hiiiiiiii

[@juniorcook4094]

My 2 favorite KZbinrs Vince and Steve

[@jaredl2239]

1 hour video!? Glad we're back to classic Vince length videos. I can't wait to watch

[@ANTandTEC]

All the power connectors have built in switches (mains, 12v barrel jack) so that when a power source is connected it disconnects from the battery. Often the internal switches in the sockets go bad. The CH Radio/TV switch is a charge switch for rechargeable batteries. When in CH position it isolates the power to the Radio/TV.

[@benji.B-side]

These repair videos are so good that over the last week I have had a binge watch and decided to subscribe. I only subscribe to quality channels and this channel is quality. Massive respect for the education and enjoyment. I love old gadgets and electrical equipment.

[@Mymatevince]

Nice one Benji, thank you! 👍

[@benji.B-side]

@It's_ya_boi_Mike Well done, we are bombarded with crap everyday, so finding quality is the only way! : )

[@benji.B-side]

@@Mymatevince You are welcome good sir. I have some of retro/vintage music equipment(Some in a need of repair) and love the aesthetics the builds and design. Keep doing your thing, it is wonderful to see you bring life into old stuff. Respect, peace and love!!

[@INSTRUMANROBOT]

This is legendary! The repair apart this ought to go into the Guinness Book of World Record. Playing the PS5 on a 1978 portable TV. Much respect 🙏 This an engineer retro lover's dream

[@JonPadfield]

Had a similar one to this in the 80's. I used to watch Dangermouse on it in my Dad's office after school, lol. Nice video Vince - really enjoyed the process on this one.

[@Mymatevince]

Thank you Jon. I used to love Danger Mouse, it is back on TV again. I just need them to bring back Captain Caveman!!!

[@zx8401ztv]

@@Mymatevince The wacky races and the flintstones, err and Top cat :-D

[@Mymatevince]

@@zx8401ztv And possibly... Terrahawks 😎

[@dodgem259]

@@Mymatevince the obligatory shout of 'Captain CAAAVVVVVVVVE MAAAAAAAN' until your parents told you to quieten it down lol

[@Mymatevince]

@@dodgem259 🤣🤣

[@gingercat555]

The satisfaction of bringing a piece of equipment back to life is so rewarding ... I spent 25 years as a field service engineer repairing all sorts of office equipment around the U.K. so I know the feeling of getting any type of object back to life. You follow a sound path in fault finding thats for sure as many people jump here there and never follow a tried and tested format as you do ... also you have patients which is a must ... really enjoyed this video ... congratulations on the repair.

[@kennethbarker852]

1st class video to watch thank you take care kind regards from me kenneth

[@chrish1398]

You sir , have the patience of a saint. Roll on the next video and 1 million subs.

[@CARLOS68]

That compartment was to store the mono earpiece so you could watch/listen in private, Great video, I miss old tech that actually worked when you wanted it to !

[@Mymatevince]

Nice one Carl, thanks for the info 👍

[@HavingFunRepairs]

Bit of a testament to older tube type technology. Wonderful work Vince!

[@Mymatevince]

Thanks Shawn, it is amazing that it works so well all these years later 👍👍

[@RandyDarkshade2]

Hi Vince. Coincidentaly. I bought one of these last year on ebay, exact same colour and model. It also had the exact same issue, no power on. So while watching this video I got mine out (it was already opened up) and I cleaned the same switch you did, and now it works. What are the chances eh? lol

[@BodziuM]

switchgate issue 😅

[@RWL2012]

I remember you from a long while back

[@Mymatevince]

Hahaha, yesss, well done. Maybe many of these suffer the same fault???? 👍👍

[@RandyDarkshade2]

@@RWL2012 You do?

[@NanoMine]

Canadian?

[@kiphakes]

I used to own a lot of arcade machines, and I always HATED working on the CRTs (which was a pain really because most of the machines needed re-capping!) - still it was very satisfying when I fixed them!

[@Mymatevince]

I bet it was Kip, that would make a great fix it vid 👍👍

[@kiphakes]

@@Mymatevince I might be going back into the world of arcade machines soon... 😊

[@UnCoolDad]

If that turns you check out kzbin.info

[@rinner2801]

I'm fixing Sony Trinitron TVs now, and it is a real pain... but mostly to my back!

[@jerryspann8713]

You should do a live stream of these repairs. The viewers could give tips.

[@jaroslavtatar4035]

And that is just a great idea! I am all in!

[@Gameboy-Unboxings]

@Jerry Spann s t f u.

[@Gameboy-Unboxings]

@@jaroslavtatar4035 s t f u.

[@Gameboy-Unboxings]

@@jaroslavtatar4035 pos.

[@TSHGTheStrawHatGhost]

@@Gameboy-Unboxings what did he do?

[@Com2Bo]

Mr. Vince you're a wild man, heading into any unknown territory. Nice to watch your vids.

[@Mymatevince]

Hahaha, thanks Bo 👍👍

[@Bandit1978]

Man, seeing the PS5 playing on something from the year i was born is awesome. Great repair, well done. Cheers!

[@ghostcat8244]

I remember my grandparents had one of those when I was a kid around the late 90s/00’s and they’ll have it on the front porch watching tv. Watching the video of you fixing it brings me my childhood memories going over there and watching my grandmother watch her soap opera shows while smoking and having her tea outside. 😅

[@djksfhakhaks]

My sister had one of these, I think its brand was Panasonic. Black and white video. The picture was crazy grainy. Still, camping it kept us from running off in the woods for a few minutes. Until the 10 C cells or so died! When the batteries started to die I remember it would loose v sync, you could still get another couple minutes out of it by messing with brightness and such. Then another couple of audio only.

[@omarg8663]

I really love watching you Vince

[@qster]

Your patience and perseverance never fails to amaze me. What a cracking little telly and great video as always.

[@retrotech11]

A fantastic restoration of a rare retro piece of kit there Vince! Great job!

[@TSHGTheStrawHatGhost]

Been watching this m8 since 2017 never gets old keep at it Vince

[@LoganHunter82]

These repair videos are pure ASMR for me. Especially parts where you try test the connections and voltage.

[@Falconurbex]

excellant repair i remember having a mini tv radio in my kitchen when i was married haha love taking things apart to figure out how they work hence why i am a mechanic now thanks for sharing new sub here.

[@the_blue_gamer]

This so cool. It almost makes me want to tear up. It reminds me of my childhood when my grandfather drove Semi. I remember sitting in his Semi watch the football games with him.

[@mrb3991]

Wow thatt make's me feel old Vince . Its crazy how big that was, and now you can watch tv on your smart device, thanks for the video

[@AnonymousRepair]

Nice repair, Drill a tiny hole in the powders cap, then you can add small amounts of powder by tapping the bottle. 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍 Thank you for the mention😊

[@Mymatevince]

Another useful tip from AR, cheers mate 👍👍👍👍

[@AnonymousRepair]

@@Mymatevince 😊😊

[@wwazman]

Very cool! A elderly lady who was a youth leader at my church brought one of these and instantly hooked us kids' attention! :D .. after our lesson I remember watching the Wonder Woman tv show on it. Great memories!

[@josephgittos3787]

Wow this brought back memories of when my dad bought the exact model and we were amazed how small and portable it was , we had it in our kitchen/ dining room

[@precbass]

I think EXT is 'External' as in external antenna,and not 'Extension', and rod is the telescopic.Brilliant video btw,I was engrossed the whole time.I love watching folk using their hands and know-how to renovate things and get them working again.

[@charlesdeens8927]

That superglue job was phenomenal. You practically just threw those broken pieces onto the spindle and they placed perfectly. I figured you were gonna spend 20 minutes fitting those pieces together.

[@howrylo]

This is really neat. And somehow really relaxing watching you do these. Maybe it's the nostalgia.. maybe.

[@jimstrummer5688]

Just found your channel yesterday - superb! Binging now!

[@peter81richardson]

Nice fix very retro always wanted one as a kid, probably would benefit from a recap to reduce noise, they have done well for forty years well done for saving another piece of tech from history.

[@simonwood1260]

Great video. I had a JVC equivalent (I think - this is a huge ask for memory). What people now do not realise, is that I could be the only person watching Wimbledon in the garden or the snooker final. You soon gained friends travelling to park with one of these :-)

[@jsl4228]

When I was a kid back in the 90s, we had one of these for when we went on camping holidays. It got good use and was great back in the day.

[@adamdavies163]

Hi Vince, great repair. The large wheel with the spring is attached to the tuning capacitor, it is that which is turned to tune the radio. It is the position of the indicator strip relative to the position of the large wheel that's important. The other wheels simply provide a path and means of tensioning the string. The tuning capacitor assy is the clear plastic housing that can be seen on the opposite side of the PCB to the large wheel.

[@Khashraan]

Very nice done, Vince! Your patience at these Objects is incredible. And it's a very cool outcome :D

[@AcornElectron]

Keep up the good work fella and stay safe!

[@loopdemack]

I think that huge noise that you got on RF is because you forgot to solder stranded wire ground on the prong end of the switch 33:12

[@Mymatevince]

Oh yes, I think you may be right. Nice one, well spotted! 👍👍👍 I thought at the time it was just bad reception in my house.

[@MikeB_UK]

Great job! On radios and TVs with string tuning mechanisms, although the drive knob will slip at either end of the travel, the important bit is getting the displayed frequency to match what the tuner is set to. For radios you can set them by tweaking the pointer mechanism when you are tuned to a known frequency station -ie slip it along whilst not allowing the tuning capacitor wheel to move . You'd have to do the same for the TV in the days the signals were still being sent out.

[@TheAruruu]

if you had the hardware to broadcast the signal, and kept the power low enough to avoid getting the attention of any authorities that wouldn't be happy with you for doing so, you could still, even today, ensure that it's tuned correctly by controlling the broadcasting signal. It'd be a lot, and i really do mean a lot, of work for no particular reason though.

[@davestationuk7374]

I got one similar to this mini tv And used to watch “the young ones” on it It was my pride n joy for many years

[@jimdocherty3454]

You make this look so easy! Excellent as usual...

[@OntologicalQuandry]

Gosh, this takes me back to my parents' old Hitachi TV that needed a good minute to warm up after being turneod on. The image would slowly fade into life while the audio was there immediately.

[@jimmothy79]

Very nice fix, we had a portable color tv when I was a kid that we'd hook the nintendo up to sometimes depending on where we wanted to play

[@Mymatevince]

Thanks Jimmothy 👍👍

[@whoeusbsknsi]

@@Mymatevince thanks for hooking up the nintendo or what u suckin on??

[@MurrayMints]

𝙒𝙊𝙒 ! 𝙄 𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙫𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙤 𝙑𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚, I loved these miniature telly's when I was a wee boy, always wanted one, to the extent I bought a Casio Watchman not long ago, knowing full well I'll only be able to watch 'snow'. Please keep em coming. 👍🏻

[@stevezodiac491]

I had one of these in the day, fitted it under the dash of my mgb roadster on a switch that turned off, when the ignition turned on to keep it legal. so I could watch the TV when parked. Worked great at the time.

[@FUNKINETIK]

Great fix, it looks so good. I was a bit nervous for you with the crt high voltage thingy. Q-Bond worked really well for me when I repaired quite a big chunk of cast aluminium on a cam cover…

[@virgildeklerk]

What a nice machine for those times.... nice fix and save from the bin again Vince. Next up a broken C64 perhaps? Keep up the great videos

[@therestorementor7742]

Don’t ever sell yourself short my mate Vince if I ever had something that I needed fixed and it was a matter of life or death I would put my trust in you as you have a never give up attitude and are very knowledgeable 👍👍

[@paulb4uk]

Superb work vince and the tuner thing worked ot well .

[@daz41262010]

awesome fix Vince that fault finding is becoming fantastic to watch and see you do :)

[@BikerBloke600]

Very Well Done Vince. Remember my dad bringing one of these home around 1978 when I was 10 years old and I thought it was amazing, so happy to see you fixing this as it brought back lovely memories. Have you heard from Roger as I haven't seen him on in a while? Mick 👍🍻

[@Mymatevince]

Cheers Mick 👍👍😎 Funnily enough I did at the end of last week. I believe he is a busy man job wise so it must be hard to find time for KZbin. Hopefully he will have another vid ready soon 👍

[@whoeusbsknsi]

liar liar dad on fire

[@tonyfishlock7240]

Cheers Vince I love your videos but i find myself shouting at the phone when spot things like the cathode-ray-tube 😂😂😂👍👍👍

[@jinxnatorx]

Nice long Saturday Video before work tonight Cheers Vince 👍❤️

[@Mymatevince]

Nice one Jinxy 👍👍

[@craigbeas6111]

Mine had a tape deck too you have so much patience Vince well done 👍👍👍

[@KieranSymes]

Love the channel Vince 👌 I'm sure you don't need to say "I'm not an expert anymore".

[@Mymatevince]

Thanks Kieran! 👍👍😎

[@tehklevster]

Nice repair Vince. Thankfully no shocking flyback transformer fun 🌩⚠🙂

[@alanhirst7201]

The switch on the side you cleaned first is for CHARGE. A battery charger is built in, and a lead acid battery was available for this model which sat in the battery compartment and positive was connected to a pole in a small recess. When in charge mode, tv and radio was inoperable. Lovely little set, I got mine in 1980 and it still works!

[@nicholas790]

Absolutely brilliant!, I really admire your determination and analytical skills! Made my day and week and month!1 thank you soooo much!

[@terminationshock1356]

Vince to the rescue to save my night. Greetings from the EU!

[@Mymatevince]

Thanks TS 👍👍😎

[@mm0077]

Simply Beautiful and a delight to watch.

[@michaelmay9728]

This is so cool, as a child we had a similar unit in our family van and had our NES hooked up to it for road trips

[@patrickjmorgan]

I have one just like it, I had 2 but Dads one is still in its original box- from Dixons, probably 1982. Dads was less used than mine but both us were ‘campers’ and our one was in our tent!

[@Vermilicious]

Just be sure to connect the ground to the tube if you decide to turn it on, in this case it was those prongs I'm guessing. Lots of noise. Might have to be with the lack of grounding on the signal cable you re-soldered. The braid seemed not to be connected.

[@Mymatevince]

Yes, I just read that on another comment. I thought it was bad reception in my house but I can clearly see the broken braid now. Thanks Vermilicious! 👍

[@rogierius]

I know this is an old reply to an old video, but perhaps you can explain why the braided sleeve must be connected to ground? It's around 31:00 where the signal cable gets loose.

[@Vermilicious]

​@@rogieriusVideo signals are susceptible to electromagnetic noise, messing up the signal. The grounded braid in the cable stops that from happening (mostly).

[@rogierius]

@@Vermilicious I see now in the video that another braided is soldered to what I suppose is ground. Thanks for replying!

[@johnsimpson99]

My dad owned a TV shop for close to 40 years. I spent summers with him sometimes and him and 2-3 guys would be in the back of the shop, cigarettes hanging from their mouths, working on all the old tv's and radios and such. Back when people fixed things. As a 10-12 year old, I'd be responsible for testing all the tubes. And emptying ashtrays :)

[@BG101UK]

The CH-ON /TV-RADIO switch on the side is actually to permit charging of NiCd cells fitted in the battery compartment (someone will probably have beaten me to this). Used to be common on battery/mains radios back in the 1970s.

[@GadgetUK164]

Lovely fixes Vince =D

[@Mymatevince]

Thank you Chris 👍👍👍👍👍

[@danielpowers5891]

17:35 excellent mug shot!

[@Mymatevince]

🤣🤣👍

[@welshtony1]

Nice fix, makes me want to get my tiny black and white TV out haha

[@MasterQuizzer]

Use baking soda and superglue for filing gaps - it sets like rock and will be considerably cheaper than commercial stuff

[@MrPeteykins]

This was such a satisfying one! Well done!

[@lindastone6868]

I had one of those, used it to play ps1 games when I went to uni in the late 90s. I've still got the ariel from it!

[@lugoj7181]

Cool stuff...good job

[@olias2k979]

Use SERVISOL for switch cleaning, not IPA. IPA washes grease out of the switch and its needed to lube the clamp in the switch. Also get two household paint brushes, one Black bristle cheapo and a quality fine brush to clean out stuff from dust.

[@jasondean7258]

I think yous call them 2 in 1.very nice vince.my dad you have one 3 in1 with tv radio and tape

[@LoftechUK]

I really like these old units. Brilliant.

[@crcomments8509]

The first connector (with the 4 wires), for the tube you were concerned about is the connection to the deflection coils on the tube, they will not hold a charge from the tube, although when powered up can give a fair walk. A B&W tube of that size is only about 14KV whereas a large screen colour is nearly 30K. With older CRT sets, best not to start twirling any preset pots as you have what’s called the B+ voltage and if that is too high, the tube can emit x rays!!!. Other risks of CRT is knocking the back of the neck off.

[@stuartrook2551]

When my girlfriend (now wife of 38 years) first moved in together we used one of these as our main TV for several months! That would have been 1982.....There's a chance it's still in a box in the loft... We had it on a fairly high sideboard and used to draw our 1960s bucket chairs as close as we could. Happy days.

[@whoeusbsknsi]

smelling the same poopy wife smell every morning for almost 40 years?!?! what a champ.

[@haweater1555]

I have one of those AM/FM VHF/UHF B&W set that was given to me at work back in 2000. I knew right away what novel thing I could use it for -- spinning through the analog dial tuner in the high UHF range to pick up cell phone conversations!

[@johnrogers2826]

That, is really really cool. Especially the end, getting the ps5 wired through to analog. Well done!

[@andersmmvfc.8376]

Oooh that it even better then your nintendo switsh boombox video. Plz fix a age proper home computer to have it stand on :) Thank you for always delivering the best!

[@Mymatevince]

Hahaha, thanks Anders! My daughter mentioned the World's Best Boombox video the other day. When I was filming the start of that video a dog walker walked by and gave it the funniest look. I said "don't ask" he stopped, had another look and the said " I won't" and walked off laughing. It was a proper monstrosity 🤣🤣🤣👍👍

[@ClaymateDesigner]

I have a very similar Crown TV/Radio that still works other than no TV stations to watch. It has a rotary type TV tuning and Radio dial. I even have the service manual for it, when manufacturers still supplied manuals... An interesting video as I've never had mine apart...

[@armstrongskyview2810]

Fantastic video, more like this please and dont worry about it being long as i think the majority of viewers (myself included) really enjoy a good long and interesting fix. by far the Retro videos are the best as they have history and good old fashioned issues you just dont get on modern items. more.game gears, lynx, sega Nomads (this is a mobile megadrive!)and perhaps a rare pc engine gt turbo. looking forward to the next video as im a brit abroad that enjoys your walk n talk your way through problems to get to solutions. regards chris. ps how can i become a vince massive patrion?

[@Mymatevince]

Nice one Chris! That's good to hear. I also like the older stuff, it seems to be more fixable or maybe at least it seems to be easy to fault find👍👍 I have the Patreon link in the description of most videos BUT if you comment the odd time, leave a few thumbs up, and watch the odd advert then I am more that happy with that. 😎

[@dodgydruid]

My mum had one of these, used mainly on holidays but she also used it for her video work as a small monitor and she produced quite a lot of videos on the thing. Its use came to an end when I built up a PC for her that could handle full video input and she hooked a jogger board and second monitor to it and the poor old portable got chucked in the end as it was pretty knackered by this time.

[@Mymatevince]

Your mum had good taste Ian, this portable TV and the Amstrad Notepad. Hope you keeping well buddy 👍👍👍

[@dchapman0449]

That is nostalgia, that is awesome!!

[@norikotakaya14292]

I have something similar to this made by Radio Shack in the late 80s. I used to carry it in my work truck when I worked emergency service and was on standby with nothing to do. It still works, but the TV side can't pick up digital signals obviously.

[@brunopdionisio]

Thinking of getting one of these and retire my gaming monitor 😂 Great fix !

[@Mymatevince]

Hahaha, better response times!!!!!

[@davenone7312]

I love the way you over play the "High Voltage" danger, on a set that hasn't been turned on in years! You are correct when you say you have little experience in the electronics field. But it seems you do in the field of overkill and drama!

[@wadowicegwadowiceg8093]

Great job, as always. Congratulations

[@cynaptyc]

Weirdly unintentional ASMR! The plastics having a weird effect on me. Generally relaxing. 😆 Guess i should sub!!! 👍

[@peteterry2877]

Wow. I used to have one of those! Great vid. Thank you.

[@alanboyle9392]

Good vid,that rig at the end doesn't look too portable now!

[@malcolmsharrock1308]

That brings back memories for me. I had the superior JVC model which also had a cassette player in it.

[@retsamyar]

i remember using one of these as a kid to watch startrek next gen in the 80s .... i had fun learning about electronics and getting a nintendo to run on it etc.. one thing i do remember is that it was heavy

[@RaZZaR18]

As allways so interessting to watch - even i have no skill or knowledge in repairing of electronics.

[@TheAxelay]

Man that's nuts running a pre 2020 PS5 console into a 1978 portable TV - radio system. Both timelines couldn't be further from one another in the concepts of time and progress here. But in a rare form they're aligned here for all of us to see. These TV - radio systems were still sold in the 1980's via Tandy/Radio Shack among others although not as big/sturdy built. Get some mates to play your PS5 like this and it'll be the talk of the town here. That Radio TV system is as old as me and is a sheer piece of electronic ingenuity as well. Nice fix.

[@possumgrits825]

Love that you connected a PS5 to it. Genius.

[@johneymute]

For 1978 this was very very ahead for it’s time😁