You have to love that curved crt screen. The desk clock idea sounds pretty cool actually. A more involved project might be turning it into a retro version of those cheap pocket oscilloscopes.
Makes you appreciate the marvel of miniaturization this was for its time. No good-quality LCD was available back then, all the parts of a full black & white CRT had to be shrunk down and mounted vertically.
Doing great kid! If I may, I’d like to offer some free advice that can help you later on. It’s normal to say things like “ummmm” “ughh” or “like” as filler words when our mind is searching for the best word to use. Instead of using very distracting filler words, just stay silent, it’s perfectly fine to have gaps of silence for a second or two, it makes people think you’re more intelligent as you ponder your thoughts. Now that you know this human trait, you’ll notice it in everyone around you. For those that don’t use filler words, it means someone taught them already. If you ever find yourself speaking in front of a large audience, just imagine that everyone in the audience isn’t wearing any clothes, it somehow changes our tension to near humor and allows you to choose your words. Your vocal inflection and cadence of speech flow is fine, you’re not putting everyone to sleep. I joined the Army in 1983 and back then this little TV would cost me nearly an entire months paycheck since working a full time job paid around $435 a month back then, the Army paid me over double that which is why many didn’t own these things. I’m guessing these sold for around $250-$300, not sure though. Well done young man.
I think the CRT tube reflects the picture to the white viewing plate rather than a direct picture coming from the face of the tube. That would explain the concave shape on the viewing plate.
Hey Sjm4306, Happy New Year. Would you happen to know where I can get a replacement antenna for my Watchman? or something close to it? Any help appreciated
Thanks, hmm that's probably tough since it not only has a right angle joint but additionally telescopes into the unit (your best bet for a 1:1 replacement is to try for a cheap broken watchman). If you dont care about having it bend (so it only telescopes) it looks like a standard diameter so you can measure and search for a generic replacement radio antenna.
Did you ever have tryed to hookup a snes or snes to it and see if those lightguns will still work on it??? I ask this because this is basically a folded crt inside it, so therefore there should no delay ,no input lag or motion ghosting at all. am very curious about this. THX
I did exactly this on a larger 4" watchman and for some reason it didn't work. In theory I really did think it would work but possibly there is some detail in the nonlinear trace drive or odd glass geometry that I'm not aware of preventing it from working. Hopefully I can find a way to get a small crt to work with a light gun, can you imagine a tiny light gun replica playing a tiny game of tiny duckhunt!
Huh? You were getting audio via the video input jack? It's supposed to be video-only - mine certainly is and even the manual says as such. If you were able to get audio through that jack, then that is odd.
1. how were you getting your video into the unit? e.g cords and output modes adn such 2. Would you know how to out put your own signal to be picked up by the watchmen via its antena ?
I used the av 3.5mm input plug on the side to take ntsc composite video (just a simple three pole miniplug with audio, video, and ground). If you really want to use the antenna as an input you could use an rf modulator from old game consoles which will take composite video input convert to rf on channel 3 or 4 and then just tune the tv to the correct channel, but as the unit has native composite video input I would just go with that.
So there are two options then, you reverse engineer (or google if someone else has figured out) how to inject composite video into the watchman, or you use a rf modulator wired to the antenna and ground to feed composite into it when tuned to channel 3 or 4.
sjm4306 I am thinking about getting this same model and I do agree with you that it would be difficult and time consuming not to mention what it would do to your patience
A simpler project and really cool one would be to stick something like a hackvision pcb inside and add control buttons so you can play tetris/space invaders/asteroids/etc on it.
A raspberry pi zero w might be a better option for this. It's small and low powered, and can be easily be configured to run emulators. And you could take it a step further, and make a custom case, or perhaps make it rechargable.
hey man, if you can come across one try taking apart an old 1940s tube radio, often times you can still find them with working tube amplifiers and some are even still fully functional to this day. that would make a great teardown video. most people probably don't even know what vacuum tubes are these days. Great Video BTW, and I think ill subscribe while im here.
HighVoltageMayhem I love modern electronics and all but there is something special about tubes, nixies, numitrons, vfd, etc of the past. If I can get a hold of one I would definitely do a teardown of a vintage radio (non-destructively of course)! Also thanks for subbing.
yea man, do be careful though if you get one sometimes the capacitors decide to go bang. I have a US Navy Tape Reproducer and its over 80 years old and the thing weighs over a100lbs. anyhow the big t202 cap about the size of a paper milk carton one day just exploded. I was able to fix it but still the wonderful unmatched sound of a tube amp was worth it.
If I'm being honest it wont be cheap. Most modern repair shops wont even touch older devices like this so your only practical option is to find someone online willing to do it for you and their hourly rate will likely be more that the value of the item.
You have to love that curved crt screen. The desk clock idea sounds pretty cool actually. A more involved project might be turning it into a retro version of those cheap pocket oscilloscopes.
Cool piece of tech from before the time I was born. Thanks for sharing this amazing tech.
Makes you appreciate the marvel of miniaturization this was for its time. No good-quality LCD was available back then, all the parts of a full black & white CRT had to be shrunk down and mounted vertically.
Wow I like this video, I just bought one myself that I’m going to use with my custom over the air station
Doing great kid! If I may, I’d like to offer some free advice that can help you later on. It’s normal to say things like “ummmm” “ughh” or “like” as filler words when our mind is searching for the best word to use. Instead of using very distracting filler words, just stay silent, it’s perfectly fine to have gaps of silence for a second or two, it makes people think you’re more intelligent as you ponder your thoughts. Now that you know this human trait, you’ll notice it in everyone around you. For those that don’t use filler words, it means someone taught them already. If you ever find yourself speaking in front of a large audience, just imagine that everyone in the audience isn’t wearing any clothes, it somehow changes our tension to near humor and allows you to choose your words. Your vocal inflection and cadence of speech flow is fine, you’re not putting everyone to sleep.
I joined the Army in 1983 and back then this little TV would cost me nearly an entire months paycheck since working a full time job paid around $435 a month back then, the Army paid me over double that which is why many didn’t own these things. I’m guessing these sold for around $250-$300, not sure though.
Well done young man.
I think the CRT tube reflects the picture to the white viewing plate rather than a direct picture coming from the face of the tube. That would explain the concave shape on the viewing plate.
Yep, and interestingly enough because of the curved phosphor surface sony had to develop nonlinear drive circuitry or the image would look distorted.
It’s a must have
1 Dollar! I'm envious :). Yours must be a 525/30 version, in Europe they sold 625/25 ones obviously (I'm not saying "PAL" because it wasn't colour).
They also made the Watchman Voyager FD-20AEB that could pick up both systems!
the screen is very good for the size
Hey Sjm4306, Happy New Year. Would you happen to know where I can get a replacement antenna for my Watchman? or something close to it? Any help appreciated
Thanks, hmm that's probably tough since it not only has a right angle joint but additionally telescopes into the unit (your best bet for a 1:1 replacement is to try for a cheap broken watchman). If you dont care about having it bend (so it only telescopes) it looks like a standard diameter so you can measure and search for a generic replacement radio antenna.
so i do have one of these, but the speaker is broken, it wont make any noise, is there any way to fix this?
I would call it a PEAK. When you get the nerve, would like to see. thanks for the bit.
Did you ever have tryed to hookup a snes or snes to it and see if those lightguns will still work on it???
I ask this because this is basically a folded crt inside it, so therefore there should no delay ,no input lag or motion ghosting at all.
am very curious about this.
THX
I did exactly this on a larger 4" watchman and for some reason it didn't work. In theory I really did think it would work but possibly there is some detail in the nonlinear trace drive or odd glass geometry that I'm not aware of preventing it from working. Hopefully I can find a way to get a small crt to work with a light gun, can you imagine a tiny light gun replica playing a tiny game of tiny duckhunt!
Do most watchmans have comp video inputs in them? I passed 2 of them this weekend for 6 dollars new in box and another 10 dollars out of box (ripoff)
I believe that all watchmans have av composite inputs in some form or another (at least all of mine do).
sjm4306 I still am not risking it for like the amount of money it costs (you got lucky)
Yeah, I've seen people bodge composite into the main internal drive ic to get units without physical video inputs to work with composite.
Huh? You were getting audio via the video input jack? It's supposed to be video-only - mine certainly is and even the manual says as such. If you were able to get audio through that jack, then that is odd.
1. how were you getting your video into the unit? e.g cords and output modes adn such
2. Would you know how to out put your own signal to be picked up by the watchmen via its antena ?
I used the av 3.5mm input plug on the side to take ntsc composite video (just a simple three pole miniplug with audio, video, and ground). If you really want to use the antenna as an input you could use an rf modulator from old game consoles which will take composite video input convert to rf on channel 3 or 4 and then just tune the tv to the correct channel, but as the unit has native composite video input I would just go with that.
They don't all have the composite input. Mine was manufactured in 1986 and is definitely a bit more basic than the one in this video.
Do you know how to get an FD-10a to connect to a computer?
You will need an adapter from whatever video output your computer has (vga/hdmi/dvi) to composite for the watchman.
@@sjm4306 I would but the FD-10a does not have an external input thing and the only thing i can connect into it are headphones
So there are two options then, you reverse engineer (or google if someone else has figured out) how to inject composite video into the watchman, or you use a rf modulator wired to the antenna and ground to feed composite into it when tuned to channel 3 or 4.
I ended up buying one of these off of ebay. I also ended up buying a service manual for it. Not the owners manual the service manual
They are really neat when you think about the engineering that went into designing the unconventional tube and its drive electronics
sjm4306 that is what really drew me to it and older electronics in general
Do you think that you could make a digital tuner mod for a tv like this and keep it had held
I don't see why not, but cramming a digital tuner inside in place of the analog one would be quite a test in effort and patience.
sjm4306 I am thinking about getting this same model and I do agree with you that it would be difficult and time consuming not to mention what it would do to your patience
A simpler project and really cool one would be to stick something like a hackvision pcb inside and add control buttons so you can play tetris/space invaders/asteroids/etc on it.
sjm4306 that would be a good idea
A raspberry pi zero w might be a better option for this. It's small and low powered, and can be easily be configured to run emulators. And you could take it a step further, and make a custom case, or perhaps make it rechargable.
hey man, if you can come across one try taking apart an old 1940s tube radio, often times you can still find them with working tube amplifiers and some are even still fully functional to this day. that would make a great teardown video. most people probably don't even know what vacuum tubes are these days. Great Video BTW, and I think ill subscribe while im here.
HighVoltageMayhem I love modern electronics and all but there is something special about tubes, nixies, numitrons, vfd, etc of the past. If I can get a hold of one I would definitely do a teardown of a vintage radio (non-destructively of course)! Also thanks for subbing.
yea man, do be careful though if you get one sometimes the capacitors decide to go bang. I have a US Navy Tape Reproducer and its over 80 years old and the thing weighs over a100lbs. anyhow the big t202 cap about the size of a paper milk carton one day just exploded. I was able to fix it but still the wonderful unmatched sound of a tube amp was worth it.
Great Video! Just to prove I watched the whole thing you said "UM" 94 times, Average is 1 UM every ten seconds. Sorry, O.C.D. kicked in
haha best comment ever!
I am subscribing! You sounds like a great guy.
Thanks and welcome aboard!
I still have analog TV in the US
Where are you generally located? I live near Philadelphia and none of my analog TVs can pick up channels anymore.
What was used for the analog band has been given back to the military.
so i do have one of these, but the speaker is broken, it wont make any noise, is there any way to fix this?
yes the model is indeed fd-30a, and when i do plug headphones in, it also wont make any noise either
If I had to guess the caps in the audio amp circuitry are bad and need replacement.
thanks@@sjm4306
im a beginner though, do u know anywhere to get them replaced?@@sjm4306
If I'm being honest it wont be cheap. Most modern repair shops wont even touch older devices like this so your only practical option is to find someone online willing to do it for you and their hourly rate will likely be more that the value of the item.