Bell / Western Electric - "Mod 1 Picturephone"

[twocvbloke]

Makes me think of the scene at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark.

To be dealt with by "top men" eh? 

[Dan/Panther]

Dave;
I tried to make one of those using switches, the difference it was for 2 people.
D/P

[MagicMo]

From reading the manual it looks like the message register is per is per video call. In the picture labeled under I.
Thanks!
Maureen

[MagicMo]

Pics of the PicturePhone. When I took it out of the box I noticed black dots on the screen. What's that all about? The marks on the back were made from my dirty fingerprints, it is in great condition.
Thanks,
Maureen

Black dots on the screen are not good.  Usually, this is an indication that the light-emitting phosphors of the picture tube have degraded with the passage of time.  This appears to be a common problem with the picture tubes used in these Type 1 Picturephones, as I have seen others with this condition.  It could very well be that the picture tube would have to be replaced in order for the unit to work.  If so, hopefully there is enough info in all your documentation to make that effort possible (assuming that this particular kind of picture tube is still commercially available).

Maureen, I see that you have located that elusive extra control unit.  Looks like you have all three major parts!  That's great!

Dave

Hi Again Dave,
It looks like the picture tube that is needed for the display unit is a B-572796. Is that still available to get today?
Thanks,
Maureen
maureen

[Phonesrfun]

I would say that your chances of finding a replacement CRT (picture tube) are probably remote, but some real digging on the Internet may find something.  I did a quick look for the Sylvania number but found nothing.

A lot may depend if the part was one that was in some other general purpose use where the tube would have been readily available.

[MagicMo]

I would say that your chances of finding a replacement CRT (picture tube) are probably remote, but some real digging on the Internet may find something.  I did a quick look for the Sylvania number but found nothing.

A lot may depend if the part was one that was in some other general purpose use where the tube would have been readily available.

Thanks Bill!

[Dave F]

Hi Again Dave,
It looks like the picture tube that is needed for the display unit is a B-572796. Is that still available to get today?
Thanks,
Maureen

Hi Maureen,

B-572796 is the Bell Labs designation.  ST-3183B is the mfr. model number.  Like Bill, I also did a cursory search, and that tube is long-obsolete.  But, that doesn't mean that one absolutely couldn't be found.  The fortunate part is that it is/was a standard industrial type, and not something special that Bell Labs cooked up.  That's a big plus.  There are people who collect/trade/sell old tubes just like we do with phones.  There are surely forums for stuff like that as well.  It might involve a lot of searching and waiting, but eventually one is likely to turn up.  I would never say never.

We collectors are used to long waits for hard-to-find parts.  Just look at my avatar picture on this forum for a prime example.  The phone in that picture is ultra-rare (fewer than five are known to exist in private collections).  It is an automatic dialer that uses special plastic cards to store the numbers.  It took me 40 years to find the phone, and I don't know if I will live long enough to locate any of the cards.  But I am forever vigilant.  All I can say is that if the Picturephone was mine, and it needed a new picture tube in order to work, I would never ever rest until I located one.  So, unless your dad squirreled away a few in some forgotten corner, let the search begin!

Dave

PS:  One other thing that looking at your manual photos makes me realize: This documentation that you have is almost priceless.  In my lifetime, I have seen several Mod 1 Picturephones (albeit, incomplete)  in private collections, but never has anybody that I know of managed to dig up as much tech info as you have.  I hope it has sunk in that yours is really a once-in-a-lifetime score.

DF

[poplar1]

Here are the Sylvania specs for ST-3183B:

http://tubedata.tubes.se/sheets/168/s/ST3183.pdf

[Dan/Panther]

Being somewhat familiar with vintage radios and televisions, my experience is unless damaged, a Glass CRT, used a little as that one probably has been, will still be good, unless damaged. It's in a vacuum, so no atmospheric deterioration can occur, then again if it's gone to air, you would know by the dark center of the phosphor on the face of the CRT. CRT's usually degrade over long periods of use. If it's still under vacuum, it could last indefinitely.
BTW, I don't think that CRT is so rare that a replacement couldn't be found. It looks like ones used in many mini TV's of the era.
D/P

[Dave F]

<snip> ...BTW, I don't think that CRT is so rare that a replacement couldn't be found. It looks like ones used in many mini TV's of the era.
D/P

I agree.

DF

[AE_Collector]

A Sylvania CRT in a WECo item. Almost unbelievable! (Sylvania was a part of GTE)

Terry

[Phonesrfun]

A Sylvania CRT in a WECo item. Almost unbelievable! (Sylvania was a part of GTE)

Terry

"Gee..........No, G.T.E."

i remember their commercial.

[AE_Collector]

Me too!

Terry

[Bill]

Alignment of the magnetic deflection coils could be a real headache. With a tube this small, I am hopeful that the ion trap and various small tweak magnets wouldn't add too much to the complexity. Perhaps some OLD TV collectors could help with it. But even if you find a tube, I would advise that you not delve into it unless you absolutely must.

Bill

[Dave F]

A Sylvania CRT in a WECo item. Almost unbelievable! (Sylvania was a part of GTE)

Terry

Funny, I was thinking that same thing last night.  But then, I don't believe that Sylvania was part of GTE back in 1964 (but I could be wrong about that).

Edit:  After a little research, I see that Sylvania merged with General Telephone to form GTE in 1959.  So, Bell Labs was indeed buying their Picturephone CRTs from a competitor.  How cool is that?!  (Maybe that's why those pesky phosphors were prone to unexpected degradation, hee, hee!)