I've just picked up a lovely little TX 37140 / MC01, boxed and in as-new condition. It looks like it's hardily ever been out of its box and the box itself looks like it's been kept in the dry and dark. I could almost imagine it's come directly from a branch of Comet in the early 1980s!
I'm planning to use it with various 8-bit micros (once I've made up a SCART to DIN 5 and 7 adaptor).
Here's my question for the collective wisdom. Having switched it on (and connected it to a ZX Spectrum via RF) and left it running for around 30 mins, the casing into which the aerial plugs rose to around 30 deg C (measured with an infrared thermometer). As a kid, I had a similar model (16" Moviestar) which I remember wafted a hot electronics kind of smell, but obviously I never measured its running temperature! So my question is, is an operating temperature of 30+ deg C normal or is something going on that needs attention?
Many thanks in advance, Tony
Hi Tony,
A good "rule of thumb" if you'll pardon that expression is, if you can hold on to the part for a sustained length of time then it's not too hot, otherwise it needs a heatsink or some other attention.
Peter
Being a little more scientific, the TV set consumes around 40 watts. I'm no mathematician (I'll leave the calcs to those more inclined) but 30°C sounds about what you should expect.
I’d say 30 isn’t anything to worry about, I’ve got a ITT black and white portable which happily gets up to 55*c! And it’s not a valve model either.
Regards,
Lloyd
Thanks for your feedback, everyone.
I’ve satisfied myself that it’s running at normal temperature. Took the back off so as to be able to take decent temp readings across the board. No particular component is getting exceptionally hot. The regulators and heatsink topped out after a few hours in the high 40s Celsius with the ICs in the low 40s with everything else in between or lower. I guess I’d just forgotten how hot they used to run.
There's absolutely no dust whatsoever inside, so I'm pretty sure it's never been used. It's like it's come direct from the 1980s! Such a warm nostalgic feeling setting it up and getting it working with an 80s computer. A shame there are no analogue broadcasts anymore.
A shame there are no analogue broadcasts anymore.
Why let that stop you? Many of us here watch live TV on even earlier analogue colour 625-line sets and the much earlier (1930s-1960s) black and white 405-line TV's. At least you don't have to worry about complex standard's conversion, all you need is an RF UHF PAL modulator. https://www.labgear.co.uk/product-categories/other-products/modulators/uhf-mini-rf-modulator-pal-1-pal-bg/
Hook up any device such as SKY/Free-view box or DVD player to the scart input at the rear of the modulator. Select a channel on the modulator to output a signal, connect the modulator to your TV via a length of aerial cable and finally tune your Ferguson to the modulators signal just as you did in the analogue days. You can watch whatever you want.
What a smashing find but I'm afraid it wont accept RGB from a Spectrum without modification as the MC01 was specifically for TTL signals such as from the BBC Model B etc. There was a special interface made by Thorn for use with the Spectrum, the MA20 RGB.
The MC01 can also accept composite video so with the appropriate cables you don't need a modulator to watch analogue video.
Or, if you can find one (eBay?) a "Multiview T-35" box will simultaneously receive three DVB-T bouquets, decode from digital, and output as analogue, up to five TV channels in the UHF range ch21 to ch69. There was a bit of a rush on these devices about two years ago, but there are still a few of them around.
http://www.psomipeter.se/bilder_portfolio/pdf/01927_folder_multiview_se_100416.pdf
@jayceebee having made up a DIN7 to SCART converter, the MC01 displays RGB from the Spectrum no problem, including with differing intensities (i.e. using the Spectrum's "Bright" command), so it's not TTL (I do have a couple Microvitec Cubs which are the TTL configuration, so I know what you mean). Here's a picture of it in action (the Spectrum here is modern clone, a Harlequin 128):
https://www.flickr.com/gp/9927085@N03/07199Z
I would quite like to get a MC02, though, to complete the collection!
@katie-bush Thanks, I didn't know such things existed! I'll keep an eye on eBay. They're pretty pricey brand new!
Here's my DIN7 to SCART adaptor: https://www.flickr.com/gp/9927085@N03/1cx4x4
How can it use RGB on channel 7? does the set have Scart og RGB input at rear?
Thanks for your feedback, everyone.
I’ve satisfied myself that it’s running at normal temperature. Took the back off so as to be able to take decent temp readings across the board. No particular component is getting exceptionally hot. The regulators and heatsink topped out after a few hours in the high 40s Celsius with the ICs in the low 40s with everything else in between or lower. I guess I’d just forgotten how hot they used to run.
Nothing to worry about with those temps. In my day job of safety testing, I check things like this all the time. You have to take into account the ambient temperature (say 20 degrees in the average room) so everything starts off at around that temperature before you even switch the set on. So assuming about 20 degrees for starting and you measure 30 after a few hours that's only a rise of 10 degrees....nothing at all. Unless otherwise stated by the manufacturer, the ambient temperature is assumed to be 25 degrees (for tropical countries it can be as high as 45 degrees). We have to correct measured temperatures to the manufacturers maximum so in your case it would mean adding 5 degrees to the measured temp which would put the above example to 35 degrees. This is well within normal component ratings.
Be thankful it's not an early valve colour TV with an EHT tower!
@acj1980 It has two DIN connectors (not SCART), one for CVBS and another for RGB. If it picks up a signal from the DINs it flips from RF to that signal.
https://www.flickr.com/gp/9927085@N03/7r367N
I would quite like to get a MC02, though, to complete the collection!
I have to say that I'm not aware of an MC02 even though it is mentioned on the Spectrum computing website, the only other MC models I've come across are the MC05 and MC09 which are equipped with scart connectors. There were also a couple of monochrome monitors Ferguson (Thorn) produced, the MM02 and MM06 which had green and orange phosphor respectively.
