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Old 27th Sep 2016, 12:00 pm   #1
steve72
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Default GEC 2121 TV help required

Hi all

This is a very unusual question which has taken a long time to get to this point and I wonder if there is anybody that could throw some light on this.

I was diagnosed with epilepsy in october 1973 and it went into remission in 1988 with medication. There were only 17 seizures. Mam and dad purchased the GEC 2121 in we think late 1973, the tv followed me to my married house in 1983 and we got shot in 1988 and we bought a new sony TV in 1988. The GEC 2121 has now without doubt been proved to be the stimulant for the seizures. I am also very photosensitive.

This has all come to the forefront in 2016 and my medication is been reduced.

could anyone tell me why the GEC 2121 TV would cause a problem and the sony would not. (I can search the sony number if need be)

Does flickering neons actually mean they are visible to the viewer.

The GEC 2121 picture did go green for quite a lot of years but we persevered.

Does anyone know the exact release date of the GEC 2121. Is it 1974 or 1973/74. If 1973 which month would that actually start in 1973.

any help would be greatly appreciated.

best regards
Steve
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Old 27th Sep 2016, 1:08 pm   #2
paulsherwin
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Default Re: GEC 2121 TV help required

The GEC would have had a 50Hz screen flicker, which is not normally visible but may cause problems for sensitive people. The Sony would have flickered too, but it may have been less pronounced or at a higher frequency.

Modern LCD TVs don't flicker at all.
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Old 27th Sep 2016, 1:45 pm   #3
Nuvistor
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Default Re: GEC 2121 TV help required

GEC 2121 released around June 1973, scroll down the page to see a photo.
http://www.radios-tv.co.uk/?page_id=213

Frank
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Old 27th Sep 2016, 2:46 pm   #4
Restoration73
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Default Re: GEC 2121 TV help required

Depending on the location, there may have been a strobeing effect caused by seeing the
TV screen and room lights together but not synchronous.

For a long time my local Argos had a screen giving the collection turn info, the flicker
rate was very irritating, and despite my reporting it to the manager as a health and
safety issue, nothing was done.
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Old 27th Sep 2016, 3:13 pm   #5
Freya
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Default Re: GEC 2121 TV help required

Rapid changes in blue and red are know to cause chromatic sensitive epilepsy.
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Old 27th Sep 2016, 5:59 pm   #6
steve72
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Default Re: GEC 2121 TV help required

excellent information from all above.

Thank you for the flicker rate information paul.

June 1973 ticks the right box frank and the link is great.

restoration73 I think you really have something there. The first seizure was caused by a fluorescent light direct. both mam and dads and my married house had those 1970 double circular fluorescent lights in the same room as the GEC 2121.

Stephen I have read many books on epilepsy and non of the journals mention chromatic sensitive epilepsy, probably because they concentrate on photosensitivity but your right it exists and thank you for that information. I can study that more in depth.

regards
Steve
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Old 28th Sep 2016, 11:40 am   #7
Welsh Anorak
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Default Re: GEC 2121 TV help required

Hi
The touch-tuning circuitry of the set you mention used neons as you know and they often gave an annoying flicker, easily noticeable. As the neons aged they tended to 'strike' randomly but not cause the set to change channel so went unrepaired. As the flicker was much less than the 25Hz from the screen it could cause the problem you describe.
Glyn
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Old 29th Sep 2016, 8:36 pm   #8
FERNSEH
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Default Re: GEC 2121 TV help required

I've got good stock of the Hivac 3L neons if you wish to replace them. Best policy to replace all of six at one go.

DFWB..
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Old 29th Sep 2016, 10:39 pm   #9
steve72
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Default Re: GEC 2121 TV help required

Hi Glyn and all above.

Many thanks for the information, it was really helpful. your right that flicker rate was pretty bad for me. one of my seizures was 20 minutes after the end of that famous black ball finish snooker match in 1985 between steve davis and dennis taylor but I never clicked it was the TV. I used to watch loads of sports in those days and extended watching of cricket and tennis has played its part. For some reason one sport caused the problem the most and whilst actually watching it and that was show jumping (harvey smith era).

Moving forward to 2016. if I put a well used video tape in on a LCD television or a 1930's laurel and hardy video, is the graining/flicker I see completely different to the HZ flicker that comes from the GEC 2121 or is it a slowed down HZ flicker if you know what I mean.

Many thanks for the offer fernseh but the television went in 1988.

regards to all
steve
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Old 29th Sep 2016, 11:40 pm   #10
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Default Re: GEC 2121 TV help required

Argh the Touch Tune set. I was TLO at GEC when this came out, channels would not change if there was too much leakage to ground through the customer. The official reply to the numerous complaints was to use a wooden stick with a piece of tin foil at the end. It was worse where the customer had a wool carpet rather than a nylon one and some reported that they used the dogs paw to change channels. I never had any reports of the flickering neons causing a problem but it is possible. I remember, to my horror, reading in Television to replace the graphite rods in the selector with wire! This had the potential to kill someone, the graphite rods were in fact high value carbon resistors!
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Old 30th Sep 2016, 1:51 pm   #11
Welsh Anorak
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Default Re: GEC 2121 TV help required

Beats my advice to jump in the air while touching the pad! Worked though. Mind you if you gave the customer a long enough stick you could have marketed it as a remote control set. Eventually a third party manufacturer brought out a six-button unit and escutcheon which got rid of the whole troublesome touch-tune unit.
Don't envy you then at GEC - the 20" version had the dissolving cabinet syndrome. And I'll bet you had a pocketful of 47V zeners....
Glyn
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Old 1st Oct 2016, 10:12 am   #12
System A
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Default Re: GEC 2121 TV help required

Hi.

I have the 26" version model 2147. The neons were flickering after I had restored it. David (Fernseh) kindly sent some which cured it.

Regards, Gary.
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