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Old 11th Jul 2021, 6:56 pm   #1
osx86apple
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Default Decca Decola projection set

Hi everyone,

Recently acquired this Decca Decola projection television, all complete (thank goodness). Can’t seem to see much reference to the projection version of the Decola range in the same style cabinet as the radiogram?
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Old 11th Jul 2021, 7:01 pm   #2
TonyDuell
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Default Re: Decca Decola projection set

What an impressive set! I've just been reading the service manual for it. The audio amplifier is similar to that in the Decola radiogram with push-pull driver stages (and output of course --a pair of PX25s)

The service manual, all 80 pages of it, is on the Mono TV DVD available 'up top' so I assume you can also buy an instant download of just that manual.
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Old 11th Jul 2021, 7:04 pm   #3
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Default Re: Decca Decola projection set

Quote:
Originally Posted by TonyDuell View Post
What an impressive set! I've just been reading the service manual for it. The audio amplifier is similar to that in the Decola radiogram with push-pull driver stages (and output of course --a pair of PX25s)

The service manual, all 80 pages of it, is on the Mono TV DVD available 'up top' so I assume you can also buy an instant download of just that manual.
Many thanks - luckily it came with service data - I wouldn’t have imagine they’d sold many of these when new, would’ve probably cost a small fortune
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Old 11th Jul 2021, 7:18 pm   #4
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Default Re: Decca Decola projection set

On the valve page it’s listed as £325, but all the sets from Decca were very expensive, a 12 inch console with radio £616.
http://www.thevalvepage.com/tvmanu/decca/decca.htm
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Old 11th Jul 2021, 8:36 pm   #5
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Default Re: Decca Decola projection set

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nuvistor View Post
On the valve page it’s listed as £325, but all the sets from Decca were very expensive, a 12 inch console with radio £616.
http://www.thevalvepage.com/tvmanu/decca/decca.htm
I'm always intrigued by the financial considerations of historic TVs/radios: back in the immediate-postwar period when these were on offer, average pay was around £10 a week. a

I wonder what tube it uses? The MW6/2 as used by Philips, or is it a big-CRT-on-end with a mirror-lid?

http://www.r-type.org/articles/art-113.htm
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Old 11th Jul 2021, 8:54 pm   #6
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Default Re: Decca Decola projection set

It’s not a mirror lid, appears to be a Schmidt unit with a MW6/2 if I have the correct set.

Decca optical unit service info.
https://www.service-data.com/product...4/10206/m17484
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Old 11th Jul 2021, 9:27 pm   #7
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Default Re: Decca Decola projection set

The Decola projection TV is listed in the Trader Year book for 1950. 47 valves! MW/LW and yes FM. £264-15-4d plus £157-17/- purchase tax.
MW6-2 CRT. 6F13 [6]. 6L18 [4]. EB91 [4].6F14. T41 [2]. 6P28. PEN45. EBC33. EL38. L63 [7].6SN7 [2]. 6SG7 [3]. 6SA7. 6SJ7. EM34. 6BA6. 6BE6. 6SH7. 6H6. PX25 [2]. UU8. EY51 [3]. 5U4G [2]. I'm surprised they did not include a record player as well.

The valve line up suggests the usual Decca units manufactured by Plessey. The first Decca receivers manufactured by Decca themselves had the prefix DM [Decca Manufacture] preceding the model number ie DM14, DM4 etc and first appeared around 1955/56. John.
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Old 11th Jul 2021, 9:33 pm   #8
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Default Re: Decca Decola projection set

My Dad took one of these in some sort of PX deal in 1960 -it sort of worked but the picture was so dim....

We moved at the end of the year and left it for the new owners.
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Old 12th Jul 2021, 7:24 am   #9
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Default Re: Decca Decola projection set

What a beautiful set!

I'm envious...

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Old 12th Jul 2021, 9:09 am   #10
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Default Re: Decca Decola projection set

The control knobs on the left hand panel look very like power station switching knobs commensurate with the period. If it is not too much trouble, would you be able to show us the guts?
Thanks,
Neil
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Old 14th Jul 2021, 12:00 pm   #11
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Default Re: Decca Decola projection set

Quote:
Originally Posted by Heatercathodeshort View Post
The Decola projection TV is listed in the Trader Year book for 1950. 47 valves! MW/LW and yes FM. £264-15-4d plus £157-17/- purchase tax.
John.
Total of about £433 pounds then. I understand that the basic Decola 9 valve reproducer was about £216 without radio, and was produced in reasonable quantities. Therefore it seems surprising the price for this 47 valve receiver is "only" £433 for a more complicated and presumed much lower production item. Possibly even at £433 it was a subsidised retail price?
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Old 14th Jul 2021, 2:22 pm   #12
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Default Re: Decca Decola projection set

I used to own a Dcca 131 projection set and it is clearly from the same stable with its futuristic, slatted, '50s deco' design.
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Old 14th Jul 2021, 10:06 pm   #13
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Default Re: Decca Decola projection set

I restored the 131 at the Dulwich Museum. If you view it at a sensible distance the picture is very good indeed. They were designed for use in clubs, hotel television rooms and very large houses where a viewing distance of 18-20 ft was not unusual.

The Plessey manufactured Decca receivers were up top when it came to EHT regulation and reliability. A model 1000 with 4ft X 3ft picture is surprisingly nice to watch but not in the 9d seats.

The Decola uses similar TV circuits and should be very interesting to overhaul. Is the screen ground glass or the usual reeded plastic? John.
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Old 15th Jul 2021, 2:09 pm   #14
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Default Re: Decca Decola projection set

Hi osx86apple,
I saw this for sale and thought, it's not my kind of thing, but it needs to be saved. I'm glad you were able to give it a home.

Decca televisions tended to have Plessey made innards, with their projection sets being fairly similar internally. The knobs on your set (I'm sure they are original) look quite different from the other Decca sets that I have seen, but then again the whole set is nothing like any of Decca's other TV sets anyway.

Do you plan to restore it? It could be fun.

Cheers
Andy
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Old 15th Jul 2021, 5:25 pm   #15
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Default Re: Decca Decola projection set

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Hi osx86apple,
...... the whole set is nothing like any of Decca's other TV sets anyway.

Cheers
Andy
On account of it being so large, no. But there are some distinct family design characterises and features that it shares with the 131, the figured walnut veneering, the slatted speaker grille, the 'square cut' statuesque stance etc.
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Old 15th Jul 2021, 5:51 pm   #16
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Default Re: Decca Decola projection set

Quote:
Originally Posted by newlite4 View Post
The control knobs on the left hand panel look very like power station switching knobs commensurate with the period…….
Thanks,
Neil
Those unusual knobs were a Decca ‘signature’ favourite at that time. Used not only on the mighty Decola record player, but also on the original 2-speed Deccalian for the bespoke BSR turntable speed change.

Martin
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Old 15th Jul 2021, 9:05 pm   #17
osx86apple
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Default Re: Decca Decola projection set

Hello everyone - it is a heavy set, luckily it comes apart the same way as its radiogram equivalent. I’ll be restoring the set hopefully in the next few months, and I’ll get some more photos up soon.
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