philco: G4242M (9L37); Predicta Holiday

In order to make the picture tube housing more compact for its Predicta line of TVs, Philco created a new cathode ray tube (CRT) design with a very compact electron gun and a short tube neck.  Unfortunately, CRTs with this new design turned out to have a very short life.  CRTs failed after only a few years of use, severely damaging Philco's reputation in the TV business, and contributing to Philco's exit from the TV business and sale of the company to Ford.

Today, almost all Predictas which have the original tube intact have low emission on the CRT.  When testing, be careful, since the 21EAP4/SF21A CRT has a 2.5 volt heater (unlike almost all other CRTs from that era, which have 6.3 volt heaters).  Applying 6 volts can burn out the heater.  If the CRT is bad, there are several companies that rebuild CRTs, and the Predicta, with its relatively high value among collectors, is one of the few sets for which CRT rebuilding makes economic sense.

Tom

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