Philips EL5770 Projection System

Postwar Television

Philips EL5770 Projection System

PIctures courtesy of Nicolin Salis

Philips EL5770 projection system, manufactured approximately in 1964. The system consists of of three parts: 1. A rack (EJ851-59) containing the video inputs and processing. It is connected to the high-voltage unit via two pluggable multi-pin connectors. 2. The high-voltage unit (EJ851-42). The high voltage is transmitted to the CRT unit via a coaxial cable (similar to RG6). A multi-pin cable also connects the high-voltage unit and the CRT unit. 3. The actual projection unit (EJ851-59), with an MW16-38 picture tube and Schmidt optics.

Comments from Nicolin Salis, who owns of these systems:

My system was modified so that the CRT section was separated from the high-voltage section and placed in a retractable ceiling lift. Both the high-voltage coaxial cable and the multi-pole cable were replaced with a custom made 25m long cable. The control elements at the rear of the high-voltage unit (where Philips intended the projectionist to stand) were removed, also extended with a multi-pole cable, and mounted in a separate wall enclosure near the homeowner's seating area. If I were to renovate the system, I would restore it to its original condition, which shouldn't be a problem. The entire system has 69 tubes, an astonishing number. This was the first time I saw the EL822, a Noval pentode specifically for baseband video amplification. These are present in abundance, as are a huge number of PL81s (roughly equivalent to the 21F12 or 21B6). The CRT unit, in particular, seems to weigh well over 100 kg. Philips seems to have been unfamiliar with aluminum, instead manufacturing everything from heavy sheet iron with cast frames as supports. The price tag was still on the unit: CHF 50,000.00 (approx. USD 20,000.00 in 1964 dollars, approx. USD 63,000 in today's dollars), but it also included two black and white TV sets with CVBS inputs and outputs. The customer (a watch manufacturer with a large villa) appears to have separately (probably somewhat later) purchased a 1" reel-to-reel video recorder (Philips EL3400), which I also own. According to the sticker, the last repair was made in 1979. Soon after, the projection system was replaced with a 3-tube unit from the U.S. company Advent. Thankfully, the Advent contractor didn't scrap the old system but stored it in his own warehouse, and in his old age, he was happy when I took it off his hands.