Who made these little TVs?

[Vitam]

You know, those el-cheapo 5" B&W TV sets. They're everywhere and under a million different brand names. They were widely available new until the DTV switch over, and even though they (AFAIK, one Chinese company might still manufacture them) stopped making them, they are still widely available new in box. The brands I remember the most are Coby and Spectra. The Coby ones were at Wal-Mart for $14.99. There were some Sylvania ones, Suntone, jWIN, and many more. In 2009, I was 5. We were at my dad's friend's house in Plano. He collected TVs, and still does and wants us to come over! Before we left, he gave me a CB radio (I still have it!) and said I could pick any vintage TV from the garage. I've always loved miniature things, and I spotted the little white thing on the shelf. "What's with that little video box right there?" He said "Oh, that's actually a tiny TV!" He let me take it home (sweet! quick anecdote: the next day, my dad went back over without me and I told him to ask for the 13 inch GE. when he came back, I had it, LOL) and I loved it. I only had the car adapter, so I asked my parents to take me for a drive as frequently as possible! The brand on it was COTA. Not Coby, but COTA. My dad still to this day says "COBY, not COTA!" (but I googled it, there was definitely a TV under the COTA name ) So I wonder, who manufactured those? The CRT in my Coby CX-TV1 is a FUHONG. Here's a page about these TVs: https://www.petervis.com/gallery/Toy..._FM_Radio.html

Let's solve the mystery!
EDIT: That page actually mentions the Cota!

[budm]

Re: Who made these little TVs?

Look at FCC number and UL number E???????
coby:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coby_E...cs_Corporation

[Vitam]

Re: Who made these little TVs?

It doesn't appear to have one. I could try the DHHS.
Yeah, Coby manufactured products but did not make this.

[Vitam]

Re: Who made these little TVs?

Nope. Still a mystery!

[budm]

Re: Who made these little TVs?

It has to have at least FCC number, it may not have gone through UL testing and sold as is.
Sow us the lale sticker.

[Vitam]

Re: Who made these little TVs?

Here's the "lale sticker" :P

Nothing on the bottom or inside, either.

[eccerr0r]

Re: Who made these little TVs?

I still have one, I wonder if they were all made by the same company.

Mine's black and does not have FM radio, just VHF and UHF video, making it quite useless. Also does not have FCC ID on it. Brand: Amtel Model: 1403; I suspect not very useful.

I thought at first when you were talking about those little 2.5" - 3" LCD TVs... those I think were mostly made by Casio.

[budm]

Re: Who made these little TVs?

The company sure play fast and loose. More likely a rebadge.
http://www.necdisplay.com/reg-compliance/dhhs/57
No certificate of safety of any kind, if I were you I would test for leakage current with the original power supply that comes with it.

[Vitam]

Re: Who made these little TVs?

All of those 2.5 to 3 inch pocket TVs were made by Casio, even the RadioShack and RCA ones! And yeah, it's a rebadge, they are all rebadges, if I wanted a "Pisstronics" TV I could just peel off the sticker and write "PISSTRONICS" with a Sharpie. Leakage current? Sorry, I'm not too fluent with high voltage things.

[eccerr0r]

Re: Who made these little TVs?

These 5.5" CRT TVs had 12VDC in, so if you have an UL compliant 12VDC wall wart, you're probably OK on this front... I don't have the original wall wart so I have no idea.

I initially started using that little 5.5" CRT TV as a test TV, until I got one of those Casio LCD TVs. Works better (it's color!)

[Vitam]

Re: Who made these little TVs?

I found a Trinitron color portable TV in the trash, so I use that as a test monitor! (And yes, it worked!) And yes the wall wart is UL Listed.

[Vitam]

Re: Who made these little TVs?

But I no longer use the TV, it released its magic smoke.

[eccerr0r]

Re: Who made these little TVs?


I still have a 19" TV as well, but not quite as portable as the Amtel or the Casio. Only trouble with the Casio is that I don't have a power adapter and need to use batteries, and it really eats batteries...

[Vitam]

Re: Who made these little TVs?

I think it's the backlight - it's a CCFL! Oh, and I decided to smash the 5 inch TV open (because I have many of these tvs) and there is a logo on the main board that says "HS"