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VEGA 342

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Front view [30K]
  • Released early 80's ?
  • 6-inch 16LK1B 70-degree C.R.T.
  • Transistors, an I.C.,
  • For use with A.C.-only TV's.
  • Original Cost £9 9s 0d
NOTES As cheap little 80's sets go this set does feel a bit more robustly built than the usual sets. It is a little odd though ; the volume control is combined with an on-off switch, not unusal in itself but the switch is a battery switch only. There is a seprate switch on the back of the set for the mains, along with dire warnings that for chrisake don't switch the mains on whilst a battery is connected !!!

I'm not sure of the exact date of this set. A Google search showed that one was sold on Ebay described as a 1970's set, which would suggest it is from the 1990's. However there is a strong resemblence to a similar Russian-made set featured in the April 1984 edition of Television magazine.
SERVICE DATA There are probably a number of models sharing the the same basic chassis design. The set came with a copy of service data for a Vega model 402 which looks pretty similar to this set. There are also similarities to the Rigonda model VL100 which is described in the April 1984 edition of Television Magazine.
CURRENT STATE Off-screen photo [10K]Initially the set gave all the symptoms of being totally dead. Removing the back and prodding with a meter failed to reveal anything and on plugging in with the back removed it burst into life. It seems that the switch wasn't quite fully operating as it was just fouling the back.

It's still broke though. The picture opposite is of a stable picture i.e. not rolling, but the bottom of the frame is actually 1/3rd of teh way up the screen.

Fire! Fire! [3K]But I'm sure glad I took the back off as I noticed the otherwise well hidden neon lamp. So what ? Well, if you looked through the slots in the side of a transistor set and saw a glowing red area then I'm sure you too would have been diving for the fire extinguisher!
WHERE FOUND December 2005 B.V.W.S. auction at Wotton Bassett for a fiver.
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4th December 2005