Are you equipped for Porta-Fi?

[fonografmaniac]

the wall mounted unit looks similair to my '67 magnavox full-dimension portable stereo.

 

[gewa1054wguy]

Large Console Inside

Here is the TOL console inside. A side note, although this unit was close to the TOL model, it has two less speakers and less output than my other console. The tape deck is a VOM unit made for GE. The Turntable is a GE Tonal 1. This unit has porta fi but you cannot select different sources like the earlier model I have in the game/washer room. Cost cutting set in by the late 60's I guess.

 

[gewa1054wguy]

NOS Porta Fi Speaker

Here is the speaker Jimmy found for me. It is NOS and has the best sound out of all the units I have amassed. Nothing like brand new!

Jimmy could have easily put this find on ebay or stored it away. I am very appreciative of our friendship and his thoughtfulness to pass this on to me.

 

[gewa1054wguy]

NOS Porta Fi tags

Here are the owners tags for the unit.

 

[gewa1054wguy]

Channel A Channel B

All the speakers I have collected are Channel B except one. I have one unit that has a channel A/B switch on the back.

The idea here was if your neighbor was on the same transformer as you were, and you both had porta fi on the same channel, it would not work. I doubt that happened too often in single family housing, but apartments might have been an issue at times.

 

[gewa1054wguy]

Porta Fi Tube Speaker

Most of my Porta Fi's are tube units. The NOS one Jimmy sent and one other unit I have are transistorized.

 

[gewa1054wguy]

NOS Porta Fi transmitter

I have amassed a few transmitters, two being NOS with one still in the box. The early ones were tube units but all the units I have are solid state.

 

[gewa1054wguy]

Transmitter connected

Here is what it looks like connected. The output to the receiver speakers is MONO, not Stereo.

 

[gewa1054wguy]

NOS Porta Fi Speaker Box

Here is the box the Porta Fi Speaker came in.

 

[gewa1054wguy]

My other console

This is my favorite console. Has the same components as the console we had when I was growing up.

 

[gewa1054wguy]

Console components

This unit has a Porta fi switch, so you can listen to the records on the console and the radio in another room where the porta fi speakers are (or vice/versa). Very cool. It is the third switch on the bottom row. This unit sounds so much better than the the larger unit in the house. I am not sure why but the shorter, more contemporary cabinet may have an effect on the acoustics or the amplifiers in the later units are not as powerful. They definitely are different schematic wise, having worked on both.

 

[whirlcool]

Thanks for the look at the Porta-Fi equipment. I had never actually seen any before. I can see that your unit is the next evolution of the one that Dalangdon has.
Is that a tuning meter in the FM dial? My relatives didn't have one. Another thing I noticed is that Dalangdon's stereo select switch is a rotary switch whereas my relatives had the rocker switches for switching between devices and they were chrome plated too.. But their setup (where everything else is at) was just like Dalangdon's system.
So there must have been minor year to year changes in the style/equipment setup.

 

[fonografmaniac]

Porta Fi Tube Speaker

gewa1054wguy, those speaker are from 1966. i got the date code off the transformer and drivers.

 

[filterflo]

Thanks for posting the PortaFi stuff Mike, you certainly ARE the PortaFi expert. Glad to see the PortaFi speaker I sent you arrived safe and sound and working!.........I knew you would appreciate it better than anyone, and deservedly so......GE sure made some neat stuff!

 

[paulg]

Open reel = VM

If that open-reel deck isn't a VM, I'm a monkey's uncle. Don't know if VM just made the mech and GE the cosmetics or if VM just made the whole tape deck to drop in.
I really liked the GE amplifier design which I believe was direct-coupled. Don't pooh-pooh that unit, it is a fine piece of engineering (at least in my opinion).

 

[charbee]

WOnderful pics of wonderful electronics...thanks guys!

 

[retrochad]

Those are some great pictures of the Porta-Fi units! I have a GE console with the porta-fi solid state transmitter mounted on the back of it plus a speaker receiver which I think is solid state.
On the GE console I made a tube type power amp to replace the original solid state amp...it uses 2 6BQ5 output tubes.

 

[fonografmaniac]

retrochad!

hey buddy, this is damusician also known as vinylman86 from youtube. i c u found me, jasonlava, and spatsbear1, lol!

 

[fonografmaniac]

Garrard changers are awesome!

here an early 60's ge wall-mount stereo with a garrard record changer and the original paper work.

Pardon Our Interruption...