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Widget of the Week
Ingersoll XK505 TV, Radio,
Cassette Recorder, 1980?
 I vaguely remember this model, or
something very much like it coming on to the market in the early 1980s. This
was just a couple of years after the first VCRs appeared and quite a few people
thought that it was a combined TV/VCR. In fact such a device was developed –
made by Funai and marketed by Technicolor -- though I don’t think it was ever
launched.
Anyway, back to the Ingersoll XK505, which
is one of those what-were-they-thinking sort of products, a combined cassette
recorder, AM/FM radio and 4.5-inch monochrome TV, a kind of video boom box, but
without the boom. Quite who it was aimed at I was never certain, I suppose it
might have appealed to caravanners as it could run off a 12 volt supply, or for
a few minutes, from 10 D-cells or an optional rechargeable battery pack, but
with just a simple telescopic antenna it would have been unlikely to have got
much of a signal anywhere further than 5 miles from a TV transmitter. To be
fair you could plug in an external aerial but I can say from personal
experience that even if you get a good picture watching TV on a 4.5-inch screen
isn’t’ much fun.
It’s a classic piece of 70s/80s design,
lots of silvery plastic and the dreaded slider controls for band selection,
mode selection and volume, the latter being unusually noisy. The tape deck in
the centre is a simple piano-key model with auto-stop function and the radio
covers the FM and Medium wave bands, TV and radio tuning is shown by a moving
indicator on a vertical dial on the far right, driven by a marvellous collection
of wheels and pulleys, which, miraculously still works. In fact everything
works, even the tape deck with what appears to be the original drive belts.
Other points of interest include a folding carry handle, sockets for
headphones, mike, external antenna and power, controls on the backside for
vertical hold, brightness and contrast and a folding wire stand on the base.
What Happened To It?
I am fairly sure this model appeared under
a variety of different names, Ingersoll were one of a number of companies
involved in badge-engineering products sourced from the far East. I suspect
that the price – and I’m guessing it would have been in the region of £150 -
£200 – and the relatively limited market meant that it only lasted for a few
years. Mini TVs really started to take off in late 1980s with the development
of LCD screens, and by then the Walkman personal stereo was well established,
so there really wasn’t much of a demand for a strange and unwieldy combi
product like this. In case you are wondering this one cost me £4.00 at a local
car boot sale. The seller assured me was a runner but when I got it home only
the radio was working. I’m not sure how I fixed it but after opening it up I
used an airline to blow out the dust, tried it again, and this time it worked
just fine. I don’t think many will have survived, let alone in working
condition, having three such diverse technologies in close proximity to one
another was always a recipe for disaster and when one part fails, usually the
whole thing ends up being junked, as they are simply uneconomical to repair. If
you ever see one grab it quick!
GIZMO GUIDE
First seen:
1980?
Original Price
£150?
Value Today? £10
Features:
4.5-inch mono CRT TV screen, auto-stop cassette deck, AM/FM radio
Power req.
220-volt AC mains/12 volts DC,
10 x D cells, rechargeable battery pack
Weight: 3.1kg
Dimensions:
320 x 190 x 140mm (whd)
Made in: Taiwan
Hen's Teeth (10 rarest): 7
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