Antique Sony KP-5000 Help

I am new to AVS Forum and not sure this is the right place, or even if anyone remembers the above.
I am the proud owner of a 1981 Sony KP 5000 Video Projection System.
A super cool looking all-in-one system that resembles an automatic washer when closed!
It uses 2 CRT's (one Green and one Purple (Red/Blue?), and has no on screen menus that I know of.
Apart from a greenish picture ( even on B&W with the color turned off) and convergence issues, it works pretty well.
Judging from the lack of info on the net. I am guessing that not too many of these are still around.
Anyone out there with info or advice on solving the above picture issues or just old recollections on the above, would be appreciated.

Thanks Curt for your insight. I feel honoured.
I guess hearing it from you and looking at that low serial number, you are probably right.

Here are some photos. It is quite busy in there, but amazingly not much dust.
I was quite surprised to see 3 CRT's in there (2 are coupled to one lens).
I was imagining that some internal magic from the 80's was being performed in there.
Is there an easy way of turning off the color so I can enjoy old TV shows better, or is that not possible due to uneven output?
I would have posted a photo of the image quality but used up my quota.
Thanks in advance.

Thanks Andy. You must have been a privileged child working on such exotic equipment!
Judging by the age of the set, I am sure a little cleaning of the optics wouldn't hurt.
I presume the plan of attack would be to remove the 4 (or all 8?) screws right by the label "Do Not Remove Screws!" on the lens assembly, as per photo.
Where would the G2 or drive controls be located? Could I get into much trouble adjusting them, and what would be the proper procedure be?

I don't think the set has had much heavy use and was stored the last few years. It was owned by a little old lady!
As per the attached photo, the picture compared to my old 1991 Sony KV-27XBR50 isn't that bad except for Dr Scott's biliousness.
It rivals the conventional set in brightness, and it actually seems to show more of the picture than the 27" beside it, even though it has spillover of a few inches on the edges of the parabolic screen.
On screen writing seems to indicate a slight out of convergence. Would this be an easy adjustment for someone who doesn't own the service manual?

Thanks for your insight Maxx. Not sure what you mean by the Schmidt style tubes.
Tubes appear to be labeled SD-102G, SD-102R, SD-102B.
Being a newbie to projection systems, I always thought that color CRT's were part numbered ending in 22.

As Andy said that he had one apart and cleaned the optics, I imagine that disassembly is possible but to what degree of complexity I cannot say.

Another footnote about this particular set is that in 24 years, it has NEVER been serviced! Although the inside is very clean, dirty optics are a strong possibility.

For your enjoyment, here is another photo without the screen attached.
I can almost imagine Bob Barker with darker hair wheeling it out on The Price Is Right! It was true genius of Sony to make one major appliance look like another! Fully opened however it kind of makes me think of how a flying saucer control console and windshield would look.

Thanks again for your kind words Curt, but it is not on the auction block yet!

Thanks Phototone for jogging my memory on the Kloss Videobeam. Those were the days! Sorry to hear that yours died. I hope it gets resurrected soon!

I am still trying to clean the optics on mine. I am a little leery of proceeding further without the manual. If anyone can point me in the right direction, it would be appreciated.
As the photos show with the outer plastic face removed, I have now come up against a solid metal box. The lens seems to itself unscrew (or is for focus/rotate image?), and the flange that holds the lens also unscrews. If I disassemble further will I have a big job for recalibration? What is the next step? Any thoughts?
Anyone able to locate the G2 brightness controls?

Thanks a million Andy! Everything was exactly as you described.

The mirror, lenses and CRT's were all fairly dirty. Oddly, the Green CRT seemed to have the most dirt, even though the fan blows directly at the Blue one.
The Green CRT also had the most discoloration. The fan cooled Blue one the least. I guess cooling makes a big difference in extending life spans of CRT's.

I found the convergence controls under the front grill, but can't seem to get the lines to all align properly. On the top of the screen, the horizontal Red line is above the Green/Blue. On the bottom of the screen, the Red is below. In the center they are all converged.

I did not see the hidden convergence controls you speak of, unless you mean the thumbscrews under the lenses.

Another problem seems to be the focus. Where would you start on that one?
I imagine screwing/unscrewing the lenses would be the place to start, but which lens first, and what test pattern to use?

The previously Green picture is much improved after cleaning, although it is still the dominant color.
The focus and convergence are what is really holding back this set from becoming a great performer.

Thank you guys for all your great input. I never could have made it this far without your help.

Yes Andy and Short Circutz are correct.

The front comes off with 4 screws to reveal a cornucopia of pots!
The ones that I found were as follows:

-V Skew G,B (2 of them for Blue. The one on the VertAdj PCB doesn't seem to do anything. Do they work in unison?)
-V Lin G,B
-V Size G,B,R
-V Cent G,B,R
-V Bow B
-R Drive
-B Drive
-R
-G
-B
-Focus
-H Skew R,B (2 of them for Blue),G
-H Sub Bow G
-H Sub Skew G
-H Bow B,G
-H Cent R,B,G
-H Size R,B,G
-H Lin B,G
-H Keys B,G

Never having adjusted a projection set before, the task seems daunting.
I managed to get the red lines to mostly converge, but now the blue is off.
Try as I might the way I did it with the Red, I just can't seem to get the Blue lines to converge.
Any advice on where to start, or a good document applicable to this set's calibration?

The green is predominant in the bright areas, so I guess turning up the Blue & Red would solve that one.

As for the Blue lines not converging, I must be missing a step in calibration.

I can attest to the tremendous weight of this monster. I pulled it up a steep icy driveway alone with a hand truck, and it was a very close call as to who was pulling who!
It feels like it rivals my treadmill or snowblower in weight, and they both weigh in at over 200 lbs.

I read somewhere that Elvis, who was notorious for going through a lot of TV's, had the same set. He must have had the prototype if he did, as he died in '77 but this came out in '78. If the prototype didn't have those sturdy casters, I can see it having a role in his death.

Here are a few more photos............

Here are a few more photos.

Would the R-G-B board (in the previous set of pictures) be the focus for the indivual colors as Maxx mentioned? Would that big focus knob be for all colors?

Looking at the bright/small CRT images, it is difficult to see if it is more focused than the screen. A lack of sharpness I imagine would result as a normal part of magnifying the image. It never the less has a cloudy quality, much like the result of Bob Guccione's pioneering of placing Vaseline on his camera lenses.

Aside from staying away from the yoke adjusments, are there any pots I should NOT turn?

Good advice Curt.

I still think the best way to take the road to Nirvana is using a map, otherwise I feel there will be a lot of detours to Pandora's house.

Who has the lowest serial? Mine is 010421 for the set, and 500446 for the screen. It originally sold for $4000+ back in 1981. That was a lot of money for a TV back then, and I don't think too many bought them to watch The Love Boat. In today's dollars, depending on who's calculator you use is around $9500.
Still a lot for a TV.

Any ideas on the latest photo of TestGrid2?
Acbbse (are you in Canada too?) seems to have a similar alignment issue.
Sorry to hear Short Circutz's set is dimming. Brightness seems to be one thing this model has in abundance.

Those pesky Blue lines!

Four people in the world and counting, with the same set. Excellent.

Chalk up one for the USA!

Thanks for joining in Doug. That is quite a find, low milage and custom casters to boot!
I am envious.

I wonder if there are any more companies out there still doing Powerpoint presentations on one of these things.

Speaking of behemoths, does anyone out there have the bigger brother, the 6 foot KP-7200?