Sony Watchman FD-40 A/V Input

[uxwbill]

I picked up a Sony Watchman portable TV about two months ago, complete with its original padded case and most of the original documentation. It's in pretty good physical shape and excellent working condition. I finally got around to putting some batteries in it this weekend and started playing with it.

Rather surprisingly, there is an A/V input on this set. It looks like a conventional RCA connector. Yet the Sony manual shows an adapter that breaks out into audio and video connectors at one end. The way it's drawn in the manual seems to suggest that it has a TRS miniplug connector at the end that plugs into the TV.

Operating from the assumption that any old 2xRCA to TRS adapter would work, I tried connecting a source to the TV. When doing this, I get good audio with no video. Using a cable with RCA connectors on it and connecting that gives me video.

Sony mentions the model number for the adapter in the manual. I haven't found one of these being offered for sale. Does anyone know what the proper adapter that plugs into the TV would look like?

My source is a VCR, so I may just go the RF input route if the adapter can't be found or made.

[holmesuser01]

I replaced the little paddle tube in one of these sets back around 1985. Customer dropped it.

He brought it and all of its accessories with it to my shop. I distinctly remember the A/V input adaptor that he had.

I left it in the box. Didn't need it in the Atlanta area. My roof antenna and all the splitters gave me all I needed for a signal.

[ChrisW6ATV]

Originally Posted by uxwbill

Operating from the assumption that any old 2xRCA to TRS adapter would work, I tried connecting a source to the TV. When doing this, I get good audio with no video. Using a cable with RCA connectors on it and connecting that gives me video.

I figured out that "TRS" meant Tip-Ring-Sleeve, another name apparently for a three-conductor 3.5mm or 1/8-inch mini phone plug.

I cannot tell from your description; you seem to have got audio only with one type of connection, and video with a different connection. Were these both using the same cable (I assume, a cable with a 3.5mm 3-conductor plug on one end and two (red and white or black) RCA plugs on the other end)? The catch may be that Sony is using that type of plug but not in the same order as the later common stereo-audio-from-music-player cables. You may need to use some loose wires to figure out audio, video, and ground among the three conductors of the 1/8-inch plug.

[AiboPet]

That sounds EXACTLY like the case for the little Archos AV700 player I use here at home. There is a little 3-conductor (plus tip) plug for it's AV ins and outs.....but a regular one doesn't work. The one they use LOOKS like a regular "red-white-yellow rca jacks".....but they did some proprietary sequence for the connections.

I had to find it out by chopping off the ends of a regular one and sleuthing out what was where. Then I found they sold these on ebay anyway that were specific to Archos and that proprietary wiring.

Since the Sony isn'r stereo.....you could probly just get away with slicing up a REAL CHEAP set of headphones or just an RCA to stereo 1/8" cable. My guess is you are simply grounding out the video or something. I went and checked my 42A to see if THIS one had inputs....but no such luck :-P