The problem was that I only had the letters corresponding to the last five months of the year and the rest remained a mystery.
Magnavox console stereo serial numbers code#
After a rapid check of my inspection cards and by comparing with the Odyssey serials dated on the humidity tests pages, I got the confirmation that the precise date of manufacture of each Odyssey was encrypted in the large code on the bottom of its Instrument Inspection card. What really motivated me was something I would have never expected to find while browsing my files: an exceptional page containing the following handwritten codes:Īt a first glance I didn't realize what this meant, but shortly after an image flashed through my mind: the large red code printed on all Magnavox Instrument Inspection cards like those shown below. Finding that information was my next big challenge and I was extremely sceptical about being successfull.Īn unexpected find put me on the right way. However, around half of the whole Odyssey production was made outside of these time frames and could not be dated. From these tables I could easily estimate any unit made during these periods of time. Two tables list the various units tested along with their serials and precise date of manufacture: one with the units made between late October 1972 and early December 1972 (model 1TL200BLAK RUN 1 the first production run), and the other with specimens made in October and November 1973 (model 1TL200BLAK RUN 2 the second production run). However, my Magnavox archives contain a folder called Horizontal Drift which details some humidity tests performed on a number of units. Unfortunately, the internal Magnavox documents containing this information have been permanently lost and I could see all sort of mistakes on the web, ranging from Odyssey units said to be from 1972 when they were from 1975, to supposedly early serials which, although lower than others, corresponded to later specimens, etc.
Magnavox console stereo serial numbers serial numbers#
Many collectors have been trying to decipher the Odyssey serial numbers to determine their date of manufacture and their real position in the whole production run. Dating your Magnavox Odyssey by David Winter
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