TRANS CONTINENTS (PRANDONI) MOD. 277 YEAR 1971.

The TRANS CONTINENTS (PRANDONI) MOD. 277  A little 12 inches b/w television portable set orange cubic cabinet.

It's a Cubic / quadratic design which was marketed in the 70's even in black and blue color and dark green.

It has channels selectors for VHF and UHF channels and can be powered even from a 12volt source.

In order to provide this capability (tuning of VHF and UHF channels) , however, it is necessary to include two separate tuners or tuning circuits in the television receiver with one of these circuits being utilized for VHF reception and the other being used for UHF reception. The VHF tuner conventionally is a turret type of tuner having 13 detented positions which accomplish the coarse tuning or channel selection of the VHF tuner and a separate control is provided to effect the fine tuning at each of the channel positions. Generally, mechanical channel selecting devices for VHF television tuners fall into two groups, namely, the rotary-switching type or the turret types. Turret type tuners include an incrementally rotatable channel selector shaft for selectively connecting certain ones of a plurality of tuned circuit elements to each of a plurality of channel selector positions. UHF tuners generally employ a separate control mechanism or a tuning knob and use a dial indicator of a type commonly found in manual radio receivers. UHF tuners for television receivers are usually of a continuous tuning type similar to the tuning system adapted for radio sets. Therefore, the tuning in UHF channels has been extremely difficult as compared to the tuning in VHF channels. Such continuous tuning systems for the UHF tuners has heretofore been sufficient, since only two or three UHF channels have been authorized in one locality. However, where more UHF channels, namely seven or eight channels, are available for reception, a non-continuous type UHF tuner, which enables simpler tuning operation, is desired. Nevertheless, this continuous tuning system has heretofore been satisfactory, because there were only 2 or 3 UHF band channels or stations available for reception in an area. However, where there are an increased number (7 or 8 or more, for instance) of UHF band channels or stations available for reception, a non-continuous or intermittent tuning system as is adopted for the VHF tuner is preferable.

More desirably, the fine tuning control is presettable, so that the desired channel may be readily selected by merely turning the main channel switch-over shaft. The use of two separate tuning control mechanisms in order to effect the VHF and UHF tuning of the receiver is  at best; and when a receiver is provided with remote control capabilities, generally only the VHF band of frequencies may be remote controlled and the UHF channels still must be selected manually at the receiving set location.Conventional turret tuners still leave room for improvement, especially as far as minimizing the tuner size and dimension, and simplifying the assembly, as well as lowering the manufacture costs and improving the tuner performance are concerned.
These sets were cheap but well made and reliable with almost never defective  facts.

This kind of simple and fair isn't today anymore (even in people).




TRANS CONTINENTS / OCEANIC / PRANDONI was an Italian manufacturer of radio and after of televison sets.

It was also the owner of brands like Trans Continents and Nuclear radio TV or simply Nuclear.

"Prandoni S.p.A." was founded by Dario Prandoni. Finally his son Giorgio Prandoni sold the company to the French "Thomson".

In 1998 Francesco Juilland and Giorgio Prandoni co-founded "Mediacube USA, Inc.", a film production company and a visual effects service provider in USA, Europe and in Italy.
a film production company and a visual effects service provider in USA, Europe and in Italy.

Giorgio Prandoni is a leading figure and heir to the most prestigious industrialist dynasty in the design and manufacture of radio equipment and multi standard television sets in Italy. (His father was Dario Prandoni the luminary owner of Prandoni S.p.A. one of Europe's most highly regarded electronic companies;


Dario Prandoni formed the basis of the Prandoni Empire and Giorgio Prandoni sells the company in France to Thomson with a big one deal). During his tenure from 1998 to February 2002 as Mediacube's CEO Francesco Juilland has created important joint venture between Mediacube USA, Inc. and important European, American and Canadian companies. He also brokered the acquisition of a share of Minerva Pictures (Italy) they own a library of more than 1,500 titles of which 850 are for worldwide rights in perpetuity. The titles include classics works by Pasolini, Germi, Bellocchio, Godard, Fellini, Antonioni and others. Most recently in 2000, Francesco Juilland was elected in the Board of Directors of Ionic WW Studios, a fully digital Hollywood studio organized and financed by Mediacube as Major Investor together with Giorgio Prandoni and Javier Rodriguez, Spanish businessman and scion of an important and conservative Family of Spain full of history and tradition and thank to the greenlight of a guardian angel like the economist Mr. Diego Colombo, chairman of the Colombo Group with offices in Switzerland and around the world and longtime serious advisor of the Juilland family office. Francesco Juilland is in the Board of Directors with the man that he considers his American mentor Mike Medavoy (producer, former chairman of Tristar Pictures and a legendary "Hollywood industry hero" as Fox News channel calls him, many times Oscars winner, his movies including the masterpieces Apocalypse Now, Philadelphia, Dance with wolves, Who flew over the Cuckoo's nest, Annie Hall, Platoon, Rocky, the Sting, Silence of the lambs, Amadeus, The Terminator, Sleepless in Seattle) and Norman Pattiz (called from "USA Today" and "LA Times" The Ted Turner of the radio) and Arnold Messer (president of Phoenix Pictures, company producer of Larry Flint, The thin red line, U-Turn, The 6th Day, Basic, Holes, Stealth, All the King's men), together with David Hayden and Gigi Pritzker (film producer with Deborah del Prete of "the Wedding Planner" with Jennifer Lopez)

Further Readings and Notes

^ Radiogrammofono PDRS 9 (PDF), in Selezione Radio, Anno I, nº 2, Febbraio 1950.
^ Brevetto per marchio d'impresa nr. 05875 del 1 febbraio 1952.
^ Baiocato, NRC 333 Radio Nuclear Radio Corporation; Cassano D'Adda MI,, su www.radiomuseum.org. URL consultato il 16 febbraio 2018.
^ Carlo Grimaldi, Tutto a transitors (PDF), in Informazione industriale, 1967.
^ Guidi, Stereo-Matic Hi-Fi 75 R-Player Prandoni SPA; TREVIGLIO BG, b, su www.radiomuseum.org. URL consultato il 16 febbraio 2018.
^ La Prandoni ritorna in attivo (PDF), in Selezione di tecnica Radio TV, Settembre 1982, p. 6.

External links for further information

• Alcune pubblicità degli anni 40-50
• Informazione industriale del 1967
• Fondo Prandoni in Lombardia Beni Culturali
• Principali apparati Prandoni