The black-and-white Vela 202 CRT television set was the first portable TV set manufactured in Poland (in 1975-1978). It was developed by the Unitra Polkolor industrial plant in Piaseczno, which closely cooperated with the Warszawskie Zakłady Telewizyjne. The first model of the Vela 201 was built in 1973. The Vela 202 is a transistor receiver powered by mains or battery (car battery) and designed to receive television channels in the OIRT standard in VHF and UHF ranges. The external design of the device was prepared by Włodzimierz Pańków, the technical design – by Stanisław Machnicka, and electronics – by Wojciech Krawiec. The TV set had a 12-inch, A31-310W cathode-ray tube displaying a monochrome image. The elliptical Tonsil GD 8×12/1,5-4 with a dissipationless magnetic circuit, which does not affect the video quality, is embedded under the housing. The electrical system uses 17 transistors, six integrated circuits, and 34 diodes, which are placed on a cuboid plastic frame. The Vela has three programmable channels. In the top part of the housing there is a slide-out handle for carrying the device, two telescopic antennae, knobs, and buttons. The receiver was manufactured with housings in several colour versions: white, orange, and coral. The Vela attracted a lot of interest in Poland. A total of about 220,000 units of the different versions of this device were manufactured in 1973–1990. The Vela was also exported to Germany, Austria, France, and the United Kingdom.

Authors: Piotr Turowski, Filip Wróblewski