Recalls: TV and Video
Showmate 2 Video Presentation System Recalled By Bell & Howell NEWS from CPSC U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Office of Information and Public Affairs Washington, DC 20207 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 17, 1988 Release # 88-69 Bell & Howell Recalls Showmate 2 Video Presentation System WASHINGTON, DC - In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Bell & Howell Company, Skokie, Illinois, today announced that it is seeking to contact remaining owners of the company's Showmate 2 Video Presentation System, model No. 6427, as part of a voluntary recall of the product. To date, the company has contacted 4,400 owners and has replaced switches on 3,000 returned units. Bell & Howell previously attempted to contact all owners to alert them that the product may present an electric shock hazard if the main power switch became defective. There have been not reports of any customers experiencing a shock. However, if a switch fails during use and short circuits to the metal chassis, the potential for electric shock and bodily injury exists. More than 200 Showmate 2 units were returned to Bell & Howell due to switch failure. For those 400 customers who have not yet responded to the recall, Bell & Howell is offering to replace the defective switch with a new switch. Bell & Howell advises those owners to discontinue use of their machine until the switch is replaced. These owners are requested to call Bell & Howell toll-free at 800-522-8969 to make arrangements for free shipment of their unit back to the company, replacement of the switch, and return of their unit. (Within Illinois, owners may call 312-470-7656 collect.) The Showmate 2 is a combination seven-inch screen color video monitor/receiver and VHS format video tape recorder. The product weighs about thirty pounds, has a carrying handle and an eight and one-half foot long three-wire power cord. It was sold nationwide from April 1985 to December 1986, for about $500 per unit. Approximately 3,000 units were sold by one cable television shopping service. Audiovisual dealers sold most of the other 1,800 units. Read more.
Omnidirectional Cb Antennas Recalled by Jo Gunn Enterprises NEWS from CPSC U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Office of Information and Public Affairs Washington, DC 20207 FOR RELEASE July 9, 1986 Release # 86-42 Jo Gunn Enterprises Recalls Omnidirectional Cb Antennas Washington, D.C. -- In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Jo Gunn Enterprises, Ethelsville, Alabama is voluntarily recalling five models of its omnidirectional CB base station antennas. These are Model 100, Model 200, Son of A Gunn, Hillbilly and Pistol. If contact is made by the antennas with an electrical power line while being installed or taken down, the antennas have the potential for severe or fatal shock. The CPSC is not aware of any injuries or deaths involving the Jo Gunn Omnidirectional CB Antennas. About 500 antenna-related electrocutions have been estimated to have occurred since 1976 as a result of CB antennas are being put up or taken down. The CPSC investigation revealed that the five models of omnidirectional CB antennas fail to comply with the agency's mandatory safety standard and labeling requirements. The standard is intended to reduce the electrocution hazard if the antenna should accidentally contact a power line while being removed or installed. The standard requires labeling on the product and its packaging warning about the electrocution hazard and further requires instructions for safe installation. Jo Gunn Enterprises distributed approximately 92 of the affected antennas nationwide. Model and company name appear on the shipping carton and instruction sheet. No labeling appears on the antenna. Retailers who still have these antennas in stock should return them to Jo Gunn Enterprises immediately for refund. Consumers owning any of these antennas which have not been installed should return them to the dealer for a full refund. Consumers who have already installed the antennas should leave them alone. These persons can obtain a warning sticker label/hang tag to be placed in a conspicuous location on the product to warn future users about the potential hazard. The sticker label/hang tag can be obtained by calling Jo Gunn Enterprises at 205-658-2595 or writing the firm at Route 1, Box 383, Ethelsville, AL 35461. As a normal practice, individuals planning to install or take down a CB antenna should first contact their local power company for advice if overhead wires pass through the neighborhood. Read more.
Omnidirectional CB Antenna Recalled By Granada Electronics NEWS from CPSC U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Office of Information and Public Affairs Washington, DC 20207 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 13, 1986 Release # 86-07 Granada Electronics Inc. Recalls Omnidirectional CB Antenna Washington, DC -- In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Granada Electronics Inc., Brooklyn, NY is voluntarily recalling its Model M400 Omnidirectional CB base station antennas. If contact is made by the antennas with an electrical power line while being installed or taken down, the antennas have the potential for severe or fatal shock. The CPSC stated that in tests conducted on the Model M400, it failed to comply with the agency's mandatory safety standard and labeling requirements. The standard is intended to reduce the electrocution hazard if the antenna should accidentally contact a power line while being removed or installed. The standard requires labeling on the product and its packaging warning about the electrocution hazard and further requires instructions for safe installation. Granada Electronics Inc. distributed approximately 2000 of the affected antennas nationwide. The Model M400 CB Base Station Antenna consists of 14 sections of aluminum tubing which form two three-legged tripods on its mast. The CPSC is not aware of any injuries or deaths involving the Model M400 antennas. About 500 antenna-related electrocutions have been estimated to have occurred since 1976 as a result of CB antennas coming into contact with electrical power lines while the antennas are being put up or taken down. Therefore, consumers should not take down any of the recalled antennas, which are already installed. The affected antennas are being removed from dealers and replaced. Retailers who still have the model M400 in stock should return them to Granada Electronics Inc., immediately for replacement. Consumers owning any of the M400 models that have not been installed should return the antenna to the dealer for a full refund. Consumers who have already installed the M400 models should leave them alone. These persons can obtain a warning hang tag to be placed in a conspicuous location on the product to warn future users about the potential hazard. The hang tag can be obtained by calling Granada Electronics Inc., at 718-387-1156 or writing the firm at 485 Kent Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11211. As a normal practice, individuals planning to install or take down a CB antenna should first contact their local power company for advice if overhead wires pass through the neighborhood. Read more.
