Whirled One
04-30-2007, 07:00 PM
[It looks like this thread got left behind with the recent server upgrade. So, I'm going to re-post the original post, along with a quote of a response by Eric H with a reply to that that I was going to send last week.]
Well, we're about 2/3 of the way through this year's designated "Spring Clean-Up" bulk-trash days in various neighborhoods in my neck of the woods, but so far haven't had any big TV-related finds while "curb-shopping." However, I figure I'd post about it anyway if for no other reason than to remind folks that it's "big trash season" once again in many communities. Keep an eye out!
I really expected to find a big *glut* of TVs out this year, what with people starting to replace their "old" analog sets with new HDTVs, but that doesn't seem to have happened. There have been plenty of sets out on the curb, yes, but probably not more than I've seen in previous years.
So far this season I've seen a total *six* tube or tube-hybrid TVs out on the curb, which actually isn't too shabby in terms of numbers. None of them have been terribly exciting finds though, but I ended up picking up four of them anyway (all are 12" - 16" B&W portables), as follows:
- 1965 Zenith 12" B&W portable: It's in excellent condition, and quite clean both inside and out; even the metal chassis looks great. Works nicely except for a slight 4-sided shrink. Probably low B+; may need to check/replace the electrolytics. Probably the winner of the bunch.
- Mid-60's Zenith 16" B&W portable: Identical in styling to the 12" portable above, so it's probably the same model year. It's only in fair-to-good condition though. Haven't evaluated this set yet.
- Early-70's Sears 12" (12v-size) B&W portable (made by Sanyo): This is a hybrid set, but mostly tube; the tuner is transistorized, but the chassis has only four transistors (and 6 tubes). Haven't evaluated yet; TV was rained on while out on the curb and hasn't completely dried out yet. Overall condition looks good/average.
- 1973-ish RCA 15" (15v-size) B&W portable. It's a KCS-168 series set, but the model number tag is missing from the back. It's overall in very good condition; a quick check shows that it functions okay except that the vertical osc is way off frequency-- the vertical hold control has absolutely no effect, so it's probably the control itself or an open component connected to it.
The two sets that I passed up on (sorry guys, I can't take 'em all!) were:
- A mid-60's Curtis-Mathes 19" B&W portable in fair-to-poor shape, missing knobs, and looked decidedly cheap for an older C-M.
- A late-60's Magnavox 25"/23v color console with significant (but not completely disasterous) water damage, especially on the lower 1/3 of the cabinet. Peeking through the back revealed it was rather moldy inside too. Probably sat in a wet basement for a while or something. CRT had bad cateracts. I likely would have picked this up if it was a roundie despite the water damage though.
Does that set look anthing like this one?: http://www.vintagetvsets.com/64zenith.htm
It's very different from that one, though oddly enough I do have one similar to the one pictured there (courtesy of jstout66!).
Anyway, here's a couple of quickie photos of the 12" Zenith (model N1250) and the Sears (model 564.50080100). Note that this Zenith has a more conventional layout with the tuning knobs on the right side of the screen and the speaker below the tuning knobs. The tuning knobs are rather thick and chunky, and the off/on/volume control is in the center of the UHF tuning knob. The Bright/Contr/Vert controls are located below the screen.
I can't find date codes on the Sears anywhere-- not on the CRT, nor on the other tubes, nor moulded into the plastic cabinet. It sure has that early-70's-Japanese-TV-look to it though. Lesseee.... the SAMS folder for that set was from early 1972, so it's probably a '72 model.
Actually, what led me to believe the Zenith to be a 1965 model was a hand-written paper label fastened to the back cover that identifies it as a Mother's Day gift from that year. [Someone's mom evidently took good care of that gift over the years too..!] Looks like it's indeed a '65 or so if the SAMS Photofact date is any indicator.
The Sears (made by Sanyo) set actually works well aside from a minor case of the "coneheads." The front-end does seem to have excellent sensitivity, though perhaps at a slight cost in picture sharpness.
The 16" Zenith I found has exactly the same style cabinet as this 12" one.
I'll get a photo of the RCA later, if anyone cares.
More to follow!
Well, we're about 2/3 of the way through this year's designated "Spring Clean-Up" bulk-trash days in various neighborhoods in my neck of the woods, but so far haven't had any big TV-related finds while "curb-shopping." However, I figure I'd post about it anyway if for no other reason than to remind folks that it's "big trash season" once again in many communities. Keep an eye out!
I really expected to find a big *glut* of TVs out this year, what with people starting to replace their "old" analog sets with new HDTVs, but that doesn't seem to have happened. There have been plenty of sets out on the curb, yes, but probably not more than I've seen in previous years.
So far this season I've seen a total *six* tube or tube-hybrid TVs out on the curb, which actually isn't too shabby in terms of numbers. None of them have been terribly exciting finds though, but I ended up picking up four of them anyway (all are 12" - 16" B&W portables), as follows:
- 1965 Zenith 12" B&W portable: It's in excellent condition, and quite clean both inside and out; even the metal chassis looks great. Works nicely except for a slight 4-sided shrink. Probably low B+; may need to check/replace the electrolytics. Probably the winner of the bunch.
- Mid-60's Zenith 16" B&W portable: Identical in styling to the 12" portable above, so it's probably the same model year. It's only in fair-to-good condition though. Haven't evaluated this set yet.
- Early-70's Sears 12" (12v-size) B&W portable (made by Sanyo): This is a hybrid set, but mostly tube; the tuner is transistorized, but the chassis has only four transistors (and 6 tubes). Haven't evaluated yet; TV was rained on while out on the curb and hasn't completely dried out yet. Overall condition looks good/average.
- 1973-ish RCA 15" (15v-size) B&W portable. It's a KCS-168 series set, but the model number tag is missing from the back. It's overall in very good condition; a quick check shows that it functions okay except that the vertical osc is way off frequency-- the vertical hold control has absolutely no effect, so it's probably the control itself or an open component connected to it.
The two sets that I passed up on (sorry guys, I can't take 'em all!) were:
- A mid-60's Curtis-Mathes 19" B&W portable in fair-to-poor shape, missing knobs, and looked decidedly cheap for an older C-M.
- A late-60's Magnavox 25"/23v color console with significant (but not completely disasterous) water damage, especially on the lower 1/3 of the cabinet. Peeking through the back revealed it was rather moldy inside too. Probably sat in a wet basement for a while or something. CRT had bad cateracts. I likely would have picked this up if it was a roundie despite the water damage though.
Does that set look anthing like this one?: http://www.vintagetvsets.com/64zenith.htm
It's very different from that one, though oddly enough I do have one similar to the one pictured there (courtesy of jstout66!).
Anyway, here's a couple of quickie photos of the 12" Zenith (model N1250) and the Sears (model 564.50080100). Note that this Zenith has a more conventional layout with the tuning knobs on the right side of the screen and the speaker below the tuning knobs. The tuning knobs are rather thick and chunky, and the off/on/volume control is in the center of the UHF tuning knob. The Bright/Contr/Vert controls are located below the screen.
I can't find date codes on the Sears anywhere-- not on the CRT, nor on the other tubes, nor moulded into the plastic cabinet. It sure has that early-70's-Japanese-TV-look to it though. Lesseee.... the SAMS folder for that set was from early 1972, so it's probably a '72 model.
Actually, what led me to believe the Zenith to be a 1965 model was a hand-written paper label fastened to the back cover that identifies it as a Mother's Day gift from that year. [Someone's mom evidently took good care of that gift over the years too..!] Looks like it's indeed a '65 or so if the SAMS Photofact date is any indicator.
The Sears (made by Sanyo) set actually works well aside from a minor case of the "coneheads." The front-end does seem to have excellent sensitivity, though perhaps at a slight cost in picture sharpness.
The 16" Zenith I found has exactly the same style cabinet as this 12" one.
I'll get a photo of the RCA later, if anyone cares.
More to follow!