View Full Version : Wow! other people like old TV's too?


devoid
01-13-2004, 11:35 PM
Looking at the sets of interest I really can't believe it! I would have never thought. But i'm into it! Come to think of it it's rare to come across a 70's set these days, let alone 80's. But they were built with such a perminance. And performed really well when tuned up. No menu driven service controls. The wife going to really hate me now. They're so much bigger than amplifiers. Question, is there a collector element to these sets or is it for the fun of watching a 30 something year old TV and what is it about the old sets that you all here find appealing?

Carmine
01-14-2004, 07:14 AM
I think I collect old TVs for a number of reasons, oddly enough, they seem to all parallel the reasons I collect old cars too.

1) They'll never build anything like that again. Although the modern versions are superior in some respects, there is little to differentiate between brands or models. No attention to detail, no attempt at style. Zero "personality".

As a little kid in the 70s and 80s, I can remember being awed by the physical size of various consoles and 3-ways owned by relatives. Whereas my parents, (young and just starting out) always had the bare-bones cheapest version of something good quality (19" Zenith in a plastic cabinet, or stripper /6 Dodge Dart) my older relatives had solid wood Magnavox and Zenith sets with "Space Commands" and "Astro-sonic" sound. They seemed so massive and complex, full of push-buttons, knobs and "secret" doors. For much the same reason, I loved going places in my aunts and uncles' Mercurys, New Yorkers and Imperials. I again was awed by their huge size, plush seats and "secret" doors for the headlights... I even remeber being about 6-7 years old and always running out in the driveway to see my great uncle start his '76 Mercury Grand Marquis, then watch the car open its "eyes" when he flicked on the headlights.

What is there for today's kids? Anonymous black-plastic cubes that display an image, period. I saw a set the other day at Target with only a power button! (Guess you're screwed if you can't find the remote!) No fancy emblems with lightning bolts, (Zenith) scary faces (Magnavox) or cute dogs, (RCA) just some screen-printing of a word like "apex". And I can hardly imagine some kid getting excited to see a Camary turn on its headlights. :puke:



2) Shocking people with the performance. I love having people over my house, then waiting for them to comment on the old Zenith set I have. They never believe me when I say "Its got remote too.", then watching their faces when the knob starts turning on its own. Also love to show them color TV the way it was first seen, through one of those football-shaped screens! Naturally, it's important for me to have them all performing in tip-top shape just to take a little more shine off today's cheap throw-away junk, just as windnoise, carb bogs, or anything else unpleasant is UNACCEPTABLE in my personal fleet of Imperials, NY'ers, etc.


3) They are time machines and stress-relievers. I wish I were a more optomistic person, but I've just seen so many things change in the world over my short 30 years on it. Few of them seem to be changes for the better. I can't think of any other devices except TVs and cars which allow you to go back in time. If I catch an episode of Bonanza, Andy Griffith, etc. on one of my old sets, it's easy to escape into a pre 9-11 world without national ID cards or military tribunals. If only for a half-hour, I can visit this time/place and it seems that much more real on an old set.

For longer escapes, my wife and I like to get behind the wheel of our '73 Imperial, or '65 New Yorker and cruise down the interstate road-trippin'. I especially enjoy driving in the early morning hours, just as the sun starts to rise and there is very little modern traffic to ruin the time time-machine effect.

This is probably more than I meant to write, but I guess it's a better answer than "because they look cool":)

Sandy G
01-14-2004, 07:31 AM
Carmine, I'm a little older than you are-46-so I can remember when we used roundies as primary sets. The one I have-a Zenith- was in my grandad's office, & I remember only being able to watch it for "special" occasions-Macy's parade, Rose Bowl parade, etc, so as a kid, color TV was a Big Deal. It is a "plain Jane" model- woodgrain metal cabinet- but STILL looks 100% better even not working than these ugly, "ticky-tacky" black/silver boxes of today. I know what you're talking about on the cars, too-I have a '67 Lincoln 4-door convertible & modern ragtops just don't have the same feel. I'm not sure modern stuff has earned the right to be called "ragtop"... -Sandy G.

bgadow
01-14-2004, 03:49 PM
For me a lot of it is the ability to tinker with them, to improve them-and there is always room for some tinkering with these sets. Personally I would rather find a set that needed work than one that was perfect. A great satisfaction from bringing one back to life.

I don't know what it is but there is something about the color on these old tube sets that is missing on modern ones. Warmth? Just the fascination that it works at all? Hardly anything on tv worth my time these days, but if I turn on my CTC-11 my eyes are glued, even if the show is no good.

Character is also a large part of it. Every set, pretty much, through the 70s had some character to it's design. Thinking about it, TV design got boring around the time car design did.

Big Dave
01-14-2004, 09:42 PM
For me, it's the thought of taking a dead, or improperly working set and bringing it back to life. It's also knowing that I have something to do besides work and drinking beer. I want to help preserve our history, and collecting old sets, I feel is one way to do it.

I hate looking at a black box with a CRT, and the programming is worse. Even though most of what's on the tube is shit, there is something about watching said shit on an old set. It's no better, but when these sets were new, it was a much better time for TV programming.

I took the three sets I restored in 2003 to the company Christmas party. My co-workers were amazed that sets that old could be made to work again. The round Andrea was a big hit. The FM radio also served as a source of Christmas music after the staff meeting. Many of the younger people in the comapny were amazed that TV sets did at one time use round CRT's.

In conclusion... it's mainly the satisfaction that I can do something constructive, while at the same time, satisfying.

Eric C
01-15-2004, 07:48 AM
As someone who is just getting into collecting old sets, I would have to say that what I like most, is the charachter that the old sets have. From my memories, I would also agree that the older sets had more vivid color than the newer "black-grey box". Although it really isn't that old by the standards of some of the sets I have seen on this board, my first projects are going to be as follows: a circa 1988 GE Spacemaker 5" b&w tv radio combo that works, but has scratchy controls and needs a good cleaning, and a circa 1988 RCA 27" Colortrack" console that was working fine until the black-out this past summer--since then, no power, so I would assume it's hopefully just a fuse or something really minor. The RCA (before it conked out) had a far better picture than my 2003 Zenith has--I think I already have a weak picture tube!
All that being said, I would love to get my hands on a b& w console in working condition from either the 50's or 60's--it would definitely be my daily watcher!

Eric

Chad Hauris
01-15-2004, 10:22 AM
As far as B&W sets are concerned in my opinion the best large-screen ones are the upright style consoles from the 50's, once the paper caps and any weak tubes are replaced, and the set has a good CRT. The build quality, picture resolution, and sound quality are a lot better than most of the 60's sets. It seems like the lines in the picture are a lot more obvious in the 60's 23" sets as opposed to the 50's 21" 90 degree sets, also the grey scale in the 50's sets appears better.

Another thing I have noticed is that sound quality on 50's sets totally blows away 60's and 70's sets. You can really hear cymbals and bass that are inaudible on most other TV's on these old sets with 8 or 10 inch speakers.
Even the Zenith color sets I have w/6BQ5 and 6x9 speaker don't have as good a tone quality as the 50's sets.

Kamakiri
01-15-2004, 11:26 AM
Originally posted by Eric C
All that being said, I would love to get my hands on a b& w console in working condition from either the 50's or 60's--it would definitely be my daily watcher!

Eric

Want to make a trip to Buffalo? :) I've got about half a dozen nice sets that could use a new loving home. Plus you can come see my CT100s, and maybe have a couple beers :)

Eric C
01-15-2004, 12:54 PM
I'm tempted, sir, but I don't drive due to medical issues. In the spring, I'm going to start checking the yard sales, etc., in my area (we have a hell of a lot of them)--you never know when I might strike pay dirt! Also, I check e-bay daily, but nothing has ever struck my fancy that hasn't been over my price limit. Thanks for the invite, though.
By the way, there is one set I'd really be interested in getting, although I don't know how rare it is. As a kid, I had a GE 11" b@w portable-vintage 1963. From info I have gleaned on this site, I think it was the first to use the "compactron" tubes. The unit I am referring to was a plastic cabinet set, the front was off white, and the rest of the case came in different colors--ours was a red one, but I think I have seen grey and possibly brown as well. Anyone know how common these sets are, how much they usually go for, and how easy they are to fix. Ours was still working when my father turfed it out when me moved in 1979 (I don't think it had ever seen a repairman)--it had been demoted to a spare set by that time due to me getting a larger set in the mid 70's.

Eric

peverett
01-15-2004, 04:47 PM
I have several of the GE 11" sets. I have a grey one, a white one and a couple of red ones. I also have some for spare parts.

I had the grey one and white one working but, they have quit and I need to look at them again. A big problem with these sets is that the horizontal output/damper tube is mounted on a PC board which tends to charcoal. My parts sets are not restorable due to this. These were very cheaply made sets, but are cute.

They do pop up on Ebay fairly regularly, so I would keep checking there.

Eric C
01-15-2004, 04:52 PM
They may have been cheaply built, but if our's was any indicator, they were built to last. Last time I remember powering ours up, the only thing wrong was a bit of vertical shrinkage. Also, I think the tuner needed cleaning, but man, that set was on a heck of a lot, even as our second set.

Eric
Tweed, ON

Marlin Mackley
01-15-2004, 05:17 PM
Boy, mostly all I can do is say "me too" for the earlier posts. It is a thrill to me to show folks around my studio and watch their eyes open wide, especially when I lift the lid on one of the projector sets and to describe that some of these cost as much as a new car in their day, putting them on par with modern top of the line HDTV's in 2004 dollars, and this for probably only one station! I turn on my old, big Hoffman 3 way and let them listen to TV through pushpull 6V6 audio and a large speaker, or likewise on one of the Zenith/Armstrong bakelite FM radios.

My Chevy club magazine told a car story along similar lines, referring to a '64 Impala Super Sport that blew the doors off a BMW, UPHILL!

All of these old products set a standard of pride in workmanship that has not been bested these many years later. And of course Carmine is right on with the time machine analogy too. Sometimes "they ain't made like they use to" is dead right.

Tomorrow I am going with a friend shopping for a new car. I am not expecting to do much more than silently wish I was driving my '59 Belair instead!:D

heathkit tv
01-15-2004, 05:43 PM
Eh wise up and forget about them Chebbies, get a real man's car, get a Studebaker! :D Got me lots of them including an Avanti.

Anthony

Eric C
01-15-2004, 05:48 PM
Anthony, what is your newest Stude? Do you have any from the era after the South Bend plant closed (1963, I think), when all production was in Hamilton, ON?

Carmine
01-15-2004, 07:24 PM
...but you both might be interested to know that there is a guy on my street who uses a 63-64 Studebaker as a daily driver! I'll take a picture sometime and post it in the off-topic area.

Guy is a real jerk however!

Sandy G
01-16-2004, 07:51 AM
When I was a wee tadpole, there was a 1949-50 Studie 4-dr sedan-the one w/the pointy nose & suicide doors- that lived up the street from me. I was in love w/it, of course- it was so darned different than all the other cars. Funny how most of us that like old TVs seem to be vintage gearheads as well.-Sandy G.