I'm looking for a 1949 Sylvania Television. Preferably with AM/FM Phonograph in a mahogany console. I'd settle for just the television. The television section is shown in my avatar.

How unlikely is it to find one? I don't see much about vintage Sylvania online.

I'm new and just added my avatar. Hopfefully I did it correctly.

Ooops. I guess this belongs in classifieds. I can't figure out how to delete it, only edit. I won't be offended if the PM deletes it.

Sylvania sets from the fifties show up but ones this early aren't common at all. I think this is correct: Sylvania entered the TV/radio manufacturing business by purchasing Colonial Radio, which had been a major supplier to Sears. I used to have a Sears Silvertone radio/tv/phono combo from that same era and it was somewhat similiar to the set you are seeking. (It was made by Colonial, which I think might have been operated as a seperate division by Sylvania)

Keep that picture out there; post it on the Early Television Foundation classifieds, as well. (if you haven't already) Sooner or later one will turn up.

I agree with Bryan. They turn up but it may take awhile. I personally have only seen maybe two Sylvania sets this early in the last 6 or 7 years so they do exist. By the way, Welcome to the tv forums!
-Tony

I know that you're right about Sylvania and Colonial. Googles News shows an ad for the 1949 Sylvania sets in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette and at the end it says "made by Colonial Radio Corporation"

That's better than I expected. I really thought none existed. Thanks for the welcome.

I agree with Bryan. They turn up but it may take awhile. I personally have only seen maybe two Sylvania sets this early in the last 6 or 7 years so they do exist. By the way, Welcome to the tv forums!
-Tony

It seems that those sets were sold here... but I have never seen one in person.

Now that I took another look at that ad again... I noticed something funny: it promotes that the TV comes "with FM radio" ... well, that was a pretty useless feature in Brazil in 1950. The first FM radio station here, If I recall correctly, only appeared sometime around or after 1955.

Now that I took another look at that ad again... I noticed something funny: it promotes that the TV comes "with FM radio" ... well, that was a pretty useless feature in Brazil in 1950. The first FM radio station here, If I recall correctly, only appeared sometime around or after 1955.

Neat! I've seen the same exact ad in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, except in english.

The FM worked quite well and the set had good sound for its time.

John

So here they didn't bother to erase that "small detail" when they translated that text to Portuguese... I wonder if ANYONE here in Brazil ( except maybe the electronic geeks ) in 1950 really knew what "FM radio" was...

That is kinda funny really, because in the Brazilian version of the ad, it says that the Sylvania import representative in Brazil was mister Emil H. Staub. Well, the Staub family have a LONG tradition in the electronics business here... in 1964 they founded "Gradiente" , which is one of the largest electronic industries in Brazil, they even were major funding contributors to the presidential campaign of... that thing that is the current President of Brazil.

Mister Emil H. Staub most likely knew that no one in the average public had a clue of what "FM radio" was. Still, he kept that in the ad. Funny.

One final note: I have heard that "Gradiente" is under MAJOR financial troubles, and that was even before the current international crisis. I have no idea if they got out of trouble or not. It 's been a LONG time since last I entered any electronics store, so I cannot even say if their products are still on the shelves or not.

It appears that their problems were caused by - no surprise!!! - the huge amount of chinese electronic junk entering the Brazilian AND South American market.

Last night a friend gave me a small stack of factory service manuals, including some for Sylvania. Just browsing through, not many pictures, but did spot one that looks like a cheaper version of your photo. I think the book starts with the '50 models.

Last night a friend gave me a small stack of factory service manuals, including some for Sylvania. Just browsing through, not many pictures, but did spot one that looks like a cheaper version of your photo. I think the book starts with the '50 models.

The model that I took the photo of is a 1-128. One of the less expensive models is a 1-076. tvhistory.tv lists these as 1950 models. I believe they are really 1949. The 1950 models look different as you can see at:

http://www.tvhistory.tv/1950-59-SYLVANIA.htm

Is one of the factory service manuals for a 1-128?
John

Yep, found them! The 2 models share a service manual-photos of both are on the cover. The date on the front page is 10-14-49. If you need info from it or would like to borrow it, let me know. I could try to do some scans, but the way the binder was put together it would be a real pain to seperate that one manual out. Probably some service updates in there for those sets, as well.

Any particular reason for this exact set? Sentimental reasons?

Any particular reason for this exact set? Sentimental reasons?

It's stricly sentimental reasons. Things that can't really be explained. Maybe it was from watching Howdy Doody, Disney, Eisenhower running for office, The Thin Man, Topper, Superman... Listening to classical music before I knew that's what it was. Oh, one shouldn't forget Captain Video...

Even when we had a color set I liked the Sylvania the best.

Strange coincidences. Whenever I tune in to WKAR-FM, our public station here. I always get silence. I turn up the volume and then boom, I find it was just a pause between segments. The same thing always happened with the Sylvania. I'd turn it on and there would be a Quaker Oats commercial.

John

Yep, found them! The 2 models share a service manual-photos of both are on the cover. The date on the front page is 10-14-49. If you need info from it or would like to borrow it, let me know. I could try to do some scans, but the way the binder was put together it would be a real pain to seperate that one manual out. Probably some service updates in there for those sets, as well.

I'd love to borrow it. I have a Sams for it but I'd like to compare them. I'd pay for shipping/postage.

I'm not sure why I want to know this since I don't have a 1-128, but control B4 in the HV section is a trimmer capacitor. The Sam's doesn't indicate its value. Do they show that?

John

It seems that those sets were sold here... but I have never seen one in person.

I guess my memory failed me. The advertisement isn't exactly the same.

As far as the FM goes, that is a bid odd. Perhaps it was less expensive to use the same chassis and not make a special version. The ad might have been a verbatim translation of a US ad?

The 1-128 we had looks like the scan.

John

I have three vacuum tube radios. One is a bakelite table model, manufactured in the early to mid fifties. No FM. The other is a radio that is part of a TV-Phono-radio combo made sometime around 1955. No FM on that one either. The third one is the radio of a radio-phono combo manufactured in February of 1962. THAT ONE HAS FM.

If any of those sets with FM radio were actually sold here, they must have confused it's owners, who would have no idea of what the heck FM was.

I'd love to borrow it. I have a Sams for it but I'd like to compare them. I'd pay for shipping/postage.

I'm not sure why I want to know this since I don't have a 1-128, but control B4 in the HV section is a trimmer capacitor. The Sam's doesn't indicate its value. Do they show that?

John

The schematic is nicely drawn, easy to read. I wasn't sure about that particular trimmer-as usual, Sams labels things different than the factory did. (why did they have to do that?) I'll send you a PM about the manuals.