What do you have in your collection that makes you really smile? What is #1 for you in your collection? Got a picture of it?
Mine is my RCA 730TV1. It was the 2nd set I bought. Got it off of Craigslist for $40. I'm still looking for the original 78 chassis and the TV side is my next restoration project when I get around to it.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6220/6240006679_744f3006b2.jpg

Of the B/W sets, I guess it's my DuMont RA-103.

http://antiqueradio.org/art/DuMontRA-103CabinetPerspective.jpg

If a visitor to our house asks about old TVs, I know I can just turn this one on and it will always look & sound great -- no hiccups, no apologies, no explanations about how 60-year old TVs can't be expected to look good like new ones, etc.

Subject to future revision, of course. In thinking about this, I came up with a two- or three-way tie for second place. And, depending on what I'm working on and how the project is going, the answer might often be "The TV that I'm restoring right now!"

Phil Nelson
Phil's Old Radios
http://antiqueradio.org/index.html

My most prized set in my Radio/TV collection is my Zenith Porthole TV -- I call her "Cinderella":

http://www.cerant.com/ZenithPortholeTV/Playing-800.jpg

Here is her website:
http://www.cerant.com/ZenithPortholeTV/ZenithPortholeTV.html

I'll admit, I am a sucker for cute TV's with Porthole figures:-)

Carl

I too, dig my Dumont!

A Zenith Porthole showing Amos 'n' Andy-Can't get much more Fifties than that.

I guess I'd have to go along with the DuMont crowd on this one. My 1947 DuMont Clifton RA-102 is the one set that consistently puts a smile on my face, and anyone who sees it is quite taken with it. It has a darn nice picture, and has proven to be a very reliable TV. I'd definitely vote it the number one spot in my collection.

Bob

http://i642.photobucket.com/albums/uu143/ampico-kid/CopyofDSC_0128.jpg

What do you have in your collection that makes you really smile?

There are two sets, a 3 inch Pilot and a 7 inch Admiral, both seen together displaying a football game received with a DTV converter. These are the first two electrostatic sets I ever restored.

Cliff

Hard to say. I have more of the "Teeny-tiny" Eighties sets, but the older Tooob ones are charming, too. My TV-37 gets a LOT of compliments, as does my Safari. I kinda "Love" ALL of 'em....(grin)

I think I'd have to go with the third vintage set I ever bought, my 1959 Zenith.
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/DSCN0642.jpg
I catch my self staring at it all the time despite it rarely being used. I just love the styling of the set. It also has a swivel base.
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/DSCN0640.jpg

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/DSCN0641.jpg

My runners up for the monochrome catagory are also Zenith (they must of had good cabinet designers then).
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/DSCN1152.jpg

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/DSCN1145.jpg

There is also something about the next two sets and UHF converter when they are stacked in the manner I have them stacked that makes them as a whole look better than individually.
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/DSCN0538.jpg
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i469/ElectronicMemory/DSCN0540.jpg

As for color sets that is sort of a toss up, and I'll have to think hard on that one.

OK, I'll have to go with a bakelite Admiral console for my all time favorite :yes:
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5262/5604888225_5ae905c19e_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/5604888225/)

However, this is a close runner-up. It's a Silvertone 8132 - their very first set I believe.
It has a crazy pushbutton tuner, lots of loktal tubes, weighs in at 100+ lbs and only has a 10" screen.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6031/6245505076_f89295fc02_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/70039806@N00/6245505076/)

I can only pick one?

I guess it'd be this '58 Philco Miss America set. Unfortunately the CRT is shot and since it was used in the Predicta I'll never be able to afford a good one :tears:

http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s252/audubon5425/Old%20TV%20Sets/P1040442.jpg

This one is a little newer; but, for the moment, is my favorite TV. It's a 22" GTE-Sylvania solid state B&W console from '78. As one might expect, large screen solid state B&W sets from this era are rare and, besides this one, I've only seen two in the past 20 years.

http://i538.photobucket.com/albums/ff341/radiotvnut/2010_0503sylB0003.jpg

My favorite is my 1965 Zenith 25MC33 roundie in the white chinese cabinet with the SC400.

For B/W it would be my 1966 Zenith 19" metal table set with the SC300, and the auto-shutoff.

My 1947 DuMont Clifton RA-102
That Clifton is stunning. It would win the "most beautiful TV ever made" contest, if I got a vote.

I should frame that photo and hang it on the wall, since my chances of finding one "in the wild" are close to zero!

Phil Nelson

I guess I'd have to go along with the DuMont crowd on this one. My 1947 DuMont Clifton RA-102 is the one set that consistently puts a smile on my face, and anyone who sees it is quite taken with it. It has a darn nice picture, and has proven to be a very reliable TV. I'd definitely vote it the number one spot in my collection.

Bob

http://i642.photobucket.com/albums/uu143/ampico-kid/CopyofDSC_0128.jpg


It's a work of art. If you ever sell, just let me know. Love it.

Can't match the romance, nostalgia and elegance of the above televisions, but from my collection ...

Panasonic CT 101A with postage stamp size color CRT. Wow factor.

http://www.visions4.net/journal/wp-content/uploads/Panasonic-CT-101-color-darker-1600.jpg

Sony FDM 330S "Take apart TV" TFT active matrix. Cool factor.

http://www.visions4.net/journal/wp-content/uploads/Sony-FDL-330S-1600-darker-wordpress.jpg

Sony Indextron KVX 370 one gun, no shadow mask color. Unique factor.

http://www.visions4.net/journal/wp-content/uploads/Sony-indextron-1-1600-WP.jpg

I like my Admiral:
http://www.wa2ise.com/radios/admiraltv.jpg

It's a work of art. If you ever sell, just let me know. Love it.

Yea drop me a line also :deal:.

It's a work of art. If you ever sell, just let me know. Love it.

I thought for sure that set was a British set. It sure resembles their styling.

I like my Admiral:
http://www.wa2ise.com/radios/admiraltv.jpg

And I have his brother, the Admiral 26R12. I have restored it since this photo and now have the correct color volume control knob. I had this exact model as my first TV when I was a teenager. I guess it is my favorite.

http://www.streitsonline.com/don/26R12_1.jpg

Count me in with the DuMont gang. My RA-109 has an excellent picture and is built like a tank. It looks just like the one already posted without the AM radio, just FM. The picture is my avitar.

To the poster with the Philco Miss America... That does not use the same tube as the Predicta. It uses a 90 degree tube.

As for mine, I would pick any of my round screen BW sets. For color, CTC-9. For rectangular color, Admiral with tilt out panel.

Of my older sets I'd pick this 7" Airline (I've since found that knob it's missing in that pic).

To the poster with the Philco Miss America... That does not use the same tube as the Predicta. It uses a 90 degree tube.

21EAP4 ... I wish you were right

My favorite is my 1965 Zenith 25MC33 roundie in the white chinese cabinet with the SC400.

For B/W it would be my 1966 Zenith 19" metal table set with the SC300, and the auto-shutoff.

Holy Cow!

That metal set is like a mix between my UHF set and my Space Command set.
My UHF set has a timer that will either turn the set off after a period of time or turn it on after a period of time depending on which way you turn the knob.

I'm guessing that since your set has the same cart as mine that the one I found in the same estate sale as my set is factory origional.
I believe the bottom shelf is missing on yours. You can confirm this by checking for groves on the center crossbars. The shelf on mine was poped out as found, and I had to gingerly pop it back in so it is likely that these often go missing.

Although I still love my DuMont, this RCA is really starting to win me over. I like the way it folds into a coffee table too, too cool.

:thmbsp: Those are some Great looking TVs , and I'd be proud to own any one of em !!!!!


My favorite is my 1950 Olympic table sized wood cased TV , and its my favorite because I've owned it since the 1960s ( yea , it wasnt an Antique by any means when I first bought it , but , over the years , we've become antiques together :D )

The image viewer wont let me upload my pictures because It says Ive already uploaded them to another thread , i'll try to get some updated photos soon :)

Holy Cow!

That metal set is like a mix between my UHF set and my Space Command set.
My UHF set has a timer that will either turn the set off after a period of time or turn it on after a period of time depending on which way you turn the knob.


I've been trying to collect as many of these Zeniths as I can find. I currently have 9 of them:
1960 17" metal cabinet- SC300
1960 21" console
1961 19: metal cabinet
1961 23" console (hi-fi with 4 speakers)
1961 23" console - SC300
1963 19" metal cabinet - SC300
1966 19" metal cabinet - SC300
1967 19" metal cabinet
1971 23" metal cabinet

21EAP4 ... I wish you were right

You should be able to sub the CRT with a more common tube like a 21CEP4 or simular. The basing is different and you have to locate the heater source, as the original is a 2.35 volt. The sub tubes are a bit longer, but should fit in a console.

I believe G! and cathode are reversed on the Predicta tubes. I will need to confirm that for sure. You can tie the heater winding to the 6 volt winding without trouble, or add a 6 volt filament transformer. If you have an old 110 tube brightner, remove the autotransformer, connect the filament windings to the filament transformer, reverse G1 and cathode (pending confirmation), install a tube like a 21CEP4 and you're good. This way, the modification is totally reversible if you find an exact replacement.

I appreciate the tips guys - I'm not too concerned about the CRT length since the original neck guard is warped (from a wall heater I'd guess) and unusable - I'll have to fabricate a new one anyway. I plan on getting into the Miss America next year and will start a thread on her when I do.

I suppose my favorite TV(s) will remain the 1948 thru 1951 RCA designed TV's based first upon the KCS28 chassis. This was the first major revamp after the chassis used in the 630TS and the KCS28 has many notable features:

1) Full bandwidth 4 MHz with 4 video IF stages AND with two upper adjacent channel traps, two lower adjacent channel traps, two video IF sound traps and one video amplifier trap. Certainly this was overkill but the traps provide the KCS28's excellent DXing capability.

2) First set to use the full Synchroguide Horizontal AFC circuit which predominated in many brands for the next decade.

3) DC coupled video amplifier. RCA persisted with DC coupling up until about 1952. Elimination of the video amplifier coupling capacitor yielded a better low frequency response and eliminated the need for a separate DC restorer tube.

4) Excellent sync peak AGC. The 630TS had no AGC because of the need to develop a circuit to develop a consistently accurate gain control voltage. I believe the KCS28 was a breakthrough in this regard with the sync tip amplitude reference circuit it used. (The final breakthrough was he "Keyed AGC" circuit developed in the next couple of years).

My RCA 8T243 was assembled in Montreal Canada. It was apparently the first TV manufactured in Canada in 1949, three years before the establishment of the first broadcast station there in September 1952 (CBLT Toronto and CBMT Montreal).

I have owned and maintained this receiver for 42 years as a regularly used set. In this time, I have aligned the set three times and replaced a number of tubes. Most of the paper capacitors have been replaced but a few have not shown any leakage and have left them in place. All the electrolytics are original. And the CRT is original to the set.

The images below include reception of WPBT Miami and KRMA Denver and Tu Canal Monterey Mexico from my rooftop antenna from Southern Illinois on this set.

These RCA sets are well designed and built like tanks.

The images below include reception of WPBT Miami and KRMA Denver and Tu Canal Monterey Mexico from my rooftop antenna from Southern Illinois on this set.


TV DXing- for real? That is just amazing.

Just an average performer, but I'm very fond of my Blond 21-D-7177E RCA. Wish I could locate a NOS 21AMP4.

I suppose my favorite TV(s) will remain the 1948 thru 1951 RCA designed TV's based first upon the KCS28 chassis.
I had no idea these sets were such an improvement over the 630TS chassis. That last picture especially is just stunningly clear. Your comments make me appreciate my (still unrestored) sets with this chassis much more.

Regarding my favorite set(s) from the ones I own, it is a tough question. It might be the National NC-TV7, or the Zenith G2958R, or the RCA CT-100.

It's a tie between my Predicta or my RCA projection set.

http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg227/pielock373/CIMG6759.jpg


Click on image to see video
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg227/pielock373/th_073.jpg (http://s249.photobucket.com/albums/gg227/pielock373/?action=view&current=073.mp4)

http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg227/pielock373/CIMG7644.jpg

http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg227/pielock373/CIMG7628.jpg


Click on image to see video
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg227/pielock373/th_2011-06-22_18-05-26_558.jpg (http://s249.photobucket.com/albums/gg227/pielock373/?action=view&current=2011-06-22_18-05-26_558.mp4)

TV DXing- for real? That is just amazing.

I forgot the KRMA channel 6 photo attachment. This reception was in late June 2009 after most of the analog TV stations had shut down. The few remaining VHF analog channels were just showing looped presentations.

Note the WPBT channel 2 was about 1000 miles, KRMA channel 6 was about 900 miles and channel 2 Monterrey Mexico about 1200 miles. And these were received directly by the original KRK5 RCA tuner in the set.

I'm more of a solid state guy..it's what I 'cut my teeth' on...I didn't evn dig into a tube set until later on.

SO, that being said, i'm going on a limb here and saying it's my 1976 XAM 13" color metal cabinet tv...here it is listening to first responders on UHF 14...great pic, Toshiba Blackstripe 1 crt

I remember the tales of my Admiral 1911A11...The guy who owned it would haul it up on this local Hill in summmer '48-49, & they would TRY to DX Atlanta (WSB or WAGA or Charlotte...WBT... An' They would stand up & HOLLER when they got a signal...Big Stuff in '48=49....(grin)

Goin' To Noxfull Thursday...Hope to see Terry, & maybe get some of my Stuff back...Wish I knew how to work the Blonder-Tongue Agile Modulatotor to get a signal on all my TeeVees...

Wish I knew how to work the Blonder-Tongue Agile Modulatotor to get a signal on all my TeeVees...
This article explains how I hooked up my AM60-550A:

http://antiqueradio.org/HomeTVTransmitter.htm

Phil Nelson
Phil's Old Radios
http://antiqueradio.org/index.html

Sandy, that tale adout the admiral is very amusing. I assume there were no local stations in that area back then as who would go to the trouble to haul that thing up a hill and set up a power suply if there was an easier way to get a station. If that area was a TV signal "dead zone" though why would they pay for a TV to watch static on? :scratch2:

why would they pay for a TV to watch static on? :scratch2:

I've paid for TV's that I haven't even plugged in...quite a few actually :).

Vts1134, sandy's story seemed to be set in the late 40's (I may have mis-read it) when owning a TV was not exactly cheap.

Now a days TV's are so common and cheap I can see someone doing that for the heck of it.

Alas, every collector has 1 or 2 or more sets playing the role of "shelf-queen" :D:yes: I know I do..even if they work/are restored, they just end up sitting and get used a few times per year for whatever reason.

Vts1134, sandy's story seemed to be set in the late 40's (I may have mis-read it) when owning a TV was not exactly cheap.

Now a days TV's are so common and cheap I can see someone doing that for the heck of it.

But it did happen! I remember reading about many installations 200-300 miles from the nearest TV station, where huge rhombic antennas were constructed, perhaps to just catch a few fleeting glimpses of TELEVISION, perhaps on a summer day! Not much ROI, but great fun!

Also, perhaps some set owners moved from cities where TV existed to areas without TV.

My wife grew up in a hilltop community* next door to the home of a local appliance dealer, who got TV signals from about 175 miles away, years before TV came to our town. As a child, she was not impressed, but years later, I added the little bakelite 7" Philco to my collection! :)

jr

Edit add: * About 1100 feet above average terrain.

Vts1134, sandy's story seemed to be set in the late 40's (I may have mis-read it) when owning a TV was not exactly cheap.

Now a days TV's are so common and cheap I can see someone doing that for the heck of it.

When some one walks into my apartment and sees my TVs it immediately becomes the topic of conversation.
When some one walked into a home in the 40s and they see a TV I imagine it was WAY more of a big deal and the topic of conversation, even if it wasn't able to pick anything up. It was a status symbol as much as, or more than, a device for watching programming.

Sandy, that tale adout the admiral is very amusing. I assume there were no local stations in that area back then as who would go to the trouble to haul that thing up a hill and set up a power suply if there was an easier way to get a station. If that area was a TV signal "dead zone" though why would they pay for a TV to watch static on? :scratch2:

Yeah, that place is the highest site around, they had power up there, & he had some sort of antenna. We didn't have TV around here til late '54 or so, that's one reason we rarely ever find VERY early sets here. I used to go up there in the '80s w/a JVC CX-500US-a 4.5" color set/cassette/radio combo, & could pick up all manner of stations that we didn't have on the local cable TV system. In fact, the "Master" antenna for the cable TV system was up there. People started going up there & using it for a "Lover's Lane", doing dope deals, shooting at the antennas, etc, & now you can't get up there anymore, its locked off.

Probably my favorite set is my 1974 Philips 26C365 "Mantegna", with multistandard chassis KM2. One of the most complex set ever built... A real monster, with three convergence panel, dozen of modules, miles of wiring... :eek:

http://s2.postimage.org/f5typqtx/333501_175942389146592_100001924977499_358412_11.j pg

http://s2.postimage.org/f68ujv9x/289317_156791747728323_100001924977499_307392_32.j pg

I've paid for TV's that I haven't even plugged in...quite a few actually :).

So have I. And, I have many vacuum tube amplifiers that have not been plugged either. :(

Got all manner of TVs I don't play, radios, too, guns I have NO INTENTION of ever shooting....Its a SICKNESS...(grin)

....Its a SICKNESS...(grin)

That's what my wife tells me every day.

Hello, these are some of my favorite sets:

1950 Philips TX500: the first commercial TV Philips built with the current (until digital conversion crap) 625 lines standard. Yes, it's quite uncommon in Italy, only 6 are known to exist and it still works really good after a restoration. It uses a 12" round tube, quite similar to the American 12LP4, but built by Philips. I got this set with an almost NOS crt. It uses the smallest horizontal output tube produced (except for the UL44, but this was never common), a noval based affair called PL81

1954 Geloso GTV1002: the successor of the first produced chassis that must be considered a prototype, the GTV1001 from 1952 (I have this too), it was completely built in Milano, comprehensive of all the components, CRT excluded. Geloso had an agreement with RCA, so all the CRTs are produced in the USA, it uses the synchroguide circuit. Needless to say, I'm still amazed it still works as good.

1955 Radiomarelli RV102: based on a GE chassis with few modifications, the most noticeable being the equipment in the horizontal scanning section (it employs 2 6AV5GT and 2 6AX4GT), this TV must have been quite expensive in it's heydays as we had tubes tax and it has a gorgeous wood cabinet. Thanks to the help of my friend Don Lindsly, now it has a brand new 21EP4 CRT and the image produced is simply stunning. Too bad the a**hole seller packaged this TV really, and I mean really bad, so it sustained quite a lot of damages to the knobs and cabinet :tears:

Yes, as Sandy G says, this is pure SICKNESS. Just look at the photo called "laboratory" :D

Cheers

Giulio Maiocco

Giulio- "Laboratory"- I love it ! Just goes to show that a lot of us are basically frustrated Junior-League Mad Scientist Wannabes....(grin) Very nice collection there, Paisano !