View Full Version : Fugly Packard Bell


jstout66
06-08-2014, 07:52 AM
Saw this on our Craigslist. Seller says it's from 1960. Doesn't say if it works or not, and a tad pricey (97.00) * I'm cheap and don't usually like to spend anything on B&W sets.
However.. this one is so odd looking, I kind of want... haha

John Marinello
06-08-2014, 08:55 AM
Well, if the CRT is good, and there's still decent tread on the tires, what the hell...

walterbeers
06-08-2014, 09:39 AM
Hey I'm in Omaha, and I believe years ago, I repaired and worked on this set, if it's the same one. If so the customer was in the 84th and Grover street area in Omaha, NE. I remember it because it was unique, with the wagon wheels. Don't remember what was wrong with it then, or if it had a good picture.

Jon A.
06-08-2014, 11:08 AM
Saw this on our Craigslist. Seller says it's from 1960. Doesn't say if it works or not, and a tad pricey (97.00) * I'm cheap and don't usually like to spend anything on B&W sets.
However.. this one is so odd looking, I kind of want... haha
Last one of those I saw on here had a necked CRT. I'm not into B&W sets either, or even color sets from that time, but this example would be tempting even for me.

snelson903
06-08-2014, 01:46 PM
looks like it was made to serve afternoon tea and TV.:banana:

wa2ise
06-08-2014, 04:22 PM
I was thinking of monkeys, peanuts and organ grinding... :D

dieseljeep
06-08-2014, 07:27 PM
looks like it was made to serve afternoon tea and TV.:banana:

It's almost as strange as the Porto-Products of the later 40's.
One model was the Porto-Baradio, that was a tray, with glassware and decanters, built around a Stewart-Warner table radio.
The other model was the Smokerette. It was similar, but it had a humidor and spaces for pipes and cigarette packs. Used the same radio.
Those crummy things are worth a fortune on the E-place. :thumbsdn:

truetone36
06-08-2014, 09:41 PM
I used to have one of these. They are pretty good performers.

atomicomatic
06-10-2014, 12:51 AM
Ride a horse to pick it up, and you can use it as a buggy on the way back. :D

maxhifi
06-10-2014, 09:25 AM
Perfect for watching bonanza...

jstout66
06-10-2014, 09:54 AM
My friend Walter bought this set last night. I went with him to pick it up.
He's a member here, so he may do his own post, but set was pretty cool. Got it back and discovered no picture. The horizontal output tube wasn't lighting up, but if you wiggled it "just right" it would. Picture came up and set looks pretty good. I think after some minor work, set should be perfect.

ggregg
06-10-2014, 11:33 AM
perfect for watching bonanza...

lol!!

maxhifi
06-10-2014, 12:04 PM
I like how there was at least some variety in those days... what does a TV look like, is it a Predicta? Is it a basic metal box Zenith? A suitcase portable with fake alligator skin? This ridiculous wild west serving cart? A Danish modern console? Where is the variety in today's designs, they are all basically identical. Sure some of the high end sets look kind of cool, but there's sure not such a wide variety of options anymore. Same in cars.. they're all silver, grey, black blobs designed around meeting heavy handed government mandated safety standards at a competitive cost... not a bad thing but the individuality isn't there. Of course there are exceptions, but homogeneous design hardly makes the world a more interesting place, even if it allows us all to afford every gadget under the sun.

walterbeers
06-10-2014, 01:48 PM
As jstout said in his above post, I picked up this set last night, brought it home, and after wiggling the horizontal output tube so that the filament would light up, it's came on, hooked it up to a converter and it produces a fairly decent B&W picture. Needs a good cleaning up, and the brightness control is frozen, so have to deal with that. I like the way a separate indicator lights up depending what channel your on. I don't think it has many, if any wax style capacitors, but there is quite a bit of wax that has dripped from the flyback. Doubt if I can do anything about that, except clean it up. Rubber "tires" are in decent shape, making it easy to move. There is a code date and Packard Bell symbol on the socket of the CRT with a date in 1963, so it must be the original CRT. Jstout and I drove out on Nebraska's country roads to pick it up, as it was outside of Omaha. Had some good conversation about our old TV collections. Also I got the owner of the set down to $50, so I feel I got a bargain. It's really a unique TV especially in the Midwest area as most Packard Bells were sold on the west coast.