Why do you like old tv sets?
For me... the stile and the fact that remember you of old days (ha, I do admire periods when I wasn't even borned). Plus the thing that you know how people worked to manufacture them.

For me it's the fact that so many of them have lasted so long.

We're talking 30... 40... 50+ years and beyond, and until you get into the pre 60's stuff, most of them just need simple cleaning and maintenance to get them working like new again.

And before the internet, TV was how I entertained myself

Why do you like old tv sets?

Nostalgia.

For watching vintage recordings in the manner in which they were originally viewed.

Technological history.

Amusement.

A challenge to repair, followed by a great sense of accomplishment when resolving a difficult problem.

Training the mind to solve those aforementioned difficult problems.

And lots of other reasons.

.

To me, old tube television sets are simply amazing.

Think about it. Glass bulbs. Red-hot glowing elements. Bits of steel plates. Coils of wire. Tubes of paper, wax and aluminum. Pieces of carbon with wires sticking out. Doughnut shaped pieces of ferrite metal bits. Crude, simple, elementary bits and pieces of raw materials combined in just the right way, inside a box to pluck moving pictures and sound out of thin air, able to bring news, entertainment, sports, major events, to one's very own home.

Beams of moving electrons!

To me, old tube television sets are simply amazing.

Think about it. Glass bulbs. Red-hot glowing elements. Bits of steel plates. Coils of wire. Tubes of paper, wax and aluminum. Pieces of carbon with wires sticking out. Doughnut shaped pieces of ferrite metal bits. Crude, simple, elementary bits and pieces of raw materials combined in just the right way, inside a box to pluck moving pictures and sound out of thin air, able to bring news, entertainment, sports, major events, to one's very own home.

Mostly the same, and how much more they are technological achievements than today's mass produced, plastic sets.

Just think about it. I can walk up to a finely styled wooden box, pull out a knob, and have a bunch of copper, paper, plastic, and steel throw thousands (possibly millions) of tiny dots in perfect coordination to produce a picture that moves every millisecond, for hours from invisible beams shooting through the air.

Most kids these days see them as outdated junk.

Memories of childhood... The tv in my avatar is a set me and my dad worked on and got running.. (still looking) Some have cool cabinets, and its fun bringing em back from the dead... :)

SR

Nostalgia and the fact that the older sets can be serviced when they develop a issue, as opposed to the new sets that are usually impossible to repair. I grew up around these old sets in daily use and had a couple of family members who repaired TVs who taught me how to service them.

Much simpler times. Also, the remote was named Tim. Wait, that was me.

Yep, I was the remote for the first 17 years of my life.

I owe my career in electronics to an early interest in the workings of television, and building all kinds of projects and circuits from a combination of trashpicked TV sets and parts from the pegboards at the local Radio Shack. I soon moved on to reading some books on TV repair and learned to fix up some of the nicer discarded sets and sell them for extra spending money. The ability to do this got me my first couple part-time jobs in TV repair shops, while most of my friends were pumping gas or flipping burgers for considerably less money.

By the time I got out of HS, the age of BPC sets was well underway, and it was apparent that TV repair wasn't going to remain a profitable endeavor much longer. I made a shift over to commercial/broadcast video repair (lots of work for VHS duplicating houses with endless racks of VCRs) for a year or so while studying EE during the day. Eventually was offered a job at a university research lab, in part because of my experience with video systems, but I eventually moved up to replace their retiring instrumentation guru building all manner of one-off custom instrumentation and systems for scientific research.

I still like playing around with analog TV and vintage sets as a hobby partly to keep the technology from being completely forgotten, and because it reminds me of my younger days and several great folks (now gone) who taught me about the workings of the technology over the years. I like to restore sets to working condition for people who want them, partly out of a sense of guilt for all the restorable now collectible sets I shredded into pieces in my early years of learning...

And sometimes I want to revenge on the hard times.

Nostalgia and the fact that the older sets can be serviced when they develop a issue, as opposed to the new sets that are usually impossible to repair.
Same here. Plus, I'll never have to upgrade my service equipment! :banana:
Much simpler times. Also, the remote was named Tim. Wait, that was me.
Yep, I was the remote for the first 17 years of my life.
Now is my time to be the remote. Mom and I use my Electrohome console, which is fed only from a DVD player right now, and she doesn't know how to operate the player.

Why do I like anything that's old?

I'm insane.

But seriously, ever since I was a wee lad, I've had 2 major fascinations: learning how things worked, and old stuff. As a baby, the instant I could crawl, I went straight for the electrical outlet.

+1 I was the one who freaked out his parents going after this stuff. Anything electrical did not escape my notice. The high voltage and hums ot the TV was the ultimate in cool stuff, right at home:thmbsp:

The warm aroma and sight of tubes in back of any old TV or radio always had a special appeal. 1950s TVs in particular use similar circuits with familiar tubes making them easy to repair.

Most of us also like *old* cars, considering anything built before the game-changing mid 1970s to be easy and fun to work on.

+1 In the early 90's my folks could not find child proofing for the outlets my infant self could not figure out how to defeat in under 30 min.

I was the kid that rather than run scared from the noise of the vacuum instead looked on with awe and curiosity...

I killed a hybrid Moto WID set at 2-5 because I wanted to know why sound came on before the picture and toggled the power repeatedly till it failed....

As soon as I could hold a screwdriver anything I could dismantle, without getting killed for it, got dismantled.

I have a 70's car and plan to own older ones too soon.

Old sets don't require a Masters Degree in Engineering to operate.

The ones with more digital options do :smoke: Heck, it took me some time to understeand how to easy memorize the staions on an old 30 channel tv set, but after I understood how to do it, it was easy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pw1LtbSm8l8 Don't blame them. When I was around 15 and half age I wanted to record an episode from "Sailor Moon" onto video cassette, but I dind't know how to make the connection (it was at a relative :tears: - geesh, I wished that I had that dubbed episode on a cassette).
But talking of easines, when I was a kid I found out on my own how te memorize the stations on sets with mecahnichal memory (push button stuff). If you put me to operate me something as complicated as today are smartphones...

Oh, most old tv's got the LOOK. Even some early ones with plastic faces. The early ones made 100% with plastic case (and some up to early '90's) didn't had the look (execept for some portable models), but the plastic dind't look agresive... but after early '90's, they all becamed horrible. Only reason for getting me an 1998-2001 color tv set: good image provided.

The ones with more digital options do :smoke: Heck, it took me some time to understeand how to easy memorize the staions on an old 30 channel tv set, but after I understood how to do it, it was easy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pw1LtbSm8l8 Don't blame them. When I was around 15 and half age I wanted to record an episode from "Sailor Moon" onto video cassette, but I dind't know how to make the connection (it was at a relative :tears: - geesh, I wished that I had that dubbed episode on a cassette).
But talking of easines, when I was a kid I found out on my own how te memorize the stations on sets with mecahnichal memory (push button stuff). If you put me to operate me something as complicated as today are smartphones...

Oh, most old tv's got the LOOK. Even some early ones with plastic faces. The early ones made 100% with plastic case (and some up to early '90's) didn't had the look (execept for some portable models), but the plastic dind't look agresive... but after early '90's, they all becamed horrible. Only reason for getting me an 1998-2001 color tv set: good image provided.
Cool! Some of those kids were open to using an old TV even though they didn't get to see an actual picture. Clean the volume control, feed it a signal and shape 'em while they're still young.

At one time I didn't know how to hook up a VCR; I knew I had to use a coaxial cable but didn't know which F-connector to use on the VCR. Fortunately there was no harm in hooking it up wrong.

In my opinion, not knowing how to use a smartphone is no loss and you're better off. I'm sure I could learn how to use one but that would go against my lifetime practice of running in the other direction.

Agreed on the look of old sets. The newest set I have by far is a 19" set from 1987 that has a particle board cabinet and plastic face, but I think it looks good. Sure, particle board isn't desirable, but not many table sets from that time are made with it and it's in excellent condition.

crt sets still have better depth of color and motion compared to modern flat screens .

To me, old tube television sets are simply amazing.They sure are!!!



I love CRTs .. I do not like digital crap..... I prefer natural colours and analogue!!

Simply put: They work, and rarely fail. When they do, pennies bring them back to life in most cases.

I'd stack any solid state set made in the early 70s up through the mid 80s next to this "buy a new one every 3 years" BS on the market today.

I have a 17" 1980 Sony in my spare bedroom, a 1981 Sony 15" in my kitchen, and a 1985 Sony 19" in the main bedroom. All pulled from the trash. One or two electrolytics replaced in each to restore them to perfect operating condition. CRTs all look as new. All 3 on digital converters and outdoor antenna. The 1985 Sony has AV inputs, so it's been brought into the 21st century with a Roku box.

We have the second to last Sony HD, 16X9, 34" CRT set in the LR (KD34XS960- 2006). Has internal digital tuner. It's on the outdoor antenna too, but it's also tethered to Fios basic service. Trash picked with the matching stand, remote, and instructions. Replaced two ICs in the power supply 5 years ago when I got it ($11), and it's worked since. Yeah, it's a heavy beast, but it fits nicely in the corner we have it in.

My mother (and almost everyone I know that has one) has replaced her flat panel every three years after failures.

Need I say any more?

I like them because they're attractive to look at. A lot of old TV's are industrial art.

David

In my opinion, not knowing how to use a smartphone is no loss and you're better off. I'm sure I could learn how to use one but that would go against my lifetime practice of running in the other direction.

I agree, i'm near 60 years old and,I know the old stuff but i can't say momething on a smartphone, Ipad or Iphone... this kind of stuff is very stranged to me.. I don't know how work this kind of stuff. However, talk me about old tv, old radio and many others old stuf, ahhhhhhhh i know how work the old stuff ;). I have no modern tv ( plasma , LCD or what ever.. ) i have about 10 old tv with a CRT only, old transistor radios.... old watches and old clocks....that's better than the new stuff.

To me, old tube television sets are simply amazing.
Think about it. Glass bulbs. Red-hot glowing elements. Bits of steel plates. Coils of wire. Tubes of paper, wax and aluminum. Pieces of carbon with wires sticking out. Doughnut shaped pieces of ferrite metal bits. Crude, simple, elementary bits and pieces of raw materials combined in just the right way, inside a box to pluck moving pictures and sound out of thin air, able to bring news, entertainment, sports, major events, to one's very own home.

...and the tiny electrons flying many thousands of miles per second, hit the screen and force the phosphor to light up!

http://s45.radikal.ru/i107/1704/ca/44272423c09f.jpg

That's my favourite view of an old television, I almost see those electron beams drawing the picture!

That is a really cool picture!

I was born & raised in NE Tennessee....This area was pretty destitute..We're talking LBJ/Great Society here.A color set represented what we thought folks in the "real" America had.

Sandy is back. Yeah :banana:

I was born & raised in NE Tennessee....This area was pretty destitute..We're talking LBJ/Great Society here.A color set represented what we thought folks in the "real" America had.

Welcome back!
Glad to see everything is back to normal. :thmbsp:

I was born & raised in NE Tennessee....This area was pretty destitute..We're talking LBJ/Great Society here.A color set represented what we thought folks in the "real" America had.

Good to hear from you again! Welcome Back Kotter.:D

Sandy it's great to see you again 😀

My love of old TV's started when I was 7 years old. One of the times my mother had the RCA Victor man out for repairs on warranty I sneaked around the back of the set. It was a thrill to see all those orange light bulbs in action. It was just too neat. Today, even seeing the face of the picture tube light up for the first time in many years. The thrill is still there.
Bill Cahill

I agree Mr Cahill .



EDIT : http://tuberadio.heavenforum.com/ind...c8c9de9e96fd7d ( doesn't work for me )

EDIT : http://tuberadio.heavenforum.com/ind...c8c9de9e96fd7d ( doesn't work for me )

All I see there is a gray screen with a white rectangle.

.

My love of old TV's started when I was 7 years old. One of the times my mother had the RCA Victor man out for repairs on warranty I sneaked around the back of the set. It was a thrill to see all those orange light bulbs in action. It was just too neat. Today, even seeing the face of the picture tube light up for the first time in many years. The thrill is still there.
Bill Cahill

My dad was an electrical engineer, so I grew up around the technology of the 1960s-'70s including, you guessed it, old TVs. At one time I had half our basement full of old TVs, from every major TV manufacturer of the time except Magnavox. My pride and joy was a 1963 VHF-only Zenith 23" b&w console I rescued in 1969 from a trash pile, with a little help from an old friend (that set was in a heavy walnut cabinet and weighed the proverbial ton, so I couldn't possibly have lugged it down to the basement myself). The set was missing every tube except the CRT and HV rectifier, but when I turned the set on for the first time after installing the last new tube and got a picture from a local Cleveland TV station (I grew up in a Cleveland suburb some 30 miles from the stations' towers), I was thrilled. That great picture (my console Zenith TV had 3 video IF stages) was also what got me interested in Zenith TVs, radios and such.

I was very disappointed when I read decades later of Zenith's demise, but that's material for another thread. I still have a small collection of Zenith radios from the early '50s to 1981, all but two working quite well.

This is a great thread. Our first color set was a Penncrest (J. C. Penny's) tube set made by Panasonic. What a thrill having a color tv was. Not only were sets back then great, but tv shows were funny and wholesome. I watch very little new stuff and find I watch ME tv or Antenna tv mostly now. I love nostalgia. I worked at a tv sales and service shop from age 16 until like was 26. That was back in 1975. We sold and serviced RCA, Zenith, and Sony. We were a factory authorized service provider back then. I just love the style products back then had. Sony's were at their hey day in late '70's up till about '85. I spent a lot of money on Sony electronics. I liked Zenith slightly better than RCA, but now it's sad America has no manufacturer of tv anymore, except in name. I have a RCA roundie CTC 9 chassis, a Sony 5-303W, a Sony KV4000, and a Zenith radio console from 1946. I'm so glad to have a few pieces to remind me how great tv products of yesteryear were. It's great reading everyone's comments. By the way I'm now 58. lol

I remember this too. I'm 65 years old.

65 here too .I been in those roundie color NTSC standards old dog ~ when or shortly after you could buy Roundies ,+ newer even after the 60's early '70 s rect.screens a career change in the early 70's paid better.

The immediate families first color was a huge 21" roundie bonded safety glass ~1962 -1963 maybe CTC 12 clone Curtis mathes color TV combo matched frt. facing 6 speaker am fm phono with a not bad P/P 6BQ5 output tube stereo in it but it wasn't a Fisher or Scott..I fixed it a few times too many like most of those if you used them .

I ultimately trashed the too cheap BSR record grinder in the folks hardwood and veneer Curtis Mathes living room color TV /Stereo aircraft carrier for a better Sonotone 8T ceramic pick up and way better more modern but still idler wheel Garrard Model 50 overarm stacker for the folks when I got my Dual 1019 spindle stacker and the Stanton 500E I took out of the Garrard model 50 from my room with my way better frankenstein stereo 4 6L6 PP 2 dual 12" 3 way DIY speakers rig that could entertain a block party and sounded good playing just about anthing. short of a spendy separates setup.

I was short timer ,but with a ~3yr formal electronics education ) no E.E. sheepskin that paid well and instead after a while at lucrative back then factory trained automotive computer diag.job(s)not to many could do all that back then ouside if the import F.I. techs. and I did that also .



I advanced to usually demanding and often exciting multi jurisdictional corporate management positions and a generous retirement now.

As most of us know some of those roundies had maybe 22 vacuum tubes in something like a RCA ~ CTC 12 chassis or clone + delta gun CRT and they could put the hurt on you or frustrate you getting something to watch you could recognize on it and when you did it keeping it the same color twice the next time anybody used it for the life of the TV sometimes and I'm not sure the color TV live camera & any color broadcasting was all that stable but thats not in my wheelhouse at all LOL.

I preferred the RCA ,Magnavox and Zenith in that order with all the usual variables about that including never owning a Zenith TV and working at a Magnavox A.D.back in the day ,

We serviced anthing that was practical to repair and some I'm not so sure of like MY RCA CTC XX roundie maybe ~ 1966 table top model I never fixed when the PCB boards started to crumble in it and picked up a new 25" Hybrid (mostly tube ) black shadow mask in line Magnavox that lasted plausibly well with decent pix and after that a 1979 solid state Magnavox star TV that had a better pix but was a lemon including at just at 3 yrs losing the red gun and a PLL tuner ASIC and having to put a compatible AA rebuilt in line black shadow mask CRT and PLL Tuner ASIC in it ,

Most of the RCA were not bad up until Thompson SA sold the brand in the mid to late 1990's or something like that to Technicolor and they became PRC /RCA name only junk. .

I never followed Zenith beyond the 1930's -1940's tube large radios . I had a 1937 8 or 9 tube all band big tuning eye flywheel tuning black round dial I liked in the mid -late 1960's I wish I still had and also a late 1940's Zenith radio phono console w/real nice inlaid wood and fabulous book matched veneer with a black marble top with low band FM and AM and an obligatory 12" electromagnet speaker I converted to a 3 spd phono & ~ post war IIRC Loctal vac tube Transoceanic .

A lot a lot of folks liked Zenith radio and the TV's but they only stayed hand wired as extraordinarily long as they did because they were broke anyway but I liked the radios I had and relatives Zenith TV nude CRT roundies had good pictures but I thought the later rect. Color Zenith they had if not the usual RCA rect. color all pushed green to much :tounge:

After my Magnavox Starr lemon ,25 Years of Sony , 2 Toshiba CRT and LCD since , a range topping 2013 Samsung 64f8500 1080p plasma , 2013 1080p 42" LG LED ,with 2 recent 2013-2015 1080p & 4K HDR 40"-55" Sonys LED/LCD respectively and in here my new 55" 4K HDR 1000+ QDOT Samsung LED/LCD TV all here now .

Nostalgia wise I can see the appeal of the old dog American rect. color CRT TV ,Some Trinitrons and Wega FD CRT more so for me delta gun nude (no flat safety glass ) CRT roundies all day but not for daily drivers not so much today but I dont have the gear for setting those up and the convergence and specifically HV probes Degauss coil or tube /CRT testing and maybe unobtainable or nearly so spare parts and circuit diagrams specifically .


OTOH some years ago you couldn't give me a Samsung TV ,I had new Sonys (lots of them) mostly since 1994 but given I just had to put a new salvage mainboard & LED bar in the LCD panel and and fix the PSU/ LD board in the 2015 4K HDR Sony 55X850C and out new LED lamps in the 2013 1080p Sony Bravia LCD panel both inside of two years and both TV prohibitively expensive to have fixed in or by a TV shop you can keep the new Sony Bravia subsidiary TV's and my 2013 1080p Sony had a cheap (+frc) +2 bit dither panel and never made accurate color , it was exasperating to chase good color on that rubbish like and old & unstable roundie.

The new Samsung HDR 1000 TV took to a conforming electronic LCD panel calibration @ my variables and picture settings and options I did above crushing blacks or low intensity color shadow details and below clipping whites and color detail here very fast and very well like nuttin` I ever saw given the panels incredible 7000:1 contrast and 1474 NIT 10 bit color rage below a 6000 NIT tonemap HDR TV can't even do yet .:tongue:

My 3.5 X brighter 2016 4K 55 KS 8000 Samsung 4K HDR 1000 QDOT Samsung FA01 panel code binned TV in here runs way cooler than the 55" Sony 4K HDR X850C out in the family cinema (now) so that's better quality LED and thermal designs and this ultra black,ultra clear ,moth eye flagship Samsung Direct active edge dimming LED/ LCD panel that allows all that also @ less wattage, 1.5 " thinner and lighter TV ,and both edge lit too ,

By comparison my 3.5X dimmer 2015 4K HDR Sony is a simple frame dimming and terribly Edge bleeding mostly 4K SDR (only 418 NIT ~3870:1 contrast ) Ford TV and the 2016 Samsung is a swift state of the art Bentley turbo 1474 NIT 7000:1 contrast pristine blacker than black for LCD and one of the brightest TV still in 2017 ,active edge dimming LCD TV and a planned upgrade in here by now anyway ! :tongue:

This is a great thread. Our first color set was a Penncrest (J. C. Penny's) tube set made by Panasonic. What a thrill having a color tv was. Not only were sets back then great, but tv shows were funny and wholesome. I watch very little new stuff and find I watch ME tv or Antenna tv mostly now. I love nostalgia. I worked at a tv sales and service shop from age 16 until like was 26. That was back in 1975. We sold and serviced RCA, Zenith, and Sony. We were a factory authorized service provider back then. I just love the style products back then had. Sony's were at their hey day in late '70's up till about '85. I spent a lot of money on Sony electronics. I liked Zenith slightly better than RCA, but now it's sad America has no manufacturer of tv anymore, except in name. I have a RCA roundie CTC 9 chassis, a Sony 5-303W, a Sony KV4000, and a Zenith radio console from 1946. I'm so glad to have a few pieces to remind me how great tv products of yesteryear were. It's great reading everyone's comments. By the way I'm now 58. lol

~65 here

Aye , We can allow an argument that Hays code film / NAB programming mid century wholesome TV in most ways outside of ethnic and cultural diversity was better for society somehow but everything else changed around it too and not necessarily for the common good in either case but that was the usual and now absurd alt left that brought that change .:tongue:

There is too much gratuitous violence and vulgarity on TV and film without making the production really any better now ,

Hollywood ,the alphabet TV networks and the blue coasts are wholly detached from America and have no regard for same or Americans .

Sony XBR CRT was "THE CRT TV "to have writ large until they all quit making them .

My last new CRT was a decent NIB 2003 Sony Wega XBR FD HD ready 36" flat tube boat anchor and followed by a ~spendy NIB 2005 1080p Sony 55" SXRD High-Definition 1080p slim table top rear-projection TV that wasn't bad at all if the prohibitive cost light engine didn't blow up like most of them .


I have a legendary ~2014 Samsung PN64f8500 1080p plasma in one room and a decent 2015 Sony UN 55X850C 4K HDR Triluminos LED/LCD TV in the family cinema that was in here both from Best buy NIB .

In here on the wall is my NIB superlative new 3.5 X brighter 2016 4K 55 KS 8000 and a KS9000 Samsung 4K HDR 1000 QDOT Samsung FA01 panel code binned TV.like mine is still one of the brightest ,blackest ,wide color and best HDR LED/ LCD TV you can get like a Sony X930E and the flagship Sony 9ZD and Q9 Samsung .

2017 Sony X930E ,9ZD and this 2016 Samsung KS8000/or a KS 9000 and 2017 Samsung Q9 are still the brightest TV in 2017 and with Sony and LG OLED as good as it gets for retail TV's ,

hat ALL yous guys hav said, & thn som..

I like old, antique and vintage things. Whenever I saw one of those things I would think how life was back then. It's like being transported back to when there is no internet and life is moving slowly.

My dad was an electrical engineer, so I grew up around the technology of the 1960s-'70s including, you guessed it, old TVs. At one time I had half our basement full of old TVs, from every major TV manufacturer of the time except Magnavox. My pride and joy was a 1963 VHF-only Zenith 23" b&w console I rescued in 1969 from a trash pile, with a little help from an old friend (that set was in a heavy walnut cabinet and weighed the proverbial ton, so I couldn't possibly have lugged it down to the basement myself). The set was missing every tube except the CRT and HV rectifier, but when I turned the set on for the first time after installing the last new tube and got a picture from a local Cleveland TV station (I grew up in a Cleveland suburb some 30 miles from the stations' towers), I was thrilled. That great picture (my console Zenith TV had 3 video IF stages) was also what got me interested in Zenith TVs, radios and such.

I was very disappointed when I read decades later of Zenith's demise, but that's material for another thread. I still have a small collection of Zenith radios from the early '50s to 1981, all but two working quite well.


All through the years it was RCA. Well, I've learned some rotten things about that company, especially with "The General" running the place, but, I stll have a warm spot for them.

That has grown to when I re build one of my new find Junker wind up machines, and, it starts playing again, the thrill's still there.

That has grown to when I re build one of my new find Junker wind up machines, and, it starts playing again, the thrill's still there.

Is your forum already working? I just check awhile ago and it is not working.

I found a really small TV set. My family thought I'm silly because I still prefer watching on it. They said why I'm making things hard for me. Hahaha!

Is your forum already working? I just check awhile ago and it is not working.

Hi Diana , his forum is online . Bill is the administrator .

http://www.tuberadioforum.com/

And mine is in french and just for old and antique tvs ( you can see it in my signature . ;)

Thanks for the heads up.
Bill

I like old, antique and vintage things. Whenever I saw one of those things I would think how life was back then. It's like being transported back to when there is no internet and life is moving slowly.

I can see that I just picked up a mid century Hallicrafters S120 AA4 gen coverage radio for a vintage bedside radio,

I have it converted to a diode from selenium 1/2wave and new style electrolytics , RF/IF aligned and working now and some audio signal path caps to finish to take down some AA5 hum at the 50C5 control grid and maybe NOS RCA or GE tubes because I can and some othert film caps just because ,


my next inmate will be a 1937-1939 Zenith 8-12 tube big round black sweep dial pre war AM /SW and maybe a 1947 to 1954 or something Zenith Transoceanic H500 model AA5 tube radio for the vintage gear here but some of thwe higher 8+ tube count old pre war Zenith are a better AM/shortwave within it's coverage than any of these AA5 radios and most other consumer radio and some comm radio on AM since and they can hold thier own on AM with a modern spendy comm.SW /VHF radio today if it's set up well .

I just want the working or fixable old 1937-1939 Zenith hammertone copper finished chassis for a steampunk look and the working radio of course like I had in H.S. ,that pre war Zenith steampunk chassis was way cool SRSLY and worked better than my Hallicrafters and National comm radios on AM .back then

SRSLY that was the pinnacle of AM consumer radio then :yes:

The TV in here is a retina searing new 4K HDR 1000 + Samsung SUHD QDOT LCD and a similar but much tamer 2015 Sony Triluminos 4K HDR in the family cinema room and both have the requisite nice 5.1/7.1 AVR + speakers external audio systems .

I like some pre war or mid century vintage or steampunk but only specific vintage electronics like the old Zenith 1937-1939 radios a transoceanic H500 since the bombers are a fortune now and maybe a late 1940's early 50's AA5 RCA globetrotter and only for 1960's the Hallicrafters model below and like that but only a general coverage radio and only a couple of them .

I have SDR radio and SDR web radio for difficult coverages and trus`me these radios can't do all that 24/7 and sensitive like the right SDR or SDRweb radio .

click image to enlarge :

Your heart is true! I've collected and repaired/restored just about everything you mentioned. Finding a Hammerlund or Hallicrafters would be the "icing on the cake." They're my heirlooms and I love them more than just about everything else. Tubes chase away the darkness and warm cold winter nights!!!

Nostalgia.

For watching vintage recordings in the manner in which they were originally viewed.

Technological history.

Amusement.

A challenge to repair, followed by a great sense of accomplishment when resolving a difficult problem.

Training the mind to solve those aforementioned difficult problems.

And lots of other reasons.

.
My thoughts EXACTLY!!!!
I can and will embrace new tech when it comes along, but there's just something about older tech that seems more fascinating to me...

I found a really small TV set.God bless you Diana!!!!

more fun then ever! Star Trek "The Cage" was on a couple of weeks ago. I had the CTC9C on (exercise period)! It was warmed up and on came Star Trek. A very sarcastic friend was over (hates old TV's)!
Well, when they blew the top of the mountain off, he said, "I've never seen color like that! I told him, "That's every night at my house"!
Love em!
Original CRT! Looks like original flyback! A Latham! HEAVY and awkward!
Unbeliveable!
One day, a 21CTC2 Moto!

So when I worked at the mom and pop tv sales and service I started at 15 and left at 26. The writing was on the wall back then even in 1985. About 3 or 4 years later that shop was gone and my bosses newly retired. The new owner was only able to run the business about 4 years and it disappeared. In those 10 years I learned a whole lot about the value of treating a customer with respect and standing behind your word when things went wrong. God now they just sue the pants off you in today's world. Life was indeed simpler then. It's funny when I now work on stuff I wish I had the body strength and hearing and eyesite of that 15 to 26 year old I used to be long ago. I was in a Target store today looking at all the flat screen HD and UHD tv's and the first thought that came to my mind was that none of these tv's would be working or be able to be repaired in 10 years. What landfill waste. It's just sad to me what America has lost. A whole industry that was based on fixing stuff that broke and keeping it running for as long as you could. So, every time I turn on an old tv and have to wait for the sound to come on and then the picture to show and sync up. I am like Bill Cahill and find that to be a thrill. New stuff does not reach me in any way shape or form. Yes, the pictures look amazing on new tv's. But what a cost to our throwaway society they have on our planet. As for me, I will try as long as I am able to watch tv on some sort of CRT based set. It's so satisfying to keep all this old analog stuff running. It's like a kid on Christmas morning lol.

Is your forum already working? I just check awhile ago and it is not working.

Yes. Here is the address.
http://www.tuberadioforum.com/

Is your forum already working? I just check awhile ago and it is not working.Yes. Here is the address.
http://www.tuberadioforum.com/You just answered a question from July last year, from a person that probably hasn't been here since then.

.

Nostalgia.

For watching vintage recordings in the manner in which they were originally viewed.

Technological history.

Amusement.

A challenge to repair, followed by a great sense of accomplishment when resolving a difficult problem.

Training the mind to solve those aforementioned difficult problems.

And lots of other reasons.

.

Well, I don't actually watch anything on my vintage sets since my 15GP22 went gassy
... before that, I actually watched NFL and MLB games on it.

But the other reasons are true.

Also ... I simply love complexity and lots of wires. Nothing turned me on
more that my last laser setup ... over 200 cables, four permanently on
Tektronix (analog ... better suited for purpose) scopes hanging down
above it on Lazy Susans, power supplies running on 480 volt power, etc.
And 12 kilowatts of chilled water to hold the temperate constant to +- 1 degree F.

An earlier experiment used liquid helium cooled preamps ... those are also a real turnon,
though you really really don't want to get hit by a blast of liquid helium!

When I was a sub-teen kid I was obsessed with the wiring of our console radio-phono,
a Motorola 107F31. This object is far too big for me to want one now.
FM tuner used a Loktal.

I also loved the two-chassis Philco TVs.

I love the Collins R390A radio for that reason.

In grad school I built an interface for a PDP8E that had 2000 wire wrapped
wires in it. Later I designed a mag tape controller for a computer (though
it was built by a technician.) This was fun!

"Well, I don't actually watch anything on my vintage sets since my 15GP22 went gassy
... before that, I actually watched NFL and MLB games on it."

Just curious, Why wouldn't you enjoy the occasional use your vintage equipement? Wile I wouldn't "run them in to the ground" I feel part of owning them is to keep them working. As for the 15G situation if I understand it correctly it would have went gassy whether it was used or not. I would be happy that at least I got to enjoy it and see a picture on such a rare set. (I have never seen one in person)

Something about playing an old game console or watching a VHS on an old TV just feels...right.

Yes. Here is the address.
http://www.tuberadioforum.com/Thank you Billy,that site looks as good as this one is :)

more fun then ever! Star Trek "The Cage" was on a couple of weeks ago. I had the CTC9C on (exercise period)! It was warmed up and on came Star Trek. A very sarcastic friend was over (hates old TV's)!
Well, when they blew the top of the mountain off, he said, "I've never seen color like that! I told him, "That's every night at my house"!
Love em!
Original CRT! Looks like original flyback! A Latham! HEAVY and awkward!
Unbeliveable!
One day, a 21CTC2 Moto!

Ha, no surprise as we tolerate modern non-CRT "color pictures". Do not expect a Motorola 'CT2 to look anything close to your RCA tho.:scratch2: Methinks they're rare for a reason. I just like the off-beat challenge of working on an unusual or unique design, so I would not kick a Motorola roundie off my bench.

If you're talking about a 1955 moto 21CT2 like mine that will be an interesting undertaking. They have almost as many bad peaking coils as an RCA CT-100/21CT55 (and nobody has came up with/tried out good subs yet) and at least one is in the chroma osc. (which I suspect may have relation to my color sync issues).

I need to get back to mine. A flu and life kinda stopped me a few months ago...I've been messing with it in the last day or so through the remnants of another flu (what is with all the flus going round here this year?), but currently, I'm more using it to check my round glass CRTs to make sure the one I'm giving up in trade for a 21AXP22 for this set is good, and my other glass tubes are good enough for the sets that need them.

I like repairing and restoring old TV's for pretty much all the reasons given in this thread. When I was 14 (in the early seventies) I started tinkering with old TV's from the late fifties and early sixties. Most were gifts deemed not worth fixing. I felt a great deal of satisfaction bringing them back from the dead. I didn't really make any money doing this. I just enjoyed the process. I was lucky to have a local retail/repair shop nearby where I bought most of the needed parts ie caps, resistors and valves from. I owe the tech there a debt of gratitude as he guided me on the right track many times and enabled me to hone my diagnostic skills. I ended up doing an apprenticeship in that very shop where I worked installing and repairing color TV's as well as many other electronic consumer items. I also installed antennas and even car radio's. I worked there for 6 years whilst doing an associate diploma of electronics during the evenings. I guess I always knew this would only be a stepping stone for me and I could see the writing on the wall for the servicing industry as sets became cheaper and more reliable in the early eighties. I then started working for the Australian Broadcasting Corp initially as a radio tradesman but quickly advanced to an engineering officer once my course was completed. I worked initially in the TV studio maintenance dept repairing broadcast television equipment. I enjoyed that greatly and worked there for about 5 years until an opportunity to move to the Outside Broadcast section came my way. Thats when the doors really opened. Working on live broadcasts and repairing equipment in the field suited me down to the ground. I worked there for about 26 years and advanced through the system. I now work as a freelance broadcast engineer which now gives me some free time to work on vintage electronics. I love the simplicity of the old gear and the ingenious ways they overcame hurdles to make a device work with the technology of the day. It's very gratifying when you track down a fault and bring life back to an old TV/Radio etc. Also the cabinets were a piece of furniture back then. restoring the cabinet is also part of the fun. People are amazed when they see a 1956 TV working and looking as well as it did 60 years ago. Unfortunately restoreable prospects are nowhere as plentiful in Aus as they appear to be in the States. TV only dates back to 1957 here and color from 1975 so finding worthwhile resto's require a lot of searching and luck. Ebay hasn't helped either as people now want silly money for old TV's and Radio's whereas before they were give aways. I greatly enjoy reading these Forums even though I'm not familiar with the brands the basics are still the same. Pictures of the repair processes really tell a story and the lengths some go to for authenticity is amazing. My hats off to you all.

I like vintage TV sets and electronics for many reasons. They are reminders of what the USA could manufacture once upon a time, when people paid a lot of their income for them, and when major purchases were expected to last many years, and be repairable when needed. And when quality mattered in what Americans purchased. When we were saner, more rational people, and our economy was best, and when people had decent paying jobs. A time I want to return (and eventually will do so)

I'm still restoring my TV's, radios, record players, and, my Edison phonographs. I love it all. I'm still working on a Symphonic portable rp right now. It's from the fifties....
My favorite is everything I own.

I'm 67 years old.........

God bless you Billy :)

Like for reasons already stated but here's a good mention , if you have a DVD that's not remastered or not newly remastered it will look fine on an old set , no smear or wax paper over the screen look however if it is remastered some of the old beasts will show lots of detail in the image

I originally was impressed with the look of old radios and the idea that you could actually play and enjoy using them. Later I saw some photos of early TV's was even more impressed. I had no idea TV went so far back. I liked how the early ones had that transitional look from a deco radio cabinet to a deco TV cabinet. Once again, I thought it would be even more fun to be able to use and enjoy one. One, led to two, three, etc. I love the 1946-1950 sets the best. Whatever I watch on them is all the better just for the experience of seeing it playing on an early set. All these years later I still get a kick out of it!

I like repairing and restoring old TV's for pretty much all the reasons given in this thread. When I was 14 (in the early seventies) I started tinkering with old TV's from the late fifties and early sixties. Most were gifts deemed not worth fixing. I felt a great deal of satisfaction bringing them back from the dead. I didn't really make any money doing this. I just enjoyed the process. I was lucky to have a local retail/repair shop nearby where I bought most of the needed parts ie caps, resistors and valves from. I owe the tech there a debt of gratitude as he guided me on the right track many times and enabled me to hone my diagnostic skills. I ended up doing an apprenticeship in that very shop where I worked installing and repairing color TV's as well as many other electronic consumer items. I also installed antennas and even car radio's. I worked there for 6 years whilst doing an associate diploma of electronics during the evenings. I guess I always knew this would only be a stepping stone for me and I could see the writing on the wall for the servicing industry as sets became cheaper and more reliable in the early eighties. I then started working for the Australian Broadcasting Corp initially as a radio tradesman but quickly advanced to an engineering officer once my course was completed. I worked initially in the TV studio maintenance dept repairing broadcast television equipment. I enjoyed that greatly and worked there for about 5 years until an opportunity to move to the Outside Broadcast section came my way. Thats when the doors really opened. Working on live broadcasts and repairing equipment in the field suited me down to the ground. I worked there for about 26 years and advanced through the system. I now work as a freelance broadcast engineer which now gives me some free time to work on vintage electronics. I love the simplicity of the old gear and the ingenious ways they overcame hurdles to make a device work with the technology of the day. It's very gratifying when you track down a fault and bring life back to an old TV/Radio etc. Also the cabinets were a piece of furniture back then. restoring the cabinet is also part of the fun. People are amazed when they see a 1956 TV working and looking as well as it did 60 years ago. Unfortunately restoreable prospects are nowhere as plentiful in Aus as they appear to be in the States. TV only dates back to 1957 here and color from 1975 so finding worthwhile resto's require a lot of searching and luck. Ebay hasn't helped either as people now want silly money for old TV's and Radio's whereas before they were give aways. I greatly enjoy reading these Forums even though I'm not familiar with the brands the basics are still the same. Pictures of the repair processes really tell a story and the lengths some go to for authenticity is amazing. My hats off to you all.

Your story sounds so familiar! I owe my debt of gratitude collectively to the Veterans who learned in the military then much later, patiently taught us what they knew, hoping we would go on to electronic greatness:thmbsp:yet we were happy with restoring the equipment we already had.

For me it's a combination of nostalgia for my innocent youth when I worked in a TV repair shop, and an appreciation for the aesthetics and design effort that went into TV's golden age (like 1955-1962). I would love to have one of those Predicta Full Dress consoles, a Miss America, one of the GE Coaxials, or anything similar. Not just to fix and turn on once in a while, but to put in my living room like God intended, preferably right next to a Motorola Three-Channel Stereo console, and use on an occasional basis.

I'm glad to see so many people on this forum. It's a little distressing to think this hobby/interest/expertise might some day fade away, especially looking at the photos of the ETF meeting, swapmeets, etc., and realizing that most of us are not spring chickens. I know we have a couple of young people here, and think we need to do more to encourage them and help the hobby grow.

I ran across a video the other day on YouTube of a kid who got his hands on a Predicta and "restored" it (it was pretty butchered by the time he was finished) but it made me so happy to know that he had the interest and made the effort.

I'm glad to see so many people on this forum. It's a little distressing to think this hobby/interest/expertise might some day fade away, especially looking at the photos of the ETF meeting, swapmeets, etc., and realizing that most of us are not spring chickens. I know we have a couple of young people here, and think we need to do more to encourage them and help the hobby grow.

I ran across a video the other day on YouTube of a kid who got his hands on a Predicta and "restored" it (it was pretty butchered by the time he was finished) but it made me so happy to know that he had the interest and made the effort.
Hopefully that won't be the case. I have seen a few younger people get on board in recent times. As for me, while I'm not exactly young the TV I use everyday is older than I am, and it's an early solid state set.

I'd say that kid in the video got a better start than I did. At least one of my sets didn't survive an early restoration attempt.

Not really sure. Maybe because of an elderly black neighbor, c. 1961/62.

My little brother and I were caught in a severe summer thunderstorm while we were out roaming the neighborhood (I was around 8, he was 6). During the downpour, "Mr. Webster" (Webster Forbes) yelled to us to get in from the rain storm. As we went in, he was sitting near his TV, which was not on. I asked him if we could watch TV, and he said it didn't work. He said he couldn't afford to get it fixed, and that it didn't matter if it worked or not, he just liked having a TV because most everybody had one.

As I got into "old tvs" years later, I often thought of him and that old non-working TV of his (don't recall what kind it was). I named the Predicta I restored a few years ago after him.

They have character.

1. They are part of our legacy, and 2, I want something that LASTS. :-)

"Why do you like old TV sets ?"

:D Cause they're much more fun to play with than old ladies ....

I like old TVs because I'm LARPing as a 1960s TV repairman........

Also watching The Andy Griffith Show on a modern TV is dumb :D

And old color TVs (when fixed up) look like Kodachrome.

Old TV sets remind of my much younger days is why I like old sets! I practically grew up around RCA even though I'm a Philco fan,...especially the Philco-Ford sets of the mid to late 1960's! Still like RCA,too!

Another rather evil, but still fun thing is ushering a jaded young kid, or for that matter, a smartarse, jaded hipster type who knows it all, & THINKS he's "Seen it All", into my "Ships' Radio Room", where I have my Boatanchor collection, & my 1950 12" Zenith Porthole, & chuckle as his eyes & tongue pop out in utter amazement. NO WAY could the pre-historic people back in Antediluvian 1950 have had something like THAT... They didn't have the Internoot, texting or NOTHING Kewl like we have today...A LOT of these younger folks today have never seen a B&W set, either, or if they have, its a teeny, tiny one-And they never have seen anything that looks like my Porthole... You try to explain that it was a fairly expensive item having a TV in 1950 was still a pretty Big Deal, there were few stations, no cable to speak of, is just hard for them to wrap their 2019 minds around it... The fact its likely older than their grandparents-And STILL Works- usually gives them pause, too. They know little else but electronic trinkets that often won't make it much longer than this time next year.

The fact its likely older than their grandparents-And STILL Works- usually gives them pause, too
Yes, I like that moment too :)

Even though I'm not very old (38 now), I managed to use an old television set for its intended purpose. Moreover, we've become close friends back then.
Our house has an attic, but initially the attic had no heating (I made it much later when I grew up), so our family had used the attic not for living but as a lumber room and, from time to time, as a guest bedroom. When I entered my teens, I discovered the need of some private space where the parents don't come very often, as it usually happens in that age. One summer I fitted the attic out, and began to use it as my personal 'summer appartment'.
There I found a very old tabletop television sitting on a narrow commode in the corner. It was named Radium (mid-late 50s), my Dad said that it came many years ago from his sister's first husband, and it definitely doesn't work due to the age:

https://d.radikal.ru/d20/1901/ed/4fe61f58c3d4.jpg

Unlike my Dad, I was a pretty technical boy. I found out quickly that the television works well, and the only thing it really needs is an antenna :) The picture tube (an unusual metal-cone beast for me then) was rather weak but still being watchable comfortably in a darkened room.
I liked my new place, so I decided to live there until the cold chases me away. I found another nice thing there, an army wadded sleeping bag that allowed me to sleep comfortably with no heating right till late November. I liked the television as well. Exploring it deeper, I found out that it's reliable as hell, and it is not afraid of either cold or damp. It has a bare-bones layout - no phenolic PCBs that tend to warp from the cold. Paper capacitors have a metal-porcelain design that makes them reliable and insensitive to moisture. No any modern television could survive and work there beside my 'old chap' :) Our neighbors, the ones who tried to use or keep televisions in unheated houses, had spoiled the most of them. Russian winters are harsh!
The early 90s were a time of booming of music television, a non-usual format for previous Soviet times. Russian division of MTV was established then, along with some domestic music channels. Music meant a lot to me as a teenager, and my lovely television set helped me in a very significant way, involved me to the musical culture. I've spent many nights in my cozy place watching it and listening to its sound, warm and mysterious...

P.S. I found out later that the television was made at the factory where my Grandpa worked half his life. He told me a lot of technical details about it.
P.P.S. Forgot to mention that the television has an onboard FM radio, imagine how valuable it was for me then!

Great story Gleb. Same story you may hear from the USA. Shows you how
close we really are. The Radium sounds much like our Zenith brand TV's.
They were well built with better components & still hand wired into
the 1970's. Many are still found running after 60 yrs with only minor
repairs needed. Maybe some time you can post pictures of the insides ?

BTW if you like harsh Russian weather you may enjoy this site. Watch it
for a few weeks & watch the WX conditions. It will keep you warm !
73 Zeno:smoke:
LFOD !

Yes, I like that moment too :)

Even though I'm not very old (38 now), I managed to use an old television set for its intended purpose. Moreover, we've become close friends back then..............!

I have long thought that America & Russia are WAY more alike than we are different. We'd likely be fast friends if we could keep our respective governments locked away where they couldn't keep the people "Stirred Up" at each other. I remember seeing a pic of American & Russian fighter jet jockeys at an airshow not long after the USSR went out of business. There were really no Russians, or Americans, you had a bunch of friendly young guys who ALL had a strong love of their planes & flying, sitting around swapping notes & stories w/each other. If the generals had seen that, they would have likely had purple cows over a Serious Breach of Security, 'cause the Russians were happily sitting in, I think, F-16s, but to me it just looked like a bunch of guys having a blast, talking planes & making friends. Always got a kick as well over the pics of some guy in a TU-95 "Bear D" flashing a "Peace" sign to the guy in the KC-135 tanker who snapped the pic. Always, too, kinda hurt when I'd watch that show "Planes" that showed Soviet fighters & bombers rotting away outside, in a former museum, somewhere outside of Moscow, all most as much as it hurt watching the wings of B-52s being guillotined in the desert...

I have long thought that America & Russia are WAY more alike than we are different. We'd likely be fast friends if we could keep our respective governments locked away where they couldn't keep the people "Stirred Up" at each other. I remember seeing a pic of American & Russian fighter jet jockeys at an airshow not long after the USSR went out of business. There were really no Russians, or Americans, you had a bunch of friendly young guys who ALL had a strong love of their planes & flying, sitting around swapping notes & stories w/each other. If the generals had seen that, they would have likely had purple cows over a Serious Breach of Security, 'cause the Russians were happily sitting in, I think, F-16s, but to me it just looked like a bunch of guys having a blast, talking planes & making friends. Always got a kick as well over the pics of some guy in a TU-95 "Bear D" flashing a "Peace" sign to the guy in the KC-135 tanker who snapped the pic. Always, too, kinda hurt when I'd watch that show "Planes" that showed Soviet fighters & bombers rotting away outside, in a former museum, somewhere outside of Moscow, all most as much as it hurt watching the wings of B-52s being guillotined in the desert...
I always liked the Tupolev TU-95, quite the sight and a real screamer with its four contra-rotating turboprops. Then of course there was the TU-114 airliner version, not quite as sleek-looking with its larger fuselage but still cool.

Great story Gleb

Thanks!

Maybe some time you can post pictures of the insides ?

If you're interested, I can try to make a photo review of the Radium.

BTW if you like harsh Russian weather you may enjoy this site. Watch it for a few weeks & watch the WX conditions. It will keep you warm!

It seems that the URL is lost, what site do you mean?

There is a nostalgic component to be sure. When friends see one of my early TV's working there is a sense of amazement when they can see the mechanics and the tubes lit. Lets face it, old tv's and radios can be very visual. When the local NBC station was ready to throw the big red switch on digital, a photo journalist came by and did a story on my then 61 year old TV that survived the era. The camera guy said "I've seen these in museums but never saw one working". He asked to shoot some video of the insides so I removed the back and he went "wow". He saw the glowing tubes, round things, square things, coils, colored wires and the picture on the screen from the back amid the shiny things. I was interviewed sitting next to it and a scroll kept rolling across the bottom of the screen- 'If you can read this your TV is ready for the digital age. It was on a digital hd converter. I also have a AA5 radio PC board version mounted on a board as a visible radio kind of thing. That shiny tuning capacitor is the money shot every time.
The picture was from a public Christmas display featuring one of my sets

Another thing-And maybe this is a bit "Bad" perhaps, but y'all KNOW how I am- Anyone else have a tiny bit of feeling SUPERIOR because WE have & love old TVs & radios, we know how they work, many of us have gotten intimate w/a soldering iron, forceps, etc. while the Great Unwashed masses haven't a clue as to any of this They don't know any theory, couldn't tell a CRT from a diode, you mention the great enmity between Cdr MacDonald & Sarnoff & you get a blank stare... Maybe none of this stuff IS important, but I think most of us here DO think it is, to some point anyhow. Or am I Fulla Beans, as usual ?!?

TU-95 a screamer? Propeller tips created high-speed popping by literally breaking the sound barrier. To detect this plane doesn't need radar: just use your ears! We put a turboprop on a fighter that made airport crews faint from the noise even with hearing protection!

TU-95 a screamer? Propeller tips created high-speed popping by literally breaking the sound barrier. To detect this plane doesn't need radar: just use your ears! We put a turboprop on a fighter that made airport crews faint from the noise even with hearing protection!
I don't know much about aircraft engines let alone turboprops, or the aerodynamics of contra-rotating propellers, but obviously the setup has worked very well for the Bear. Besides, I like mean-sounding engines, i.e. Detroit Diesel two-strokers. As for motorcycles that sound like they have no exhaust system, ricers or a certain Trans Am that was coming and going all the time around here last year, forget it, those are just sources of annoying noise. The blasted motorcycles for example sound like a fusillade of firecrackers going off when they pass by, I don't know why they don't deafen the riders.

I don't know much about aircraft engines let alone turboprops, or the aerodynamics of contra-rotating propellers, but obviously the setup has worked very well for the Bear. Besides, I like mean-sounding engines, i.e. Detroit Diesel two-strokers. As for motorcycles that sound like they have no exhaust system, ricers or a certain Trans Am that was coming and going all the time around here last year, forget it, those are just sources of annoying noise. The blasted motorcycles for example sound like a fusillade of firecrackers going off when they pass by, I don't know why they don't deafen the riders.

They probably do create hearing damage... but they Also make a hard to see vehicle's presence known... I'm sure many riders get those pipes because they rather be deaf than dead.

Granted any rider riding by while I'm trying to sleep will get my scorn.

There is a nostalgic component to be sure. When friends see one of my early TV's working there is a sense of amazement when they can see the mechanics and the tubes lit. Lets face it, old tv's and radios can be very visual. When the local NBC station was ready to throw the big red switch on digital, a photo journalist came by and did a story on my then 61 year old TV that survived the era. The camera guy said "I've seen these in museums but never saw one working". He asked to shoot some video of the insides so I removed the back and he went "wow". He saw the glowing tubes, round things, square things, coils, colored wires and the picture on the screen from the back amid the shiny things. I was interviewed sitting next to it and a scroll kept rolling across the bottom of the screen- 'If you can read this your TV is ready for the digital age. It was on a digital hd converter. I also have a AA5 radio PC board version mounted on a board as a visible radio kind of thing. That shiny tuning capacitor is the money shot every time.
The picture was from a public Christmas display featuring one of my sets

Nice set! I’m sure that you are proud to display... looks like the kids were quite interested. Seeing this inspires me to put my somewhat earlier, but similar 12 inch version next in line for a restore job. These are pretty nice looking bakelite sets:

http://www.tvhistory.tv/1950-RCA-2T51-12in.jpg

Any unusual problems that I should watch out for?

jr

Nice set! I’m sure that you are proud to display... looks like the kids were quite interested. Seeing this inspires me to put my somewhat earlier, but similar 12 inch version next in line for a restore job. These are pretty nice looking bakelite sets:

http://www.tvhistory.tv/1950-RCA-2T51-12in.jpg

Any unusual problems that I should watch out for?

jr

I had the same model RCA as you have. It's the same model year as the 14" shown in that picture. Good performing sets.

I was thinking the other night-What do we call THESE guys ?!? I mean circular CRT sets are "Portholes", early color sets are "Roundies", what are these Bad Bois ? Or are they so rare today, and/or not as popular, nobody's ever come up w/a rather universally known nickname for 'em ? I have one, too a 12" Admiral from 1950, I believe. Cyoot widdle bugger, has a good pic, & is a floor standing mini console configuration. Guess we could call 'em "Double Ds", but that really wouldn't fit my little guy, & I'm not really all that hepped over the Double D moniker...

Any unusual problems that I should watch out for?

jr
Horizontal non-linearity was a chronic problem on some, but not all of this RCA series.

I have one, too a 12" Admiral from 1950, I believe. Cyoot widdle bugger, has a good pic, & is a floor standing mini console configuration. Guess we could call 'em "Double Ds", but that really wouldn't fit my little guy, & I'm not really all that hepped over the Double D moniker...

Yes, the Admiral has a different shape, a slightly stretched double D :

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4348/37071321861_4150a86c07_z_d.jpg

I don’t have a nickname for that shape, and usually just mention that various manufacturers used different mask shapes for round tubes, from completely round to a fairly strict 3 x 4 to best satisfy their customer base, as they perceived it.

Double D vs 3 x 4 mask on 10 inch round CRTs below:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4197/35205547796_916eb66de7_z_d.jpg

In my tv room, I have samples of round and rectangular magnetic deflection crts as well as electrostatic and flat “watchman” crts to pass around and discuss, if desired.

jr

We lost something, I think, when the "Look" of what a TV was "Supposed" to be was kinda standardized around 1955 or so & all the funky CRT & Bezel shapes faded away. A lot of the charm of veteran TVs is the fact that they DO have oddly shaped CRTs/bezels-At least they're not just an ugly grey plastic box, or an equally fugly 60 X35" flat panel...Back in the late '40s, up til the mid '50s, having a TeeVee was a big deal, a new expensive toy that you likely invited the whole neighborhood over to see & check out. Like my 1949-50 Zenith porthole, the TV in itself was kinda inpressive looking, something to be proud of &"Show off", akin to getting the widest whitewalls for yr '53 Olds or Buick...The Fifties were all about flash & show-We'd come off 15 years of depression & war, people had scrimped, saved, done with out, a lot of people had done well from hefty war production paychecks, & they were ready to "Strut their stuff" a little bit. As I read in a book on the car industry, in 1955, Detroit launched into a 15G dive into hedonism... But who could blame them...

I just refer to these sets as black and white roundies. I wish the roundie shape had hung on for a lot longer or at least been an available option well after rectangular became the norm.

I just refer to these sets as black and white roundies. I wish the roundie shape had hung on for a lot longer or at least been an available option well after rectangular became the norm.

I try to only use roundy for color sets and double d for monochrome....A number of color only collectors will use roundy only to refer to color sets and won't sepcify color or monochrome... In conversation with someone who uses roundy to refer to both color and monochrome but never specifies which things can get confusing.

The varieties of screen shapes is a very good point. My favorite was the radiused-corner rectangular of the 17TP4 in a Motorola

From one extreme to another, portholes to rectangulars, some of the picture is always missing unless you reduce the sweep so much a border is visible.

Today we have "screen bugs" that never go away and wide, theatre and other distorted stuff. I liked it better when good and consistent linearity was the rule.

Yes, I like that moment too :)


https://d.radikal.ru/d20/1901/ed/4fe61f58c3d4.jpg


P.P.S. Forgot to mention that the television has an onboard FM radio, imagine how valuable it was for me then!

That tv set looks like the "Rubin" 102: http://rw6ase.narod.ru/00/twcb_/rubin102.html
I wanted to save an 102 but I couldn't :(

There where a few Soviet tube sets that had F.M. Radio. "Rekord" (1956? model), "Temp" 2 and 3...

Here in Murrica, you gotta watch buying a Yooropean FM set, some of the early ones only went up to 100 or 102 MC or MHz, if you so desire..But most of those must have been foreign nationals moving over here, the "Factory imported" sets in my experience all go up to 108.

You know very well SandyG. In fact it was F.M. 88-100 M.Hz., an then up to 104 and some to 105. So finding an F.M. 88-108 M.Hz. tube radio in Europe is harder then finding the needle in a haystack. I once owned such radio, but I gave it away, in stad of gettin it fixed. No finding such radio at let's say 50 bucks is the 2nd task... And it was stereo... (o.k., for getting true stereo you needed an extrenal speaker, but it could be done; I could work stereo on F.M. with a decoder; dumb me :tears: ).
I can't understeand why they couldn't put from the first stance F.M. 88-108...

Here in Murrica, you gotta watch buying a Yooropean FM set, some of the early ones only went up to 100 or 102 MC or MHz, if you so desire..But most of those must have been foreign nationals moving over here, the "Factory imported" sets in my experience all go up to 108.

I'm beginning to think some makers obliviously sent truncated european FM band sets to the states as imports...For over a decade now I've had a Blauplunkt (must be some Joyman onomatopoeia) HiFi/Bar console rotting away in various storages...That set has a 100Mhz FM tuner*. About a month ago at a swap meet someone asked me for advice on a Blauplunkt and it was (aside from finish color and metal speaker grill overlay delete) the same EXACT console...

I've only seen 2 of the same chassis Yoorupean sets maybe 2-3 times and most were 108FM US market sets...So I wonder if old Blau sent obliviously sent the US market some half off FM band sets. :D

*It used to drive me nutz cause AM was dead on that set and last time I had it in the house/powered, I lived in a place where the only FM station that played ANYTHING worth listening to was at 101.5 FM.:thumbsdn:

See, this is what you get when you waste half yr life tripping over European tabletop wooden sets in Aunty-Que shops. I have Blaupunkts, Telefunkens, SABAS, a Nordemende, & a Polish Diora. It is the exception to the rule-Of the German sets, they ALL had that "Mile-deep" high glass like sheen finish to themselves, & quite a few had very complicated pushbutton power on/off switching schemes. But leave it to Der Krauts to needlessly overcomplicate something, right ?!?I'm thinking quite a few were brought home by otherwise clueless GIs who didn't know-or remember OUR FM band went to 108. But, these sets ARE right pretty, they DO play quite well-often w/far fewer Tooobs that our homegrown AM/FM sets do. The Germans apparently were partial to big, honking radios-Well, THAT seemed to be an affliction all over Yoorup- They were big & impressive looking, but you looked 'round back, up its dress-and you'd find a dinky little chassis w/just 4,5, or maybe 6 tooobs... But from the front the set looked like something King Kong might have tried to climb..

Well, I do like the style of old German radios.
I wish me agian an 88-108 MegaHertz one. :tears:

I love this hobby of old TVs I was born in 72 my parents had a magnavox total automatic color set when the TV repair man would show up my day was made 😀 loved the orange glow of the tubes but I also lived in an era 1980s people would throw reciving tube TVs away left and right and all the TV repair shops around plus my grand father God rest his soul played a big part he did tube type electronic repair also I look at it this way if people love collecting old cars exotic pets well why not TVs they were a big part of American history

Love collecting old TVs all my life for me it's a passion I look at it this way people like vintage cars exotic pets etc well why not TVs there a great part of American history😃