Hello everyone,

I am very excited to have finally joined this forum after reading many interesting and informative posts. I learned about videokarma.org after coming across Bob Andersen's outstanding YouTube channel which has provided me with countless hours of education and entertainment, so I decided to join this community.

A little bit about me - I am a physics graduate student at Eastern Michigan University and am currently in the process of writing my masters thesis. I used to work in the automotive industry (as so many of us here in Michigan do) as a software engineer, but decided to change careers after the industry took a hit after the 2008 financial crisis.
I have always been fascinated by electronics and computers, especially TVs and monitors, and I hope to find some information about a very special piece of broadcast equipment that was once given to me as a gift by my high school physics teacher (more about that in my first post).

Thank you for welcoming me to the community - I am looking forward to spending time here and learning new things.

Kind regards,

Hans

Welcome to VK.

Your avatar is good and humorous BTW. :D

Welcome!

Hi and Welcome. Love that avatar. What kinds of stuff are you wanting to collect?

Welcome!

24 Ohm snake...:lmao:..I know some folks with a 110 Ohm nose. :D

Welcome to the greatest group of collectors

Welcome to VK!

Welcome to VK, from a fellow Michigan "Suburbanite!" Your Avatar is a good one.

Good afternoon,

Thank you for welcoming me to the community! The avatar is taken from one of my favorite postings on xkcd.com - quite a lot of funny science, math and electronics related stuff there, you should take a look some time.

I would probably like to collect a lot more stuff than I am currently allowed to - my wife takes a really dim view on me dragging yet another 150 lbs worth of electronics into the house - I am sure some of you folks can relate.

Lately, I have been looking at some Sony BVMs, PVMs, XBRs and XSs, as they (arguably) represent some of the more mature CRT technology out there. Unfortunately, folks on ebay and even craigslist have raised their prices to unreasonable levels because of the 'retro CRT gaming' craze that seems to be going on. I am also keeping an eye out for monochrome (grayscale) medical (X-ray) diagnostic CRTs - Barco seems to be the brand to go for there.

What I am really interested in, however, are broadcast monitors made by Conrac in the early to mid 70s. I have posted in the television broadcast gear section about my quest to identify a Conrac monitor that I used to own as a teenager and was given to me as a gift by my high school physics teacher. Unfortunately, my parents decided to put it to the curb some 20 years ago.

Aside from that, I got my hands on a 19" (?) Zenith Chromacolor with a 19EC22 chassis. I understand that it is special because it is one of the last hybrid sets. This particular one was made in March 1975. It seems to be in good shape, but it's quite dirty on the inside and needs a good cleaning. All the knobs and decals are accounted for, though.

I'm looking forward to reading your posts as I browse the forums.

Kind regards,

Hans

Howdy!

I'm nominally from the Detroit area (parents are from the suburbs, and I have an apartment in Detroit, but spend a majority of my time in Europe.

What branch of physics? I'm a biological/medical physicist.

Welcome from the Great Plains. Even us farmers have vintage TV's and radios!

The super fine pitch Trinitron Sony sets are among the best HD CRT offerings you can find. Some support HDMI and have built in ATSC tuners. The only catch is the 34" sets weigh 205lbs. I got quite a workout when I acquired mine.
Best time to look is after Christmas. A lot of folks upgrade their TVs then and you can find them cheap (paid $50 for mine after missing one for free on the curb) on craigslist if your near a large population center.

Howdy!

I'm nominally from the Detroit area (parents are from the suburbs, and I have an apartment in Detroit, but spend a majority of my time in Europe.

What branch of physics? I'm a biological/medical physicist.

Good afternoon,

The name of my major here at Eastern Michigan University is "Physics Research". It is a generalized physics degree where you get to explore the whole gamut from mechanics to electronics, all the way up to QED. I am currently working on my thesis which involves modeling, building and testing a neutron detector. Basically, it is a piece of barium fluoride crystal or Bicron that's mated to a photo multiplier tube connected to a pulse shape discriminator. Once built and tested, the idea is to send the device into the stratosphere on a high altitude weather balloon and find out whether there is a measurable neutron flux originating from the sun and reaching the earth.

What part of Europe do you live in? I am originally from Germany, but I have spent the last two decades here in the US.

The super fine pitch Trinitron Sony sets are among the best HD CRT offerings you can find. Some support HDMI and have built in ATSC tuners. The only catch is the 34" sets weigh 205lbs. I got quite a workout when I acquired mine.
Best time to look is after Christmas. A lot of folks upgrade their TVs then and you can find them cheap (paid $50 for mine after missing one for free on the curb) on craigslist if your near a large population center.

There is a posting on CL for a KD-34XS955 not far from where I live. I understand that aside from the XBR960 it is one of the few sets that have the super fine pitch tube. The seller is asking $200 for it, claiming it comes from kid/pet/smoke free home (always a plus for used equipment). It appears to be in great shape but unfortunately I do not have the physical space right now to give it a loving home.

Hi, I just finished a BS in physics at michigan state. (I previously did an MA in several ancient languages) I'm currently just taking a few physics classes here in WI.

I don't have one now, but the Zenith 19" color with the 4 tube hybrid chassis is one of my all time favorite sets. Good luck on your masters thesis!

Welcome!