bgadow
11-12-2005, 11:21 PM
Last Saturday was our town's fourth annual hobby fair. This is the 3rd time I've participated, this year with an assortment of radios plus my newly repaired Zenith porthole. The county paper did a nice story on the fair, including an interview of yours truly & picture of me & the porthole. As I expected, I got some phone calls from folks with old sets. That ended up being part of what I did today.
First was a couple who said they had a couple old radios, plus a FADA combination radio/tv. The FADA was supposed to be one of the first tv sets, they said. I know all about getting my hopes up, but I had visions of an early table model, either electrostatic or 10BP4 based. I stopped by to look at it first thing. The main radio they had was a small '42 Philco 7 tube console. Next to it sat the FADA. Turned out to be a 15" (?) rectangular console from, I'd guess, 1952. It used to have doors; lots of scratches on the cabinet. It appeared to use the continous tuner but no FM on this one that I could tell. They thought it was a radio because the nameplate reads "FADA Radio". They wouldn't name a price, but told me that if they were offered enough money they would sell them. I passed. If anybody should be interested, I have their number.
The next caller described a set "where the cabinet folds up and the screen tilts out" which caused my ears to perk up a bit. They asked about my collection & I said I have sets from 1947 on up. She said this was older than that. Yeah, I certainly knew better than that...had to check it out, though. I was thinking either one of those RCA coffee table tv's or maybe an early projection set, either of which would be worth bringing home. The house was out in the middle of nowhere; it was part of an estate. I had to run out there twice since nobody was home the first go round. When I finally saw the set, another dissapointment. Its a mid-50s 21" Motorola console. Its gimmick is that it has a door that folds up, one-piece, into the top like an old garage door. Blonde cabinet, stamped January '54, has a Channel Master 21YP4. I didn't really want it but since I had put that much effort out I made an offer-$20. The seller wasn't too happy after that, but did accept it. I need to find a home for it. No room at the inn. Pictures to come. It is a unique looking set, obviously a close cousin to the '54 Motorola color set.
The gentleman told me that he junked another set in the house. Said it looked to be from the sixties, a console with a black & gold cabinet & it had a safety glass. Wonder what it was? Long gone now. Sigh.
Most of the articles that appear in the county paper will wind up in the regional daily after a spell. If I end up in there I bet there will be more phone calls. I need to control myself because space & money are both tight.
Oh-one more find today. On the way home with the Motorola I spotted a tv in the ditch! Sometimes I'll just let them go but I turned around & got it. 1983 Panasonic, assembled in Franklin Park, Ill. 19" table model, sat it next to my 19" Motorola Quasar (later model) and the resemblance is uncanny. It doesn't do anything when I pull the switch; if the switch is bad it goes on Freecycle, if its anything much tougher than that it gets tossed. (but not in the ditch, at least) Anyhow, intersesting to have brought home 2 machines made in the same factory (I suppose) 30 years apart.
First was a couple who said they had a couple old radios, plus a FADA combination radio/tv. The FADA was supposed to be one of the first tv sets, they said. I know all about getting my hopes up, but I had visions of an early table model, either electrostatic or 10BP4 based. I stopped by to look at it first thing. The main radio they had was a small '42 Philco 7 tube console. Next to it sat the FADA. Turned out to be a 15" (?) rectangular console from, I'd guess, 1952. It used to have doors; lots of scratches on the cabinet. It appeared to use the continous tuner but no FM on this one that I could tell. They thought it was a radio because the nameplate reads "FADA Radio". They wouldn't name a price, but told me that if they were offered enough money they would sell them. I passed. If anybody should be interested, I have their number.
The next caller described a set "where the cabinet folds up and the screen tilts out" which caused my ears to perk up a bit. They asked about my collection & I said I have sets from 1947 on up. She said this was older than that. Yeah, I certainly knew better than that...had to check it out, though. I was thinking either one of those RCA coffee table tv's or maybe an early projection set, either of which would be worth bringing home. The house was out in the middle of nowhere; it was part of an estate. I had to run out there twice since nobody was home the first go round. When I finally saw the set, another dissapointment. Its a mid-50s 21" Motorola console. Its gimmick is that it has a door that folds up, one-piece, into the top like an old garage door. Blonde cabinet, stamped January '54, has a Channel Master 21YP4. I didn't really want it but since I had put that much effort out I made an offer-$20. The seller wasn't too happy after that, but did accept it. I need to find a home for it. No room at the inn. Pictures to come. It is a unique looking set, obviously a close cousin to the '54 Motorola color set.
The gentleman told me that he junked another set in the house. Said it looked to be from the sixties, a console with a black & gold cabinet & it had a safety glass. Wonder what it was? Long gone now. Sigh.
Most of the articles that appear in the county paper will wind up in the regional daily after a spell. If I end up in there I bet there will be more phone calls. I need to control myself because space & money are both tight.
Oh-one more find today. On the way home with the Motorola I spotted a tv in the ditch! Sometimes I'll just let them go but I turned around & got it. 1983 Panasonic, assembled in Franklin Park, Ill. 19" table model, sat it next to my 19" Motorola Quasar (later model) and the resemblance is uncanny. It doesn't do anything when I pull the switch; if the switch is bad it goes on Freecycle, if its anything much tougher than that it gets tossed. (but not in the ditch, at least) Anyhow, intersesting to have brought home 2 machines made in the same factory (I suppose) 30 years apart.