View Full Version : I'm an old grouch at 33.


Carmine
06-28-2006, 07:28 AM
I was cruising around Craigslist and found this ad:

Wanted: 25" or larger television - $50

Hi all. I am looking for a 25" or larger color tv for my daughter. She is moving out on her own after being in an abusive relationship (finally). She is starting all over and can really use one, and maybe some other household furniture. Please see what you can do. Thank so much


So I e-mail the guy, and it turns out he is only a couple blocks away from me. Gives me the whole story about his daughter starting over, etc. etc. I send over a picture of this RCA set for $35:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v619/Chromacolor2/TVfront-1.jpg

Calls me and says he'll come take a look, but will need his son to help move the set, and he is still sleeping because he was out 'till 1AM the night before, and won't be up until Noon (Monday).

Around 11:30 AM, he calls and says that his daughter doesn't want such an old-looking TV.

I actually didn't even mean to say it outloud, but I respond with "Wow, must be nice to be one of your kids. Thanks for the call." click!

Understand, I really don't care if I sell it or not... Just unbelievable that he writes a tear-jerker ad for his daughter, and she turns up her nose at something because it isn't "cool" enough. Did he think people were going to be offering plasma-screens for $50? Even a POS Wal-Mart set that size runs $200! The son is old enough to stay out till 1AM, but sleeping beauty can't get out of bed till Noon?

However much I may have hated it then, I'm glad my parents were tough on me. I was afraid to even sit on the couch in front of my mother for fear she'd find something for me to do! The downside is, I feel like a grouchy old man at age 33! :nono:

cosmicdust
06-28-2006, 07:52 AM
That my friend is a handsome unit. I would have bought it for $35.00 and is a bargain :-)

cosmicdust.

Sandy G
06-28-2006, 07:53 AM
Wow. Don't know who's spoiled worse-the guy or his kids...Guess I'm a mean ol' sumbich, too, 'cause I've heard tales of Missy being in an abusive relationship for a year, 2 years, etc. Uhh, begging yr pardon, but did you ever consider LEAVING ?!? What about calling yr dad, brothers, other relatives, the cops? NOBODY can watch someone else 24/7-if it really was all THAT bad, you'd found a way to leave...

larschr
06-28-2006, 08:02 AM
For some reason, most young people hates old electronic equipment. The last two months at school i used to stop at the dump every morning and i often found TVs. I brought them into the classroom, plugged them in and they always worked. But the other people im my class always said "Get that ugly junk out of here". Except when i found Philips TVs with the high power sound system. We had cable TV outlet in the classroom, and they enjoyed to watch MTV.

Bobby Brady
06-28-2006, 08:33 AM
There are multitudes of kids and parents like them around. It is frustrating to realize that no matter what you tell people like that they always believe in what they see on TV or what some rich kid tells them. They have little to no sense of logic. They deserve to have a hard lifestyle but it is not their fault they are like that. That type of behavior is learned. To blame the parents does nothing to help. Who raised the parents? Does that matter? Who raised the grandparents? People like this family that thinks this TV is not good enough are a big part of what is wrong with this country but they are no more to blame for their behavior than everybody else in this country that chooses not to get involved with boring things like making our government do the right thing in the schools etc. The parents cannot function well enough to raise the kids after getting beat up all week in some brain-killing 40+ hour a week job. The schools in this country are one of the biggest factors in producing the messed-up kids of today. Most people point the finger at others as the problem and so we all suffer from the neglect.

Sandy G
06-28-2006, 08:45 AM
Oh, yeah, & it goes w/o saying-that was a primo set, I'd been pleased as punch to have gotten it when I was setting up shop on my own for the first time...Unfortunately, that attitude is WAY too prevalent all thru our society.

cosmicdust
06-28-2006, 09:34 AM
Hiya Bobby Brady,

The educational institutions have this power to educate people of all ages and it seems to be a big waste of resources. In ancient days, schools were free. Education was free, till it dawned that they can sell certificates and degrees. So now, education is as much a business as a gas-station.

Real education; which feeds the hunger of the Heart, will always be free though, thankfully.

We cannot expect everybody to take a liking to something that we like too, right? A beautiful rose should belong in the hands of a Lover. That walnut TV should be in my living room! Hahahahahha :-))))

cosmicdust.

bgadow
06-28-2006, 12:04 PM
I have run into this situation with freecycle a few times. Of course, when I am LOOKING I am the one complaining because the tv sets they are giving away are not old & decrepit ENOUGH! But then I try and give away something perfectly decent and folks want to turn up their noses. Most recently I gave away a working VHS camcorder & a nice 13" color monitor. The guy was all smiles but the next day he was on there again looking, I guess he wants something better.

I guess there have always been spoiled kids but the situation doesn't seem to be getting any better. I am in the wreck repair business; some of these kids just keeping destroying one $20,000 car after another while Mom & Dad just shrug their shoulders & laugh it off. Too bad, once they have gotten away with it once I think it is too late.

TedJ
06-28-2006, 01:42 PM
I have to say I guess I am one of those abnormal kids (i'm 17) who dont think that everything old is crap and sholud be put in the trash. Most of my views are completely the opposite. I hate all this new made in china garbage. It's made like crap, works like crap, and then it dies and cant be fixed because they used some part that dosen't exist outside of the chinese manufacuring plant where it was made. I mean dont get me wrong, some great stufff does come out of foreight countries (the best buy speakers come to mind) but that seems to be the exception, not the rule. If i needed a set for $35 I would have bought that thing in an instant...its a beauty.... People seem to have a real distaste for anything "old"...I dont see why when the same stuff they hate (and give to me for free :) ) is better than the chinese made pile of junk they replace it with. I live for cruzing on garbage night and my house is full of stuff that cost me nothing or almost nothing...and i'm completely happy with it...not to mention the huge ammount i have learned about electronics by serviceing all this stuff. Don't even get me started on these rich kids who get anything the want when they ask for it. I am proud to say that most of the stuff I have I bought with my own money or found and rebuilt myself. All I get for free are some small things and prsents on christmas and my birthday.

Sandy G
06-28-2006, 02:09 PM
Bethany is on to me all the time to buy her a Car. The fact she is 14 is immaterial; I guess she figures she'll have me wore down by then to where I'll be HAPPY to get her one to get her to hush. Well, I decided to have a little mean fun w/Little Miss Bethany..We were going somewhere, I told her I found a Car for her. A Cadillac, at that. She got excited-all Cadillac makes are Escalades, right ?!?...She's gettin' a 'Lade !! Maybe it'll have 22" wheels & spinners...About that time I pointed over to a local "Buy a Wreck'-there it is, Bethany-a '76 Coupe De Ville-maybe 1 square inch that wasn't rusted to oblivion...Needless to say, Bethany WASN'T impressed..And that WAS kinda mean...Lord, I apologise..all them starvin' chilluns in Africker 'n' stuff... <grin>

RetroHacker
06-28-2006, 02:36 PM
I've been there before - a friend wanted a TV and couldn't afford one, so I offered him a nice 19" set that he could have, it was an old Sampo I think, yeah it was a cheap set, but it worked great - he didn't want it, complaining that he didn't like the way it looked (simulated woodgrain and knob tuning), and it's lack of a cable tuner. "But you don't have cable" was my response. I still have that TV here somewhere.
A different friend wanted a receiver, so I offered to give him one of the extra ones I've got around here - a Harmon Kardon 330c I think, but he wanted something that "wasn't so ugly" and he didn't like the simulated woodgrain or the fact that it didn't have a remote. I think that he's still looking for a receiver, and asks me occasionally if I have anything, to which I respond "nothing you would want".

Fortunately, I have some friends that appreciate the superior quality, reliability and "freeness" of old hardware. I have one friend that's happily enjoying a late 70's Sherwood receiver and Panasonic Thrusters speakers that I gave him - he loves it - it sounds hundreds of times better than the modern Sony plastic box system he had before. He's also got a curb find 1990 black box 27" Toshiba TV I found and fixed up for him, just needed some solder joints touched up. He doesn't watch broadcast TV at all - I have the video from the DVD going to the TV, and the audio going through the receiver, and it sounds great. Granted, this receiver and those speakers were never top of the line, but they sound amazingly better than the crap they make today.

It's also amazing how people scoff at my setup at home - the large stack of unmatched equipment, most 20 or 30 years old, some older - exposed chassis with tubes and tons of wiring connecting it all. Lots of old, huge floor standing speakers, some mounted up on the wall. Funny how they scoff until I turn it on... One reaction was something to the effect of "Oh my god, the bass - that sounds amazing - how is that possible?!?! And that's off a record? No way!"

-Ian

dtuomi
06-28-2006, 03:19 PM
I...so I offered to give him one of the extra ones I've got around here - a Harmon Kardon 330c I think, but he wanted something that "wasn't so ugly" and he didn't like the simulated woodgrain or the fact that it didn't have a remote. I think that he's still looking for a receiver, and asks me occasionally if I have anything, to which I respond "nothing you would want".

I've always found this attiude rather annoying. This attitude is one of the reasons for a polluted environment. Oh, just throw it away, its old. Even if it still works and the lead in the glass picture tube is hard to recycle. As long as people think things are going to make them feel better about themselves, we'll continue to have an unhappy society. Of course, who am I to talk really considering I collect antique electronics...

David

P.S. I'd take that Harmon Kardon, it sounds nice.

slow_jazz
06-28-2006, 03:45 PM
the cabinet alone on that tv is worth $35...

i grew up watching black and white tv.

we thought it was great just watching any size color tv.

Andyman
06-28-2006, 03:51 PM
Carmine:

Unfortunately, the jackasses of the world seem to be breeding faster that the intelligent, reasonable folks.
Bravo for your kind and generous offer and too bad for the doofus who passed on it.

jpdylon
06-28-2006, 04:27 PM
It just amazes me how ungrateful people can be, and at the same time can be so damn picky!!

I always get a good laugh when looking through the wanted section of ANY craigslist site. I've seen rediculous things like:

"We were just evicted and had to sell most of our things. Does anybody have a livingroom and dining room set to give me? My daughter could also use new clothes, but ony yucci or ambacrombone and bitch. We could use a nice reliable car that gets 40mpg for $1000 if anybody has one..."

wow. simply amazing. With asshole people like that, just give the finger and walk away.

Carmine
06-28-2006, 04:32 PM
Before anybody thinks I'm too nice, let me come clean and remind you that I trash-picked that set a couple weeks ago. If I find a Zenith roundie, I'm not donating it to the local orphans home! :D

But it is so sad that people have been brainwashed into zombies who get their self-worth from material stuff. Perhaps because my parents went through some tough times in the 80s (what Chrysler worker didn't back then?) and I saw my dad come home with his coat in shreds while paying the bills at a meat-packing plant, I sure as hell wasn't going to ask for expensive name-brand crap just because some spoiled 12-year-old at school had Nike's.

I wasn't brought up with a bunch of hooey-doomsday stuff about the enviroment, recycling, etc. I was simply taught that being wasteful was a sin, whether with food, electricity, water or television sets! I go to estate sales, and you can always tell those "greatest-generation/depression-era" houses. Lots of good-quality stuff kept clean and working. Nowadays, you go into most houses and its just a bunch of throwaway furniture, Wal-Mart junk.

It's hard for me to get used to grey-haired folk pulling up next to me in a new Dihatsu Charade, instead of an older Mercury Grand Marquis. (I'm very patient with the bad driving of the latter, blow my horn at the former.)

But what are ya gonna do? Hard times are a comin' again, and experience is a great teacher!

Sandy G
06-28-2006, 07:45 PM
"Being wasteful was a sin..." Hey Carmine, you sure my granmother didn't raise you, too?...

andy
06-28-2006, 08:05 PM
I understand how you feel, but try to look at it from the average person's view.

Most people wouldn't take a consol TV if it was free, particularly a non-remote set with no video input for a DVD player. They're hard to move and take up a ton of space in a small apartment. I wouldn't call them ungreatful. They know that $50 will buy a very nice modern used TV these days. She probably just wants to get something she will want to keep for a while.

Bill R
06-28-2006, 08:27 PM
Hay Sandy hang in there with the daughter. A lot could be learned from a 76 caddie.
When My oldest daughter started to get her license, I bought an 89 mustang with a stick shift and told her to learn to drive it. It wasn't what she wanted, but she never complained and did learn to drive it. It made her very nervous in traffic though and I found her an 89 GMC jimmy. It needed work, and had pealing paint, but she loved it. I wasn't pretty, but it was safe and reliable. She drove that truck all over this end of the state until she was in a position to buy her own truck. She bought a brand new 03 S-10. She now has a very deep respect and understanding of things like car payments and insurance, and she keeps her truck up so well that it would still pass as a new turck. My other daughter now drives the ugly jimmy, and even though it may get some laughs it gets her everywhere she wants to go. It now has about 270,000 miles on it, and is quite rusted with peeling paint, and the seats are now worn out to the foam in places, but she doesn't care. I think though that since there is a good possibility she will be going to UT in Knoxville, I may have to find her something with a few less miles to take to school. I will bet she will be just as pickey with her first new car ( and she will buy her own ) as my older daughter is.

Bill R.

Chad Hauris
06-28-2006, 08:28 PM
I wouldn't be too offended by the comment. They were not looking for a donation, and this set just did not suit the buyer's taste, that's all.
We do have several customers who really do like console TV's and have sold them some relatively late model RCA consoles we had bought over the years and taken the old one in trade. It does tend to be mostly the older people that prefer them.

Randy Bassham
06-28-2006, 08:55 PM
When my Daughter turned 16 and got her license I told her she could drive our old '84 Chevrolet Cavalier station wagon. She turned up her nose and said a station wagon wasn't cool. I just said fine and walked off. After she figured out that I wasn't overly concerned with her motoring style she came back and we had a talk. I informed her the only reason she was getting a car to drive was for my convinience and that the old wagon was an extra and she was welcome to drive it. I told her that if she tore it up she wouldn't have a car to drive and if either mine or her mom's car broke down she wouldn't have a car. A 16 year old dictating terms as to how I'll spend my money is something that just kinda rubs my fur the wrong way. My Dad bought me a 18 year old Dodge when I got my drivers license, he paid $200.00 for it. I took off and promptly pushed the old flathead six too hard and nearly destroyed it. Dad told me that was really too bad and he wondered how I was going to fix it. I'd torn down and overhauled lawnmower engines but this was a lot bigger. Dad let me use his tools and I replaced the main and rod bearings in our driveway, Dad would answer questions for me but he never picked up a wrench, He figured (rightly) that if I had to invest all that sweat equity and pay for the parts the car was likely to last a lot longer....He was right, that was 40 years ago and I still have the old Dodge and I've not had the oil pan off since. As for my Daughter, she's 31 and thanks me now for how she was raised...

kx250rider
06-29-2006, 12:54 AM
I was cruising around Craigslist and found this ad:



So I e-mail the guy, and it turns out he is only a couple blocks away from me. Gives me the whole story about his daughter starting over, etc. etc. I send over a picture of this RCA set for $35:

Calls me and says he'll come take a look, but will need his son to help move the set, and he is still sleeping because he was out 'till 1AM the night before, and won't be up until Noon (Monday).

Around 11:30 AM, he calls and says that his daughter doesn't want such an old-looking TV.

I actually didn't even mean to say it outloud, but I respond with "Wow, must be nice to be one of your kids. Thanks for the call." click!

Understand, I really don't care if I sell it or not... Just unbelievable that he writes a tear-jerker ad for his daughter, and she turns up her nose at something because it isn't "cool" enough. Did he think people were going to be offering plasma-screens for $50? Even a POS Wal-Mart set that size runs $200! The son is old enough to stay out till 1AM, but sleeping beauty can't get out of bed till Noon?

However much I may have hated it then, I'm glad my parents were tough on me. I was afraid to even sit on the couch in front of my mother for fear she'd find something for me to do! The downside is, I feel like a grouchy old man at age 33! :nono:

I appreciate your generosity in offering a set to a total stranger at a very fair price, even if the recipient of the generosity does not know how to appreciate anything.

#1, anyone who stays in an abusive relationship for more than a couple days of realizing they're in one, when they have a family to go home to, is not too sharp.

#2, I get a terrible migraine headache if I sleep past 7:30, even if I stay out an party 'til 2 or 3 AM. (Well, maybe not party, but perhaps hauling home some hulk of a TV on a dark desert highway and arriving home at 2 or 3 AM more likely in my case)...

#3, She doesn't deserve that RCA anyway.

#4, I am astounded that the Dad actually bothered to lift the phone and call you in stead of doing the standard No-Show.

Dad needs to buy her a nice 1993 Zenith 27" set with a nice plastic black modern cabinet. Then the girl can toss it when the tube shorts in a week or 2. He should be able to get one for $35.

Charles

Eric H
06-29-2006, 02:14 AM
Bet they'd turn down this set for $35 too. :D

Carmine
06-29-2006, 06:43 AM
I suppose if the response was "My daughter says she doesn't have room for a console TV." or "We need something that fits in an entertainment center, etc." I wouldn't have had the same reaction. (spoiled brat)

But look at the ad...

Wanted: 25" or larger television - $50

That tells me a brand-new 19" set wouldn't have cut the mustard either. As for finding a newer (working) set for $50, good luck. I haven't seen anybody selling used TVs since about 1990. Thrift stores have two choices, old consoles like mine for $99 that never sell, or 19" Chromacolor sets from the 70s.

Understand, I could really care less if she bought the set. It was a fluke that I even found the wanted ad. The reply of "too-old fashioned looking" was what killled me. To me, this would have been the right attitude by dad:

She turned up her nose and said a station wagon wasn't cool. I just said fine and walked off. After she figured out that I wasn't overly concerned with her motoring style she came back and we had a talk.

This is what parents are supposed to do, not let the kids call the shots. If they don't learn it young, they'll end up like my neighbors, getting their toys repossessed... Guy next door surprised the hell otta me by comming home with a near-new Dodge Ram truck last year. (I know they have little $$ to spare). Eventually they had to give it back, and probably trashed whatever credit they had. A couple months ago, he pulls up in an '86 K-car. Come to find that his dad offered him the car free years ago.

Oh yeah... The thing needs a tune-up BAD. I told him that an EFI 2.2L is a pretty good engine that will last a while, but he needs to tune it up. I even offered to help. He doesn't want to spend time working on it. OK, keep washing those cylinder walls down with raw gas and well see how long until that car is gone too. :no:

wa2ise
06-29-2006, 12:28 PM
My Dad bought me a 18 year old Dodge when I got my drivers license, he paid $200.00 for it.

I didn't own a car until after I graduated college. Didn't need it before that, parking on campus was a real pain anyway. Also looking at the expenses of insurance and maintenance and being a starving college student, it just didn't make sense. I got by....

Randy Bassham
06-30-2006, 07:41 PM
I didn't own a car until after I graduated college. Didn't need it before that, parking on campus was a real pain anyway. Also looking at the expenses of insurance and maintenance and being a starving college student, it just didn't make sense. I got by....

I think the main reason he bought the car was he didn't want me anywhere near his. :yes: :yes: :yes:

dr.ido
07-01-2006, 03:29 AM
I guess I'm grumpy old fart at 27. I rarely bother to offer people gear anymore unless I know that they won't give me crap about it. Too many people have either turned down or abused and destroyed perfectly good TV's, audio gear and computers because they didn't think they were worth having.

I grew up fixing the stuff that other people threw away and still do so today. Most of the gear I own today is stuff that other people threw away.

My first car was a 1976 Toyota Crown. When I wrecked it I had no choice but to fix it myself. I stripped another car at one of those "you pull it" wrecking yards on their all you can carry day. Eventually the guy running the place took pity on me and allowed me to take two trips (probably because he wanted to close up and was tired up watching me crawl turtle like across the yard loaded down with parts). I got the car back together and while it looked like hell it lasted me another 18 months until it was defected. I haven't wrecked a car since.



I really don't know how some people get away with the crap they pull.

NowhereMan 1966
07-01-2006, 07:22 PM
Cool looking set, I've always like wooden console sets that were made to be furniture. I guess I'm an old grouch too, I'll be 40 on July 8th. :p

Einar72
07-03-2006, 06:49 AM
I AM a grumpy old fart. I'll be 52 on the 7th. Happy birthday to you, Nowhere Man 1966. I have fond memories of listening to that song when I was 11, in 1966, riding in my dad's 1966 Toyota Crown. How's that for tying the last two posts together?
I have always been happiest when I spend less than my peers for something. I will always be known for cobbling together cars, TV's, computers, whatever. I simply enjoy fixing things that others have given up on. I wish people would look at something for what it really is. Today's world is too filled with those who crave vanity, status and power. I feel sorry for those who can't be happy with what they have.

"Poor men wanna be rich, rich men wanna be kings,
And a king aint satisfied till he rules everything" --- Bruce Springsteen

compucat
07-03-2006, 08:22 AM
I'm right in tune with you guys on this whole matter. Im a 1966 model too. I'll be 40 in October and I many of my favorite electronic items are ones I restored. I have a 1937 Philco tombstone radio in my living room that I use as frequently as it might have been when new. I love the way old stuff was built to last and today is perfectly serviceable. People look at it as though they can't believe something so old could actually still work. When I was a kid in 1975, we got a 13" color tv to replace the 12" black and white and we all thought we were in hog heaven.

People as so spoiled today that if real economic hardship ever came again (and I believe it will), many won't know how to handle it. The day may come when one may be grateful for any kind of tv no matter how old or what it may look like.

tv beta guy
07-03-2006, 08:55 PM
It is such a shame the way people are today about anything old :\ That is a cool TV btw.

I'm going to be 24 this month. And anymore, I'm going out of my way to find old electronics and appliances, anything older than myself. The quality there is just amazing, and the stuff will almost never break. And most people my age think all of it is just junk.

People just give me things for free, as since it is old, it must be junk.

I've been actually purchasing old appliances like toasters and electric skillets to use, as I do not want to get the Wal*Mart variety that breaks after a few months. I also collect old box fans as well. Those things will just never break. I'd love to see a Wal*Mart fan last 35-50 years and keep on going.

David Roper
07-03-2006, 09:08 PM
One of my most vivid memories from early childhood--probably pre-age seven--was one summer night when a box fan, which was probably not very old at the time, suddenly started filling the bedroom with smoke! It was almost certainly a GE; many years later I removed a GE window fan from grandpa's garage when we sold that house and was disappointed to discover that one of the windings was shorted. I know that there are many very early finger-chopper style desk fans that still run great as long as you keep them oiled, but it's been my experience that the quality with which later fan motors were built was lacking and they don't hold up.

Chad Hauris
07-03-2006, 10:46 PM
The best luck we have had with fans are the really old 20's or so Robbins and Myers and also Vornado fans. Once rewired, the performance is very good: the motors on these are high quality and also the blade design moves a lot of air.

There is actually a Lakewood metal blade box fan still being made and it has worked good so far. It is a heavy duty model with a grounded plug. Have not had great luck with most types of box fans, though, even the older ones. There are no oil ports and the motors use Oilite sleeve bushings so after a while of continuous use, the lubrication runs out and the bearings score and that's it. Even if you try and relubricate it, the bushing is damaged and it will seize again.
I think my record for a box fan is 8 years of continuous use, never shutting it off except for power failures.

Randy Bassham
07-03-2006, 11:20 PM
IMHO the best of the old fans were the Emersons, at work we've got 2 of the 16 inch oscillating fans from the late 30's or 40's, they still run sometimes 24 hr's a day to move the air in the radio room in really hot weather when the AC is having a hard time keeping up. These old Emersons were there when my Dad came in 1947 and they'll probably be around a long time after I'm gone. I bought a couple of these at auctions and use them quiteabit during the summer. One of them is running now blowing cool air down the hall. I do have a couple of Vornado's and it's amazing the air they put out. BTW Vornado is still in business but the fans are coming from the far east instead of Kansas....

kx250rider
07-04-2006, 12:23 AM
Since we're talking fans here, I have two Vornados, and had continuous trouble with both! The do work nicely WHEN THEY WORK. Usually about twice a season, they seize up and overheat. Scary, because they don't appear to be thermally protected and one of them stunk up the house last week with burnt plastic smoke!

My repair is to remove the armature, clean it, lube it with WD-40 in the bearing felt and put a dab of white grease on the armature shafts and reassemble. I hate having to do that!!!! I paid $50 for each of those fans, and they seized up within the first couple months of use when new, and as I say, twice a season since. That's not a reliable product.

I have an old 1950s Allis Chalmers commercial fan that had been in hard daily use at the Downey, CA Police station. That one weighs a ton, and I have NEVER had to do anything with it! It even has a nice RUBBER not plastic heavy 3-wire cord.

Charles

zenith2134
07-04-2006, 02:02 AM
I've got a Westinghouse Jet-turbine styling fan from the 50's that runs great. Its exactly like one that they were selling on the Oaktree Enterprises website awhile ago... http://oaktreeent.com/vintage_electric_fans.htm I inherited it from my grandparents; all I did was add a fresh cord and lubricate the motor. Very powerful and reliable. it's a shame they don't build solid metal pieces anymore.

Randy Bassham
07-04-2006, 07:25 AM
The best lubricant for small electric motors that I've found is turbine oil, usually available at appliance parts stores in a plastic bottle with a long pull out tube. The transmitters that I work on have 2 squirrel cage blowers with small Fasco motors, they run 24-7. I've got 8 of these little motors running and have only had one failure in the last 12 years.

Adam
07-04-2006, 08:02 AM
I have one of the old Emerson fans, never had any trouble with it, it works great.

bgadow
07-05-2006, 01:28 PM
I have an assortment of old fans-a sharp looking little R-M, a Knapp-Monarch that is pretty much worn out, a big Hunter table fan-all have broken oscillators which I need to tend to. There is a little no-name metal fan that must have been sold in a dime store-doesn't even have an on/off switch. I use it on my bench to blow solder fumes out the window! Then upstairs I have a reversable Vornado window fan that really does a nice job. I can just never decide if it is better to blow the hot air in or out?

The only problem I had with an old fan was a Sears Kenmore I bought at a church yard sale. It was still in the box, must have been from the 50s. It seized up while I was sleeping; luckily I awoke. I tried to fix it but it seized up again so I dumped it at the auction.

We needed a new fan in the house because dear Mrs. Gadow prefers a stand-up oscillating fan and none of my old ones fit that description. The last one we had developed a broken neck-it would only aim down at the floor. The latest Crapola chinese fan I bought to replace it will not last long. I'm almost afraid to move it for fear of breaking something off.

rca2000
07-05-2006, 02:37 PM
:I've been actually purchasing old appliances like toasters and electric skillets to use, as I do not want to get the Wal*Mart variety that breaks after a few months. I also collect old box fans as well. Those things will just never break. I'd love to see a Wal*Mart fan last 35-50 years and keep on going.


Would you like one of those "homart" belt-drive fans??(with a 1/6 HP motor, open-back and metal blade!!)

I picked up one a few weeks ago. Figured someone would want it.

If you want it, come and get it!!

rca2000
07-05-2006, 06:22 PM
:Oh yeah... The thing needs a tune-up BAD. I told him that an EFI 2.2L is a pretty good engine that will last a while, but he needs to tune it up. I even offered to help. He doesn't want to spend time working on it. OK, keep washing those cylinder walls down with raw gas and well see how long until that car is gone too. :no:


Enlighten me here, guys--- If an engine is missing a bit, HOW could it "screw it up"? I understand that gas mileage will be bad and such--but permanent , serious engine damage?? HOW??

NowhereMan 1966
07-05-2006, 06:43 PM
I AM a grumpy old fart. I'll be 52 on the 7th. Happy birthday to you, Nowhere Man 1966. I have fond memories of listening to that song when I was 11, in 1966, riding in my dad's 1966 Toyota Crown. How's that for tying the last two posts together?
I have always been happiest when I spend less than my peers for something. I will always be known for cobbling together cars, TV's, computers, whatever. I simply enjoy fixing things that others have given up on. I wish people would look at something for what it really is. Today's world is too filled with those who crave vanity, status and power. I feel sorry for those who can't be happy with what they have.

"Poor men wanna be rich, rich men wanna be kings,
And a king aint satisfied till he rules everything" --- Bruce Springsteen

Yeah, I know. Some people think I'm a little weird for wanting to fix up old things and use them and so on. Well, maybe I am, but I look at it this way, if I'm happy doing it, well, that's my choice. We are truly a wasteful society in many ways, I'm sure you've seen stories where people toss out perfectly good TV's and stuff on here. BTW, I think the Bruce Springsteen quote is right on and I thank you for the birthday wishes.

blue_lateral
07-05-2006, 06:50 PM
A dead miss can sure make a mess. The cylinder that misses will build up gas which will wash the oil off of the piston rings in that cylinder.

If that wasnt bad enough, the 2.2's had closed loop fuel control. The oxygen sensor looks for oxygen, and pushes the mixture leaner until it gets some. Then once it does, it pushes the mixture richer until there is none. Then it goes the other way again, back and forth all day long.

If there is a constant miss, there will always be oxygen in the exhaust. The system will go richer trying to get rid of it. SInce it cannot get rid of the oxygen it will continue to push the mixture richer until it is as rich as it can go. This will wash the rings on all the cylinders, and take quite a bit of life off of the rings. it will just make the engine burn oil, which is not the end of the world, but something to be avoided if possible.

It also will dilute the engine oil with gas. How much damage that does I guess depends on whether the oil ever gets changed.

John

kx250rider
07-06-2006, 12:43 AM
I just picked up the MOTHER of all fans on Monday! You've never seen anything like it! It has a 1/3HP belt drive motor, 48 inch blade, and took two of us to get unpacked from the carton!

It isn't for me, it's for the place where I work. But I'm the one with a truck so I get fingered for this type of thing. AK'er Steve K walked right past it when he came to get his CTC-9 (later determined to be CTC-10) on Monday afternoon. It was on at low speed, and he didnt' even notice! It's rated 11,750 CFM!!!!!!!!! It sounds & feels like standing behind a small aeroplane on run-up. He must not be a FAN fan...

Charles

tv beta guy
07-08-2006, 07:28 PM
Would you like one of those "homart" belt-drive fans??(with a 1/6 HP motor, open-back and metal blade!!)

I picked up one a few weeks ago. Figured someone would want it.

If you want it, come and get it!!

Cool :) Thanks.

I'm just not sure when I'll be able to make it out your way though.

rca2000
07-08-2006, 07:55 PM
The fan is NOT going anywhere. Of course, it is "as found" and WILL need rewired-- the cord and probably the motor wiring. But to someone who likes old fans-- it could be a prize, i'm sure!!

daro
07-09-2006, 05:01 AM
I have never owned a new TV in all my life or have never brought a new stereo amp or such.

Most of my stuff is pre loved & I can apreaciate what I have. I have to put in a little work th get them going again.

My TV was made in 2000.
My stereo amp was made in the early 90's

My most prized item is a Zenith T/O 3000-1 made over 40 years ago & it still has all its original electros & resistors.

That radio will still be working when it turns 50 & it will still be as goo as the day it was made.

Kids today want the latest & greatest that will only last a short time after the warrenty comes to an end.

superdeez
07-15-2006, 10:12 PM
My most prized item is a Zenith T/O 3000-1 made over 40 years ago & it still has all its original electros & resistors.

That radio will still be working when it turns 50 & it will still be as goo as the day it was made.

Kids today want the latest & greatest that will only last a short time after the warrenty comes to an end.

The clock radio next to my bed is an old Zenith...I'd guess the year to be maybe 1961 through about 63...not much later than 65. Still works great and I've never even had to take the back off. (Not to say that I haven't anyway.)

As for the latest&greatest, substitute kids for virtually everyone. It's a shame really that everyone thinks three years is a good run...if they even use something that long. I'll bet 50% or more of the new electronics tossed out work great. I don't know how many computers I've gotten for free when I've set up new ones for people. "Oh here, let's just take this one out to the trash." Usually I say they're "hazardous" and I'll take them to the recycling center for free! :) Their loss.

I heard an interesting quote when referring specifically to Mexico (but can be expanded to all of the third world) "...they use the cars we throw away..." Fact is, they use EVERYTHING we throw away. Radios, TVs, VCRs, cars, furnature.

If you think about it, what happens to all the old american gear kept clean and well serviced from depression era homes after they get crapped out the bottom of eBay and the thrift stores? They get shipped to Argentina, Mexico, The Bahamas, Costa Rica, etc., where new equipment is often scarse and too expensive.

Next time you see an old lady driving a Kia Rio, just imagine her old 78 Grand Marquis with a 351 Cleaveland and stereo 8 track player that languished out back of a used car lot for 18 months with a $3000 price tag is now the prized possession of a Nicaraguan who works 12 hours a day, 6 days a week picking sugarcane whose life just got a lot eaiser because he doesn't have to walk 11 miles to and from work every day!

I could go on...but I won't.

I'm an old grouch at 21. :)

peverett
07-16-2006, 04:13 PM
Recently, I went to my mother's home (a small town in Oklahoma). While there I saw (in a nearby small town) an older woman drving an immaculate mid 1970s Ford (It was large one, I am not sure of the model). Even the vinyl top was immaculate. I must have been in the garage all of its life.

It would be a great car to have except for two facts:
a. It probably gets all of 10 miles to the gallon.
b. It probably drives like a large boat.

(I admit that this post is kind of off the subject TVs).

Chad Hauris
07-16-2006, 07:09 PM
RE:ford, If it is a 400 engine you should get about 16 mpg or more. 460 cid will be less (4 barrel carb).
Re: computers, many times it's a software problem where Windows gets corrupted or there is spyware, viruses,etc. and people don't want to mess with it. Have seen a lot less actual hardware problems in old PC's.
Most of the discarded equipment I have seen DOES have actual problems...many times though it is bad caps or bad soldering or simply operator error. Have not had much luck on discarded DVD players though.

bgadow
07-16-2006, 10:33 PM
The biggest house in my neighborhood is owned by a Haitian-American, a real nice fellow. I know of this other fellow who is from Guatamala. Both have the same trick. They go buy a cheap old minivan (a Chevy Astro with peeling paint works well) then go to Wal*Mart and buy all the cheap chainsaws, weed whackers & such that will fit inside and still leave room enough for a driver, then they drive it to the port and ship it to their relatives back home. They sell the van and its contents at a handsome profit.

Good story in the latest issue of Car and Driver about the Cuban fellow who "drove" the old Chevy pickup almost to America across the water. Now, there are some real mechanics! This guy didn't sound like he complained about not having the right tools or parts-he just went and got the job done! Now living in the US and working for a Chevy dealer. I also recall reading an article about the old cars in Cuba and the reporter admitted to sneaking in a NOS spark plug for a fifities Ford. He gave it to a guy who broke down and cried-over one spark plug!

dr.ido
07-17-2006, 05:25 AM
I get many DVD players through here. They're worth so little that they are thrown out for the most trivial faults. The most common operator error faults are setting the player to progressive which turns off the the composite video, setting the unit to NTSC and only getting a B&W picture on their PAL only TV. Others are dumped because they won't read copied discs reliably.

The most common actual faults are jammed trays (stick on labels from rental or home burnt discs always cause problems), dead power supplies (usually capactors, but bad diodes, choppers and regulator ICs show up as well) and dead lasers.

I can't blame people for dumping this stuff though. The minimum charges at many repair shops are more than the elcheapo gear is worth. The only way I make anything out of them is doing them in bulk, using used parts wherever possible and getting the units themselves for almost nothing.

When a wholesaler imports this stuff they are expect to handle a certain amount of defects and it is built into the deal. The returns are usually sold off by the pallet load. Many of these pallets are bought by those discount shops offering "factory reworks". They then pallet up their left overs and returns for someone else to pick over. I've bought a couple of these pallets and done okay out of them.