Production-Run Variations, B/W Sets

[jshorva65]

After looking at pictures of two RCA 8TS30's, I noticed some variations between early-production and late-production runs that I thought were somewhat interesting. Both sets had 13-channel tuners, though. The first 8TS30 that I looked at had the familiar black-on-gold channel selector escutcheon and plain black knob, while the second set featured a white-on-black escutcheon and black kbob with a white pointer. Things got more interesting with the inside pictures. The first set had an electromagnetic ion trap like the one in the 721TS I just restored and sold, while the second set had a PM ion trap that resembled the one in my Crosley 9-408. If this thread takes off and I write more about these two sets, I'll refer to the first one as the "1948" 8TS30 and the second as the "1948-1/2" 8TS30. I would like to know what production variations, if any, have been noticed by other vintage b/w set collectors who have seen or owned multiple examples of the same model. I plan to email the current owners of both sets and find out as much as possible about these two classic tv sets..

John