why old classics?

[rca2000]

Originally Posted by mbates14

Oh i know, i remember seeing alot of them on the benches at northgate TV, if they are still around.

.

Not...they are long gone. I got cheated out of OVER 7500 from them last year, AND DENIED unemployment too!! I am STILL dealing with the "tax mess" from them, since they would NOT give me a W--2 last spring!!

Now, I have to get up before 6AM and drive 35+ miles each way, to Hebron KY--to work for LESS than I got there--when "things were good"--which was NOT too often though

But, at least it is paying the bills, and my mom just lost HER job Thursday...so...things are NOT looking too good for me right now...

[mbates14]

hmm. I think there is one upstares being used as a peice of furniture, but i dont know if its from 1973 though. Its not mine, its grandmas she bought new way way back.

[radiotvnut]

I can pretty much take everything that's been said above to explain why I like old TV's and other old electronics.

I'll add that I have no intention of spending one red cent on a new TV because I'm not that much of a TV watcher and what I do watch is usually old programming. And, I'm not going to spend mega money on something that will be in the dump in 5-7 years (or less). As it stands now, I can pick up an old CRT set for cheap or free, fix it up, and get many years out of it.

I grew up during the '80's and '90's and I remember people that still had tube type color TV's and even a few had B&W sets. Heck, we didn't have anything fancy at home. Until I was 5 years old, we had a 9" GE B&W on rabbit ears and were glad to have it. When I was adopted by my maternal grandparents at the age of 5 1/2, they had a '70's 19" RCA knob tuned color set. Around '84, my Dad bought a slightly used 19" Magnavox cable ready remote color TV from our TV repairman for $150 and we watched that set for years. By the time that set died, I had already started picking up old TV's and repairing them. Any set that was here after the Magnavox died was something that I found and fixed. As far as TV's for my room, I had that 9" GE B&W until I was a teenager. Then, I found a 17" RCA VHF-only B&W, then I got a 19" Philco-Ford B&W with UHF, and various color sets after that. And, they were all used with an antenna and, later, a VCR. We had cable at our house; but, my Dad would not let me run it to my room.

Someone was talking about TV's in school. I was in elementary school from '83-'88 and most of the TV's were 23" RCA CTC39 tube type color sets in metal cabinets and they had an assortment of A/V input jacks on the back. Program material usually came from U-matic tapes and the tape machines were either Sony, JVC, or Panasonic. Around '86-'87, the local Coke bottling plant donated a VHS VCR to the school. In the library, there were a couple of early '80's 25" Zenith system 3 color sets on the same type of metal cart with U-matic tape machines connected to them. I think I remember seeing a few old RCA B&W sets in the equipment room; but, they were never used. Most of what we watched was stuff provided by PBS. Sometimes, if we were good, our teacher would show a "normal" movie or cartoon.

In '89-'90, something called "channel one" came along. It was a 12 minute "news" program that was broadcast, via satellite, to all the schools. The company that was behind this news program donated 19" Magnavox color sets to all the schools with the understanding that the school would show this news program. There was a TV in each classroom and they were all connected to a master control center n the library. If a teacher wanted to show a film to the class, all he/she had to do was tell the librarian to show "whatever" tape at 9 AM to room 222. After those new TV's were installed, that was pretty much the end of the sets on roll around carts. Now, they probably have flat panels with full HD cable in all the classrooms. Back in the old days, the teacher had to reserve the "ETV" (that's what it was always called) at least 24 hours in advance of needing it.

As far as my current TV's, a have a wide assortment of old color and B&W sets that I watch. The only LCD set in the house is a 26" samsung that my Mother bought for her room and she thinks it's the greatest thing ever and thinks I'm crazy for not wanting to upgrade.

[miniman82]

Originally Posted by compucat

Televisions then were not treated like appliances as they are today. It was a prized household possession that was generally treated with care if you did not want someone to get mad at you. I think the trend toward black plastic cabinets even in large sets has caused most people to forget how much we used to value television sets.

Trust me, I value every inch of my Mitsu 65" DLP set just as much as the 255 sq inches of picture I get from my RCA sets.

But, there's a certain satisfaction to be had by bringing these old sets back to life. Especially if it's one you get for a song, like my CTC-9. It cost next to nothing, and after minimal investment (just power supply caps), it makes a surprisingly good picture. My only gripe is that it could be brighter, but I'm still looking for a 21FJP22 to put in it. To me it's just like restoring an old car (which I also do)- they were just plain built better in those days, and it's comforting knowing some child in Indonesia didn't put it together.

[Zenith26kc20]

My favorite watcher is a Zenith 25NC38. It was pitiful when I "adopted" it for 10 dollars. On top of it is a Motorola VT-71. In the spare bedroom is a 42 in LG plasma. My other half and I put it there after I repaired it (it is adopted too). She hated the heat and the picture unless it was running HD. I hated the fact it consumes around 700 watts. The 25 inch Zenith uses around 350 watts!
Maybe I can get the Zenith an "Energy Star" symbol!

[aidynphoenix]

Originally Posted by Zenith26kc20

My favorite watcher is a Zenith 25NC38. It was pitiful when I "adopted" it for 10 dollars. On top of it is a Motorola VT-71. In the spare bedroom is a 42 in LG plasma. My other half and I put it there after I repaired it (it is adopted too). She hated the heat and the picture unless it was running HD. I hated the fact it consumes around 700 watts. The 25 inch Zenith uses around 350 watts!
Maybe I can get the Zenith an "Energy Star" symbol!

is that another gimmic to make people move to HD??
i mean why should a HD television look funny when displaying the regular rez tv..
i know when i hooked up a television through s-video to my computer to use as a monitor everything was fuzzy, but it looked the same on resoutions between 640-480 up to 1024-768
it actually made badly converted computer movies look better on the television set.

and also HD is just a tv thats like a monitor right? 1280x720 pixels and anything higher is HD..
yet a little 17" computer monitor does 1024x768 which is close to the same, and yet it can still look just fine displaying anything smaller.
same goes for 19 and 21" monitors displaying 1600x1200 and bigger..
what gives?

[andy]

---

[jr_tech]

Another factor that I have observed is that many people tend to set up the display options to fill the 16:9 display area, resulting in a "stretched" picture when viewing a 4:3 source. Lots of short, wide people on TV
This may be done in fear of aging an un-even pattern into the display screen, which can be a problem with plasma displays, but I have seen many LC sets adjusted this way as well.
jr

[aidynphoenix]

Wow im amazed how big this thread got so quickly, and i am even more impressed at how kind and understanding you all are..

thanks to all of you i have more appreciation for the classic televisions. i do remember watching the screen shrink to a small white dot, and i do remember the screen slowly getting brighter as it warmed up when first turned on..
i do recall watching some movies that were black and white (the three stooges, i love lucy, giligans island) and didnt mind at all, actually after i watched the movie (the three stooges) for several minutes i forgot it wasnt in color untill it was over and i saw a commercial again.
although i have never really liked small tv's,, anything smaller than a 17" i find it hard to watch unless i am close to it. i cant stand watching movies on my ipod either. but i think thats due to having to hold it or watch it in a awkward position..

i dont think i could use a classic black and white television for anything other than classic moves, or stand up comedy maybe cartoons.
i cant imagine watching the dark knight or any new movies on one..

although i would love to repair them. maybe if i knew how, and had done so. i would then have the motivation and interest to sit and watch tv on one, and be proud of my labor.
we have this old black and white television out in the garage, and i just dont know what to do with it.. its still working
its tiny, i know its smaller than 17" but i still lack the motivation to do anything with it.. i also have portable, tv/flashlight/radio that is portable and it is black and white too,, although i think thats junk because i cant use a digital converter box with it..

i dont know if i should junk these or not now..

[Tubejunke]

People sometimes think that I'm crazy I think because I have always said that I don't see the big deal with color television or big screen sets. I tell them that as long as I can see a clear image, then I am satisfied. I admit that I probably wouldn't choose to use a 10" black and white as my livingroom set, but a 19" would do, and a 21" is plenty big I think. Some people seem so utterly attracted to having the latest and greatest group of bells and whistles that marketers can come up with. I just don't understand this mindset. No wonder the country is in trouble! Some people would see me, or things about me, and call me poor, but to me I am just fine, not rich (except in God's blessings) though. I just prefer using old things and laughing as people go further in debt so they can look good and looking good IS feeling good in America. LOL! Beyond that, I have long had a strange attraction to tube audio and video equipment. I couldn't explain it to myself! Sometimes I turn on an old radio or TV and have the back cover off to watch the tubes glow and smell a certain smell. Wow! Maybe TV people are nuts!!! LOL!

I am also a musician and an "audiophile," but I can enjoy listening to a 78rpm single on a Victrola as much as a Pink Floyd album through a Marantz amplifier and vintage Sansui speakers, or MP3s on a PC system. Then there is automotive entertainment, and NO that doesn't mean talking on a cell phone or texting, the latter being for IDIOTS only. Anyway, as long as I can hear FM radio clearly I am happy. I don't even want to worry with carrying around tapes or cds in a car anymore. When I was a little younger I did have to carry around "my" music and thought that listening to the radio was just another form of being controlled. LOL! Hindsight?!?!? So, I don't know if I am purely eccentric, overly practical, or just plain boring. Either way, they can keep their flat, big, HD, plastic picture frames, at least until the prices come down after the rich folks market has been saturated. Actually, we are almost there! Mark my words! It doesn't seem like that long ago that mostly the elite had a VCR because they cost several hundred dollars. After several years of tapping the big money, the companies came down to working class price and suddenly everyone had to own one! Just like DVDs and flat screens today, even those on welfare have the latest attraction. Marketing to kids is the ticket these days because they will practically force their softy parents to buy every gadget that Wal-mart can hold....