What do you really do with your sets?

[kx250rider]

Originally Posted by bgadow

Is the old TV hobby strange? As others have been quick to point out, there are a lot stranger things to get in to.

Oh yes. I basically have 3 hobbies; the TVs (my first hobby since age 9), is only the middle-of-the-road one. My more common one is old cars; Toyotas and Cadillacs with Diesel engines. But my WEIRD hobby is old Cold War air raid sirens. The siren hobby has it's own group, like we have here on AK http://www.airraidsirens.com . I'm probably the only man in California (or even West of the Mississippi?) with a 1200-pound, 1965 Federal Thunderbolt siren mounted on the deck in back of the house. It's wired up, and I blow it every last Friday of the month at noon, and on New Years Eve at Midnight, everybody in Moorpark and Somis gets treated to the blare of my sirens. This year, I blew the Thunderbolt (136 db & 100'), and also a big old 500-pound Federal model 5. In the video of the New Years Eve run, the Thunderbolt is sounded first by the AR timer on the kitchen counter, then I disappear out back and manually cycle the Model 5 with a 70-amp cutoff switch.

Video:

Friday noon "test" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezCyvZsA8hk

New Years Eve 2008: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hewzjF3ka7w

Charles

[Einar72]

Most of mine are sitting in a storage locker. I haven't had much time lately, but I like to fire-up something I restored and watch it for a while occasionally. As I've mentioned in the past, the attempt to keep what I believed was a rational amount of roundies, console and boatanchor radios and Cadillac restorations in my condo life helped end my marriage. My new lady actually liked my Dumont RA-109, Radiola 62, Philco 38-7 and HaloVision end-table (not the TV part) enough that they grace the living room in her trailer where I now live.

[mr_fixer]

I have 4 vintage TV sets, 2 Zeniths, a Toshiba and a Sony. I keep 1 TV per room in my house. All hooked up and ready to be used. Which I do if I am in that room for a while. I would love to have more, but I made a promise with myself, If i bring something into my house, I have to remove something of equal size.
I am a 2nd generation Pack rat, whom my friends are pack rats and even the parents of some of my friends were pack rats. Over the course of 10 years my parents and my best friend's parents passed away and we had to empty the houses in preparation for closing the estates.
The stress of having to deal with the masses of stuff affected me, but it was not unprofitable, since the invention of ePay, stuff=money. I've paid my living expenses for 3 years now just by selling off my excess stuff.
If anything would happen to me i don't want to leave a bunch of headache to my friends who are left behind.
The up side to all of this, is how much i enjoy Audio Karma. All of you showing pictures of your latest finds brings me the joy of discovery without having to find a place in the house to put it, also it works like consumer reports so i can best decide what specific model and brand to lookout for. Logan

[Sandy G]

As I mentioned in another thread, I have endured persecution from my family all my life for my hobbies...Even after I moved out into my own house ! When Lauriann & I got engaged, about the 1st thing my mom said to her was, "I sure do hope you can get rid of all those radios & TVs !" Lauriann, however, cemented her relationship w/me right there by telling my mom that she liked the radios & TVs just fine, she didn't see any need to "get rid" of them. My family NEVER really came out & said they didn't like my stuff, it was just the host of back-handed compliments, snarky remarks, & "turd-in-a-punchbowl" looks that let me know LOUD & CLEAR what they thought. Screw 'em. I'd just go get another...(grin)

[zenithfan1]

I rotate mine regularly as far as use goes, some get used more than others. As others have mentioned, It is good to keep the caps formed, parts lubed and ect. As far as '80s and newer stuff goes, I have no room for that stuff. I fix it if it costs little or nothing and then donate them or put them out in front of my house with a "free, works" sign. the rest stays with me until I'm dead or sometimes I sell stuff {not often}. I also have other hobbies that constict my space like a boa. They include antique lawnmowers and other household appliances. I am making videos of that stuff for You tube so I can share it with others instead of it sitting around doing nothing besides me using it for daily life. I love to live in the past as far as technology goes for the most part. Call me crazy, I dont care. I am one HAPPY crazy person!

[zenithfan1]

Originally Posted by Sandy G

As I mentioned in another thread, I have endured persecution from my family all my life for my hobbies...Even after I moved out into my own house ! When Lauriann & I got engaged, about the 1st thing my mom said to her was, "I sure do hope you can get rid of all those radios & TVs !" Lauriann, however, cemented her relationship w/me right there by telling my mom that she liked the radios & TVs just fine, she didn't see any need to "get rid" of them. My family NEVER really came out & said they didn't like my stuff, it was just the host of back-handed compliments, snarky remarks, & "turd-in-a-punchbowl" looks that let me know LOUD & CLEAR what they thought. Screw 'em. I'd just go get another...(grin)

Hey, this is just like what it's been like for me too, I'm sure we have all endured thas kind of treatmen,t but like you said, "Screw 'em" and I'm right there with ya, go for what makes YOU happy.{ I used to buy stuff just to piss them off when I was a teenager HE HE} But as an adult, I guess 'ya gotta keep the family happy too, BUT, we only live once as far as we can remember.

[zenithfan1]

my computer messed up......uggh....new stuff..

[radiotvnut]

OK, what do I do with my sets? Most of the really "vintage" TV's are either in the shop or the basement waiting on me to get off my lazy butt and bring them back to life. Since most are consoles, there's no way they can come in the house due to space restrictions. I have a working '76 Zenith CCII 19" in the basement, a 13" '86 KTV in my bedroom (just to take up space), and an '85 19" Sony in my "den/computer room". I'm not much of a TV watcher; but, I turn them on fairly often to keep them healthy. I also have tons of tube radios that I pull off the shelf and sometimes use. I'd use them more if there was something decent on AM to listen to.

Originally Posted by Sandy G

As I mentioned in another thread, I have endured persecution from my family all my life for my hobbies...Even after I moved out into my own house ! When Lauriann & I got engaged, about the 1st thing my mom said to her was, "I sure do hope you can get rid of all those radios & TVs !" Lauriann, however, cemented her relationship w/me right there by telling my mom that she liked the radios & TVs just fine, she didn't see any need to "get rid" of them. My family NEVER really came out & said they didn't like my stuff, it was just the host of back-handed compliments, snarky remarks, & "turd-in-a-punchbowl" looks that let me know LOUD & CLEAR what they thought. Screw 'em. I'd just go get another...(grin)

Sandy, I know where you're coming from as far as being persecuted about your hobbies & you are one blessed guy for finding a lady that can accept your radio and TV collection! The main grief my family gave me was because of lack of space. My mother would always say "But, at least I know where he is". I used to hear a lot of crap from my classmates because I am legally blind AND because of my hobby. Of course, they got real nice when they wanted something fixed. I finally had to do what others have done and just say the heck with them all! I'll continue to do what I enjoy for as long as I can.

[Randy Bassham]

Hey Charles! You got one of these??

http://www.victorysiren.com/x/index.htm

Originally Posted by kx250rider

Oh yes. I basically have 3 hobbies; the TVs (my first hobby since age 9), is only the middle-of-the-road one. My more common one is old cars; Toyotas and Cadillacs with Diesel engines. But my WEIRD hobby is old Cold War air raid sirens. The siren hobby has it's own group, like we have here on AK http://www.airraidsirens.com . I'm probably the only man in California (or even West of the Mississippi?) with a 1200-pound, 1965 Federal Thunderbolt siren mounted on the deck in back of the house. It's wired up, and I blow it every last Friday of the month at noon, and on New Years Eve at Midnight, everybody in Moorpark and Somis gets treated to the blare of my sirens. This year, I blew the Thunderbolt (136 db & 100'), and also a big old 500-pound Federal model 5. In the video of the New Years Eve run, the Thunderbolt is sounded first by the AR timer on the kitchen counter, then I disappear out back and manually cycle the Model 5 with a 70-amp cutoff switch.

Video:

Friday noon "test" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezCyvZsA8hk

New Years Eve 2008: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hewzjF3ka7w

Charles

[Bill R]

Originally Posted by Randy Bassham

Hey Charles! You got one of these??

http://www.victorysiren.com/x/index.htm

I want one!!!! Now where to put it so my wife doesn't see it. Hmmmm.

There is a you tube video of Don Garlits firing one up.

Bill R

[eberts]

OK, I looked at those air raid siren vids on YouTube, I agree, that hobby is a lot weirder than messing around with old TV's.

[Sandy G]

Hehehehehe....Bet you win ALL arguments w/the neighbors on "Noisy Parties"...

[Kiwick]

all of my daily watchers are 70s sets, i have one in each room of my home, one in my lab and another one in the barn i'm sometimes watching while cleaning out the horses stalls... no modern TVs here!

[wa2ise]

We TV collectors would be like the guy in the Monkees' Song "Pleasant Valley Sunday"

"See Mrs. Gray she's proud today because her roses are in bloom
Mr. Green he's so serene, he's got a T.V. in every room

Another Pleasant Valley Sunday
Here in status symbol land"

Well, we have TVs in every room...

You know it's getting bad when there's TVs in the bathrooms...

[MRX37]

I set my TV's all around my dining room table and have dinner with them while they bathe me in their warm glow. Sometimes I talk to them, but mostly they say the same old things about how I can save money on this, that, and whatnot.

They greet me every day with the morning news and advise me where traffic has backed up due to an accident. They also tell me how many people died in the war today. Just the thing I want to hear early in the morning... When I get home, they greet me in the evening and soothe my troubled mind with their laugh tracks and bland comedy, as well as the evening news, which is the same as the morning news, but with different people.

Um, just between us, Mr Zenith's CRT is getting weak and I find myself setting the brightness on him higher and higher... he might not be around much longer. Don't tell him I said that though! His feelings get hurt easy, and when he's upset he likes to turn himself off or switch to a channel that's playing a sappy movie.