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  #16  
Old 04-05-2008, 01:01 AM
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eberts reply was sarcasm, he was joking!(i hope)
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  #17  
Old 04-05-2008, 04:15 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RCAkid View Post
Not to wax too nostalgic here but while I was just a tyke in 1969, sitting in front of my beautiful CTC-21 seeing man land on the moon...it is something I hardly, if at all really remember but that moment in time came through that set and through those speakers and was a magnet for my family that we all shared together.

I also think of the older 40's and 50's tv's and radios that were parts of so many different people's lives. Some of these radios heard Roosevelt on December 7, 1941. They living history beamed into their very living rooms. They heard and saw incredible moments in time from the Korean war to Uncle Milty to Jack Benny and back again. These wonderful old machines carry the ghosts of those who cherished them and they are very special.

Very well put. I'm not the best writer, but I'll try to translate my thoughts into words here:

A large chunk of what collecting is, is that it's usually items that evoke memories of (probably) a simpler or more pleasant time in our lives. A big amount of eBay sales is made up of vintage items, and ironically it's mostly folks buying the things [or types of things] they've already owned once before. For us, it just happens to be TV's. So what? Why should any of us even entertain the idea of it being wierd? It's no different than collecting stamps or coins or artwork or buttons or dolls or bottle caps. Some stuff appreciates in value, some doesn't (or hasn't yet). What it boils down to is personal enjoyment of the hobby as well as collectability. The naysayers can't say that vintage TV's aren't worth anything, as I've seen some sets command a pretty healthy price.

Perhaps it's collector envy, as TV repair & restoration requires a working knowledge of electronics and broadcasting theory, as well as other skills like woodworking & refinishing. The end product not only becomes just another piece in a collection, but something that can be used and enjoyed in it's original capacity (much like a classic car for instance). In contrast, the stamp or coin collector merely looks in a book to find it's value, and stores it away for safekeeping.

Also, we're collecting a product that everyone can relate to. Everyone knows what a TV is, and what it does. Everybody has a memory of something TV related in their lives. Television has brought the last couple of generations more information, entertainment and knowledge of our world than any other device on this planet. Who can say that about a Mercury dime or Ken & Barbie or an old Coke bottle? The only people who say folks like us are strange, are those who are only into collecting for either monetary reasons or bragging rights, and are not true hobbyists.

Just my opinion, your mileage may vary.
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  #18  
Old 04-05-2008, 08:11 AM
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Not a strange hobby

I guess collecting old tv's is better than if you were a mortician and collected dead bodies
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  #19  
Old 04-05-2008, 11:42 AM
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I just like to have them... Once I restore one, and know it works, I usually only turn it on every 6 months or a year to keep the caps formed. Otherwise, I don't watch TV except for news in the early morning. And for that, I use a Sony Profeel. I come & go, and wouldn't want to leave any vintage set unattended.

Charles
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  #20  
Old 04-05-2008, 12:33 PM
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Howdy!

I have my 66 Zenith roundie which is our daily watcher in the bedroom. My other TV's in my "office" go through a rotation. Every month or two I'll swap them out. My collection is small, living in an apartment has its limitations. So I have four that get used often.

When they are used I use them when I am studying or on the computer. That can be as long as 5 or 6 hours. I know for a 1950's TV its a long time, but I never leave it unattended.

I can't wait to move into a house! I've got a few years, hopefully the airlines will be strong,and then I can re-add my collection again. I have a Dumont RA-105 colony console sitting in Maine waiting for the year for me to finish restoring it. That would become my daily watcher, as long as that 15AP4 is still strong.

Kinda long winded I know, but I really enjoy these Tv's. So, lets keep on collecting!!
Best regards,
Matt Davala
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  #21  
Old 04-05-2008, 12:43 PM
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If I were to turn all of my TVs & radios on at once, it could quite possibly cause a rift in the space/time continuum...Not to mention a rather hefty electrical bill. Being a person who practises financial restraint, and furthermore not wanting Species 8472 type creatures loose in our galaxy, I have refrained from trying such shenanigans.
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  #22  
Old 04-05-2008, 02:45 PM
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Are you sure? I've heard of several UFO sightings in East Tenn.
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  #23  
Old 04-05-2008, 03:30 PM
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I do like Doug mentioned where i rotate mine out once in awhile and also have a separate viewing area for the others. I mainly watch dvd's of old tv shows from the era of the tv as there is rarely anything worth watching on the old tv's on regular cable. In the end all my working tv's get played on a regular basis. I also do the rotate sysem with my radio collection.
-Tony
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  #24  
Old 04-05-2008, 04:39 PM
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I get the most enjoyment out of rebuilding them and making them work again, I rarely sit down and actually watch anything on them though.
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  #25  
Old 04-05-2008, 09:17 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sandy G View Post
If I were to turn all of my TVs & radios on at once, it could quite possibly cause a rift in the space/time continuum...Not to mention a rather hefty electrical bill. Being a person who practises financial restraint, and furthermore not wanting Species 8472 type creatures loose in our galaxy, I have refrained from trying such shenanigans.
I thought I was the only one afraid of that happening!!!LOL!!!!!
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  #26  
Old 04-05-2008, 09:33 PM
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It has probably been a month or more since I sat down in the TV room to actually watch something. Just not much on that is worth my time these days. Eventually I'll build on my collection of old shows on DVD and will get some more use. The fun of the hobby, for me, is bringing that set back from the dead, and tweaking it to work as much like new as possible. I do try, when I watch TV, to rotate. There are a few that work fine but haven't been turned on in over a year, and I know that isn't good for them.

Is the old TV hobby strange? As others have been quick to point out, there are a lot stranger things to get in to. I have an uncle who has quite a bit tied up in model trains. A great hobby, and I love to look at that stuff. When we share stories I can tell he doesn't have quite the level of respect for my hobby as I do for his; but his hobby is well established, with a much larger base. We are still on the "fringe". But when it comes down to it, which is stranger: spending thousands on old toy trains or on old TV sets?

I will say this: I have met a variety of people through my hobby, and some of them were strange ducks, indeed! Some of them probably said the same about me! But I don't think the hobby had anything to do with them being strange...these are just unusual people who I would never have met had we not had this one thing in common.
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  #27  
Old 04-05-2008, 09:52 PM
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I guess a lot of it, for me anyway, is that I've never quite got over the little boy's fascination w/how radio & TV work. I mean, I KNOW how they work 'n' all, its just there's still something "Majick" about the whole business, in a way...
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  #28  
Old 04-06-2008, 12:55 AM
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Personally my attraction to the hobby is I like to see the history of the equipment. Equipment changes over time and as fashion and technology change. I think its fascinating to see equipment from a particular time period.

For example, I wanted to know what a video distribution amplifier looked like in the 1950's. Today they can be as small as the connectors themselves (usually BNC or F depending on the whether the video is baseband or RF). Well, its actually rather difficult to find out what a DA in a a 1950's television station looks like. Its a subject that doesn't have a lot of pictures lurking around on the net. Most people know about the cameras of the 1950's, but not all the equipment that surrounded them to make them work. Anyway, I enjoyed doing some research to find out. Number one because I'm interested in where things came from, and number two because sometimes knowing the way a piece of equipment was at one time can answer the question as to why it takes its current form. Equipment designers tend not to go off on a tangent.

Anyway, that probably all sounds weird, but I think its a fascinating hobby.
For the record, at least one video distribution amplifier from the 1950's was just a shelf with some tubes and connectors on it about 6 rack units high. Amazingly 1950's television equipment has all of its guts out in the open, only later did they start packaging it neat enclosures.

David
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  #29  
Old 04-06-2008, 06:48 AM
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As I have mentioned before, my sickness extends to lusting after a TK-41, complete w/Houston-Fearless dolly...I have never even SEEN one of these things in poison, I understand they are so big I couldn't even fit one in The Mighty Valdez, but I'd STILL like to have one...
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  #30  
Old 04-06-2008, 10:32 AM
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I started to collect a few tube color sets and then all of a sudden I felt like I did when I was making my living working on the things again, I've sold most of the sets that I'd picked up to folks that they didn't remind of how much work it was to keep them going back when they were everybody's daily watcher sets.

I've got quite a few B&W sets of the type I watched when I was a kid growing up at home and worked on as a kid with the help of my Father. I always enjoy working on them and getting them up and running. I have about a dozen or so B&W's of which I keep about 3 in a rotation and use to watch my old favorite B&W movies. In the rotation now are a 51 Zenith 17 inch table model, a 55 Zenith 17 inch table model and a 60 model Magnavox 17 inch portable, I say portable because it does have a handle and it is possible to move it...
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