Curtis Mathes, You Know Where

Kmart sells Mexican (and/or chinese?) built CM sets these days or at least they used to as the last time I recall seeing them there was perhaps a year ago. Check this out:
http://www.curtismathes.com/aboutus.asp

[bgadow]

This link will tell you a little about the old C-M plant, contamination, etc.

http://www.tnrcc.state.tx.us/permitt...nd/harvey.html

[Steve D.]

I don't think K-Mart offers C-M branded tv's or electronics anymore. A Google search showed an internet merchant selling C-M Branded DVD players on a site dated 2003. That was the latest item I could find. The C-M website info is at least 3 years old and is probably not active anymore. I doubt there ever was a C-M branded HD set available. Gone the way of the Dodo I suspect.



-Steve D.

Kmart's site doesn't list CM any longer so I guess they are gone. While I hate to see another American name bite the dust I can't really cry for them as they were nothing more than cheap crap made outside the US......I only buy US made cheap crap! :-)

Anthony

[peverett]

I worked on a Curtis Mathis B&W tube type set that was probably made in the early 1970s or late 1960s. The insides of this set were made in Japan. The electronics in Curtis Mathis sets has been foreign made for years, probably before most other brands.

The pamplet about the contaimination at the old Athens plant confirmed what I had heard. When I was last there, in the late 1990s, the building was empty with the Harvey name on it.

[jstout66]

yes.... I am certain Curtes Mathes had been an import item for years. I had a late 70's 9" color set that was NEC. I think NEC also made them in the "Expensive, but darn well worth it" era. My grandpa cussed when that ad campaign came out. He said the price was jacked up to support the long warranty. They did have beautiful cabinets tho, and what a brilliant ad campaign. I still remember that, and Sylvania's "Sylvania beat Sony Again?!?" ad where the sumu guy "went off" in Japanese when handed a report on picture quality.

[bgadow]

We used to have a C-M 19" color set from the mid/late 70s. Worked okay, nothing to get excited about. It was made in, IIRC, the British West Indies! Last year a woman tried to give me a 70s solid state C-M console but I don't need a hole in the head, either. Probably still there. I think C-M was big in the rental business, and we all know how much mark up there is in that.

[Chad Hauris]

Don't overlook the value of those somewhat ugly 70's CM sets as a parts source...I had one of those huge 70's solid state CM consoles, chassis was not working...used the CRT in a Zenith Chromacolor tube type w/busted CRT and it worked fine. Those delta gun crt's will sub in to many types of sets.

[oldtvman]

before i got out of the repair biz, i saw a good number of cm's that were made by NEC (Nippon Electric Corp) especially their big screen's

[colortrakker]

The K-Mathes (and IIRC White-Westinghouse) sets were mostly made by Daewoo. "The least expensive TV in America and darn well not worth it."

[oldtvman]

the beast has arrived!! went down to indy and loaded up the 300 lb monster. fired it up last night, looks like a wells gardner (RCA clone) crt is good

[oldtvman]

started working on the beast today, its actually a maggy clone, same color circuits as the maggy with a 6ju8 color killer.

[Glenn Waters]

Yes the good old days of Curtis Mathes are gone.
Check out my web site below:

http://curtismathes.webs.com/

Below is a Authorized Distributor banner from 1961 that was given to me from a closed Curtis Mathes Showroom.


Below is Karah with the Curtis Mathes Console television, Made October 1981,
Model G552R

She works wonderfully. Soon will be thirty years old!

[peverett]

I cleaned out a TV shop in Athens. From this, I still have a few Curtis Mathis sets. A couple of Curtis Mathis roundies and a B&W set. The B&W set is in the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum at the moment. All have nice wood cases. The B&W set has been restored electronically. Even though the Sams dated it from 1965, it contained Japanese capacitors.

I did have one of the combo units(I think Glenn has posted a picture of one like it) that had a 21 inch B&W TV, reel to reel tape player, AM/FM stereo, and phono all in one unit. It weighed so much that it took 4 people to move it, so I gave it away. It had a blond finish, unusual for Curtis Mathis.

[RobtWB]

Here are 3 Curtis Mathes sets I have accumulated. All are NEC sets but still have great pictures, amazing on high use color sets that are greater than a quarter century old.
The older of the consoles did require a new flyback, and now it has lost all audio output :-( , maybe some day I'll get around to having a look see into it - too many other projects going on right now to have time to repair it.