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Old 09-16-2016, 01:57 PM
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Electronic M Electronic M is offline
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Cleaning out a TV repair shop basement

Last Saturday I journeyed to Indiana to pick up a load of 25 CRTs off ebay....The seller told me he found 25 more and had a bunch of sets so I was fairly stoked.

I wanted to rent a bigger van, but those Enterprise charges mileage on, which would have more than doubled rental cost.
DSCN2120 by Tom Carlson, on Flickr

We got there in the later part of the afternoon, and ventured inside. The upper half did not have many TVs and all were SS era sets (I did grab a CTC-68 RCA console for someone I know, and as a support for the plywood that the upper level sat on).

The basement was a real trip. The way to get sets in and out is an 'elevator' consisting of the lift mech off of a fork lift with a piece of ply wood on it...Which is a decent bit smaller than the opening in the floor for it (I wish I took a picture of it). A stairway also exists, but it is not easy to use even without carrying a set... The building is deeper than it is wide and the basement is split in half the long way by a stone wall that obviously had a human sized hole knocked in it to access the other half...The half with access to the ground floor was in better shape and had most of the sets, as well as magazine racks from a bus station he used to own, video game cabinets, stuff from when it was a carpet store, and other things I can only vaguely guess at from memory. He said the basement was 5000 SQFT, and that space was lit by ~6 incandescent bulbs...Needless to say there was not much more light than needed to not trip and fall on yer face (if I go back I plan to bring the biggest, brightest mother of a flashlight I can find)...I could not really get almost any photos down there without the camera taking a black rectangle and calling it a picture. The other side of the basement had a dirt floor and contained the extra 25 tubes which I got a picture of (I got a few of those), and a doorway the the back room. In the top corner of that doorway was either the most peculiar mold flower ever or the shell of what used to be a 3-4" diameter spider. There in the back room were the original lot of CRTs and 2-4 sets (including the motorola 23" table model). I got most (basically all the nicer ones) of those tubes in the back room. There is still some 23V and 25V rectangular deltagun CRTs that I want there. There were no roundy colors there or AFAIK any sets pre-1962 (and maybe not even that old)...Mid 60's to late 70's mostly color appeared to be dominant. There are 2-5 console TVs left (more could be buried) and somewhere around 12-20 table tops. Roughly half the sets did not have the backs on or anywhere I could find/get to them....I did see some backs but too much digging would be needed. He said much of the arcade and bus stand stuff was going to go soon so if I go again it should be easier to get to stuff.



We left around 9:45pm local time, tired and with not quite with a whole van load. It was all we could do to pack it all well. We got home between 2-3Am central time.

Here are some pictures of the packing job which did well...No tubes went to air, no sets were noticeably damaged, and nothing much moved during the trip so the pack job photographed next morning is a good representation of what it was when we left.


Picture/post limit reached.
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Old 09-16-2016, 02:12 PM
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Continued.


Each box contains a CRT (mostly the colors and better CRTs).


An admiral color and a 4 tube color Zenith chassis for parts use.

The metal cabinet 23" tube color Zenith table set was backless and necked as found, but since I had a new CRT for it I took it anyway.

Pic limit hit again.
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Zenith: The quality stays in EVEN after the name falls off!
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Old 09-16-2016, 02:31 PM
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I love Zeniths, Jap color sets, and non RCA sets. I left a number of non-rcas and some RCAs that I wanted among other things (some of which I did not get a decent look at) like TV shop advertising items. Think I should go back for another load?


In the background is the misfit 16" color CRT...It had a hole in it's neck when found and was set aside to leave there, but at the end it got grabbed and loaded by mistake. Any creative ideas for disposal?




The bottom set is an extremely rare set: Zenith's first 13" color set. It is the lower trim model missing bottom, back, pencil box door, and knobs...I have the higher trim model in better but shabby shape so they might sorta match.
DSCN2152 by Tom Carlson, on Flickr



pic limit.
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Old 09-16-2016, 02:58 PM
fixmeplease fixmeplease is offline
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So do you have any plans for the fall and winter? LOL

WOW! Quite a haul!
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Old 09-16-2016, 03:10 PM
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Bottom of the 23" metal table top tube color Motorola...The first tube color moto I've ever had.


The bad part is that all the sets are covered in dust that smells moldy, and the wood sets have mold (granted I think I can clean it). It was 80-90 degrees in there and I was sweating like a pig....I drank, easily a gallon of water while there, and did not particularly need to pee afterwards.
When I got out of the shop my shirt was ruined and my arms and face were so dirty I decided not to eat till we could find a place with a washroom to wash up. Below is the last pic of me in that T-shirt...I changed shirts when I washed up. While I was washing I was singing Zappa's "Let's Make the Water Turn Black"....And black that water did turn.


It took me most of Sunday to unload, return the rental, wash all the CRTs with sponge + soapy bleach water, test the roundy tubes, wash the out sides of the sets, clean the shed and put it all in there, FINALLY shower, and treat the folks to Olive Garden for dinner as thanks.

Since then I've managed to test all the CRTs and give the good a second Windex clean, and storage in the basement. All the tubes were on carpet and almost no face scratches were found.

Most CRTs were good, but 3 17" 120 degree tubes were dead, both 16" delta gun color jugs one or two TINY ones I got for test jig jugs, and 2 of the roundys had heater leads break at or near the glass (which I plan to try to fix). Some have rust stains that I've been working on (mostly successfully) cleaning off.

Where the sets are stored now, after last nights re-sort to keep the mower out of the rain.


I've not had the chance to test the CRTs in the sets, or the sets themselves yet. I need to take all apart and wash them (plus cataract the moto CRT) before the goodhousekeeping-seal-of-approval to bring them inside is given.

The guy I bought them from needs to get the building empty by the end of October to rent it out, and needs all those sets gone. I want to go once more, get pictures of what I can't get posted then put his contact info out (he wants me to do so) so what I can't get might be saved. If anyone wants to rent a van (I'm a couple months too young to rent) and split the van and gas cost with me (I get first choice on sets) I'd be willing to do a team pick. I gave him $100 for all I could load, and I think he would let me do it again for that or less.

So what do you think of my haul? Think I should go back there, or am I nucking futz?
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Zenith: The quality stays in EVEN after the name falls off!
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Old 09-16-2016, 03:18 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fixmeplease View Post
So do you have any plans for the fall and winter? LOL

WOW! Quite a haul!
Lol, Thanks!

My to do list has roughly doubled (granted I really crunched it the last couple of years).
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Zenith: The quality stays in EVEN after the name falls off!
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Old 09-16-2016, 07:28 PM
Chip Chester Chip Chester is offline
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Just a couple bits of the advertising stuff would probably have paid for the bigger truck. Nice haul.

Chip
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Old 09-16-2016, 08:02 PM
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BTW some of the sets I may be open to selling or bringing to the ETF. Same goes for the CRTs. If you have a burning interest in anything I'd consider leting stuff go (though the 23" table top sets, Panasonic set, and roundy CRTs I really want to keep currently).
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Zenith: The quality stays in EVEN after the name falls off!
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Old 09-16-2016, 09:07 PM
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I'd be quite interested in buying the RCA color set on top in this pic

https://www.flickr.com/photos/137849...8/29564062971/
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Old 09-16-2016, 09:39 PM
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Are the three dead 17" tubes the short neck Predicta tubes (17DRP4?)

I think the Predicta tubes used a different socket than other similar tubes so possibly that could be the issue?
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Old 09-16-2016, 10:01 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Eric H View Post
Are the three dead 17" tubes the short neck Predicta tubes (17DRP4?)

I think the Predicta tubes used a different socket than other similar tubes so possibly that could be the issue?
Yes and no...They are sort neck, but newer and to square to fit a predicta.

Tim I'll get the CRT in that tested, the set on a variac, more pictures and a price posted when I can...You could get the 19" RCA cheaper if that matters (I like the bigger one less).
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Zenith: The quality stays in EVEN after the name falls off!
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Old 09-16-2016, 10:18 PM
Titan1a Titan1a is offline
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My highest compliments! Great job: you deserve a metal.
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Old 09-16-2016, 10:18 PM
Bill R Bill R is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kamakiri View Post
I'd be quite interested in buying the RCA color set on top in this pic

https://www.flickr.com/photos/137849...8/29564062971/
Me too! Especially if it is in a white case with the silver trim band. That was our first color tv we had in the family. An RCA CTC22B. CRT is an odd one with the blue gun on the bottom.
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Old 09-16-2016, 11:31 PM
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HOLY MOLY! I hope you know that you are living my dream. That is, becoming a "hunter/gatherer." Hunting out old TV's all over the country and gathering them into my collection and restoring them. Good luck with all of 'em!
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Old 09-16-2016, 11:53 PM
old_coot88 old_coot88 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kamakiri View Post
I'd be quite interested in buying the RCA color set on top in this pic
The solid state damper diode (clips in like a fuse) was usually the first thing to fail in those. If it has the double-diode replacement it's probably good.
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