There is an electronics shop in the area that is closing and is selling off its inventory. I am helping a friend go through the inventory to buy some phono needles, tubes, etc. Had hoped they had some round color tubes...the shop owner said on the phone, "Well, I did, but I threw them out a few months ago when the town had its recycling/cleanup days". I am hoping that when we take a trip to the shop there may still be some picture tubes buried under some junk, still there.

Every time I come across a small-town TV or electronics shop that is still operating, I ask if they have round CRT's but all I have come across say they threw them out already.

This SHOULD be a wake up call for me to go knocking on doors, but I never do. Oh, I've cleaned out a number of old shops, and gotten some pretty good stuff. (no color roundies, though) I think the reason I don't is related to one of my favorite lines from a song, "don't go look for trouble, it will come for you". Got too much stuff now, no place to really put it, don't need to be buying more...but then I get imagining walking into some dark, dusty back room somewhere and seeing shelves filled with NOS black matrix round color tubes, maybe some 10BP4's. I have made some half-hearted attempts lately-stopped in an old tv repair shop when I was in Louisville "nothing tube here for years" and sent an email to a local supply house but I don't think anyone checks the mail. Should give them a call. Also should call the hardware store in the next town, a big old 3 story place downtown that sold Zenith tv's until fairly recently. Whats upstairs? Who knows? But the owner is a real grouch. Better force myself to ask. There is another fellow with a big garage full of sets, I've been in there, tons (literally) of solid state stuff, but who knows whats in there? He told me he has a Predicta somewhere. Hard guy to get a hold of, last time I stopped by he tried to talk me into a pyramid scheme he was involved in. Hmm...then there is that other guy, the one I talked to 12 years ago, who said I could have all the dead tv sets I wanted, he'd even lend me a trailer to tote them on, said "you probably only want the solid state stuff I have, right?" again, no telling what he's got...but jeez, what would I do with it all?