I'm now the owner of another 12" B&W - this one being an '89 12" KTV in a white case. The elderly couple who owned it bought it at Woolworth's for around $39 for use in their kitchen. Several years ago, I cleaned the tuner; but, it decided to exhibit more severe problems this time. This couple has been very good to me over the years and her husband passed away a few years ago; so, when she asked if I had a replacement TV - I was more than happy to take her a little 13" Sharp color set and she gave me the B&W set.

There was one bad 220uf cap in the vertical circuit that was causing reduced vertical sweep and I replaced several other caps that looked roasted. I cleaned the tuner and volume control as best I could; but, they are about shot. The Samsung branded CRT is not in the best shape, either. Oh well, I guess one can't expect much out of a 21 year old TV that was cheap junk to begin with.

This set only has an AC cord; but, there are spots on the PC board for a DC plug and a DC fuse as well as a knock out on the rear cover for the jack. I'm sure they probably made an AC/DC version of this set for a few dollars more.

I'll post a picture later, even though it's not much to look at. Now, I need to find one of those really el cheapo "Action" brand 12" B&W's that ran off of a wall wart, LOL!

The same lady has a '77 RCA XL100 console with the CTC8x chassis, the chassis that came out after the upright XL100 chassis was phased out. Lightning struck it around '94 and all I could find wrong with it was two shorted diodes and an open fusible resistor; but, the CRT was about shot and they decided to buy a new set. I just put all the parts in a plastic bag and rolled the TV in their unused living room, where it's sat for 15 years. I've had several opportunities to take it; but, I really don't want it. The cabinet is in good shape; but, it looks like the typical mid '70's/'80's/'90's roll around console.

Before that set went out, they gave me a working late '60's Motorola console on legs that still worked. That was before I got into TV collecting and I sold it for, IIRC, $50. They also gave me a little Magnavox tube console stereo (which I still have) as well as a few other old radios at different times. She still has a tube type Olympic stereo that she said would probably be mine when she passed away.

This couple was married for around 74 years and had no children. I met them back around '89 and they looked at me like a son that they never had. People have made fun of me for hanging around "old people"; but, those "old people" have been good to me over the years and they have a wealth of knowledge, if the young crowd would just take the time to listen.

This story about brought tears to my eyes...

Yeah, this couple has been an inspiration to me over the years. They married in '34 and I think she was 16 and he was 19 and they had been married 73 or 74 years when he passed away. She is still in very good shape to be in her early '90's. She's told me several times about how they didn't have a car for the first several years of their marriage and that there were many times when they wondered how they would make it. She said that they built their current home in 1950 and could not have done that had their parents not offered to help. She was showing me their dining room suit and explained how they bought it one piece at a time as they could afford it. I was explaining to her about how most folks in my age group think they are entitled to the best of everything from the start and that none of them know how to work through their problems without getting a divorce. She replied that these kids today don't know the half of it and she added that if she and her husband ran to divorce court the first time they got in an argument, they would not have been married long. I just think about them being able to make their marriage last for 70+ years, while most people in my early '30's age group are already on their 2nd or 3rd marriage with a whole string of maxed out credit cards where they bought all these "things" to try and impress people.

Anyway, here's the poor TV.

http://i538.photobucket.com/albums/ff341/radiotvnut/2010_0330ktv0001.jpg

Bryan - a couple of caps fell out the corner...:D

Seriously though, those folks are the same generation as my own grandparents and their experiences were similar. I know they gave up having a telephone for a few years during the depression; my grandmother's sister in law was a seamstress and would make dresses for the girls out of scraps from her paid work. During the war my grandfather would get broken cookies from a large bakery nearby as a way of procuring sugar. Lots of stories like that. They were married 43 years and my grandmother never considered remarrying after he died in 1974. Heck, she worked another 25 years before "retiring" at 89.

For an El Junko TV, that darn l'il fella still looks pretty good !

Same exact situation here. I help an older lady take car of the defunct farm we live on.
Stick by the old people but dont knock the kids either. Just because they cant read an analog clock doesnt mean they cant teach you their carefree acceptance of everything.

...Or do like I've done...No kids personally, but I kinda "Latched on" to this little girl, Bethany, 7-8 yrs ago, when she was 9-10...Spent quite a lot of time trying to impart what little smarts & experience I've gained to her....Been a BLAST...Gotten far more OUT of it in return than I ever thought I could in my wildest dreams...I HOPE I've made a difference in her life-She sure has made a big one in mine.