Don't hate me, it's in use again!

Picked up this set from the basement of my friend Ed (roundscreen) about 3 years ago, where it sat for about 20 years. Something drew me to this old meatball set....a 1950 General Electric with double doors, kinda ok condition.

Got it home, and with a rusty chassis, broken picture tube, and crispy yoke, it sat in my basement awaiting some kind of fate. But something about this set, one I'd normally pass over for $20 at the flea market, captivated me.

Removed the old chassis, put it on a shelf, and trash picked a BPC set (black plastic crap) to put inside. I proceeded to cut the plastic case down to fit inside, and positioned the chassis so that the remote sensor (wired to the circuit board) could be accessed simply by pulling down the front control door. Using the original 1950 speaker, the cabinet is untouched. To hold the knobs on the front panel, I used some of those sticky dots, so that, again, the whole process can be reversed at any time.

Wiped the cabinet down with linseed oil, and it's in use in the finished basement :)

Flame suit on :bat:

Well i certainly see no problem in doing this. Youve destroyed nothing, as you havent tossed anything away and can find the needed parts at your leisure. But untll then, youve a working and stylish basement tv.

Kewl, Tim !

Very nice. But what about the senseless destruction of that poor BPC set??????:D

Well i certainly see no problem in doing this. Youve destroyed nothing, as you havent tossed anything away and can find the needed parts at your leisure. But untll then, youve a working and stylish basement tv.

Thanks. I think that many of us should entertain this kind of venture, for three reasons.

1. As a television collector, nothing is more discouraging than looking at twenty or more dead screens all the time. It's nice to be able to use something that we enjoy on a daily basis that can be done in a matter of hours without hunting for parts.

2. Black and white pictures are cool in a novel sort of way, but no significant other is gonna put up without color TV, nor a TV that needs a tweak on the vertical hold when the picture starts to jitter. Let's face it, guys. This way, she gets her way, you get yours, and everyone that enters your house is stunned by the cool factor :)

3. This is a totally viable alternative for a set that's far too parted out or electrically screwed up to reasonably repair. I've got a 1950's RCA Super B&W console set that is going to get this treatment, think it's a KCS135 chassis or something, one of the RCA donut chassis. Some scrapper tore the iron right off the chassis but left the rest of the set intact. Brilliant move, huh? This way, the set can be repurposed, instead of left in a dark corner just to hold a table set or for your better half to park knick knacks on. Oh wait, she might do that anyway :D

Nice! :thmbsp:
I am surprised that the CRT in the BPC set matches the contour of the bezel as well as it appears to. Did you have a large number of BPC sets to choose from?
jr

Very nice. But what about the senseless destruction of that poor BPC set??????:D

Those damn things are getting stacked up like cordwood at the Salvation Army and being given away on Craigslist left and right.....especially the smaller picture tube ones.

I shall not lament :yes:

Nice! :thmbsp:
I am surprised that the CRT in the BPC set matches the contour of the bezel as well as it appears to. Did you have a large number of BPC sets to choose from?
jr

Believe it or not, I just got really lucky. I found it curbside, because someone had busted the cable connector clean off the board. So, instead, I soldered on a piece of cable with a connector end. I could have mounted a connector on the back, but I didn't want to cut holes in the original back. The box you see on top is an RF modulator, so I could hook up a DVD player to it.

The only scary thing was cutting the top off of the BPC set to make it fit the cabinet. It came sooo close to the picture tube, and me with my air powered cutoff wheel, that I had to be really careful. Also had to make sure that the top part was still around the picture tube, because that's all that holds the tube in place.

Hey, no blood, no foul. You can put the B/W set back to stock, if you or some future collector wants to.

You also kept the BPC junk out of the landfill, at least temporarily.

Winning, duh! (Oh, wait --maybe I shouldn't have used that trademarked catchphrase.)

Phil Nelson

Don't hate me, it's in use again!

Picked up this set from the basement of my friend Ed (roundscreen) about 3 years ago, where it sat for about 20 years. Something drew me to this old meatball set....a 1950 General Electric with double doors, kinda ok condition.

Got it home, and with a rusty chassis, broken picture tube, and crispy yoke, it sat in my basement awaiting some kind of fate. But something about this set, one I'd normally pass over for $20 at the flea market, captivated me.

Removed the old chassis, put it on a shelf, and trash picked a BPC set (black plastic crap) to put inside. I proceeded to cut the plastic case down to fit inside, and positioned the chassis so that the remote sensor (wired to the circuit board) could be accessed simply by pulling down the front control door. Using the original 1950 speaker, the cabinet is untouched. To hold the knobs on the front panel, I used some of those sticky dots, so that, again, the whole process can be reversed at any time.

Wiped the cabinet down with linseed oil, and it's in use in the finished basement :)

Flame suit on :bat:

Tim That set looks cool. I don't recall where it came from but i think a friend found it years ago and gave it to me. There is a GE set like it in my storage room but I think it is a few years newer. The cellar is filling up so you need to visit me again.

Any roundies in there? ;) Looks like I might be making a run out towards the East coast for a couple two three....

Any roundies in there? ;) Looks like I might be making a run out towards the East coast for a couple two three....

I will take a picture of set's when I get home from work tonight. Came into some money so have been able to fix this dump house and the cellar is some what dry now. If any of the other collectors like what they see please contact me. Most of the set's are recent finds.

Ya thinkin about maybe ETF late this month? Might be a worthwhile venture....and my van can haul a lot ;)

Ya thinkin about maybe ETF late this month? Might be a worthwhile venture....and my van can haul a lot ;)

I would love to go to the ETF but I can not get time off till the end of May, Early June. We are still in busy season. lol. Here are some pictures of the, uh, junk in the cellar. Sorry the pictures look like a bad cl ad but there is not that much room down there. If you or any other collectors are interested in 70's and 80's color set's I have a bunch of them too. This is way of topic so if ya want to see the other set's I will post in the proper place. Tim. Do you still have my number? If not I will pm it to you.
Have a good night.

Somewhere I do....LOL. Just give me a ring whenever, (716)833-5645

I'm considering going to ETF. Maybe if you can pre-sell a few, we can work something out with the buyers....

I will give you a call tonight. Not looking to sell them, You can have them for free.

Going to an estate auction, so I probably won't be around tonight. Catch me on my cell tomorrow, 315-879-5518