Well, almost done shopping. I'll be doing some trading/buying with a member here, and my shopping days will be over.

http://paintforcars.com/Merchant2/images/New%20Folder/!CID__IMG_2757.jpg

Center: not sure what year, but center turned is what appears to be a late 60's zenith. Came from altoona. $20. Nice guy, has a ton of antique refrigerator repair parts. Set has some slight red issues, but watchable.



http://paintforcars.com/Merchant2/images/New%20Folder/!CID__IMG_4627.jpg

Part of the basement, gonna have to open up the ceiling to run a ton of rg6.

http://paintforcars.com/Merchant2/images/New%20Folder/!CID__IMG_5245.jpg


Maggie console from Boston, Major color issues, convergence issue, slight distortion on tv audio. Radio shakes the house. I learned boston traffic sucks ass. 931 chassis. $50

http://paintforcars.com/Merchant2/images/New%20Folder/!CID__IMG_9141.jpg


Maggie console from Delaware, my second purchase, and definitely the worst. May bring it to range 14, lol and see what 7.62 54r russian steel rounds do to a tv. In looking at it more carefully, i suspect the set was in a flood. Make not to self, do not buy if set is in a damp basement, this thing stunk like mildew for a week or two. $15

http://paintforcars.com/Merchant2/images/New%20Folder/!CID__IMG_5408.jpg

More of the basement

http://paintforcars.com/Merchant2/images/New%20Folder/!CID__IMG_6803.jpg

One of my favorites, forgot the town, but close to pittsburgh. Has rolling doors that close. Watchable, but clearly needs caps. Slight distortion in audio. Maggie 933 chassis. $20


http://paintforcars.com/Merchant2/images/New%20Folder/!CID__IMG_8533.jpg

81, quazar from harrisburg. awesome picture, no audio. I'm going to run amplified pc speakers straight from the sat receiver. She had it listed as a 70's rca. I know this set has a bad rep here, but i like it. $10.


http://paintforcars.com/Merchant2/images/New%20Folder/!CID__IMG_9380.jpg

The $20 ebay set from Mahopac NY. Rca vista color. Biggest set by far, weighs a ton. Love the set, that's why it killed me when my employees popped the crt into a door jamb. A member here is donating a crt, can't wait.


http://paintforcars.com/Merchant2/images/New%20Folder/3.jpg

Donated zenith space commander from adam in Boston here on the board. Nice set, has tuner issues. skips most channels, occasional bursts of colors. If i can get this to channel three, i may be in business. Adam, was nice meeting u and your mom.

http://paintforcars.com/Merchant2/images/New%20Folder/!CID__IMG_3073.jpg

My first set, a ge from central nj,


http://paintforcars.com/Merchant2/images/New%20Folder/!CID__IMG_8989.jpg

76 rca from Long island, nice set, some minor issues but definitely a favorite


http://paintforcars.com/Merchant2/images/New%20Folder/slyvania.jpg

1978 slyvania super set from boston, great picture.

Done shopping!!?? Looks like you have room for at least 50 more:D
That Zenith in the first pic looks like a '71 to me.

its never really over ,it just idles down for awhile then its back on the hunt.

its never really over ,it just idles down for awhile then its back on the hunt.

Uhh-Huh. What HE said...(grin)

Man, I wish I had as much space as you do. That would be an awesome display room. I'm jealous.....looks like you could easily get a half dozen more combo units in there and still have room for a jukebox or three.

Hi Technicolor ,

I'm wondering , do you have a routine of opening these sets up out in the yard before you bring them into your house ? I have seen several instances of folks infesting their houses with various vermin brought in by hauling home TVs and radios that were stored in people's sheds and basements that had critters livin in em . My personal lesson involved mud wasps , but just about any kind of bug/mouse/small dinosaur brought in can be a real pain in the butt to deal with once they get loose in your house .

Hi Technicolor ,

I'm wondering , do you have a routine of opening these sets up out in the yard before you bring them into your house ? I have seen several instances of folks infesting their houses with various vermin brought in by hauling home TVs and radios that were stored in people's sheds and basements that had critters livin in em . My personal lesson involved mud wasps , but just about any kind of bug/mouse/small dinosaur brought in can be a real pain in the butt to deal with once they get loose in your house .

I may not be the sharpest tool in the drawer, but i learn fast. After my second purchase came out of a damp basement, i won't buy a set from a shed, or outside or a damp basement, moisture is a set killer.


So far, i have only found dust, dirt and i shit you you not some paper card telling you u cannot be discriminated against to receive food stamps from the state of virginia.

:D:Dnow this is the time you look over what you have scored,then pick out the favoritis [ for now] clean up see what each one needs are ,start fixing your main tv that will be your watcher while you repair the others ,you will need a bench book shelf's then parts storage ,some test equitment ,then you will be on your way to a good addiction:yes: oh yah almost forgot then your wife [ if supplied ] will complain your not spending any time with her ,then you can say hay i could be drinking with my crassy freinds, and gone ,atleast you say now you know where i am.

that is a fine collection made in record time!you moved quick and found a flat chassis zenith in about 2 weeks.i ve been looking for 10 years.i am happy for your success

It was great meeting you, Joe. :) The reason the Zenith 'skips' most channels is that the motorized tuner makes use of presets. Whoever installed it back in the early '70s set it up for the local channels received in the area (2, 4, 5, 7, 11, 25, 38, 44, 56, etc.), installing a little placard in the tuner identifying what channel the preset was set for. I never got around to figuring out how to re-tune the presets for other channels; the Fine Tuning knob didn't seem to do a whole lot, and I had no idea what the controls on the back of the tuner might do, so I didn't mess with them. Hopefully, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out, and most VCRs and such at least offer a switch for channel 3/4 output, so the 4 preset should do the trick. Good luck, and have fun! :)
-Adam

It was great meeting you, Joe. :) The reason the Zenith 'skips' most channels is that the motorized tuner makes use of presets. Whoever installed it back in the early '70s set it up for the local channels received in the area (2, 4, 5, 7, 11, 25, 38, 44, 56, etc.), installing a little placard in the tuner identifying what channel the preset was set for. I never got around to figuring out how to re-tune the presets for other channels; the Fine Tuning knob didn't seem to do a whole lot, and I had no idea what the controls on the back of the tuner might do, so I didn't mess with them. Hopefully, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out, and most VCRs and such at least offer a switch for channel 3/4 output, so the 4 preset should do the trick. Good luck, and have fun! :)
-Adam

The rf channel your source want's makes a world of difference, I myself have experienced the loss of color as u described. Some tv's will only work with 4, others three. The magnavox combo i got over by fenway is devoid of color on channel three, works pretty good on four. The slyvania i picked up the street from u, believe it or not works great on channel 8, even though my satellite receiver is on rf output channel three. You are right, the fine tuning doesn't seem to do much. I was able to get b and w using channel two. Four was a no go, heavy distortion,

I don't think this set has a color issue, as on other channels i was getting a very distorted picture, but the colors were very strong. I'm thinking if i could get the other channels, especially three, i might be in business.

Thanks for the input on the set being programmed for only certain channels. That's good news, maybe some freaking zenith maven from ohio or someplace knows how to add additional channels. (ron that;s a hint)

Good luck with your new digs.

Zenith tv tuners have a tab on the back of the tuner that you turn to cause it to stop on a channel. If you take the back off you will be able to see the positions for the channels. There is usuall instructions on the back of the set.

That basement could be set up nice as a vintage TV showroom. Nice collection!

Done shopping!!?? Looks like you have room for at least 50 more:D
That Zenith in the first pic looks like a '71 to me.

I have a '71, and though similar in some ways his is definitely newer....I'd say 72-77.

I'd refrain from tearing out the ceiling. You can get agile modulators(to transmit your own low-power station(s) over the air to the sets) for much cheaper than all the drywall work and hundreds of feet of rg6 it takes to wire a basement for that many sets.

My sets are set up in areas where I'm banned from drywall work so I'm trying to get enough mods together that I can get away from that bundle of cables(it's thick enough to strangle a hippo with) that encircles my rooms' base boards.

Nice space, wish my cellar looked like that ! I would
make a sales floor out of that. Need some audio &
B&W also. Lots of POS stuff & a cash register.

Zenith remotes & presets.
1) mech tuners & a few varactors used little twist things
that cause the tuner to stop, skip or on some give a TV off
position. Some oldies may have UHF strips.
2) varactors Slider type 14 pos. Rube Goldberg set up.
Choose band vl-vh-uhf tune thumbwheel or knob
for station. set came with sheet of tabs for #'s.
Put in any order you wish.
3)Rotary selector 18 pos all VHF & 6 UHF tune the same way.
I think there was a factory mod to make it 12 UHF & 6 VHF
in areas like Hartford that are mostly UHF

Very nice. The Zenith in the 1st picture looks like a Chromacolor II from 1973. Could you please tell me what model the space command Zenith is?

Maybe your display method could be maximized by building a 2x4 framework to allow table models on the middle shelf and portables/radios on the top shelf.
Some of the tallest sets were the late 50s RCA BW sets and they should be on the floor. Check those before determining second shelf height.

Very nice collection of old TVs. Reminds me of the collection of old sets, mostly trash-day finds, I had some years ago. My collection had various makes of TVs, almost literally from Admiral to Zenith; the only make I did not have was Magnavox. Some of the sets were unrepairable and were used as parts donors, but the ones that worked did so quite well. My pride and joy was a 23" 1963 black-and-white Zenith console. No tubes in it (except the CRT and HV rectifier) when I found it, near the end of the street I grew up on, but a fresh set of new tubes got the set going again with a beautiful picture. I also had a Philco "Microgrid 390" set (6BQ7 RF amplifier, IIRC) that also worked well, until the base came off the CRT. Another set I liked and hated to part with was a 1951 GE 16" console my grandmother gave me when she got a color set in 1969 or '70. The GE set had a special type of tuner that had two RF amplifier tubes ahead of the antenna; it may have been designed for use in fringe areas, although it worked well for some 20 years on rabbit ears in my grandmother's apartment near Cleveland.

Had to get rid of these TVs and all but three other sets in the collection (a 1961 Philco 19" portable, a 1964 Sears Silvertone 19" color roundie, and a 12" Sharp b&w portable from '69) when I moved in 1972. It was too bad I had to give up the Zenith after all the work I put into it, as that set not only had a beautiful picture but it also had probably the best sound system (6BN6 gated-beam discriminator and 6x9 oval speaker) I have ever heard in a television set, then or now. (I doubt if my present flat-screen TV, hooked up to my bookshelf stereo system, could beat the Zenith, even though the flat screen has stereo sound.) I even patched an old FM tuner into the sound system by connecting the tuner's output across the volume control, and had the makings of a cheap audio system -- missing only a phonograph.

That basement could be set up nice as a vintage TV showroom. Nice collection!

Tried following through with you and i was noticing that my replies to you were not in my sent folder. Please get a hold of me at [email protected]

Would like to talk to you about what u have.

I have a '71, and though similar in some ways his is definitely newer....I'd say 72-77.

I'd refrain from tearing out the ceiling. You can get agile modulators(to transmit your own low-power station(s) over the air to the sets) for much cheaper than all the drywall work and hundreds of feet of rg6 it takes to wire a basement for that many sets.

My sets are set up in areas where I'm banned from drywall work so I'm trying to get enough mods together that I can get away from that bundle of cables(it's thick enough to strangle a hippo with) that encircles my rooms' base boards.


I don't mind doing drywall, thanks for the suggestion but i don;t think that will work with fta C band and KU band.

It was great meeting you, Joe. :) The reason the Zenith 'skips' most channels is that the motorized tuner makes use of presets. Whoever installed it back in the early '70s set it up for the local channels received in the area (2, 4, 5, 7, 11, 25, 38, 44, 56, etc.), installing a little placard in the tuner identifying what channel the preset was set for. I never got around to figuring out how to re-tune the presets for other channels; the Fine Tuning knob didn't seem to do a whole lot, and I had no idea what the controls on the back of the tuner might do, so I didn't mess with them. Hopefully, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out, and most VCRs and such at least offer a switch for channel 3/4 output, so the 4 preset should do the trick. Good luck, and have fun! :)
-Adam


Thanks for all the advice, ran an external rf converter, and i'm in business on channel four. Must not have like the internal rf converter on my satellite receiver. best picture i have here, works awesome.

Very nice. The Zenith in the 1st picture looks like a Chromacolor II from 1973. Could you please tell me what model the space command Zenith is?

Never could figure out which number on the back corresponded to the model of the set. I do know that it uses chassis 25CC55, and was apparently made around 1972.

Thanks for all the advice, ran an external rf converter, and i'm in business on channel four. Must not have like the internal rf converter on my satellite receiver. best picture i have here, works awesome.

Glad it's working for you! :) Is the color working now? The picture seemed washed-out color-wise when I tried running a Super Nintendo into it on channel 4.
-Adam

I don't mind doing drywall, thanks for the suggestion but i don;t think that will work with fta C band and KU band.

If what a Google search of those bands is telling me is true(that it is some sort of satellite TV band) then unless satellites are transmitting in the old analog TV UHF and VHF bands(which would make no sense to me) I see no reason why a modulator would interfere with satellite signals.
If you meant that you don't think you could connect an agile modulator to the satellite receivers then I gotta wonder how you connect the receivers to your TVs. If your satellite boxes have composite video out(yellow jack) and audio line out then all you need to do to use an agile modulator is connect those to the video in and audio in on an agile modulator connect a pair of rabbit ears to the modulator, tune the modulator to the old analog TV channel you wish to transmit on then tune your TVs to that same channel......It is easier than connecting a modern video game system to a vintage TV.

Never could figure out which number on the back corresponded to the model of the set. I do know that it uses chassis 25CC55, and was apparently made around 1972.



Glad it's working for you! :) Is the color working now? The picture seemed washed-out color-wise when I tried running a Super Nintendo into it on channel 4.
-Adam

I hate to tell you this, but yeah the color and picture are amazing.

In my village this person is for joy and worship!! :music::banana: technicolor is a man of great endowment to posess many such upper caste TVs and saving them :banana::thmbsp::thmbsp: I desire

I hate to tell you this, but yeah the color and picture are amazing.

No hate involved, man! Just glad that you're able to get some enjoyment from a set which otherwise would've ended up getting thrown out. I had no room for the console at home, and far too many TVs already (we're actually in the process of pitching some of the broken sets we've had lying around here for years; mostly crappy '90s sets). I'd like to see a picture of the Space Command set giving a good picture, if you can manage it. :thmbsp:
-Adam

No hate involved, man! Just glad that you're able to get some enjoyment from a set which otherwise would've ended up getting thrown out. I had no room for the console at home, and far too many TVs already (we're actually in the process of pitching some of the broken sets we've had lying around here for years; mostly crappy '90s sets). I'd like to see a picture of the Space Command set giving a good picture, if you can manage it. :thmbsp:
-Adam

I;ll post them here tonight, my kid knows how to get her pics from her phone to email, i don't.

You'll be amazed at how quickly that basement will fill up. I started out with just a few 50's b/w sets, 29 years and nearly 200 sets ago, lol.

I;ll post them here tonight, my kid knows how to get her pics from her phone to email, i don't.

youtube video of the 1972 zenith

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaD64etp1pk&feature=youtu.be

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaD64etp1pk&feature=youtu.be


video of the rca vista color ctc40 combo, sorry for the bad lighting, will try to take more

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhF_95F_nPY&feature=youtu.be

WOW, What a bunch-a room...... I have to second many comments here about setting up a sales floor.... The carpet is the killer there though.... Maybe you could do dividers and break up the large areas into decade themes, I'm sure enough tv showroom pictures exist for you to do some 50's 60's and 70's theme sections, and still have enough room to set up an authentic repair area.... Your Mall (house) could become a stop for people going out to the early tv convention.... Looks like a very cool start to a really interesting bunch of possibilities. As time goes on, You'll collect stuff from each era to set up some nice display stuff.... 2 or three sets per era, set up with a love seat, maybe a recliner, lamp, small table, then around the divider another setup with different year stuff....

WOW, What a bunch-a room...... I have to second many comments here about setting up a sales floor.... The carpet is the killer there though.... Maybe you could do dividers and break up the large areas into decade themes, I'm sure enough tv showroom pictures exist for you to do some 50's 60's and 70's theme sections, and still have enough room to set up an authentic repair area.... Your Mall (house) could become a stop for people going out to the early tv convention.... Looks like a very cool start to a really interesting bunch of possibilities. As time goes on, You'll collect stuff from each era to set up some nice display stuff.... 2 or three sets per era, set up with a love seat, maybe a recliner, lamp, small table, then around the divider another setup with different year stuff....

Been real busy with some projects lately, when i come back from the convention, wiring all these sets up to satellite and fixing my c band dish that sandy demolished will be the priority.

it will be cool having me tv and retro tv running on these sets.

"When i come back from the convention, wiring all these sets up to satellite and fixing my c band dish that sandy demolished will be the priority."

Yeah, you gotta watch out for Sandy. He can be a "Spiteful Old Cuss." :D

"When i come back from the convention, wiring all these sets up to satellite and fixing my c band dish that sandy demolished will be the priority."

Yeah, you gotta watch out for Sandy. He can be a "Spiteful Old Cuss." :D

400 lbs of sandbags, the dish itself must weigh 200 lbs, storm wasn't even at half stride and it tossed it like it was a ragdoll.