Ok... I am a collector of ALL things from the 1980s and back. Very few exceptions that I allow up tot 1992 (high school graduation).
As I was getting my 1971 Sylvania Tv fixed up I started to wonder where we cut the line for vintage.
As we move forward and time rolls on ... things that we don't consider vintage or antique slowly creep up on us and ultimately will be.
So my question is where do you cut off you definition of vintage?
For me with TVs it is anything from the mid 80s (when they were slowing the true wood consoles) and back.
With radios I am more forgiving since I grew up in the LP / 8track / cassette age. So I go up to the early 90s.

Where do you stand?

Antique? Pre - WW-II
Vintage? Pre-1970
Old? Pre - 1980

Just my two cents... Obviously those titles are dynamic

Depends on the age of the collector too I would think. Many TVs still in regular use when I was a kid were late 70s-mid 80s models. Early 70s-very early 80s models would be vintage to me. My '88 Zenith console? Older, but not really old. Looks like it could be an '85. Anything with A/V inputs as standard equipment is too new for me.

old= it still works, you can get a station on it, but its odd to operate. Or is has
a stick shift. Or requires knowledge yer kids don't have to operate it. Like a cassette tape
recorder/player.

Vintage= It don't work without some finesse of the mechanical parts, or it has a
mechanical tuner, and no remote, so most kids can't get it to turn on..... Needs an
older adult to activate it. Or it has a stick shift.

Antique= You need to get out the tool bag and some sort of spray to get it going.
It has a choke, a hand brake, and crank windows. Kids can't run it, or are also afraid
they will die in it cause they can't operate the windows. It has enough metal to block texts,
kids don't like to be near it. Or it has rabbit ears that need to be moved erratically to get a picture,
kids get scared and run out of the room seeing the moving
metal things coming out of the top of it. Or it has a stick shift, no power brakes. No Radio.

old= it still works, you can get a station on it, but its odd to operate. Or is has
a stick shift. Or requires knowledge yer kids don't have to operate it. Like a cassette tape
recorder/player.

Vintage= It don't work without some finesse of the mechanical parts, or it has a
mechanical tuner, and no remote, so most kids can't get it to turn on..... Needs an
older adult to activate it. Or it has a stick shift.

Antique= You need to get out the tool bag and some sort of spray to get it going.
It has a choke, a hand brake, and crank windows. Kids can't run it, or are also afraid
they will die in it cause they can't operate the windows. It has enough metal to block texts,
kids don't like to be near it. Or it has rabbit ears that need to be moved erratically to get a picture,
kids get scared and run out of the room seeing the moving
metal things coming out of the top of it. Or it has a stick shift, no power brakes. No Radio.

Come on man, my 2013 car has a stick shift, and roll down windows :)

Yer car is old, but not yet vintage...... I think the 2016's are out next month...

old= it still works, you can get a station on it, but its odd to operate. Or is has
a stick shift. Or requires knowledge yer kids don't have to operate it. Like a cassette tape
recorder/player.

Vintage= It don't work without some finesse of the mechanical parts, or it has a
mechanical tuner, and no remote, so most kids can't get it to turn on..... Needs an
older adult to activate it. Or it has a stick shift.

Antique= You need to get out the tool bag and some sort of spray to get it going.
It has a choke, a hand brake, and crank windows. Kids can't run it, or are also afraid
they will die in it cause they can't operate the windows. It has enough metal to block texts,
kids don't like to be near it. Or it has rabbit ears that need to be moved erratically to get a picture,
kids get scared and run out of the room seeing the moving
metal things coming out of the top of it. Or it has a stick shift, no power brakes. No Radio.

Hehehehehehehe..Ain't it Th' Truth !

Yer car is old, but not yet vintage...... I think the 2016's are out next month...

3 on the tree now that is old :)

Let's not forget the old semis that have three shift levers, yikes.

Anything with no snyc, double-clutching.

3 on the tree now that is old :)


Now I was gunna edit my thing and add this to "antique"

Funny you said that !


And that double clutching, well that's an added talent ! ! !

I don't think any of today's shift-o-fobes can even grasp the need for it...

Now I was gunna edit my thing and add this to "antique"

Funny you said that !


And that double clutching, well that's an added talent ! ! !

I don't think any of today's shift-o-fobes can even grasp the need for it...

Nah, antique would require manually retarding the spark to start it with a crank ... Three on the tree is flat out vintage. The six speed manual transmission with a hydraulic clutch in my new car? Anyone with a touch of common sense could operate it, couldn't be easier.

Here's a real set of vintage wheels for y'all. :bigok:
http://truckyeah.jalopnik.com/the-oral-history-of-an-amazing-1930-ford-model-a-off-ro-1588212852

Here's a real set of vintage wheels for y'all. :bigok:
http://truckyeah.jalopnik.com/the-oral-history-of-an-amazing-1930-ford-model-a-off-ro-1588212852
Now there's something I would just throw a seat cover in, do the necessary safety work on and otherwise drive as-is.

Now there's something I would just throw a seat cover in, do the necessary safety work on and otherwise drive as-is.

70 year old tires :) it needs to be put in a car museum

An "A-Bone" isn't the easiest car to drive, because of the aforementioned non-synchromesh gearing, they also have "Spark" & "gas" controls on the steering wheel. Its been awhile, but I THINK the "Gas" control is sort of a throttle. I haven't driven an "A" in 35 years..

70 year old tires :) it needs to be put in a car museum
I guess so. I'd rather have a bigfoot '33 Willys 77 anyway. As long as it isn't the usual low-riding hi-boy.

So my question is where do you cut off your definition of vintage?
I sometimes enjoy "pushing" this type of subjective term. Basically, to me, anything that is from early in the life of that type of item is "vintage", (or even "antique", if you want to have fun and/or annoy some people!).

So, I have no problem calling my 2000 digital-TV tuner a "vintage" model. I also have an antique 1970s hand-held calculator, if I remember right. But, no 1980s TV set could be called "vintage". My 1970s VCRs are definitely vintage machines.

The person who sold me my 1988 Zenith console called it an antique in the ad. She didn't try to price it like one though. It was a genuine "best offer" ad, and I easily doubled the only other amount offered. It was originally her grandparents' set and her parents were sick of storing it.

I sometimes enjoy "pushing" this type of subjective term. Basically, to me, anything that is from early in the life of that type of item is "vintage", (or even "antique", if you want to have fun and/or annoy some people!).


So if you purchased a brand new, curved screen OLED 4K TV tomorrow, you could consider it to be "new" as well as "vintage" or even "antique" ? :scratch2:

Seems like *some* time scale should be applied, but I agree that normalization to the introduction period of the product is relevant. (I consider my 1968 Trinitron to be a "vintage" 'tron and *perhaps* my CT-100 could be called an "antique" color tv, but I am more comfortable with the term "vintage" for both.

jr

old= it still works, you can get a station on it, but its odd to operate. Or is has
a stick shift. Or requires knowledge yer kids don't have to operate it. Like a cassette tape
recorder/player.

Vintage= It don't work without some finesse of the mechanical parts, or it has a
mechanical tuner, and no remote, so most kids can't get it to turn on..... Needs an
older adult to activate it. Or it has a stick shift.

Antique= You need to get out the tool bag and some sort of spray to get it going.
It has a choke, a hand brake, and crank windows. Kids can't run it, or are also afraid
they will die in it cause they can't operate the windows. It has enough metal to block texts,
kids don't like to be near it. Or it has rabbit ears that need to be moved erratically to get a picture,
kids get scared and run out of the room seeing the moving
metal things coming out of the top of it. Or it has a stick shift, no power brakes. No Radio.

This put a smile on my face. Very good way of putting it.

I collect single and twin-lens reflex cameras, and now Sony televisions.

With SLR cameras, I put the "vintage" label at c. 1975 - mechanical operation, no electronic shutter mechanisms, but it may have a battery operated or selenium meter. Prior to rapid advance levers, I consider them "antique."

With TLR cameras (the other type I collect), I consider them all to be vintage, because there are no electronic shutters in this design I am aware of, and even the current Rolleiflex model is simply the reproduction of the vintage design. Even the pro-level Mamiya C330 was a Luddite machine, produced until about 1985, and many are still in use with the film guys, myself included.

With Sony televisions (buddy Red Raster got me onto this) - if it has a channel knob and no remote, it's vintage. My 14" Trintron is my absolute favorite TV. I think I'd agree with Jon A - if it has AV inputs, it's not a vintage TV. But, I'd consider my Beta machines to be vintage. Guess it depends on the product itself to a degree.
Whatever the answer, watching old Dr. Who and Star Trek episodes on my Betas hooked up to the 14" Trinitron is as good as it gets. :D
Just one guy's opinions.

I think I'd agree with Jon A - if it has AV inputs, it's not a vintage TV.
I could have been clearer on that; my '88 Zenith console does not have A/V inputs, but still isn't quite old enough for me to consider it vintage. A/V inputs were becoming common at that time, but optional on this set. A holdover from earlier designs I guess, for those who appreciated quality but still wanted a bargain. Those who didn't care as much went RCA.

So if you purchased a brand new, curved screen OLED 4K TV tomorrow, you could consider it to be "new" as well as "vintage" or even "antique" ?
Well, obviously some amount of time has to go by with any type of device. There are already collectors of early plasma TV sets. Hmm, maybe 10 years is a minimum, and there have to be definite general changes in that time period, for me to think of anything having "early" (and therefore "vintage" :) ) versions. Any HDTV set or tuner from the 20th century, I would enjoy calling an "antique" at this point, just for fun as noted above. I think my oldest HD tuner is from 2000, though. I know that is when I bought my first one, but I do not have that one anymore.

The original-style Toyota Priuses are over ten years old now, but likely not being "collected", yet. They WILL be, though. That, I would take to the bank.

I expect VERY few plasma sets to be around long enough for them to legitimately be considered "vintage". They just do NOT last that long !! For that matter ALL flat-panels fall into this category. Few will be saved to be "collectible". not at all like the goodies we seek after--that are still " out there", waiting for us to find them.

I could have been clearer on that; my '88 Zenith console does not have A/V inputs, but still isn't quite old enough for me to consider it vintage. A/V inputs were becoming common at that time, but optional on this set. A holdover from earlier designs I guess, for those who appreciated quality but still wanted a bargain. Those who didn't care as much went RCA.


I do NOT much like the late -80's vintage Zenith sets-- such as the 9-519 sets. they had WAY too many wires connecting too many separate assemblies. However--the tubes are often not too bad in them.

Mine's a 9-516, pretty neat inside IMO. I've taken apart a few sets that were a total rat's nest of wires inside, and they were older.