I was on ebay a while ago and I saw a pre-war rca this was kind of impressive on it's own since I have never seen a pre-war set for sale, but the big suprise came when I saw it works.

RCA 621 not pre war but their 1st post war still a great set.

http://earlytelevision.org/rca_621.html

Phil Nelson

I guess i should tell the seller to change their title.

Hopefully it doesn't have a line burned in the screen from them running it with no vertical. Tube looks good and bright.

Seller also says all the knobs are intact, the channel selector knob is broken.

Hopefully it doesn't have a line burned in the screen from them running it with no vertical. Tube looks good and bright.

Seller also says all the knobs are intact, the channel selector knob is broken.

I don't believe so, but it amazes me that it has been almost 64 years since this device was made and it still works.

I've been researching this set for decades and I've come to the conclusion that it's an entirely a post-war set. Popular belief is that the cabinet was built pre-war. The chassis is definitely post-war and the cabinet was too small with pre-war technology to house a tabletop TV with an audio section. Also it was introduced along with the 630TS in '46, not prior to it.
This example needs work, but would be worth the effort - at the right price. Be aware that excellent working examples do not even get up $1K these days.

I Be aware that excellent working examples do not even get up $1K these days.

That depends on who's selling it.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-1940s-JOHN-VASSOS-RCA-PRE-WAR-channel-1-OLD-ART-DECO-TELEVISION-/131721648730?hash=item1eab38da5a%3Ag%3AR5gAAOSwnLd WtheG&nma=true&si=jm26kQ9zQPZHK0XFNCLydXUMLDE%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557


Same exact set, different seller, yes, the above seller paid over $900 for it and then flipped it on eBay for $1500:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VERY-RARE-ANTIQUE-Television-RCA-VICTOR-Art-Deco-JOHN-VASSOS-Channel-1-Wooden-/381513613654?hash=item58d3fbc156:g:bmYAAOSwGotWjyj F

That depends on who's selling it.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-1940s-JOHN-VASSOS-RCA-PRE-WAR-channel-1-OLD-ART-DECO-TELEVISION-/131721648730?hash=item1eab38da5a%3Ag%3AR5gAAOSwnLd WtheG&nma=true&si=jm26kQ9zQPZHK0XFNCLydXUMLDE%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557


Same exact set, different seller, yes, the above seller paid over $900 for it and then flipped it on eBay for $1500:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VERY-RARE-ANTIQUE-Television-RCA-VICTOR-Art-Deco-JOHN-VASSOS-Channel-1-Wooden-/381513613654?hash=item58d3fbc156:g:bmYAAOSwGotWjyj F
I'd be leery about that first seller. He's known well among radio collectors. He "magically" seems to get mega dollars for anything he sells on eBay. In more realistic terms, the set goes for $500-$800. The higher is for examples in prime condition.

Funny how it transitioned from being a "first post war" in the original auction, to a "pre-war" in the second.

This is the set Farlander is talking about, the seller lifted the description from Radios 10467's auction.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-1940s-JOHN-VASSOS-RCA-PRE-WAR-channel-1-OLD-ART-DECO-TELEVISION-/201528251272?hash=item2eec051388:g:h2IAAOSwe7BWy0q d

I don't believe so, but it amazes me that it has been almost 64 years since this device was made and it still works.

No to be nit picky , but ,

"Still works" is an OFTEN abused description in the world of vintage electronics and sorry my friend that TV is anything but "still working" !

Still working means that I can feed it a proper TV signal and get a picture . With it's not running vertical sweep circuit that TV isn't going to show anybody anything but a burnt line across the screen unless electronic repairs are made .

I'd be leery about that first seller. He's known well among radio collectors. He "magically" seems to get mega dollars for anything he sells on eBay. In more realistic terms, the set goes for $500-$800. The higher is for examples in prime condition.

:thmbsp: Well said .

This is the set Farlander is talking about, the seller lifted the description from Radios 10467's auction.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-1940s-JOHN-VASSOS-RCA-PRE-WAR-channel-1-OLD-ART-DECO-TELEVISION-/201528251272?hash=item2eec051388:g:h2IAAOSwe7BWy0q d

It shows that there is "No honor among thieves". :D

No to be nit picky , but ,

"Still works" is an OFTEN abused description in the world of vintage electronics and sorry my friend that TV is anything but "still working" !

Still working means that I can feed it a proper TV signal and get a picture . With it's not running vertical sweep circuit that TV isn't going to show anybody anything but a burnt line across the screen unless electronic repairs are made .

There is a lot of restoration on one of those things. Every paper cap and electrolytic has to be replaced. The large resistor in the HV compartment is open. The resistors in the voltage divider box were checked and seem to be OK.
The original tubes and parts on mine are dated, early 1947, so possibly a later production. The CRT was replaced in 1953, according to the code date.
There seems to be a lot of similarity to the slightly later 721TS, except for the focus circuit and different tubes used.

Not to defend misleading and overly-optimistic eBay listing descriptions, but seeing a raster does mean that all of the potentially 'unobtanium' parts (power transformer, flyback, CRT) are probably good. So while it ain't "working", a listing that shows anything at all on the screen means the set is probably a good candidate for restoration.

(Unless they've burnt the phosphor by running it like that. And gee, did I just argue against the old 'don't plug it in to see if it works' rule? That's not a good thing.)