It seems unusal to find a group of people with the same pasion for history and quality. I'd like to meet all of you but chances are most of you are spread out across the country, my name is Larry Melton and I live in northern Indiana, South Bend, Indiana area

oldtvman, if you go to the User CP, you can edit your profile to include your favourite description of your hometown. Makes it easier for others to know if/how to help you, if you post with a question.

BTW, look up, WAYYY up, (not really that far up) and you will see that I am from the place in Canada, where we travel NORTH to go to America, Land of the Free and Home of Oreos with Double Stuf.

Windsor-Home of CKLW...Ah, yes....-Sandy G.

A good way to meet a bunch of TV collectors from all over the country is to come to the Early Television Convention in Columbus, Ohio at the end of the month. This year we expect over 100 attendees. Here is information:

http://www.earlytelevision.org/2005_convention.html

Oldtvman,
I could be mistaken, but weren't all the early RCA's and Magnavox's made somewhere in Indiana? That would have been a whole lot of sets to be shipped from Indiana to the rest of the country.

We should probably all be toasting to you paying honor of this fact.

Hi Larry (oldtvman), I know SB fairly well as I'm a Studebaker nut! Was last there in the spring of 2002 for the 150th anniversary. Man it was hotter than the hinges of hell! Sure did enjoy the fireflies at night though :-)

Has the city pulled down any more of the buildings in the Stude corridor? I know that their intention is to clear just about everything but the old Administration building and the one that SASCO occupies. How's the new museum shaping up? After decades of boondoggles and disappearing funds it's about time this actually got built.

Anthony (former NYer)

Magnavoxes were made in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The government contractor portion of Magnavox, if it still exists, may still be there. RCA TV's were from Bloomington I believe, it seems like there was a Thomson plant there up till very recently.

well,i'm probably the youngest dude here (22) and i'm from columbus ohio,and i visit indiana every summer and i THINK my magnavox was made in indiana..
frank

From Baltimore, MD, but now (since 1991) near Boston, MA.

Have I lived in Chicago or the Chicago area all my life? Not yet!

well,i'm probably the youngest dude here (22) and i'm from columbus ohio,and i visit indiana every summer and i THINK my magnavox was made in indiana..
frank

Well, maybe in this forum, hotrod, but on AK, we have some members who are little more than half your age. Some 14-15-16 year-olds. Fun to watch 'em learn, even if one does wince on occasion. In that regard, they are no different than the rest of us. And not having spent as many $ on gear, that is. Yet.

I am from Charlotte NC. My son is in grad school at ND. Go Irish!!!

I'm in Omaha, Ne. Got started in this hobby as a kid in my Uncles sales repair shop in Tekamah, Ne. Jamie

Toronto, and my name is Dave.

G'day Larry, I'm Troy and I'm from Australia mate :thmbsp: ! I'm not much older than hotrod54chevy, I hit 24 in October.

I'm personally fascinated with early television, video cameras and video recording technology, I especially love to get my hands on as much early live colour videotape recordings of the late 50s and early 60s as possible as it's soooo interesting seeing reality from over 40 years ago in high quality as I've seen too many scratchy B&W kinescope films of that era and use to think that's the quality of live television back then hehehehe :lmao: . Anyways seeing these early TV sets and cameras and live TV shows on quad videotape and film being brought back to life is bloody awsome and I say "good onya" to those putting in the hard yakka into getting them up and going :thmbsp: !

Australia was the last to get colour, colour started here 19th October 1974 on an part time basis until the opening day 1st March 1975 which all programs went colour. But we had experimental colourcasting in the 1960s.

Next year is Australia's 50th anniversary of television and at the Sydney Powerhouse museum there's going to be a lot of television related gear on display including the 1930 Baird Televisor mechanical set and a 1938 Marconi electronic B&W TV set. And of course I'm going up there to see these fantastic pieces of early TV technology, hopefully there might even be a roundie colour set imported for display too.

Lastly I'm not a TV collector as I have no room to store them but would love to collect if I had the room, I'm a vintage video collector and I have a website http://70scountdown.50megs.com/ which features all my video gear, it's about finding lost episodes of my favourite 70s Aussie rock show "Countdown" which involves looking at 70s vintage format videotapes to find recordings of the show on.

Cheers
Troy

I'm from New Jersey, just outside New York City (14 miles directly north of the Empire State Building, old and current home of NYC's TV stations). If not for the trees I could SEE the Empire State Building from here.

When I was a young kid, my family never traveled outside the NYC metro area, and thus never saw any TV stations on channels 3, 6, 8, 10 or 12. And as the networks were based in NYC, and CBS was on WCBSTV2, NBC on WNBCTV4 and ABC on WABCTV7 and they said that they did nationwide broadcasting, I took it to mean that these TV stations covered the entire country. But then why the empty channels? At the time I was in early grammar school, where we had to do lots of pointless things like memorize poems and such. I figured that the government made the TV makers add the empty channels on the dials of TV sets for no other reason than that the government could make them do it. Just like the teachers made you do stuff in school. Why should adult life be any different?.... :D

Remember the old WOR-9 Secaucus Howard Stern show? Got all the episodes and am slowly revisting them. What a perv (him AND me!)

Anthony

Im originally from Downers Grove, IL which is about 20 miles west of chicago. Moved a little farther west to Batavia, IL last July. I loved my home town of Downers Grove had alot of fun finding old TV's around the area in the past. All my TV interest started with a fascination of circuit boards and vacuum tubes at a very very young age of about 3. Im surprised it started that early, but thats what mom always said.

I was born right here in Chicago, in a hospital about 6 blocks from where I live. I probably would be happier in a smaller town, but I have grown to like it here in the Windy City...

OldTVMan- you have a PM

Im in Wenatchee, the town I grew up in, right in the middle of Washington State. I recently moved back here from West Seattle.

It seems unusal to find a group of people with the same pasion for history and quality. I'd like to meet all of you but chances are most of you are spread out across the country, my name is Larry Melton and I live in northern Indiana, South Bend, Indiana area
Shelby Ohio
Windsor-Home of CKLW...Ah, yes....-Sandy G.

I listened to that station alot before they changed their format.
Actually I didnt really know they were located in Windsor untill
some time after. It was because they kept playing this as
thier station ID.
http://www.thebig8.net/mocity.wav

Grove City, Ohio (near Columbus)

I'm originally from Rockford, IL with a move to a tv job in Philadelphia in 1980. Still in broadcasting today.

Started collecting in 1984 with a flea market set that was in pieces for $25. No idea what I had and knew nothing about sets then. Just some radio collecting before that. The set turned out to be a 621TS.

Dave A

Originally from Barstow Calif but have lived in the "Inland Empire" area of So Cal for the last 18 years, currently in Redlands.

Eric

Rogersville, Tennessee-very close to Pixley & Hooterville. Seriously, I'm in NE Tenn, about halfway between Bristol & Knoxville.-Sandy G.

Rogersville, Tennessee-very close to Pixley & Hooterville.

:-) ! (half of the folks here probably have no idea what you're talking about -- unless "Petticoat Junction" and "Green Acres" are still out there in rerun-land)

I'm located in Jackson, TN. Thats in west Tennessee between Memphis and Nashville on I-40.

Think I saw "Green Acres" on TV Land the other night-Don't know what I lusted over more-Eva Gabor or the big Lincoln 4-door convertible they drove. Last season they had a Mercury Marquis De Sade convertible-it just wasn't the same.-Sandy G.

My favorite was character was Mr. Haney "Oh, Mr. Dug-less!"

born and raised in mississippi 7 miles from alabama 20 from tennessee :lmao:

rcaman, my uncle lives in Okalona, which I guess isn't too awful far from you. My Dad just got back from there. Before leaving the airport at Philly they paid $50 for breakfast someplace. A couple days letter he had a much bigger & better breakfast in Mississippi for $2.

I live in Federalsburg, Md., a little town of around 2,000 a stones throw from the Delaware line. I grew up about 10 miles away near the smaller town of Preston. I suspect I'll live my whole life here, assuming it doesn't get too overdeveloped.

Charlie--> Born in Port Arthur, Texas. Live in Nederland, Texas. The two are right next to each other... about 90 miles east of Houston.

Currently, as of this post, I am in Texas City on board the ship I work on. Hey... there's a big hole in the gound here where someone had a boo-boo at the refinery!

They seem to enjoy doing that in Texas City. 1947...Now... maybe you ought not tarry too long there, Charlie...-Sandy G.

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Raised in Philadelphia / Wilkes-Barre, PA / Atlantic City, NJ / Plymouth Meeting, PA / Bethlehem, PA.

Lived at least one year or more in: Clear, Alaska (65 mi s/w of Fairbanks) / New York, NY / Barnegat, NJ / Eatontown, NJ / Oakhurst, NJ / Blue Ridge Summit, PA / Long Branch, NJ / Wanamassa, NJ / Toms River, NJ / and Asbury Park, NJ, where I’ve lived now for ten years, longer by far than anywhere else. Maybe that makes me the oldest guy here at 65? :cry:

Hey Pete,

That witness protection program can be hell. I was born in Pasadena, Ca. and raised in Hollywood. As a youngster in Hollywood/L.A. there was always plenty of TV (seven stations by the early 50's). Got our first set in 1949, an Admiral 10" console. I was always driving my folks nuts, as a teen in the 60's, by climbing on the roof and installing bigger antennas to fill in the blanks on the tv dial. Meaning the San Diego stations 100+ miles to the south.


-Steve D.

born in west los angeles right in the middle of everything,10 mins away from hollywood,15 mins away from the beach,lax,and downtown.in desoto tx right now for school.the first tv i remember us having was my grandmothers 1955 capeheart b/w set,dad got a zenith when i was 6,lasted 15 years.im most likely the youngest member of the group (22),but i remember KCOP ch 13 now UPN,because my grandmother use to shop at the bargain circus across the street from the station,and she took me on their little tour of the studio once a year there.

charlie sheen

Polaraman: Born in Berwick Pennsylvania. Raised in Carlisle PA. Spent my early 20's in Hagerstown MD. Joing the Army and all hell broke loose. El Paso TX, Denver CO, Pirmasens Germany, Denver CO, Mentor OH, San Antonio TX, and now Columbus GA. (Fort Benning)

Hi Oldtvman,
I was born and raised here in Waynesboro, VA. I havent lived more than a 15 mile radius since being on my own. Its a small town that still has alot of those small town qualities that you dont see anymore and rests literally at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Patsy Cline was born 30 miles north of here in Elkton and the Statler Brothers and President Woodrow Wilson are from the next town over in Staunton, VA. The University of Virginia is located 30 miles east of here in Charlottesville and was designed by President Thomas Jefferson who lived nearby at Monticello. Theres alot of history around here both interesting and mondain but a very nice place to live.

I've been tinkering with tvs, radios and record players since i was a pup and credit that for keeping me out of trouble while everybody else was out cow tipping and frog giggin' :) I lost interest in them for awhile when i discovered i liked cars too and could work on them (is actually my trade today) and only got back into old electronics when parts became available again on the internet and forums like this were created. I wouldnt trade any of it for the world.

I also wanted to welcome you to the forum! These are some of the greatest guys and gals around and hope you enjoy your stay!
-Tony

Waynesboro/Afton Mountain ! Lovely place ! Ever go up to Swannanoa ? That place kinda blew me away 1st time I saw it..I went to school at Univ. of Richmond.-Sandy G.

i'm from los angeles but now reside in fresno, california. i'm 44 and have been into old tv's since the late '80's. at one time i had about 20 of them, virtually all color from the '60's and earlier. i sold all of them over the years the last being a '50's metal tube rca color (i'm thinking ctc-10) and a 1949 b/w admiral console. my fiancee will allow me to only have 1 (one) vintage set in the future and i'm looking for that ultra rare one for next to nothing at that elusive estate sale. it'll happen!

Sandy,
Swannanoah is within eyesight of my house and yes its really neat. It looks like something you would see in Europe. They are in the process of raising funds for it now to revamp it as its fell into disrepair the past few years from the hurricanes and such we've had here. We also have an old Victorian hotel here in Waynesboro that reminds you alot like the hotel in the movie The Shining. It looks spooky in a way but neat at the same time and definately the largest old building i've ever seen.
-Tony

well I am from melbourne, australia ...not florida ...melbourne is a little city of 4 million...lol .....and of course we use the PALG 625/50 standard and are moving to 1080i/720P HD standards on digital.

as for old tvs ...well colour didn't really arrive until 1974 and so the oldest sets here are from then ...and as my mate on this board, Troy, has found ..there are no roundies here ...well we will keep looking ...we know color tests were conducted in the 60s so there may be one in somewhere!!!

and here in my hovel I keep my Beta VCR and PAL CED disc untis in working order!

From St. Louis (Oklahoma, not Missouri), an oil boom town of around 175 people today. Living in Buda, Texas now. This is town next to Austin, Texas where I design integrated circuits for a living. As we have a center in Adelaide, I deal with some of ceebee23s fairly distant mates in my work.

Learned to work on and enjoy tube type televisions while in college. To support my education, I worked at a couple of TV shops.

As with Charlie and Polaraman, I have cleaned out an old TV shop and still have a garage and storage building full of stuff.

My wife says to ask-Any one want any TVS?

Jody

From Brunswick, Lower Saxony in Germany. Brunswick is the city of Henry the Lion with an 800 year old cathedral, founded by Henry.

http://www.braunschweig.de/english/city/impressions/index.html

I was born in 1960. Since 1973 I'm fixing old tv's. I grew up in the western part of Germany, living near the former border to the G.D.R.. In the south we can see the Harz. A mountain full of old tales of witchcraft and mystery. Here is a photo of the village where I was born (just 20 miles away from Braunschweig):

http://bs.cyty.com/menschen/e-etzold/img/elbe.jpg

Hey, Aussiebloke!

About that 50th anniversary at the Powerhouse next year - I hope you're planning to take a lot of pix and post them here!

can i have the sets from you guys in california before your state falls into the ocean!!!!!!!

When the big one hits it will be the rest of the country that will fall into the Atlantic!

Hi Dennis Choinski here, lived in Milwaukee WI most of my life. Pre WIFE had a battery
Radio and 7 inch CRT tv collection in a store front in Milwaukee. Worked then as a TV repair tech mostly TUBE TVs. Now fix auto electronics for DELPHI. Now like TVs found
in ads early magazines that may never have gone public. Use my learn as I go woodworking skills to make cabinets. Got to have a RCA 621TS thou.

Oh, and it kinda goes without saying any AKers have a standing invitation anytime you're passing thru NE Tennessee-just call or e-mail a day or so in advance. Even if you're just passing thru on I-81, there's a VERY good restaurant/truck stop we could have a cuppa joe & chew the fat for awhile.-Sandy G.

Southeast Missouri exactly halfway between St Louis MO and Memphis TN. I work about 3 miles from the house I grew up in (If I ever grew up) and live about 10 miles from it. Aside from a few years away in East Texas for College and my first duty station with my employer (State of Missouri) lived here my whole life. Got my first antique radio in 1961 at the age of 11, worked on radios and TV's since that time. My Dad was an electronics tech and Ham, he would bring home old radios and TV's that were traded in at places his friends in the business would let him haul off for me to play with. Wish I had a few of those old sets I tore up to build other projects. I'm turning 55 next Friday and am eligible to retire, looking forward to being able to spend more time in my own shop playing with my toys again.....

I grew up in Wickliffe, Ohio, an eastern suburb of Cleveland about 16 miles from downtown. Was in Cleveland Heights (another eastern Cleveland suburb) for three years in the early '70s, then came back to Wickliffe and stayed there the next 24 years. Due to a huge change in my life in 1999, I had to move from the house I grew up in. I always wanted to live in a small town, so when I found out I'd be moving I decided to come to where I live now. The name of the place is Fairport Harbor, Ohio, a village of some 3,180 population (as of the 2000 census; it's probably less now) about 33 miles east of downtown Cleveland, just about a mile, more or less, from the south shore of Lake Erie (at least that's where my apartment is; I live on the main street of Fairport Harbor which ends almost right at the shore, so I am practically on the lake).

No room for old TVs here in my small 1-bedroom apartment, unfortunately. :( (When I was in my old house in Wickliffe I collected old sets like crazy--fully half my basement was full of sets in varying degrees of working order; my pride and joy was a 23" Zenith console, a trash-day find in the late '60s, which I retubed from the ground up, as someone had swiped all but the HV rectifier and CRT. Had to get rid of it when I moved to Cleveland Heights; nearly broke my heart to do it, after all the work I had put into it and considering how well it worked with the new tubes.) However, I do have room in my bedroom for my amateur radio station and a small collection of radios, many of them Zeniths. I have a Zenith color TV in my bedroom as well, 1995 model SMS1917SG which still makes a very nice picture on analog cable here; so does my RCA 19" set in the living room, which is hooked up to Comcast digital cable through a set-top box (indoor antennas don't work well in this area, as it is 40+ miles southwest of the Cleveland TV transmitters, and I can't have an outdoor TV antenna, the rule permitting apartment dwellers to have outside antennas notwithstanding--the terms of my lease absolutely forbid any kind of structure mounted on windowsills or on the overhang between the two stories of the building), so I'm stuck with cable--but I don't mind it as I get many more stations with it than I ever would with an antenna, even if I had one. (I have a VCR and a DVD player, along with a subscription to Netflix.com, so I would never be at a loss for something to watch even if I didn't have cable). The reception is much better with cable as well. One channel, NBC channel 3 from Cleveland, absolutely will not reach here without it--no kidding, I get absolutely nothing on my TVs on that channel using rabbit ears. The reception on that station is bad all over town, apparently; our one grocery store, three blocks from me, has a TV they use during football season--it doesn't get channel 3 with rabbit ears either. The only station they do get well enough to watch is CBS channel 19 from Cleveland. The problem must be the sheer distance my town is from the TV stations; most everyone here has cable so it's not much of an issue anymore, whatever the reason may be for the poor reception on antennas. Who knows? :dunno:

Location: Born and raised in NJ (with a number of very happy years spent in Montreal during and after college) and a pleasant four year stint in eastern PA that ended two years ago.

How it started: Around 1980, a friend moved into an old house in Staten Island. He said to me "Hey, you collect radios. There's a old TV in the attic. Want it?" (It was an RCA T-100 although I didn't know it at the time.) And that's when the insanity began!

Despite the jokes about NJ, I always saw it firsthand as the Garden State when I was growing up rather than what you see as you're passing through on the Turnpike. But I realized our real claim to fame when corresponding with a collector in Hawaii a few years ago. He said "we have to import everthing, while you lucky guys in New Jersey just trip over this stuff everywhere you go." And I had to admit, he was right.

As Uncle Floyd used to sing "Deep In the Heart of Jersey" (to the tune of Deep In The Heart of Texas)

Oh the factory smoke, will make you choke
Deep in the Heart of Jersey
The City rats run in big packs
Deep in the Heart of Jersey
The Pizza man says, "I no understand"
Deep in the Heart of Jersey
And route 17, the traffic there is mean
Deep in the Heart of Jersey

The city skies ain't fit for flies
Deep in the Heart of Jersey
The Parkway man takes a quarter from your hand
Deep in the Heart of Jersey
The dumps in June ain't like perfume
Deep in the Heart of Jersey
But it's my state and I think it's great
Deep in the Heart of Jersey
Way out west in wild new jersey
Yippi Yi Yay!

Those NJ stereotypes are only true for those who've never ventured west of Bergen or Essex County. Parts of Somerset, Hunterdon and Sussex counties are God's country. Warren County, just over the Delaware River from PA, has a bit of the God's Country thing going, but it's got a VERY backwoods vibe.

And don't ask about insuring or inspecting a car in NJ!