Estate Sale Finds In 2006!
 

Went to estate sales this weekend and found a couple of nice sets at different houses. There were eight this weekend I went to, and the last two homes were the ones with the TV's! That was a nice end for the saterday.
These sets are the first finds at estate sales of the year!
First find, in the basement of a home in River Forest, IL was a nice clean 1968 Admiral color set, an 18" table model in a metal cabinet. First one Ive ever found like it!
It has instant on, so the CRT is basically toast. Unfortunatly the antennas are both broke too. Otherwise, its a very nice clean condition set. Definitly worth the wait on repairs. They would only let it go for $10. I was pretty happy with that.
I figured that was it for the day, but I went to the last sale in Berkeley. A nice clean 1970's tri-level home. Went into the basement, which was a 1970's style finished basement. Sitting ontop of the bar was a very nice clean 1972 zenith 18" color table set with an 18CC30 chassis. It was dusty, but looked great. Plugged it in and a picture came on with a pretty nice picture. When I went upstairs to ask about the price they told me the TV was broken and was supposed to be thrown out before the sale. They said if I wanted it, its only $10. They were surprized to see it go. Good thing they decided to keep it for the sale. This is a near mint set, all complete and nothing missing or broken. Its a higher end model, it has the spotlite tuning dials. I think the problem was, they had it plugged into a switched outlet behind the bar, thats why it wouldnt turn on thinking it was broken.

Both sets came from nice clean homes which is a huge plus! These were rare finds, as tube type table sets are almost completely gone. They were easy to throw out at the time and they didnt have "beautiful cabinets" that needed to be saved like consoles.

Man those are sweeet! I've always liked the look of the late 60s to early 70s color tube and hybrid sets.

I wish I could find more of those around here (not that'd I'd have a place for them)

Doug, NICE sets! Both bring back memories. When I was a kid, that same model 18" Zenith was the first set I got to have for my room. My Uncle got it on trade and was going to toss it as it had a bad flyback. I had him put in a flyback, and the picture tube was toast so I had a new tube put in. As for the Admiral... We had one of those on our service route. It had the best damn picture. The flyback went out in it, and the owners DID opt to have a new one put in because of the great picture it had. Would love to find one today!

thanks.

These are the best kinds of sets to find (atleast for me). I worked on both sets last night. The CRT in the admiral is GONE and will need a replacement, all of my crt jigs cant help it. Instant on really destroys CRT's, I hate that feature!
The zenith on the otherhand turned out just fine! Tested the tubes and replaced the typical tuner tubes etc and the typical alignment for color TV and this set produces an excellent picture!

Nice job on that zenith. I've always liked those sets, and the great picture. I've always tended to avoid sets with the instant on for that reason. Not to mention that I could never afford to install a new tube in the set.

What is the CRT in that set?

polaraman

My Admirla color set has the instant on feature. I disabled, but it was too late. The CRT is toast. I'm looking for a 25XP22 or equivilent. Cataracts are not a problem. BTW: Nice Zenith.

Polaraman,

This set uses a 19GWP22, 19HFP22 or a 19EYP22. Either tube works for this set. If anyone has a tube that fits this set in good shape, Im very interested in buying!

I have two 19" picture tubes. One is a 19KP22 and the other is a 19" RCA mystery CRT. The tag was missing on that CRT. You could have one (free) but how to get it to you. I could pony express to the Television convention. Do you know anybody that could get it from there?


polaraman

polaraman,

Thanks for your efforts to help me out. Was the unknown rca tube out of one of those early 70's series string sets (like a ctc-53?) If so, that tube should work. Those sets use an 18VAHP22 which subs for the original 19XXP22 type crts.
Are the tubes the dark grey bonded lens type?

Thanks for your help!

Both tubes are dark gray with the bonded face plate. They are in my storage area. I will take a pic and post in a couple days. I do not know what it came out of. It does not have a mounting band around the CRT. It has a partial RCA sticker on the side. If I recall it was loose CRT on the floor of the shop. He had good stock of good used picture tubes on the floor in the back. I picked it up because it was small. I was thinking portable TV CRT when I got it. Sadly the Tv shop was torn down and no longer exists.

Anybody pony express from the TV convention to Drh4683?

polaraman

Man, Zenith knew how to make a color picture! They don't get much better. I like that Admiral, too. Always had a soft spot for 'em. I'll probably never have the room for an Admiral console but a set like that would be a keeper.

Doug, the Bradys had that same Zenith :D

In the second episode of season one the Brady brats are watching TV in the Den, you only see the back but it was identical to your set, same antennas and all.
Their set was a remote model, at least they had a two button remote but it might have been just a prop. Perhaps you can tell from the picture if that would have been the correct remote?

I think I'll be in Columbus the week after the TV convention if you could leave the CRT. I picked up an RCA like that for Capt'n Moody last year.

We are getting closer! I will bring it to the convention.




polaraman

Excellent!

Thank you both polaraman and carmine!

Eric, I know what that TV looks like. I hope to be able to find that model some day! It is a space command 300, only reason I can tell is the elliptical shadow being cast onto the back of the cabinet from the studio lights! This proves it to be a space command, as thats where the black channel changer knob is. Its a space command 300 (which is apparently the remote they have on the table). Zenith made an 18" space command 300 color TV in 1969-1971. The 18" metal cabinet table sets like the brady TV and the one like mine are called "decorator series" (according to zenith sales literature).

Ive got a picture of what the brady TV would have looked like. This photo is out of the 1970 zenith color TV sales catalog.

Thanks for posting that pic! BTW, I have the factory cart for this TV too!

Philco Roundie found 2-25-06!
 

Went to 6 estate sales today and found a nice 1968 Ford Philco roundie. Picked it up at 5018 W. 32nd st. Cicero, IL. Only cost me $10. I had my camera with me today and took pictures of the home the TV was in all these years. It was a typical chicago bungalow.
Model Q5528WA and 17MT80 chassis. The set was well cared for and was still in the living room, plugged in and hooked up to the central antenna! The TV still worked too! CRT is bright like new, and no cataracts at all on a 21FJ! Needs some touch up to get it just right though. Also has the EM84 magic eye tuning indicator tube! Never seen that before on a TV! The dial lights up nice, has channel window VHF, slide rule dial UHF. After pulling the back of, its got all original tubes, and the tubes say "Philco Cool Chassis". I guess thats supposed to mean its not a hot chassis as it has a power transformer. Its a nice cabinet, plywood. No particle board! Its a later model roundie and it appears to have a philco designed chassis. Solid state tuner and IF, the rest tube. As you can see in the first pictures of the TV in the home, the control door is missing. I looked all over the house for it and it drove me nuts that it was gone. I left a number with the people running the sale that if they run across it, to please call me. 1 hour later, they found it and got a call! I couldnt believe it! What luck! They said it was behind a picture on the end table in the living room! That made my day, and makes the set 100% complete! This is the first philco roundie I have run across.

When the ol' lady raises that left eyebrow when she catches me trying to sneak in a new piece of vintage hifi, I drag her over here and ask her how she'd like a houseful of these things!

Heh. End of conversation.

No offense meant. A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.

That philco looks in great shape, although you'd thought they could put some speakers in those side areas! Usually sets like this do.

Doug- Wow, goin' into that house must have been like going into a time machine ! BEAUTIFUL set ! You are one lucky guy !-Sandy G.

Drool...... Nice catch.

thanks-

Last night, fixed it up and got it working like new. Razor sharp picture! All of the original 6GH8's were perfect! I was shocked. This set must have 2 hours on it for those to still be good. Being a philco, had some other oddball tubes that you dont run across too often. Those were all testing excellent (which is good because I dont have those tubes!) Good news is, its an american made set, with a hybrid of american and japanese tubes having the philco name stamped on them. Only problem was, a shorted out 6AQ5 audio out. It was an intermittent short and would loose sound and video. Just to note, this is the same chassis that Art Margolis used in his do it yourself TV repair books. You dont see the front of the set, just pics of him working on various sections of the set. When I pulled the back off for the first time, thats the first thing that came to my mind. I then looked at a few of his books and sure enough, this was the chassis!
BTW, this is a 1968 set. Reason being, most tubes are dated 67-48, 67-52. The sams reference shows it for '67. Most likely this set was made for a few years.

That's a nice Philco! Those are pretty unusual with the round tube... In fact I can't remember ever seeing one. I had seen several CTC-11-based Philcos, though. That eye tube is also neat. I think I saw that in some 19" table model Philcos of the 60s.

Here's a photo of an estate garage that I bought last fall, and just finished going through this week! The widow still lives in the house, and the husband who put all this together had died in the 60s. Take a close look! She had left the whole thing virgin and untouched all those years. I felt bad to take it all apart, as there aren't many time-capsule work benches like this anymore. The widow needed the whole thing cleaned out because she's going to sell the house and move to a senior complex.

There weren't any exciting TVs in there besides the modified 8TS30 that you see on the bench, but a WEALTH of parts and other little goodies were found!! Quite a few NOS picture tubes that I put on eBay, and small tubes, a Riders radio series, tools, World War I and II stuff, etc etc.

Charles

Any color tubes?

Man, that is PRETTY! :thmbsp:

Cool Philco, Doug! --As for the chassis, though, it's a "Cool Chasiss" too, but not for that reason. Philco "Cool Chassis" tubes were called that because of an 'improved' structural design that was supposed to make them radiate less heat than other brands of tubes, thus theoretically prolonging the life of the tube and other parts in the set. I dunno if there was any truth to Philco's claim, or if it was just so much advertising fluff.

Anyway, great find! That's got to be one of the most attractive 60's Philco color consoles I've seen.

BTW, does that set really have an eye tube, or does it just look like one on the outside of the set? I've got a Philco stereo receiver from the late 1960's which has a tuning indicator that looks (from the outside) for all the world like an edge-viewing (long rectangular shaped) eye tube, but it's really a box with a conventional meter movement, a lightbulb, and some simple optics that projects opposing rectangular "shadows" on the background. Seems like a lot of trouble to make something that looks like an electron ray tube, but isn't!

The late model roundies I've seen were mostly of the el cheapo variety but this was is a cut above. I saw recently an excerpt from a Popular Science review of color tv from about 68 and Philco was in the top third. I guess they had done their homework. I suppose that same basic chassis would have been used at the NASA installations that Philco-Ford had put together, so it had to be right. Whirled is correct about "Cool Chassis". I didn't know they were still using that in 68. I've seen a lot of print ads from the early 60s where they pushed it. I guess heat was a big problem with the Predicta so they apparently designed a chassis which allowed good airflow to combat the problem.

Wish there was, but there were only B&W tubes... I was hoping to find some color stuff, but it looks like the husband was pretty much out of TV by the time color came around. According to the military papers I found, he was already in his late 40s when he went in the Navy in '41 as a radar tech. So by the time color came in the 50s, he was about close to 65 and retiring.

Charles

watching antiques roadshow on your "antique tv" there?

got a sony kv-9000 for $5 at an estate sale over the weekend.looks and plays like new.
got new 23vaqp22 there for free.new not rebuilt sylvania.
the box was so rotten i didnt notice till i moved it to get at some parts.
the side tore out and there was a delta gun neck in my face.
as a joke i thought of mailing the warranty card.
shipping date was 1973.

i can take it if nobody closer can.
i can take it to ft.wayne like i did 2 years ago with some sets drh wanted.
i think i have a gw here somewhere that tests as new but needs cataract surgery.

Just to remind anybody... My plans changed and I'm in Phoenix till mid-March, so no old TV convention for me. :no:

Oh yeah... Beautiful set Doug! I love that cabinet style (Danish Modern), I don't know why every Zentih set I find is some style I'm not crazy about!

The chassis in that Philco looks about like the one I am trying to get working. The yoke socket on mine is mounted in the hole on the side of the high voltage cage.
John.

1973 zenith 19" chromacolor 4 tube hybrid
 

Picked up a nice 73 zenith 4 tube hybrid. This set was working when found at a sale in oak park. This is my top choice model in the 4 tube hybrid category. This is the exact model I had as a kid that I got from my grandfather.
Its model D4030W and has a 19DC12 chassis. Called the "Drew" in the '73 zenith sales brochure.

Didnt need to do much other than a dedusting and a little clean up.

Zenith roundie!
 

Also got yesterday a mint 1965 zenith roundie. Found this one in LaGrange park for $30.00 The set was still working when found. Didnt work very well. This was an easy fix,just replace a few tubes to get it going again! This is the 24MC32 chassis. I always liked the diagonal tuners.

RCA roundie combo with remote!
 

Yes, another find. Not really a "new find". This set was at ron's TV for a few years. They got it for free. Someone just asked if they could pick it up as they didnt want it anymore. I first noticed the set back in june of 04.

I finally decided to buy it and bring it home yesterday before it got junked. It was only $100, so I couldnt turn it down. The set is in great shape and works. Only thing that needs attention is the remote circuit. Some functions dont work. This set is from '65 too with a CTC16 chassis. Doesnt appear to be high hour set, however it has a rebuilt tube in it. The PCBs look good yet.
The HI FI is a tube type receiver w/ solid state amp. All of that still works good too. Has FM stereo.
The TV sound goes through the hi fi speakers, so it sounds really nice.

I like your 4 tube hybrid. That's the same set I have in my bedroom. Heavy sucker isn't it?!?

I like that Zenith roundie, I've never seen that model cabinet before. I wish I could find something like that around here.

What kind of car is that in the picture of the back of the RCA? It looks to be about the same age as the TV.

Silvertone find 4-22-06
 

Found this one at 280 Adelia st. Elmhurst, IL yesterday. The set was still in the living room hooked up to the MATV. Being a living room TV for the past 40 years, it was very well taken care of.
Its a 1966 sears slivertone model 7183. As I was looking at it, I noticed it was unplugged. I went to plug it in and the people running the sale said dont bother plugging it in, its not for sale. I was a bit surprized. I asked if it was sold. They said "no, its dangerous". "We had it on and it started flashing and making noise". they said it had to go in the trash for safety reasons. They would not be held liable for selling a "dangerous" tv. I asked agiain how much they wanted for it, as I was interested they said no again! Then they told me the only way for me to have it was if they were to give it too me for free, then the rest would be at my own risk? Sounds pretty stupid, but it works for me!
I picked it up brought it out to the truck and carefully secured it with blankets etc.
Brought it home, and plugged it in. Started flashing and making noise like they said. The noise was caused by the horizontal oscillator running off frequency becuase someone turned the h. hold all the way over, and it was "flashing" because the v. hold was all the way over. The shuttering of the picture cause what looked to be "flashing". Simple readjustment brought the picture in just fine, with color too! Adjusted the vertical size and linearity and the picture was perfect. This set has an addition control called "chormix" (center control, outlined in yellow) it adjusts the balance between the green and the blue screen drives. Center position is called "neutral". You still have the tint control and color controls of course. Just an additional color "fine tuning" adjustment that is never seen on other color sets makes this unique.
Brand new RCA colorama installed 8-28-70. CRT still like new very bright, no cateracts either! Still has all its original tubes, a low hour set after the crt was installed.

These Silvertone chassis are almost exactly like a CTC-17 and seem to have good performance, I have one just like it...I too have seen "operator error" make TV's look like they didn't work, like when the service switch is set to "service".
Never had anybody tell me about liability for buying old TV's...seems like everything at these sales is sold "as-is" and at your own risk.