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I've always had an interest in electronics. Back in the '80's, we had a 14" Truetone portable color tube set that was juggled between the motorhome and my Parents bedroom. I got off on looking at the glowing tubes through the openings in the back. It was a real treat when it would mess up and Dad would carry it to an older TV man that worked out of a trailer in his backyard. By that time, he was about the only repairman left that would touch a tube set. There was also a late '40's RCA Victor radio/phonograph console here that my parents bought new. It didn't work and I wanted to wreck it so bad I could taste it. Fortunately, my Dad wouldn't let me and I still have the radio today. When my collecting really took off was in the summer of '89 when I received a '36 Silvertone table radio with a big airplane dial. About a month prior to receiving the radio, we were at a family reunion in GA. I mentioned to someone there that I really would like to find one of those old radios with tubes in it. He didn't say much and I forgot about it. One morning, UPS called to say they had a package for us. It turned out that the guy that I mentioned the radio to found one in his barn and sent it to me. I still have it and would never get rid of it. Shortly after that, people started giving me old radios and TVs like crazy. The first B&W TV that I fixed was an early '60's RCA 19" portable and the first color set was a 19" Zenith space command ChromaColor II. I have not come up for air since.
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