[67Zenith]

Wow thanks for the interesting replies!

My own ability of repairing sets is limited (I can fix just about anything mechanical on my '68 Buick and I have repaired and installed lots of old Western Electric telephones but I never learned enough about tv repair, especially the challenges of color tv).

Next year, when I turn 51, I plan to semi-retire, buy a small house in an "active adult" (that means 50 and over LOL) community in NJ near the shore (and the house I have my eye on will be for sale next year when the current owner moves to Florida. The next door neighbor is a 72 year old guy named Joe who used to own a tv repair shop in Jersey City, NJ and he said he'd get a kick out of teaching me a few things on one of my old sets that does not currently work).

Long live the hobby!

Side note: bgadow mentioned in his story here about hearing Jack Benny on the radio. I'm a big Jack Benny fan. I've collected his radio shows and tv programs for years. Good old Jack...always money hungry, always "39 years old", always scratching on the violin, the long, dead pan stares when he gave when he was amused by something, his car was a 1927 Maxwell (sound effects courtesy of Mel Blanc).