Picked up the TV and met a couple of nice people along the way...
This one really didn't meet the usual old-TV stereotypes. No one was in their 80s, no threadbare carpet, no faint odor of mildew. In fact this was an affluent area, featuring a large home, probably built in the 90s. A husband and wife who moved to the Detroit area from Montana years ago, and now were getting ready to move back. (The husband's career involved statistical data used in the auto industry. You'll often see their numbers in commercials touting quality, reliability, etc... What kind of cars would such a person have in their garage? A Mercury sedan and GMC suv, of course
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Back to the story:
I had the impression that this TV was the first major purchase made by the woman, before marriage, and thus there was some sentimental attachment. See receipt above, and note $30 discount for "cash". $509 in 1972... What is that in 2011, like $1500+?
Also saved the instructions and Chromatic adjusting tool!
The top of the set is real wood, sides are a pretty realistic plastic. Of course the groovy 70s stand is what really makes this thing, lol... If it's first home looked anything like my parents, I picture orange shag carpet, yarn wall-hangings of owls, and ferns suspended by more yarn.
Control panel
I didn't bother hooking up a digital box yet, just raised the rabbit ears, clipped on the UHF bowtie and got my TV the "old fashioned way" from Canada. Keep in mind our Canadian stations really do require an outside antenna for the best picture, so this has some snow. It's also just a cell-phone camera, and to get anything resembling a picture to show, you have to turn the brightness way down, further ruining the picture quality.
If I had a good signal and better camera, this set would be delivering the awesome Zenith chromacolor picture we all love. As expected, the CRT is plenty strong, the only real negative on the set is the need for a slight blue lateral convergence adjustment. Who knows, that might have even happened with all the recent handling?
The couple told me this set was in regular use until 2003. I think they just didn't want to see it in the trash and were happy a collector showed up for it.