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Locally there seems to be only one estate sale outfit; I finally tracked the owner down and gave her my card. In the last year I have spotted one tube set at a yard sale (early sixties Admiral bw combo, overpriced & oversized), I picked up an RCA 19" tube color set from Goodwill (thanks to JCFitz who spotted it)-I think it ended up on the floor by mistake. I found a couple bw sets from the sixties in a TV shop. My other finds were found at an auction (of a large radio collection) and some sets that a tube audio guy found, and we did some swapping. No other tube TV sets at yard sales or flea markets (last summer I spotted a 4-tube Zenith). For me, the best stuff used to come from used furniture stores. Every one of them used to have a corner dedicated to electronics and it was always old stuff. These guys seemed to deal with lots of estates/estate auctions. In the early 90s I was bringing home late sixties tube color stuff like crazy. Now almost none of them have any sets at all, not even black boxes. I think they were getting burnt too much on sets breaking. The last place I went in had a few late seventies things on the floor so I asked and the clerk got all excited-we have just the set you are looking for! Really retro, she said. Turned out to be an early 80s Emerson. Yesterday I spotted a console behind a local thrift store. 80s RCA. I didn't think it would be too interesting as I know a fellow who volunteers there and he keeps me in mind. That's the thing-build a network of people who are looking for you. One member of my "network" called me over the weekend regarding an Airline TV that was about to be tossed. Unfortunately I missed the call but don't know yet if I missed the TV.
The whole trouble, and we've discussed it before, is: tube type TV sets have no value to 99.99% of the population. If there were poor people willing to pay $40 for a New Vista Color console, well, they would still be on the market. But even the most downtrodden person today can have a 19" color Tv with remote for next to nothing or nothing, so why bother with such an old-timer? If the sets we love are going to be saved, we have to go out and find them and save them. Right now those remaining sets are located in living rooms & basements belonging to people who are reaching the ends of their lives. Or they are located in the back of a few of the few remaining TV shops. Either way, their days are short.
I would search harder for old sets but space is too limited. And with the market weak for these sets, once I have something I can't get rid of it. I have been more agressive in contacting TV shops lately. Most have little/nothing left but sometimes there are some surprises. Most recently I spotted a shop which looked to be long abandoned. A closer look showed them to be still open. A step inside was a step back 30 years. While there were plenty of treasures stashed away, the owner is not interested in parting with them yet. I'll keep looking. Each of us should-stuff won't come out of the woodwork forever.
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Bryan
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