What happens to all the CRT's , all the flybacks, tubes, etc - Videokarma.org TV - Video

zenith2134 · #1 10-11-2007, 09:06 PM

So what exactly happens when a major corporation ceases manufacturing of CRT's, etc. . For example, Zenith, what happened to all those tubes, all them chassis' ? Is it possible for someone (a collector, for instance) to purchase a lot of items from a defunct manufacturer? These things are of course NLA, and could proove invaluable in the future to us collectors. Any insight ?

Findm-Keepm · #2 10-11-2007, 09:32 PM

Don't know about Zenith, but when GE quit making sets in Portsmouth VA, they auctioned off the chassis, parts, and even the engineering samples. My Dad (a TV tech/dealer) got most of the parts and engineering stuff. Some rare finds - tubes straight from the factory with big labels on them proclaiming "Not UL type certified - not for finished products" and even some wierd bonded-yoke CRTs that were probably early engineering for the AA/AB/AC chassis, but were never used in production. Flybacks? Dad got 1300 of one type! Sold the lot to the local GE distributor and to PTS Electronics in Bloomington, IN. Resistors, he still has, and as soon as I can help him dig them out, they'll be mine

- something like 80,000 composition and film types. He also got about 5,000 11" long CRT/Aquadag ground wires - who needs them??

I could go on and on, but the point is, I think most is sold at auction, usually to big clearinghouses. When Zenith got out of Mexico, a company in western Florida bought out all of their parts and liquidated them on eBay - I have several SMD/SMT reels of resisistors with Zenith labels and part numbers on them. The company also liquidated AT&T - got a lot of their stuff too.

Cheers

bgadow · #3 10-12-2007, 11:47 AM

My guess would be that there would be plenty of leftover parts but not many leftover chassis or crts. Unless a company suddenly went bankrupt they would want to finish whatever they were building. These days with "just-in-time" delivery there isn't so much need for vast stockpiles of parts. There would be warehouses full of old stock merchandise, though. I'd guess that a small number of every trim piece, maybe even spare cabinets, would be kept in stock. Unless they threw them away to make room, who knows how long they would be saved?

I like hearing from Findm about the GE plant-I would like to know more about its history. I've owned a lot of sets that came from Portsmouth.

julianburke · #4 10-12-2007, 10:02 PM

Normally all of the leftover parts are trashed-period. Unless someone expresses interest or engineers take some home, it is all lost. Usually there is so much that it is overwhelming and cleared out to the dempster trough. Most of the time they will not let you have it. Some former engineers from RCA in Indianapolis took home what they wanted to save like tens of thousands of resistors etc and sold it at the local hamfests. I have done my part in saving some of it.

I have seen many assembly lines shut down with product almost finished to the beginning of assembly totally trashed. When an assembly line is shut down, it is shut down regardless of what is on it. If money runs out on a project, it is shut down regardless.

When RCA shut down its' broadcast television camera facility in Camden, all remaining cameras from start to almost finished were trashed and axes were used to destroy much of it before it was disposed of in dempster troughs. That is the way it is. When a line is shut down, too bad!

fujifrontier · #5 10-12-2007, 10:08 PM

what the F????????????????????????????????????????????????? ???

why would you TRASH that stuff?!!!

zenith2134 · #6 10-12-2007, 11:31 PM

I am also interested in more info about the Portsmouth GE plant-closing. I think its amazing we have someone posting here who has had access to mass amounts of collectible stuff. I have a few sets built there also.

Sure does suck that this kinda stuff gets axed; its like the end of an era. This stuff isn't being built anymore!!! Don't they get it?

dr.ido · #7 10-13-2007, 12:00 AM

Stuff is often trashed because it has been written off for tax purposes and has to be trashed for legal reasons. It's worth more to the company to send it to landfill than it is to sell it off or donate it. Some places also trash any returns to prevent them being scavenged and then returned for credit. It's company policy.

Many years ago I emptied a large walk in dumpster at a Philips distribution center over the course of a weekend. It was literally full of test equipment, computer gear, components and cable. I was never approached or told to leave. The next weekend the dumpster had it's own security guard and everything in it has been smashed.

fujifrontier · #8 10-13-2007, 08:01 PM

wa2ise · #9 10-14-2007, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by julianburke

I have seen many assembly lines shut down with product almost finished to the beginning of assembly totally trashed. When an assembly line is shut down, it is shut down regardless of what is on it. If money runs out on a project, it is shut down regardless.

Realize that the street price for a TV set from RCA about 25 years ago was about 4 times what it cost RCA to manufacture it and get it to the shipping dock of the factory building. So, if it sold for $200, it cost about $50 to make it. So the losses involved with just trashing whatever was still on the factory line really isn't that much... I used to work at RCA's old Smirnoff R&D lab, before GE bought RCA and raped and pillaged it...

fujifrontier · #10 10-14-2007, 05:58 PM

all of you are making me cry

colorfixer · #11 10-14-2007, 06:25 PM

...again another reason that these companies cease to exist.
Think they do this in China?

Findm-Keepm · #12 10-14-2007, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zenith2134

I think its amazing we have someone posting here who has had access to mass amounts of collectible stuff.

Oddly, I got most of my parts through closed GE, RCA, and Zenith Distributors, E-Bay, and I'll soon be getting my Dad's stuff too. Several AK members have already benefited from my parts stash.

I was in my early twenties when Portsmouth shut down - me recollections are few, as I was more interested in other things (ladies) and my budding career in the US Navy.

The Stuff my Dad got through the GE plant closing was mostly engineering spares - they ran the lines and produced all the sets they could before shuttering the plant and going to Asia. The engineering effort at Portsmouth seems to have stopped with their PM chassis. The few engineering sample sets Dad got were all metal cabinet (FCC cert?) PC or PM chassis, heavily modified with about a bazillion RCA jacks on a back panel that allowed monitoring of various test points within the set. GE was big on VIR - Dad got a VIR test bed monitor (no tuner) that had three or four switchable circuit configurations. We never did figure out what each position was supposed to do, and we didn't get any documentation either, so it was all WAG'in to figure some of it out. The VIR monitor was a small 13 inch modified AB/AC chassis monitor, probably used for field testing. Oddly, no projection set stuff at all - and GE had produced a Portsmouth assembled rear projection set around 1981.

Keep in mind that GE had ceased all tube/hybrid set production well before they closed the plant, and all of the "stuff" Dad got was for later model (1980+) sets - modular color, some AA/AB/AC chassis stuff, some EC chassis stuff, Tons of PC and PM chassis stuff and lots of loose parts - one box of loose disc capacitors weighed in at over 50 pounds - and Dad still hasn't sorted all the smaller caps. Aside from the previously-mentioned resistors, flybacks, and caps, the only other high quantity item was that little horizontal output module (the part number escapes my memory) with the wirewound width control and Horizontal output transistor on it - he got about 2 or 3 hundred of those on cardboard skids. What he didn't use or sell to other dealers, he scrapped for the output transistor (ECG165's - they were running about 5 bucks a piece in the late 80's) and that wirewound pot.

I made an earlier suggestion in the Television Swap Board that we ought to have a resource "sticky" - and let everyone here post what they have available - parts, manuals, you name it. Several AK'ers listed all of the flybacks they had available - that is a prime example of a good start!

As for me, I have about 3500 RCA parts, 600 GE parts (yes, some Portacolor parts too!), 500 or so Zenith parts. I also have TONS of manuals in PDF and Microfiche format - Hitachi (TV/PTV/VCR) and LG/Zenith (CRT/LCD/Plasma TV) in PDF, Samsung, Sanyo, RCA, Sears (thanks Bryan!!) and Zenith in Microfiche. I also have access to a database of repair tips. Any manuals I have are always free to AK members!!

Sad stuff when a US plant closes, but it was a geek's heaven for me tinkering with all of that stuff!

Cheers,

Findm-Keepm · #13 10-14-2007, 11:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wa2ise

I used to work at RCA's old Smirnoff R&D lab, before GE bought RCA and raped and pillaged it...

.....shouldn't that be Sarnoff? Freudian slip?

Cheers

Bill R · #14 10-15-2007, 07:03 PM

I would like to be able to print some of my microfiche manuals, but I do not have the hardware to do it. I still like the old paper manuals.

Bill R

Findm-Keepm · #15 10-15-2007, 10:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill R

I would like to be able to print some of my microfiche manuals, but I do not have the hardware to do it. I still like the old paper manuals.

Bill R

Simple - check with any of the university/college libraries - they often have microfiche reader/printers available for use. I've had luck here, but it was several years ago. Fedex/Kinkos locations often will do the same, but they won't reproduce "copyrighted material" - your mileage may vary with that, depending on the staff at the location. Someone mentioned to me that architect supply houses might be able to point you in the right direction too.

Print only the pages you'll need - no one ever needs the specifications or packing instructions, for example. Also, post here and see if anyone has it in Paper or PDF. I have some manuals on paper and microfiche - go figure....

Whatever you do, don't buy a Canon PC60/70 series microfiche reader/printer. We had those in the cal labs in the Navy and they were a POS.

So call Jackson State and see if they can help...

Cheers,