Hoffman...yea or nay

[Ampico-kid]

Hi;
Just came across an interesting looking Hoffman TV. The brand Hoffman is well off of my radar screen and I know very little about them, so I thought I'd poll some of the pros to see what the general consensus would be about the brand and this set in particular.

Here are the particulars that I know....it's a model BR-3873, black and white set that looks to be about late 1950's to early 1960's. It also happens to be a remote control set as well. Here's a photo of the front.



According to the owner the cabinet is in very good condition, all parts are intact, it hasn't been "tested", and so the condition (and the crt in particular) is unknown. The asking price is $25 which is more than reasonable if it's considered a worthwhile set. The only downside is the fact that it's located about 3 hours away.

So what do you all think?

Thanks.
Bob

[AUdubon5425]

Well, a remote Hoffman is like hen's teeth.

Hoffman was a west-coast manufacturer like Packard Bell. Some part of them is still in business. They shifted their focus away from consumer electronics sometime around 1970 give or take a few years.

[miniman82]

I don't do B&W sets anymore (aside from something small like my VT-71), but I would spring for that one since it has a remote and I actually really like the cabinet design.

[Tubejunke]

To me this is sort of an oddity in the fact that the cabinet does indeed look late fifties to very early sixties, but the viewing area screams late sixties or seventies with what I call a second generation rectangular crt. Nearly all CRTs in the mid and late fifties had the more rounded corners and most often a separate flat safety glass. Take a good look at the insides of this set before you buy it because honestly, to me it looks as if it could possibly be a "retro" retro-fit job. In other words it looks like someone in the seventies with a taste for the popularity of fifties nostalgia at the time might have decided to mount a solid state or hybrid color set up in a vintage cabinet. It would have been the thing to do back in those days rather than try to resurrect the old B&W chassis and tube which was just junk back then. Heck it could have been a young Harry Poster job! Who knows? I hope that I am completely off base and it is simply a set made by a company that was way ahead of its time. It could be exactly like the Edsel!

[Ampico-kid]

Originally Posted by Tubejunke

To me this is sort of an oddity in the fact that the cabinet does indeed look late fifties to very early sixties, but the viewing area screams late sixties or seventies with what I call a second generation rectangular crt. Nearly all CRTs in the mid and late fifties had the more rounded corners and most often a separate flat safety glass. Take a good look at the insides of this set before you buy it because honestly, to me it looks as if it could possibly be a "retro" retro-fit job. In other words it looks like someone in the seventies with a taste for the popularity of fifties nostalgia at the time might have decided to mount a solid state or hybrid color set up in a vintage cabinet. It would have been the thing to do back in those days rather than try to resurrect the old B&W chassis and tube which was just junk back then. Heck it could have been a young Harry Poster job! Who knows? I hope that I am completely off base and it is simply a set made by a company that was way ahead of its time. It could be exactly like the Edsel!

I think we may have an Edsel here....take a look at this picture of a 1959 Hoffman tv on the left with a model number of B3683 compared to the one I'm looking at on the right with a model number of BR3873. They both appear to have the same rectangular crt and a very similar cabinet and control layout. But you're right that the squareness of the corners on the crt does look out of place for the cabinet style.........Bob

[jr_tech]

IIRC, by 1961 the old 17" and 21" tubes had mostly given way to the new squared corner 19" and 23" designs. Shell bonded implosion protection dates from 1959.
jr

[RitchieMars]

I definitely know nothing about them, but it certainly strikes me as pretty unique. It's a fairly attractive cabinet and it's just antiquated enough to be interesting, but also demonstrates some forward-thinking. Does the owner actually have the original remote to go with it? I think early remote controls, especially the type that actuated some type of motor to turn the channel selector, are very cool. It all depends on your personal tastes but it might be worth the drive.

My vote:

[Reece]

If it's a remote that early, it must be a wired remote running a motorized tuner and perhaps motorized volume control. If so, and if missing, it would not be hard to make up a control box for it with some buttons and a long cord.

[Ampico-kid]

I did neglect to mention that the original remote is included with the sale. Bob

[zenithfan1]

Originally Posted by Ampico-kid

I did neglect to mention that the original remote is included with the sale. Bob

Well then, that clinches it. It's a "yea" from me, I really like it and the remote being with it along with the good cosmetic condition makes it worthwhile IMHO. AND it's an oddball, those are always fun to have.

[miniman82]

If you only had a spot for a nice remote set... maybe a Sylvania...lol

[peverett]

I have several of the Hoffman "Easy Vision" TVs with the green tinted safety glass, but with the exception of a portable, none as new as this one. What I can say about the more expensive "Mark V" chassis with a true FM limiter in the sound system, is that they are less suceptable to buzz from the strong DTV converter box signal than other sets(including the cheaper Hoffman models). I am not sure how long Hoffman used the limiter circuit.

[Tubejunke]

Originally Posted by Reece

If it's a remote that early, it must be a wired remote running a motorized tuner and perhaps motorized volume control. If so, and if missing, it would not be hard to make up a control box for it with some buttons and a long cord.

Zenith was selling wireless remote (Space Command) sets as early as the mid fifties; maybe earlier. The tuner was indeed motorized and the volume was controlled in something like three steps through the use of relays as was power and mute. The signal was simply generated by tuning forks of various lengths in the remote control that would be struck whenever a button was pushed. The sets remote receiving unit would react to the different sound frequencies and perform the task.

[Tubejunke]

Originally Posted by Ampico-kid

I think we may have an Edsel here....take a look at this picture of a 1959 Hoffman tv on the left with a model number of B3683 compared to the one I'm looking at on the right with a model number of BR3873. They both appear to have the same rectangular crt and a very similar cabinet and control layout. But you're right that the squareness of the corners on the crt does look out of place for the cabinet style.........Bob

The one on the left, to me, looks like it has what I think of as a typical German/Euro crt look from the seventies and eighties. The glass sort of bulged out at you with very little or sometimes no mask. This is an interesting company! Perhaps they produced and sold world wide.

[frenchy]

I say get it as well, any old tubed set with one of these old clickers is cool. I love my 61 RCA color set with remote, real complicated remote mechanicals that are almost like a car transmission with all the gears and reverse functions, and a large, separate remote amplifier. And the remote looks like a Star Trek weapon, I love it even more than the TV. This Hoffman is mighty pretty, I have a blonde Hoffman 600 (their first set I think) and the chassis is built like a tank. Can you post a pic of the remote if you pick the set up?