Any one here will still use the C.R.T tv's for every day wathcing tv?

[NowhereMan 1966]

Originally Posted by Jeffhs

I have two CRT TVs in storage, a Zenith "Sentry 2" 19" and an RCA CTC185 -- both table sets. The RCA was my daily watcher from 1999 until I got a flat screen almost two years ago. The Zenith was my daily watcher for four years at my former home, then when I moved in late '99 I bought the RCA and put the Zenith set in the bedroom, where it has been ever since. It isn't used much these days, so it has four years of actual usage hours on it. That set, incidentally, was made during the period in the '90s when Zenith TVs had bad CRTs; however, my set still has its original tube, which is still going strong after almost 18 years.


For NowhereMan1966: What finally happened to your Sony TV?

BTW, I am impressed by the years and years of good service your Zenith System 3 TV has given you since it was new in the early '80s. (What does your set look like? Is it the console model or the one shaped to fit in a corner of a room? Just curious.) Those sets were made when Zenith was still an American company with headquarters in Chicago, so they were built to last. I had two 13" Zenith color portables that lasted many years, and a small Zenith b&w portable that lasted over twenty years and was still working very well (only thing wrong with it was the detent mechanism on the UHF tuner broke) when I got rid of it 13 years ago, due to space limitations in my apartment.

Well, Mom had the TV repairman put a tube brightener on the Sony although the blues were very weak. It lasted for a week or so and then it kept flashing on and off again so we decided to put the Zenith back into service until I'm able to buy a new TV. I'll snap a pic of her and post it. BTW, the Zenith says on the back, "Zenith Radio Corporation" and was made in Chicago. She does have some minor issues, shows her age a little, I think there is a tempermental cap on one of the boards where the picture flicks red but it usually goes away and doesn't do it for a while and a few others small issues that minimize when she is warmed up, but after that, she still has a great picture. It takes her a minute to warm up where it took about 15 seconds when new, but hey, she's 31 years old. I once saw a 1984 model that looked like her on Craigslist, if I had the room, I'd snag that one.

[Robert Grant]

Sometimes use a 13" Zenith in the kitchen ($6 at a thrift store a few years back) and daughter uses the 27" "Sylvania" (Funai) that was the living room set (our first digital set) from buying it new at the end of 2005 until upgrading in late 2009

[holmesuser01]

I found a lovely little 9" Zenith set from around 1986 for $1 at a yard sale. The seller asked me if I was using it for parts for something else, as he was told that it was full of Zenith modules that would work on any Zenith TV. I told him I planned to use it as is. I got it home, opened it up, and found a spotlessly clean chassis with no signs of heat from use anywhere. Very bright sharp picture.

I installed it at my 80 year old mother's house in her kitchen. She's will possibly run it 15 hours a day, now.

She has a 32" CRT Phillips set, a 46" Mitsubishi projection set, and a 20" Magnavox set. to go with the 9" Zenith. We are still a very CRT family here.

[gdunlapsd]

I've got a 1963 Motorola 19" B&W tv in my home office that I watch/listen to almost every day while working at the computer; the kids love watching old shows on it as well. The TV is still a work in progress, but has a good, sharp picture, extremely sharp when fed from the computer - even web browsing on it is surprisingly feasible!

I also have an RCA XL-100 in the bedroom, made in 1990. It's just old enough to have that fake plastic "wood grain" pattern. It gets a little less use but still gets used with movie and exercise DVDs and a Gamecube, as well as occasional TV watching. Starts up green, but turns into a beautiful, sharp picture after a second or two; VERY sharp after I adjusted the focus.

I also have a 32" Samsung LCD in the living room, which is what we use for serious movie and TV watching, but the old B&W Motorola probably gets the most daily use.

It's funny how much better most standard-def looks on a CRT than an LCD. Watching MeTV on the old TV, I was worried about the TVs picture quality, but after seeing it on the LCD I can see how lousy and over-compressed the video is on that channel. Regular TV looks great on all the TVs.

[Tubejunke]

Not a flat screen in this house. Can't see why I would need one! Just an early 80s 19" Zenith in the bedroom with as crisp a picture as I've ever seen, and in the living room is a big 24" Magnavox that I found at the local dump-site tossed because someone knocked out the on-off button. That was about 5 or 6 years ago and the TV plays often around the clock trouble free. The DirecTV universal remote took care of the power button problem. When these finally fail, I MIGHT get a flat, but then again I might just go and get one of the many CRT sets whose prices continue to plummet at pawn shops and thrift stores.

[zeno]

I went flat 2 yrs ago BUT keep a 13" Zenith system 3 L line for when
the flat Sony dies, probably sooner than later. Kept upstairs in my
stamp room. I turn it on for exercise sometimes & hope to get
some sporatic-E from Canada or the Caribbean. Systen 3's ( 9-160's)
were ugly inside & had over engineered PS & HOZ BUT were
nearly bullet proof. Not like todays junk.

73 Zeno

[Dude111]

Good for you,im proud of you Zeno for keeping one handy

[brockolye]

I only have CRT. I have a Mitsubishi big screen CRT (approx 36" screen) but it's broken now. It needs a deflection board and I can't find anyone who still has the part...and I have really looked. I have 2 19" crt's I still use.

[Dude111]

Well dont ever give up bud,i think you may find one sometime

Goto google and type in deflection board and other stuff!

GOOD LUCK!!

[radiotvnut]

Originally Posted by brockolye

I only have CRT. I have a Mitsubishi big screen CRT (approx 36" screen) but it's broken now. It needs a deflection board and I can't find anyone who still has the part...and I have really looked. I have 2 19" crt's I still use.

Would it be possible to repair the old board to the component level?

[truetone36]

My wife would like a flatscreen, but I haven't been impressed by any I've seen. I'm putting a CTC-17 console in the mancave to use there, and I've got the 16" G.E. Escort portable I use out in the shed when I'm working on stuff. It's a '62 model, and sees almost daily use.

[Carmine]

Still watching my '90 Zenith installed in an an old porthole cabinet. (I didn't gut the cabinet, I bought it that way.) I could care less about getting a modern TV. Most shows I watch are 60s/70s vintage.

Lots of remodeling going on here, too dusty for a flatcreen anyways.

[Dude111]

Originally Posted by Carmine

I could care less about getting a modern TV.

Thats quite nice to hear my friend,i hope you keep it up

[Popester]

It's been since June since anyone posted to this thread, so I'll add my two cents worth too. I was watching daily until Febuary of last year my Sony KV2648R. Daily viewer since purchase on 10-10-83. Bought for cost $1175. Then it died and I recycled the chassis to the recycle center. Now watching the Sony KV32V25 it still has a great picture, cost me $1137.72 bought on 01-20-97. Have in storage a Sony KV1941, Sony KV4000, and Sony 5-303W. All work, but the micro tv needs recapping and the 4000 needs buttons, but they all work. No flatscreen tv in this house for tv viewing anytime soon.

[sampson159]

my daily watcher is now my zenith space command system3 combo from 1979.i also watch my e45 sylvania superset i got from another aker.currently working on a zenith chromacolorII with the vertical chassis.crt was dead when i got it.i cooked it for a couple hours and it came up but still a little on the weak side.does actually show a good picture.all 3 guns test even at 6.5 to 6.8 on my tester with good cutoff.tuner has usual issues and it does shutdown after 30 minutes.power cap is a little swollen.cabinet is a mess!this was an ebay purchase by another aker.little did he know that they were using it as a workbench.i guess after he paid for it,they didnt care what happened.did look nice in pictures.