Picture of the last Zenith B&W console from '81

[mbates14]

ill never buy a new TV. ever... the number of flat LCD/Plasmas i see roll into the shop, ill stick with my 25" maggie.

[bgadow]

Originally Posted by jstout66

Boy is thread bringing back memories! Bryan, you got a Midland product?!? How long did it last? I remember Midland products being so very horrible. We had a "Pamida" chain the next town over and they had Midland products. The color sets were awful. The pictures looked like crap on the floor. I remember trying to adjust them, to make them better, but try as I may, I couldn't get them to look good. They had a very old fashioned clunky look about them as well. Perhaps I was spoiled because I grew up on Zenith products, but man.....
I also remember our town had a Western Auto that carried the store brand (Trutone) and Midland sets. If anything was as craptastic as Trutone it would have to be Midland! I totally forgot about that brand! The B&W stuff would have been pretty basic, so at least I'm sure you got your monies worth. Zenith wasn't cranking out that good of stuff in B&W either. I remember some of the 19" sets we sold coming in 5 years later with weak picture tubes. Has anyone else run into that with mid 70's early 80's Zenith B&W's?

That Midland was the only new TV I have ever bought, may ever buy? I had enough money saved up to buy it but Mom & Dad paid the sales tax. Of course, I could have bought a 12" bw anywhere for about the same price. In the mid-80s they were $69-89 all over the place. I probably would have got an Emerson or Gold Star except that my parents saw this in a Western Auto sales flyer. One Saturday Dad took me up to the little store downtown in the county seat, long gone now. The flyer advertised a Magnavox but the clerk said all they had was the Midland "all the same anyway." I probably used it for just a few years-in time I was able to find a used Portacolor for $15 that needed a $50 repair. Eventually I took the Midland apart with the idea of mounting it in some sort of homebrew cabinet, but never got that far.

A couple years ago a guy I know gave me a couple sets he had taking up space. One was a Midland 19" color from about '77. It had an inline tube but otherwise looked cheap and, as others said, "old timey"...more like a bw set, maybe. I tried it and it kinda worked but had hv problems so I junked it. I think it was Korean.

One of the sets that passed my way was an Admiral bw console from about '70. Got a couple little stories out of that one: my girlfriend at the time didn't have a set in her room so I carried that one over there, up the stairs and to her door...which was closed. So, I balanced the Admiral on one leg and reached for the doorknob. The TV slipped and one of the legs caught my big toe through my stocking feet. I ended up losing that nail, and it still isn't right some 18 years later. Lots of blood!

Later I had that set in my office with a "free" sign on it and this customer came in, she was the type who would take anything if it were being given away. So, I loaded it up in the trunk of her small car and off she went. Probably long gone now.

[radiotvnut]

I had a Midland 12" B&W from the mid '80's that looked just like that Emerson that I posted about a few days ago. I think these sets were actually built by goldstar. And, I've seen some 19" Emerson and Midland branded color sets from the '80's that were made by goldstar. Those color sets never had a good picture and I've seen many with toasted flyback transformers and weak CRT's.

I remember, all during the '80's, one could buy a 12" B&W set in the $60-$80 range. Back then, those were the sets that were either bought for the kids room, the kitchen, the RV, or by people who couldn't afford anything better for their main set. By the mid '90's, I remember some 12" B&W TV's in the $29-$39 range. They were branded "Action" and the build quality was so cheap that it made one of those old '80's Emerson/GS/Midland branded sets look very well built. Those "Action" brand sets ran off of a 12V wall wart and could also be used with a car cord. Those were likely the last sets sold in the US with the traditional click stop tuners.

[radiotvnut]

Originally Posted by jstout66

Boy is thread bringing back memories! Bryan, you got a Midland product?!? How long did it last? I remember Midland products being so very horrible. We had a "Pamida" chain the next town over and they had Midland products. The color sets were awful. The pictures looked like crap on the floor. I remember trying to adjust them, to make them better, but try as I may, I couldn't get them to look good. They had a very old fashioned clunky look about them as well. Perhaps I was spoiled because I grew up on Zenith products, but man.....
I also remember our town had a Western Auto that carried the store brand (Trutone) and Midland sets. If anything was as craptastic as Trutone it would have to be Midland! I totally forgot about that brand! The B&W stuff would have been pretty basic, so at least I'm sure you got your monies worth. Zenith wasn't cranking out that good of stuff in B&W either. I remember some of the 19" sets we sold coming in 5 years later with weak picture tubes. Has anyone else run into that with mid 70's early 80's Zenith B&W's?

Yes, I've seen several 19" Zenith B&W sets from the '70's and early '80's with weak CRT's. Some still produced a crappy picture, while others were so dim to the point of barely being able to see them with the lights turned off. I've even seen some of the 23" B&W Zenith consoles from the '60's with weak/dead CRT's. Fortunately, most of them could be brought back to life with a little bump from the rejuvenator.

Somewhere around '93, someone gave me a late '70's steel cabinet solid state 22" B&W Zenith with a dead CRT. I rejuvenated it, played it here for a week or two, and sold it. I guess it held up for a reasonable length of time b/c I never heard from the person who bought it. Now, I wish I still had that set and if I were to find such a set today with a dead tube, I might spring for a rebuilt CRT if my finances would allow it.

And, I know Zenith didn't make some, if not all, of their B&W tubes. I have a '78 19" Zenith that actually has a Zenith branded Sylvania built CRT in it. It was weak when I got it; but, came back after about 30 minutes of use.

I also have a '69 Zenith tube type B&W console (14N22 chassis) that still has a very strong CRT; but, I don't recall who actually built the tube. It could very well be a Sylvania built tube. The next time I have to pull the back, I'll try to remember to check.

[AUdubon5425]

I was looking at the Sams for my Chromacolor hybrid and another set in that folder is for a 12" Midland tube B&W set ('72-'73.) I don't know who built it or where but you can clearly see the tubes were branded "Admiral."

My first TV was a Panasonic 12" B&W set bought around 1983.

[bgadow]

I have one, maybe two late 60s Zenith bw sets with Zenith-branded Sylvania-built crts. I have found more weak Sylvania picture tubes than any other brand.

[AUdubon5425]

Originally Posted by bgadow

I have found more weak Sylvania picture tubes than any other brand.

That new '78 Sylvania B&W console I have - the CRT was replaced in '81 - must have went out from playing on the sales floor for three years.

[junkman]

I have an old warehouse in Florida with a room full of stuff, interested . . . free, just need to pick up.

[DaveWM]

where in Florida?

[nasadowsk]

Originally Posted by bgadow

I have one, maybe two late 60s Zenith bw sets with Zenith-branded Sylvania-built crts. I have found more weak Sylvania picture tubes than any other brand.

Bizzare. The strongest CRTs in any of my sets are Sylvanias. I've got one in a Setchell Carlson that's so bright that a few older TV repair guys i showed it to were astounded.

Made on a Wednesday, maybe?