Finally found a CTC40

[radiotvnut]

It didn't take long for me to realize that there were much cheaper tube sources out there. When I was getting them, I was a 12-13 year old kid and all I knew was that the RS catalog still advertised that tubes were available. Their prices were probably high because they really didn't want to be in the tube business and if they made the prices high enough, people would take their business elsewhere. Then, they could discontinue the sale of tubes because there wasn't enough interest.

[wa2ise]

Originally Posted by Dennman6

...I can remember going to the local Fay's Drug Store in Syracuse, NY in the late 1970s when they still had a tube tester kiosk near the entrance. ...

I graduated Syracuse University in 1978, but I didn't step off campus much at all. No Fay's or other chains within walking distance. There was the occasional hamfest though.

I didn't have a TV set in my dorm room, I was more a radio listener then. And only 4 TV channels in Syracuse then.

[andy]

...

[Charlie]

Wow... that looks sooo nice! It really cleaned up well, and now looks like new!

[AUdubon5425]

That set looks great!

[DaveWM]

indeed that is a hansom set. I wonder what was wrong with consumers that traded in something that nice looking for fugly crap in the late 70's and then BPC's....

[andy]

...

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by DaveWM

indeed that is a hansom set. I wonder what was wrong with consumers that traded in something that nice looking for fugly crap in the late 70's and then BPC's....

Perhaps the sets didn't work, and the owner(s) did not want the old TV taking up room in the basement (or wherever they stored the old one when they bought new). When all TV went digital in June 2009, people had almost no choice but to get a flat screen, unless they wanted to use a converter box with the old set (as VK member Bryan, bgadow, did with his TVs, rather than getting cable). Many perfectly good old CRT TVs (in many cases, in very handsome wood cabinets) wound up on curbs after the DTV transition, true to the predictions made by many, or, rather, the scare tactics stating that all NTSC TVs would go black and be useless after the transition went into effect.

As much as we may dislike their looks, nowadays Chinese/Japanese/Pacific Rim built TVs are the rule. We may never again see large consoles as were so popular in the NTSC era, although a few such sets (many in the hands of vintage TV collectors or people who do not want to spend money for cable) are still being used with converter boxes and antennas or are on cable, with a cable box. Most people outside our hobby do not know the first thing about repairing old sets, so when the old TV develops a potentially serious problem that will cost a small fortune (!) to repair, the old set is usually trashed and replaced with a flat screen. That's just the way it is these days.

[andy]

...

[Outland]

Congratulations!