i have been busy

[MOSFET]

Very nice. The Zenith in the 1st picture looks like a Chromacolor II from 1973. Could you please tell me what model the space command Zenith is?

[DavGoodlin]

Maybe your display method could be maximized by building a 2x4 framework to allow table models on the middle shelf and portables/radios on the top shelf.
Some of the tallest sets were the late 50s RCA BW sets and they should be on the floor. Check those before determining second shelf height.

[Jeffhs]

Very nice collection of old TVs. Reminds me of the collection of old sets, mostly trash-day finds, I had some years ago. My collection had various makes of TVs, almost literally from Admiral to Zenith; the only make I did not have was Magnavox. Some of the sets were unrepairable and were used as parts donors, but the ones that worked did so quite well. My pride and joy was a 23" 1963 black-and-white Zenith console. No tubes in it (except the CRT and HV rectifier) when I found it, near the end of the street I grew up on, but a fresh set of new tubes got the set going again with a beautiful picture. I also had a Philco "Microgrid 390" set (6BQ7 RF amplifier, IIRC) that also worked well, until the base came off the CRT. Another set I liked and hated to part with was a 1951 GE 16" console my grandmother gave me when she got a color set in 1969 or '70. The GE set had a special type of tuner that had two RF amplifier tubes ahead of the antenna; it may have been designed for use in fringe areas, although it worked well for some 20 years on rabbit ears in my grandmother's apartment near Cleveland.

Had to get rid of these TVs and all but three other sets in the collection (a 1961 Philco 19" portable, a 1964 Sears Silvertone 19" color roundie, and a 12" Sharp b&w portable from '69) when I moved in 1972. It was too bad I had to give up the Zenith after all the work I put into it, as that set not only had a beautiful picture but it also had probably the best sound system (6BN6 gated-beam discriminator and 6x9 oval speaker) I have ever heard in a television set, then or now. (I doubt if my present flat-screen TV, hooked up to my bookshelf stereo system, could beat the Zenith, even though the flat screen has stereo sound.) I even patched an old FM tuner into the sound system by connecting the tuner's output across the volume control, and had the makings of a cheap audio system -- missing only a phonograph.

[technicolor]

Originally Posted by bgadow

That basement could be set up nice as a vintage TV showroom. Nice collection!

Tried following through with you and i was noticing that my replies to you were not in my sent folder. Please get a hold of me at [email protected]

Would like to talk to you about what u have.

[technicolor]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

I have a '71, and though similar in some ways his is definitely newer....I'd say 72-77.

I'd refrain from tearing out the ceiling. You can get agile modulators(to transmit your own low-power station(s) over the air to the sets) for much cheaper than all the drywall work and hundreds of feet of rg6 it takes to wire a basement for that many sets.

My sets are set up in areas where I'm banned from drywall work so I'm trying to get enough mods together that I can get away from that bundle of cables(it's thick enough to strangle a hippo with) that encircles my rooms' base boards.

I don't mind doing drywall, thanks for the suggestion but i don;t think that will work with fta C band and KU band.

[technicolor]

Originally Posted by AdamAnt316

It was great meeting you, Joe. The reason the Zenith 'skips' most channels is that the motorized tuner makes use of presets. Whoever installed it back in the early '70s set it up for the local channels received in the area (2, 4, 5, 7, 11, 25, 38, 44, 56, etc.), installing a little placard in the tuner identifying what channel the preset was set for. I never got around to figuring out how to re-tune the presets for other channels; the Fine Tuning knob didn't seem to do a whole lot, and I had no idea what the controls on the back of the tuner might do, so I didn't mess with them. Hopefully, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out, and most VCRs and such at least offer a switch for channel 3/4 output, so the 4 preset should do the trick. Good luck, and have fun!
-Adam

Thanks for all the advice, ran an external rf converter, and i'm in business on channel four. Must not have like the internal rf converter on my satellite receiver. best picture i have here, works awesome.

[AdamAnt316]

Originally Posted by MOSFET

Very nice. The Zenith in the 1st picture looks like a Chromacolor II from 1973. Could you please tell me what model the space command Zenith is?

Never could figure out which number on the back corresponded to the model of the set. I do know that it uses chassis 25CC55, and was apparently made around 1972.

Originally Posted by technicolor

Thanks for all the advice, ran an external rf converter, and i'm in business on channel four. Must not have like the internal rf converter on my satellite receiver. best picture i have here, works awesome.

Glad it's working for you! Is the color working now? The picture seemed washed-out color-wise when I tried running a Super Nintendo into it on channel 4.
-Adam

[Electronic M]

Originally Posted by technicolor

I don't mind doing drywall, thanks for the suggestion but i don;t think that will work with fta C band and KU band.

If what a Google search of those bands is telling me is true(that it is some sort of satellite TV band) then unless satellites are transmitting in the old analog TV UHF and VHF bands(which would make no sense to me) I see no reason why a modulator would interfere with satellite signals.
If you meant that you don't think you could connect an agile modulator to the satellite receivers then I gotta wonder how you connect the receivers to your TVs. If your satellite boxes have composite video out(yellow jack) and audio line out then all you need to do to use an agile modulator is connect those to the video in and audio in on an agile modulator connect a pair of rabbit ears to the modulator, tune the modulator to the old analog TV channel you wish to transmit on then tune your TVs to that same channel......It is easier than connecting a modern video game system to a vintage TV.

[technicolor]

Originally Posted by AdamAnt316

Never could figure out which number on the back corresponded to the model of the set. I do know that it uses chassis 25CC55, and was apparently made around 1972.



Glad it's working for you! Is the color working now? The picture seemed washed-out color-wise when I tried running a Super Nintendo into it on channel 4.
-Adam

I hate to tell you this, but yeah the color and picture are amazing.

[sanjarali]

In my village this person is for joy and worship!! technicolor is a man of great endowment to posess many such upper caste TVs and saving them I desire

[AdamAnt316]

Originally Posted by technicolor

I hate to tell you this, but yeah the color and picture are amazing.

No hate involved, man! Just glad that you're able to get some enjoyment from a set which otherwise would've ended up getting thrown out. I had no room for the console at home, and far too many TVs already (we're actually in the process of pitching some of the broken sets we've had lying around here for years; mostly crappy '90s sets). I'd like to see a picture of the Space Command set giving a good picture, if you can manage it.
-Adam

[technicolor]

Originally Posted by AdamAnt316

No hate involved, man! Just glad that you're able to get some enjoyment from a set which otherwise would've ended up getting thrown out. I had no room for the console at home, and far too many TVs already (we're actually in the process of pitching some of the broken sets we've had lying around here for years; mostly crappy '90s sets). I'd like to see a picture of the Space Command set giving a good picture, if you can manage it.
-Adam

I;ll post them here tonight, my kid knows how to get her pics from her phone to email, i don't.

[truetone36]

You'll be amazed at how quickly that basement will fill up. I started out with just a few 50's b/w sets, 29 years and nearly 200 sets ago, lol.

[technicolor]

Originally Posted by technicolor

I;ll post them here tonight, my kid knows how to get her pics from her phone to email, i don't.

youtube video of the 1972 zenith

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaD64...ature=youtu.be

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaD64...ature=youtu.be


video of the rca vista color ctc40 combo, sorry for the bad lighting, will try to take more

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhF_9...ature=youtu.be

[Username1]

WOW, What a bunch-a room...... I have to second many comments here about setting up a sales floor.... The carpet is the killer there though.... Maybe you could do dividers and break up the large areas into decade themes, I'm sure enough tv showroom pictures exist for you to do some 50's 60's and 70's theme sections, and still have enough room to set up an authentic repair area.... Your Mall (house) could become a stop for people going out to the early tv convention.... Looks like a very cool start to a really interesting bunch of possibilities. As time goes on, You'll collect stuff from each era to set up some nice display stuff.... 2 or three sets per era, set up with a love seat, maybe a recliner, lamp, small table, then around the divider another setup with different year stuff....