Estate Sale Finds In 2011!

[compu_85]

Nice set indeed! It's nice someone took care when trimming the owner's name off of the warranty card rather then just using a box cutter like the original shop did.

And it's poor etiquette to quote an entire picture post. As my fellow sysadmins would say... Trim your quotes!

-J

[AUdubon5425]

This weekend I came home with a CTC-9 Latham, 16" Magnavox all-channel built in Japan, 27" Magnavox console (early 60's) with cabinet issues and a '63 or so Westinghouse 21" metal tabletop set with automatic tuning. Not sure how salvageable some are, but the RCA at least is complete.

pics to come later...

[DaveWM]

I have a 27" CRT maggie, I hope the CRT on yours is strong, they are somewhat rare. Mine is weak but watchable. I was reading up on selling prices of CRT's in an old tube list, the 27" were nearly double what a 24" was selling for.

[AUdubon5425]

Well, these were smokers' sets and sat for years in an abandoned side of a double house. Plaster & paint falling off walls, roaches, etc. Chassis are filthy! The RCA is in the best shape - I'll post pics of it in the color forum.

The Magnavox is an early 60's VHF only 27" set. It originally sat on four legs but the particleboard base rotted. CRT tests about halfway on the meter.





This Westinghouse is a metal cabinet 21" with "Automatic Tuning" and has provisions for a remote setup. Most of the tubes are missing - the CRT shows promise:

[DaveWM]

even with a weak pic the 27" will prob be fine, mine barely moved the needle, it came back to life with use.

[drh4683]

There was an estate sale at 4846 N. Newcastle in Chicago yesterday. Nice and close to where I work, so I was able to check it out on my lunch break with my friend from work. The home was mostly untouched and they saved everything (which are the best sales). In the basement, I found a nice Motorola Quasar II works in a drawer. FINALLY and mint motorola comes my way at the estates. Clean as a whistle, non smokers set. The basement was bone dry too, never had any moisture problems, but the guy still had it on a little platform. Its never been serviced, just as clean as the day it was made. It was built in September of '73 so its toward the end of the real Motorola built TV's. Its a very nice higher end cabinet made of actual hardwood, not particle board or masonite and has the nice red speaker grill cloth. Just a very well cared for TV that saw hardly any use, I'm sure Im the first to have taken the back off. It still has the various quality control and final assembly check stickers on the back. It's got the TS-934 chassis. It does work, has a little 60 hz ripple but the picture is bright and clear. It has the pushbutton UHF tuner which I always liked the look of, but never had one before. This TV lived its life just a couple miles from where it was born at the Motorola plant in Franklin Park.

[DaveWM]

wow. nice find Doug, looks like it was barely used, what a time capsule!!

It just seems odd to see a tube in a drawer like that, I would think the heat build up would be extreme.

[mwplefty]

Wow. All of these greats set so close to home. It makes me happy to live near Chicago.

Also that pushbutton UHF tuner is quite unique.

[radiotvnut]

Nice! These almost never turn up.

[rcaman]

my best friends parents had the same motorola chassis when we were growing up. that thing had one of the best pictures i had seen on a tv. it was a low end model cabinet on legs. steve

[zenith2134]

Man where to begin...! That Westinghouse is just plain awesome. Ive always liked the vertical chassis with the tubes sitting sideways. And the XL100 from pg.3 of this thread is stellar. Those are among my favorite sets of all time.

[AUdubon5425]

That Quasar is darn-near identical to the set I had 12-13 years ago in Fargo. I don't remember it saying "Quasar II" - it was made 11/75. Same controls. Heaviest darn TV I ever carried up two flights of stairs!

[Sandy G]

Judging from the shots of the modest-looking neighbourhood, a big, honkin' color set like that would have been a treat then, & would have prolly been taken care of, as it was...People appreciated "Luxuries" like that back then & took care of 'em.

[jmdocs]

That linoleum on the rec room floor + paneled walls = classic Chicago basement = good estate sale. Nice find.

[drh4683]

I couldn't resist but to go to the sale at 124 S 2nd in Geneva. I have no room for anything like this but when theres will there's a way as the old saying goes. The Admiral roundie was still there, so whoever bought it still didn't pick it up yet as of this morning. So I looked at the other TV's and I checked out the "unknown" combo. Turns out to be a TV that I have never seen before in the Chicago area: a Packard Bell color set. This has always been Zenith land for obvious reasons and Packard Bells are virtually non-existent. Needless to say, I never saw anything like it before. That being said, I had to make arrangements to save this peice. I had my appliance dolly with me, so I was able to move it by myself. It was marked $50 and thats what I paid. No, I didn't save any of the other sets. They were all pretty rough. In fact, this PB is the cleanest and nicest of all the sets at the sale. When I flipped it on its end, there was a hand written date on the bottom of the set from the manufacturer. The cabinet was built on June 18, 1968 by "JRO". It does not appear to have ever been serviced either. It works with a bright blank raster so thats all that matters at this point. The stereo works well, both channels work too loud and clear. A very unique stereo tuner too and a garrard turntable. I've always wanted a PB color set so I could see what they were all about. A very high quality chassis here, so much like a Zenith but with part of it being vertical. All original tubes too. I made a bold move and got this thing in my basement which was a major accomplishment. I think it will be the only combo that I will ever dare to move in the basement. Big question for you guys in California who know about these: What is the model number and did they ever have a tag on them? I can't even see where a model number tag would have been, usually theres some discoloration or residual glue from where a tag once was but the back cover looks clean and perfect like there never was a model. How were the tags affixed and did they even have any or are they hidden inside the set?