Roundies

[Oldstuff78]

I have a question about Roundies. Was 1965 the last year for ALL Color sets to be round before the introduction of Rectangular Color Picture Tubes ? I noticed the sales brochure for Zenith in 1965 were all Round sets and the Ad's I have seen for Admiral & RCA are roundies also.

I bought that 1965 French provincial Zenith Roundie that the guy had for sale up in WI a couple months ago on eBay. I said I wasn't interested to begin with, but I'm eating crow because I couldn't resist it. It's the same TV as in my Avatar, but I don't think it has Space Command 600, even though the sales brochure says it does.

I'm waiting for the guy to take it down to Doug in IL. I hope things work out. I took a chance on buying it, but Doug knows the guy and Zenithfan1 got his combo from him, so he has a good reputation for being honest.

[David Roper]

I think Sylvania offered a rectangular-CRT set in 1964. Then there's the Westinghouse set in 1957....

[Oldstuff78]

Being New to researching old sets, I wasn't sure when rectangular picture tubes hit big. It seems like Ad's I have seen starting for the 1966 model year was pushing the rectangulars, where the 65's were Roundies.

I like the looks of Roundies. They are a product of their own time and just by looking at it, it screams 1960's.

IF, and when I ever get mine, it will be a treat watch my old shows on it.

[electroking]

I understand some low-priced sets were built using round
tubes until sometime in the late sixties.

[Sandy G]

Yeah-IIRC, Philco-and maybe others- was still selling roundies as their "economy" color sets as late as 1968-69.

[Oldstuff78]

Yes, Round sets were still being built up to about 1970. I have an old Montgomery Ward Sale Catalog from Winter 1969 and it has a Round Airline set for $ 349.99 and say's something like "Color is now more affordable at Wards"

In my original question I was trying to figure out if 1966 was the BIG model year for the Rectangular sets to be the "In" thing or the Newest feature for Color sets. I noticed if you watch a show from 1965 that features a color set, it is always a Roundie. Then If the show was shot in 1966 and on, Rectangulars are always featured.

[bgadow]

There were a rectangulars in maybe late 64 and certainly through 65, with Motorola leading the pack. Something I have noticed is a large percentage of sets I have come across through the years were made in 67; I think things were really taking off then. Yep, 66 would have been the turning point.

[radiotvnut]

The last roundie I'm aware of was a cheap '70 Magnavox.

I think Motorola was the first to hit the ground running with a rectangular set. I currently have a rectangular Motorola that was bought in '66; but, could actually be a '65 model. You can read about it on the rectangular tube & SS forum.

[Hawkwind]

I remember seeing a table top roundie at Sears in a really cheap looking cabinet in, I think, 1969. I think the asking price was $249.95 but I could be wrong. Had a great picture...

[Tony V]

I wonder if any ad's exist for those last roundies i keep hearing about. I know several of the members have the Philco/Ford sets but how about the Magnavox and others. It would be cool to see them.
-Tony

[Oldstuff78]

I have an Ad for a 1969 Wards Airline set. I will try to upload it later today.

[zenithfan1]

I've seen the set you are getting. She'll need some work to be watchable. Let me know if you need help with it, I'll do whatever I can. Cabinet will need refinishing. Has an I.F. issue and the CRT seemed dim but could have been caused by other problems. I didn't thoroughly check it.

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by radiotvnut

The last roundie I'm aware of was a cheap '70 Magnavox.

I didn't think Magnavox had roundies, even b&w ones; all the Magnavox TVs I've ever seen have had rectangular tubes. Maybe Magnavox was trying to break with tradition in 1970.

By "cheap", were you referring to the cabinet, to the design of the chassis, or both? Somehow, I can't imagine Magnavox making anything "cheap" in the '70s; quality was always a hallmark of theirs, as it was with Zenith TV/stereo at the time. in fact, I think Magnavox was still making its large, fabulous 25" stereo theater TV/radio/phono with Total Remote Control until at least 1975. Zenith was leaning in that direction (cheap cabinets) by that time as well, made of wood and brown plastic accent pieces over the speakers and along the sides, but Magnavox? I don't think Magnavox started cutting corners on their TVs and audio gear until the age of outsourcing, in the mid-'80s-nineties and beyond. The only places anyone ever sees those huge Maggie three-way entertainment centers these days is on eBay (very rarely; I haven't seen one of those beasts there for months, if not longer) or here on AK; I think at least one of our members has one, or a console very similar to it. The Maggie three-way theater console is almost as rare these days, IMHO, as Zenith's MJ-1035 FM stereo radio of 1961-'65 vintage. I remember reading somewhere just recently, however, that those huge combination sets were very popular in the mid-'60s, during the "Camelot" period of the Kennedy era, as the Kennedys were very much into high style in furniture and other things.

BTW, I wonder just how many Magnavox stereo theater consoles still exist today. The ones I see on ebay are being sold by people who are downsizing for moves to apartments, smaller homes, etc. (these consoles were monsters, probably at least six feet long and weighing at least 150-200 pounds), but I very rarely see any of these sets being sold for parts, although I think I remember seeing one on ebay a while back that had a broken CRT (the neck had been snapped off). How many of these consoles are still in use or simply sitting in their owners' basements, garages, etc.? For that matter, do they ever show up in thrift shops, and if so, how much are they going for? Not that I'm interested in buying one; my apartment is too small--I'm just curious.

[zenithfan1]

I have the Maggie combo with remote from 1965 in a french provincial cabinet. I too wonder how many of these beasts survived the times, I rarely see them anymore. I have only seen one or two Maggie roundies. I'm keeping mine forever!

[eberts]

The old Magnavox home theaters may have been top of the line at the time, but today they are junk.
The old tube sets ran very hot, tube sockets would desintigrate, resistors would change value, circuit boards, and copper foil traces would oxidize into pure carbon. Some drew more current than today's electric portable heaters.
Some customers were told, "just leave the back off of the TV, so it doesn't get too hot." Maybe fans were too noisey then ?
I had one customer who "had to have" their Magnavox fixed.
I pulled out a 6GH8, the tube socket and half of the printed circuit board came out too.
I found another chassis to use, and 2 years later the customer broke down and bought a solid state TV.