I rolled the eBay dice on an RCA Deluxe 14PD8055 - Videokarma.org TV - Video

TheNixer · #1 09-22-2010, 11:00 AM

I originally saw this set on Eric's webpage along with the Admiral 24A12. I thought it was a pretty neat looking RCA with the spiffy gold and white paint scheme and it looked pretty sturdy too. One came up on eBay from a seller with 100% feedback and statements like "serious seller" and "packed well". My purchase didn't end up in the dumpster thankfully but I do wonder how it got here in the shape it did. It was wrapped in a curtain with two sheets of bubble wrap and an empty cardboard spool. The bottom and face of the TV had little protection and there was a puncture through the box aimed right at the face. The TV looks mostly unscathed but I think that neat metal frame has been squished a little. 50 years of sitting pretty gets jeopardized by one trip through the mail. You can see the minor damage in the second picture. The metal has separated from the frame of the CRT and bulged out some. Not bad, considering.

I looked around the net for other examples of this TV. I know it's common but there weren't many. I realized my TV could have suffered a worse fate than being at the hands of the post office. This guy turned one of his into a housing for a computer monitor. Luckily he seems to have left his 14PD8055 alone.

bandersen · #2 09-22-2010, 09:55 PM

Cool set - I'm glad it survived intact. So far, I've had better luck with the USPS than UPS when it comes to items like this.

Has it been restored electrically ?

TheNixer · #3 09-23-2010, 08:38 AM

The auction stated USPS but I realized later it actually arrived via UPS. I paid $45 for shipping. I checked the UPS website for a quote sending the same box with the same to and from destination and it was $24.05. I figure the old curtain and cardboard spool didn't cost them anything. They shipped it eight days after the auction so I suspect that's why it went UPS. I actually found part of someone's lunch in a box shipped to me one time. Truth is, I would have paid more for the shipping just to ensure it was packed right and got to me safely. Oh well.

It isn't restored. I liked the look and it was small and in good shape so I went for it.

Phil Nelson · #4 09-23-2010, 01:19 PM

Cuter than a bug's ear. They had sense enough to provide a sturdy plastic handle, too. I used to have a similar 14-S-7070G, whose leather handle broke (as most of them do) and had been discarded.

Phil Nelson

Jeffhs · #5 09-23-2010, 02:28 PM

The RCA shown on Flickr is VHF only; yours looks like it is all-channel. Are they the same set, but in different cabinets, with the Deluxe model having factory-installed UHF and the standard one being UHF-adaptable with an aftermarket conversion kit? Seems to me that may be the difference (one of them, anyway) between the "Deluxe" model and the standard 14PD8055.

I'm not too familiar with this type of RCA TV. I did have a set some years ago in a cabinet similar to yours, but mine was an Emerson 17-inch VHF-only portable with a metal handle on top. (It worked well for years, but developed a horizontal-sync problem in the early '80s, the power switch failed and was jumped; very shortly after the sync problem showed up, the set unfortunately was trashed, not by myself [long story and OT].

) I don't think Emerson ever put leather handles on their sets; I'm surprised RCA did with some of its 1950s portables. The leather probably dried out and/or rotted over time, causing the handle eventually to fall apart (as it must have on Phil's set).

TheNixer · #6 09-24-2010, 10:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeffhs

The RCA shown on Flickr is VHF only; yours looks like it is all-channel. Are they the same set, but in different cabinets, with the Deluxe model having factory-installed UHF and the standard one being UHF-adaptable with an aftermarket conversion kit? Seems to me that may be the difference (one of them, anyway) between the "Deluxe" model and the standard 14PD8055.

Hmm... I never noticed that. You're right, the TV in the link is missing UHF. I wonder if someone has a dealer poster or anything that shows the exact differences between the different models.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phil Nelson

Cuter than a bug's ear. They had sense enough to provide a sturdy plastic handle, too. I used to have a similar 14-S-7070G, whose leather handle broke (as most of them do) and had been discarded.

Aren't they though? That red plastic handle adds just the right amount of color too. It's interesting though that they seemed to use the same gold frame bezel on all the sets, no matter what the color. It happens to go well with the gold and white of the set I picked up. Either way, when I brought it home my wife said, "oh I like that one!" instead of the usual "hmm... what have you got now?"

bandersen · #7 09-27-2010, 05:31 PM

One without UHF just popped here: http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-RCA-Vict...-/260670218810

I like the little screw on legs - looks like a twonky

TheNixer · #8 09-27-2010, 07:56 PM

It looks like there's a support bar missing or something. Those couldn't have looked that awkward out of the box. I'd go for that auction just to make my set complete but I don't think that stand is all there. It's cool though, I wondered what kind of stand came with the set. And is that thing plugged in?