Seeking status of once owned TRK-12

[Pio1980]

Acquired by me from original owners mid-1960s and passed on mid-1970s.
Included spare chassis and had been "jeeped" as a station monitor with cables and plugs. Given gratis to new owner on the proviso it go to eager enthusiast of limited means who would personally transport it.
It went with a young man to Cali, I lost track since. Any idea?
Its early history here:
https://www.earlytelevision.org/kdyl.html
Attaced pic may have been it as newly acquired.
TIA.

[Electronic M]

If you happen to know the serial number you might be able to track it that way. With a lot of the early color and pre-war sets serial numbers are tracked by collectors.

[Pio1980]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

If you happen to know the serial number you might be able to track it that way. With a lot of the early color and pre-war sets serial numbers are tracked by collectors.

Unfortunately don't have them, neither afaik does Jim.

[Pio1980]

The origin, description, and local history of the set is all I have at present. I cannot remember if the radio station buttons had Salt Lake City station call signs.

[rld-tv01]

The ETF has a database of surviving sets https://www.earlytelevision.org/prewar_database.html

There were two collectors in the Los Angeles area that had TRK-12s. These two collectors have both passed away. There was another TRK-12 which sold on eBay last year in Temecula CA about 65 miles east of LA. There was another by a collector up north of LA. There may be a TRK-12 up in the San Francisco Bay area owned by a member of the California Historical Radio Society (CHRS).

[Pio1980]

Thnx to all so far!

How I acquired the set:
I Had an interest in old radios since a very young kid acquired several older sets, mostly "electric" era discards, and restored a battered discarded AK 10C breadboard.
Later in my mid-teens became interested in older televisions and started looking for old (hopefully pre-WW-2) examples with the usual suspects readily available postwar becoming obsolescent for repairs, small screen area, ect. Electrostats were fairly plentiful but post-war. My older bro had a part-time job as a menial worker at a local TV station. He had seen an old TV/ radio console in the staff cafeteria, used for radio ballgames and such. Said they were redoing the room and it may be moved out and be available.
I visited the station and immediately recognised it as a 1939 TRK-12 NYC "Worlds Fair" type. Imagine my astonished excitement!

[Pio1980]

Asking about it at the station, I was directed to one of the staff who seemed relieved that someone actually would want it and take it to be saved, said I could have it for $15. As I had spent a dollar out of the $15 for gas money I offered $14. Sold!
We got it out and loaded into the back of the 60 Falcon station wagon I was driving and as I was getting ready to leave, he said, "we aren't done yet, there's more".
We drove out to the old KDYL RADIO studio sites on the salt flat and retrieved spare TRK-12 radio and TV chassis, service manuals, a spare deflection yoke, and an odd dummy 12AP4 with a mask pattern, which unfortunately was broken during the drive to my house.

I fiddled with for some time, got it sorta working tho, the CRT was appatently so expired its debatable if it could actually display video in total darkness, assuming it wasn't a problem elsewhere.

Sometime later 1966, I enlisted in the Army for 3 years and the set stayed in my room with the other parts of my collection.
Discharged later, 3 years of inactive reserve and the decision to enlist again 1972 for a career,
I disbursed the bulk of my collection, including vintage broadcast mic'es, a 21-CT-55, a couple of BW projection sets, unrestored 1906 Reading Standard motorcycle and a 1931 Reo Flying Cloud sport coupe. The TRK-12 went to storage in Jim's basement to be passed on as Jim wasn't intetested in it at the time (to his eternal regret). I instructed him to find an eager enthusiast of limited means to take it gratis, with the proviso that the recipient personally transport the set and items.
From that point, the history from acquisition by the original owners thru myself and Jim is lost.