Collecting Antique Televisions and Radios

[rocketraider]

As it has been at least three times so far, Pedro!

When it comes to fit and finish, they're kinda like 50s-60s Chrysler products compared to their GM contemporaries, though they can often outperform them.

I guess I had Buick on my brain!

when WWII broke out, television was put on hold, just as it was with the auto industry, to devote all efforts to the war.

[Bhigdog]

Not quite as "off topic" as the History Channel is today but a close second. Possibly some of the entertainment toys in mini-vans, etc., will qualify down the road. Now this thread is somewhat relative to "Vehicles" 25 years old or older.

WE are all old, we all like cars, we're having a nice time here, get over it..........Bob

[Larry Schramm]

My Dad still has his RCA Color TV from 1955 or '56 that look similar to this. I remember that he paid several hundred dollars for it when he got it and there were only three shows in color. Two of the three were Bonanza, The Wonderful World of Disney, and there was a third that I do not remember.

[MarkV]

That is a sweet set! I just got my 1960 Zenith working today! What a sight!

[Bhigdog]

This brings back memories of me on the roof turning the antenna while my father shouted directions up the chimney try to get a better picture on our round screen Zenith. That and him forever checking the tubes on the drug store tube tester. Way cool...........Bob

[Dandy Dave]

I had a pile of old radios as a kid. Many from the 20's and 30's. Back in the 70's many could be had for $5 bucks or less. As others have said, they took up too much space. I still have several including a White plastic Silvertone that was my mothers as a child. A mid 30's Crosley table model, and the most sought after,...Drum Roll... Charlie McCarthy by Majestic. I also had a Philco TV years ago that had 5 stations that a neighbor gave me when he sold his farm. The station settings were letters (A-E) and the screen was only about 6 or 7 inches and took up about one fourth of the front of the cabinet. It did not work but sure was cool to look at. :cool: Dandy Dave!

[Rusty_OToole]

I remember a magazine article from the late 40s about the newest developments in radio and TV. The most expensive set was a combination radio/TV/phonograph with the biggest screen on the market, I think it was 10". It was meant for use in clubs and other public places. Cost was $1275 about the price of a new Ford sedan.

[Guest bofusmosby]

Rusty, my oldest set is a 1946 model RCA with the TV, radio and record player. Yes, the TV has a huge screen size of 10"! Wow! I wonder if someone would like to trade me their car for it?

[Daughter #1]

My parents in the Chicago area have a Motorola TV from the 50's.  The diameter of the screen is 6.5" and the square cabinet is approx. 16.5 inches wide and deep.   I have no idea if it works but, if you collect old TV's, this one is OLD (one of the first!).  They also have an Emerson radio, too, from the 60's, I think.  Photos attached of both.

Would either be of interest to you?
Daughter #1

 

[Frank DuVal]

On 4/17/2012 at 11:52 AM, Amphicar BUYER said:

he also has an Invicta that woks perfectly. If you know old TVs then I don't need to explain what an Invicta is! The coolest (tube) TV ever!

 

You mean Philco Predicta? The TV with the picture tube sitting above the cabinet. They come in table top and floor models.

 

Videokarma is a site for TV collectors.     http://www.videokarma.org/

 

Yes, Television receivers are approaching the 100 year old mark.  Here is the Early Television site:  https://www.earlytelevision.org/

 

I have  an RCA CTC-11 I have been trying to sell for a while now. Metal table top cabinet style. Any takers?

 

Mid Atlantic Antique Radio club is having their annual event this coming weekend:   http://www.maarc.org/

 

I have two crank up Edisons and use them every so often.😉

 

I spent about 25 years repairing TVs and radios. From 6th grade onward.......  Still have lots of tubes and parts. Led to my EE degree.

 

Why, no, I did not notice this thread was 7 years old when I first replied.....😁

Edited June 25, 2019 by Frank DuVal (see edit history)

[Bhigdog]

I don't know if it's nation wide but it's difficult and costly to get rid of anything with a CRT in PA. Trash collector and land fills refuse to take them. Recycle places are few and start at $50 to take one. Trash guys wont take any TV's even flat screens. If you run over a flat screen TV with a tractor a few times it can be rolled up to fit in a garbage bag. 🙂.....Bob

[Frank DuVal]

That melted CRT mask on the Motorola is very common. So common, they have now been reproduced:

 

http://www.renovatedradios.com/product.php?product=248

 

If no takers here, try videokarma to offer it for sale.

 

Best if sold locally, as shipping needs to be done very carefully, not to break the CRT.

 

I would not suggest plugging the set in to test, offer it as is.

 

Value? There are three under completed listings on ebay right now for comparison.

 

 

Edited June 27, 2019 by Frank DuVal (see edit history)

[JamesR]

On 4/17/2012 at 6:16 PM, bofusmosby said:

I think you are referring to the Philco Pridicta TV's that came out in the late 50's to the early 60's. Yes, they were neat sets, and today are quite sought after.

 

 

I think the Jetsons used to watch one of those. I saw one in an antique store (barn, really) about 20 years ago and was amazed. That's what the future looked like to a lot of people back when they were produced.

[WQ59B]

I have a 1950 Hallicrafters AM/TV. It worked the last time I plugged it in a number of years ago. I've had it since circa 1990. It can go to a new home if anyone is interested.

In the '80s, a buddy had a Dumont TV- full-size (floor) cherry cabinet, 2-ft deep, tiny 'flattened circle' screen. Weighed hundreds of pounds, it seemed at the time. That's long gone.

[marcapra]

I collect antique phonographs mostly of the Edison brand.  The Edison brand of phonographs and radios went out of business in 1930 just a year before Edison's death in 1931.  At the famous Stanton phonograph auctions in MI, I saw one year they had a bunch of tv's from the 30s, 40s, and 50s.  Chuck Azzalina is your man if you need any work done on them.  He's in Pennsylvania.  

[Frank DuVal]

In case anyone gets the wrong idea, the Predicta only came in black and white. That color picture is Photo Shopped.

 

I have not run into a charge to dispose of CRTs.

 

I could fold up windshields to fit them in supercans*……  back when I worked in the city. I'm sure CRTs would fit the same way... 

 

I do have to mention the implosion hazard if anyone was to try this, I DO NOT recommend it.

 

*90 gallon city supplied trash pick up cans.

[TerryB]

Most picture tubes will throw glass out the back when they implode, they were designed to do that to protect the people out front.  I worked for RCA in picture tube design and testing in Lancaster PA.  We would film test tubes imploding that did not have the implosion protection on them.  Glass goes EVERYWHERE in big ugly chunks.  Be careful when working around live tubes.  We would pull off the plastic base on the back of the tube where the electrical contact pins are located and crack the small glass tip to allow the tube to take in air and stabilize itself before trashing it.

[padgett]

Also TVs made before 1948 had channel 1. That must be a transistor radio from the 50's - no CD markings.

+1 on Predicas being B&W, think the GE Portacolor (1962) was the first portable color.

Q-bert came later ( 1984 ?) May have one for the Atari 2600.

Zenith Space Command remote controls had four buttons that would produce a specific audio tone.

(click .sig for radio hobby). Wouldn't mind having a Zenith "Stratosphere" radio with 25 tubes.

 

 

Edited June 26, 2019 by padgett (see edit history)

[Frank DuVal]

Space Command 400 had 4 untrasonic "tuning forks".  Set on-off, channel up, channel down, sound on-off on the early ones. Later ones were channel up, channel down, volume mute and volume up/set on-off.

 

Space Command 300 only had two ultrasonic "tuning forks". One was channel up, which also turned the set off (but not the Space Command chassis, that stayed on all the time) between channels 13 and 2. The other tuning fork activated a four step volume control.

 

The tuning fork was not a fork, just a tubular piece set in rubber to allow it to vibrate in the ultrasonic range. Dogs scratching could operate the TV by the jingling of the dog tags hanging on their collar!

 

Yes, clipping the air evacuation point on the base of the CRT is the safest way to make them go to air. Shooting one with the safety glass bonded through a plastic layer (think laminated windshield) is quite anti-climatic. Not worth the lead.

 

 

3 hours ago, padgett said:

That must be a transistor radio from the 50's - no CD markings.

 

Actually, it was made after 1963. That was the last year CD markings were required on sets for sale. Not many transistor radios made in the 50s. And none were made before CD markings were required starting in 1953.

[wyankee]

I have a friend that has a file cabinet full of schematics for early tv's and radios. I don't know if they are still of any value or not, but hate to see them get tossed in a landfill. PM me if there is any interest.

 

 

[rick60]

 

Here is your guy.

 

 

[8E45E]

1 hour ago, wyankee said:

I have a friend that has a file cabinet full of schematics for early tv's and radios. I don't know if they are still of any value or not, but hate to see them get tossed in a landfill. PM me if there is any interest.

 

 

Most likely, Sam's Photofacts. 

 

Craig

[Restorer32]

I always figured Hell was a place where you had a TV with a bad vertical hold.

[8E45E]

7 hours ago, Frank DuVal said:

Space Command 400 had 4 untrasonic "tuning forks".  Set on-off, channel up, channel down, sound on-off on the early ones. Later ones were channel up, channel down, volume mute and volume up/set on-off.

 

Space Command 300 only had two ultrasonic "tuning forks". One was channel up, which also turned the set off (but not the Space Command chassis, that stayed on all the time) between channels 13 and 2. The other tuning fork activated a four step volume control.

 

The tuning fork was not a fork, just a tubular piece set in rubber to allow it to vibrate in the ultrasonic range. Dogs scratching could operate the TV by the jingling of the dog tags hanging on their collar!

In the early 1970's sets, the buttons on the handheld remote actuated small hammers that struck round aluminum rods of different lengths which resulted in a different pitch to send ultrasonic soundwaves to the pickup on the TV.  Of course it was basically limited to four functions, unlike the later infra-red remote controls seen today.  I have seen incidences where one could also actuate a function by shaking a set of keys near the sound pickup on the TV.

 

Craig

[Restorer32]

13 hours ago, TerryB said:

Most picture tubes will throw glass out the back when they implode, they were designed to do that to protect the people out front.  I worked for RCA in picture tube design and testing in Lancaster PA.  We would film test tubes imploding that did not have the implosion protection on them.  Glass goes EVERYWHERE in big ugly chunks.  Be careful when working around live tubes.  We would pull off the plastic base on the back of the tube where the electrical contact pins are located and crack the small glass tip to allow the tube to take in air and stabilize itself before trashing it.

 

My Uncle, still active at 93, worked for WGAL in Lancaster his entire working life. He helped them uncrate and set up their first TV camera in the very early 1950's. Once they uncrated the monster they realized there was no way to tilt the thing up or down. They were due to sign on the air for the first time in just a few minutes. Thinking quickly they put cinder blocks under the legs of the desk they were supposed to sit behind. They signed on while standing behind the desk so it looked like they were seated. Dave Brant read the news and Unc did the weather report.

[Restorer32]

Dad had a remote. It was ME !

[padgett]

I made my first remote out of a bar-b-que motor. Slow but only 13 positions to go through

[TerryB]

2 hours ago, rick60 said:

 

Here is your guy.

 

 

The old alignment procedures were long painful processes where compromise was the name of the game.  When CRT tubes went from delta gun to inline gun arrangements the process was greatly simplified.  At the end of the use of CRTs in televisions we at RCA had developed an automated system with computers and cameras that set up a tube with its yoke and purity and convergence adjusted in under 60 seconds.  The completed assembly was then glued down and shipped to the customer ready to be installed in the cabinet without any further adjustments required.  It was an amazing system to see in operation.