Price advice for a Predicta
 

Hey everybody,

I'm about to make an offer on what appears to be a very clean Holiday (model UG4242). The kicker: it's located in Madrid, Spain, about an eight-hour drive from me. It is likely the only Predicta in the country, and one of only a few on the continent.

The set is in a vintage shop (differentiated from a junk store by the prices). The seller wants 550€ for it, and they said the screen lights up but the lady in the shop isn't technical enough to tell me anything else. It hasn't had a CCIR conversion done, still 110V, which means it hasn't been used in Spain. It was likely either a decoration or...I dunno. So probably low hours, but who knows.

All the knobs are there, no scratches or pitting on the brass around the CRT or the rails/feet. The seller claims it will come with a NOS Philco stand made for the TV, bought but never used.

They're asking 550€. That's a lot of money. But it's the only one I'll probably ever get my hands on. But it's a lot of money. There is a risk that I will drive all they way there to pick it up and it will have an open filament in the CRT (despite what they said) or be otherwise not what I'm expecting, so it would mean a wasted two-day trip. But it's a Predicta in Europe. But it's a lot of money.

I told her I'd call with an offer today. I have no idea how much to offer. Whatever it's worth to me, I guess. If it were half an hour away I'd probably already have paid what they're asking.

Anyone care to chime in? What is a fair price for something like this?

https://i.imgur.com/gBvLgRL.png

In the USA an example in that condition can be picked up for ~$300...Or less with good patience.

I can't tell if I'm seeing a compression artifact or a burn line in the center of the CRT...If the Vert sweep failed and it burned a line in the center I'd walk away.

If you do go for it and have a CRT tester bring it. Also these use a low volt heater CRT if it has not been changed so look up the lowest voltage for it here (the info has been posted on VK before) and start your tester on that setting (if no light after 30 sec slowly raise the voltage till it glows or you hit 6.3).

As for what to offer...How bad do you want it, will they haggle at a low offer or hang up insulted, and how far do you think they will budge? Those are what I consider when in a situation where I feel the price is high, but lack good market insight.

If they have the means to power it you might want to ask for a pic of the light screen...If it was last powered up within 6 months it should be okay.

If it has the 2.3V filament CRT that is a big minus. 6.3V is better. Can you bring a signal source and see what kind of picture you can get?

It seems to have a lot going for it, even if it doesn't work. Looks like the plastic screen/mask is un-cracked too. Did Philco actually make a stand for the Holiday models? Might be a good deal if you can get it at a reasonable price with the stand.

Heck, my Holiday was just an unworking display for 15 years until I got motivated to get it working.

Yes, but it's extremely rare to find one nowadays.

http://www.videokarma.org/attachment...1&d=1536273778 http://www.videokarma.org/attachment...1&d=1536273897

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Thanks Wiscojim. Looks like better cooling/venting too.

I'm curious if that is an original speaker cloth/ front cover? It looks very different from mine but I don't know if there were multiple options for a mahogany Holiday.

Yes, that's definitely a plus for these.

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If you really, really want one, where else will you get one? Certainly having one shipped from the states would cost you more, plus the concerns of it getting damaged in freight. You could drive over, buckle this into the passenger seat of your car, and it will be yours, all yours! I'm not sure what they exchange rate is but, say it was priced at $500 American. If I really wanted it, I might start at offering $250 and try negotiating from there. The worst that could happen is they won't budge. In the end, even if you have to pay full price my experience has been that you'll forget about that & just be happy that you got what you wanted. I do agree that testing the crt would be a great idea. That could be a big part of your negotiations if it tests weak or dead. At the very least you could test the filament with a meter or batteries.

Is it missing it's metal feet? It may just be sitting on something soft but it shouldn't be flat on it's bottom.

Thanks everyone for the advice. To answer a couple of questions:

- no burn-in, it's just a bad photo. I have a few others and there's nothing on the screen.
- the stand is likely not original, she sent me a pic and it's got plastic wrapping around the metal parts, something I don't think they did in 1959. But hey a stand is better than no stand.
- can't turn it on, it's 110V. I'm not sure how she knows the screen lights up but can't plug it in.
- I believe it still has the feet, it's sitting on some corrugated cardboard in the photo

I'm going to offer her 300€ on the condition that I can test the CRT before I pick it up and see what happens. I doubt she'll get offended.

Surely you can get a step down transformer? You will need one eventually anyway if you purchase the set.

Well, she won't even make a counter. 550€ or GTFO. I have been eyeing an Admiral in her neck of the woods that I would also have to drive down and bring back; I guess I can stop by on the way and have a look in person, then if it's really nice just bite the bullet and add it to the truck. That is really more than I want to spend on any TV though.

Well if you get the other set for a good deal say 50€ you can average the purchase price and say each set was 300. :D And you only spent half the gas per set to get them.

A friend of mine goes to Chicago periodically and tries to line up an SUV full of purchases each time (so the gas per item divides better). May be worth stopping at some junk shopps on the way.

Well bumping with an update. I have to go to Madrid next week for work, and I also have a credit with Hertz, and if that's not a sign I don't know what is.

So I'm taking the train down on Wednesday, getting a van early Thursday morning, and picking up my new Predicta at 9:30. Also two 12-inch Zenith tube B&W sets (one with genuine leather on it), a mint Philco Townhouse ("the ugliest Philco"), a 12" GEE B&W set, and a Grundig midcentury console stereo with 6BQ5 outputs and a reel-to-reel deck, after a meandering tour of the suburbs of Madrid. There is also a funny-looking Sylvania B&W set and a 19" GEE B&W with stand that I might add if I can fit them in time-wise. I took Electronic M's advice and decided to average the cost of all the TVs together and that way the Predicta was a bargain.

One potential fly in the ointment is that the Predicta is actually in an old house that has no electricity. Conveniently. So I'm going to bring a DVM and check for filament continuity in the CRT and cross my fingers.

Pics next week!

There was a thread on ARF on how to do a crude emissions test with a battery a resistor or two and a DMM.

We have to see that. For years I've been trying to find anyone that could prove they existed. So far the only sighting reported has been in the Philco brochure, but never a photo of a real one.



http://www.videokarma.org/attachment...1&d=1540160658


EDIT: Oh, maybe I've mistaken your find. I'm guessing you are just referring to a standard Philco Townhouse, and not the Predicta room divider Townhouse.

http://file.vintageadbrowser.com/vlim8ccsj5li9q.jpg




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Sadly, Philco used the Townhouse name on various sets. The one I bought is not as pretty as your picture.

https://cdn.wallapop.com/images/1042...ctureSize=W640

I think Admiral Bob restored one of these that was pretty rough.

Ah, yes. I wouldn't call that one ugly. I'd gladly have something that unusual in my collection.

https://cdn.wallapop.com/images/1042...ctureSize=W640

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I've seen shelving units like that. Pretty sure philco bought those from a third party.... might be possible to make one out of such a shelving unit and a less than perfect 17" predicta.

One made with a regular shelf would just be a FrankenTV and worthless.

I want to know if Philco ever actually produced them, as they had them in their advertising and brochures for 1960.

http://www.tvhistory.tv/1960-Philco-Brochure3.JPG

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OK, let's go with unusual then :)

Well, it's been a LOOOONG day but I'm back from Madrid with a nice haul:

12" Zenith BW with leather cabinet and the CRT loose from its mounts (US market model)
12" General Electrica Española BW in original avocado green cabinet, with factory-supplied vinyl logo cover
19" Philco Townhouse (pictured above, that is the actual set) with the line cord cut off but otherwise complete
12" Zenith BW as above but without leather and CRT where it should be (Spanish market model)
1966 Grundig teak console stereo with 6BQ5 amplifier, Dual record changer, and two Grundig reel-to-reel decks, complete with stereo microphone still in its factory box

These were all just appetizers, on to the main event:

I got the Predicta. CRT filament had continuity. It was sitting on a table, under a very dusty sheet in an otherwise empty flat in an old building. According to the woman who sold it to me, it belonged to an American who worked in the US embassy in the early 60s. He left it behind when he returned to the US. The flat has been empty ever since (there seemed to be an interesting story there but she wasn't forthcoming). She said the neither the flat nor the set have been touched since the early 60s. I'm inclined to believe her, considering there is not one scratch, nor blemish, nor pitted brass, nor rubbed-off knob-letter, anywhere on the set, with the exception of a 1/4" rub mark on top of the CRT housing, just in front of the brass band - you can feel it more than see it. The set was still plugged into a cute li'l bakelite stepdown transformer.

A few quick phone pics, I'll post better ones tomorrow once I move it out of the garage:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/PS1wBWYzyXUeiTeM8
https://photos.app.goo.gl/kvFi74Ne2mwYoDxE8
https://photos.app.goo.gl/q2BnsReV152u36i39

Sweet!

Ooh, you got a UHF equipped predicta. Rare in the USA, and probably the only one in your country.

If one of those 12" Zenith sets is covered in denim then the model name was the "sidekick"...IIRC there is one pictured under the counter on the back cover of Supertramp's "Breakfast In America" album.

I think you're right. It makes sense; I think they had switched to mostly UHF here by then, and the CCIR channel spacing would have rendered the VHF tuner useless anyway. The thing I'm surprised at is that these NTSC sets seem to have worked OK with CCIR signals, even though it was 50Hz vertical and 625 lines.


Nope, it's leather. I remember the denim ones, as well as the "Spirit of 76" sets with the Declaration of Independence plastered all over them.