Hello!
 

Hi guys, my name is Marco and I write from Italy :thmbsp:

Welcome to VK!

Thank you Tony... I'm not very good at talking about myself, but I'll try ...
I have 27 years old and I collect radios and TVs when i was 12; currently I have about thirty TV-set manufactured between 1960 and 1980, including Sony 8-301W and a color tube Panasonic CT-28 in NTSC version (my avatar). In Italy tube color sets are very rare because the color broadcasting began only in 1977. With few exceptions (Telefunken, Grundig) I have mainly Italian TV-set, unfortunately I do not have any RCA or Zenith, but one day I'd like to have one...

Hello and welcome to VK :wave:
I have a bunch of vintage B&W sets, but no color. Maybe one of these days I'll find one...

Bob

Marco, real glad you're here! I really like seeing sets from around the world, and Italy is among my favorites. I like the looks of that Panasonic.

Welcome To the forums!

Cool avatar, which anime are you playing on that set?

I'm into anime as well, though I only have time (and funds) to watch what they play on cable these days.

I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and use to drive past the black and white 60s Zenith sign at what I believe was their headquarters (they recently they ripped all the lettering off and put a for lease sigh over it:tears:).

I've got about 15 antique televisions 4 of which are color(see photo). I have four Zeniths 1 is color, another has the space comand remote feature, and the other two are cool looking 50s monochrome sets. I can personally attest to zeniths build quality my 1971 color set has the sharpest picture of any color set I've owned, and my 1964 space command portable still runs well with all original parts (except for a few tubes):D

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/...y/DSCN0429.jpg

If you get a Zenith I'd reccomend getting one with the Space Comand remote feature, it just makes any set that much cooler to use.

Tom C.

Nice to have you here with us, Marco !

Thanks to all for welcome :)
Cardcaptor Sakura; I like anime and I watch them often on my sets, in many cases have nice warm colors, and I think it's perfect for watching my old CRTs :)
Your sets are very beautiful, especially the one in the upper right with black case.

This is my next restoration (I hope), a Diamond B&W, unusual chassis for an italian set, 22 tubes.
http://img832.imageshack.us/i/dsc03939f.jpg/
http://img231.imageshack.us/i/dsc03954q.jpg/

And this is my Panasonic color
http://img858.imageshack.us/i/dsc04047.jpg/
http://img844.imageshack.us/i/dsc04045rb.jpg/

The black set is a 1963 Silvertone roundy (so called because of the shape of the CRT), it has perhaps the best color reproduction of any set I've owned some( of the daytime scenes of Inuyasha do a stunning job of illustrating this). The bottom two, despite being different brands, use the same(albeit slightly modified ) electronics as the Silvertone. This is because of the dozens of American brands of the time only a small fraction designed their own circuits for their color TVs (most brands just bought or licensed their color chassis from RCA). The CTC 16 chassis that these sets use was one of RCA's better designs and was licensed by many companies for many years (I've read that Curtis Mathes made them til some time after 1970). The lower rectangular screen set is my newest CTC 16 clone, it is a 1967 Airline (I really want to get a copy of the series Cyborg 009 to play on this set because it was also made in 1967 and I remember enjoying it the last time they broadcast it, when I was a kid (about 10 years ago)). The lower sets amazingly work pretty well with out any parts replacements and are nearly 100% original!

If you get into collecting Betamax VCRs you will want to watch Cowboy Bebop, in one epesode they are sent a Beta cassette and end up searching a abandoned muesum on a dystopian future earth to try to find a machine to play it on (I just Had copy that epesode on to Betamax as soon as I got a working Beta deck).

Tom C.

Interesting; even in Europe several brands (Siemens, Nordmende and Saba) have used the same color chassis under license by Telefunken. Your roundie sets reminded me that Philips produced a set with a circular tube RCA, and K4 chassis. http://bs.cyty.com/menschen/e-etzold...s/color_k4.htm

In my life I seeing only one Betamax, when I was 15...

Today I seeing Cardcaptor Sakura Movie 1 on my 1977 Telefunken PALcolor... when I watched it, I thinked "ok... this CRT is good..."

http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/1010/dsc03753yy.jpg

Wow...That B/W Diamond set is built like a TANK !! What did they do, toss it off of the Leaning Tower of Pisa to test those things ?!? (grin)

Maybe :D

Wow, the set in that screen shot has an incredibly sharp picture and flawless convergence! What type of CRT does it use, a delta or an inline electron gun type ? I know PAL has 100 lines more definition than NTSC (which is the standard where I live), but even with that the level of detail is still quite impressive.

Sandy G's comment about dropping a TV off of the leaning tower reminds me of Zenith's comercial for their first all transistor monochrome battery portable (it is on you tube) where Zenith drops a opperating set from a airplane and lets it parachute to earth where it lands still running like a champ!

Tom C.

Tom, I like that Airline-I have a combo version-I really wish somebody could take it off my hands, as my space is maxed out.

Tom, I'm glad you like it. My PALcolor uses a Telefunken made A66-510X with inline gun. I found this set in the laboratory of an TV-serviceman, was left there for 24 years, unrepaired.

http://img848.imageshack.us/img848/3839/palcolor.jpg
http://img844.imageshack.us/img844/1492/dsc03745k.jpg
http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/146/dsc03750ou.jpg