[Charlie]

and when I got there, it looked like he had been cleaning house. There was a giant pile of sets on the side of the road... had to be at least 50 or more. Most of it was basically junk. There were two roundies, but not worth saving. The CRT's were toast. Many others would have been nice sets had their condition been better. These sets came out of his warehouse across the street... not the attic that I usually dig through.

I was surprised to see the pile. I knew that something had to be wrong if he had worked so hard to pile this stuff up. Come to find out, he has to come up with several grand this month, or the bank forecloses on his house. He cleaned out the warehouse across the street in hopes of selling it so he can give the money to the bank. I think he has till the end of the month. Being that his area of town is no longer in the lime-light like it was 30 years ago, I'm afraid his property is not going to sell and he'll lose his home.

The warehouse also has a 3 bedroom 2 bath apartment above it. I believe his parents lived there many year back when the tv repair business was booming. The place needs lots of work, but, if it turns out he loses his home, he and his wife will at least have the apartment to move into. I know that's not what he wants, but, at least it will work.

I really feel for the guy. He's barely been getting by these past few years with the repair shop. He's doing the best he can to make an honest living, but, fixing TV's just ain't cuttin it anymore. If it turns out that he has to move, I've offered to help him in any way I can.

He's given me so much from his old shop over the past couple of years. Most of it started out as crap, but, I've managed to take some of it and make something good (for instance the CTC15 set I recently restored).

He also saved a loose 21FJP for me that I brought home today. It was a rebuilt pull from a set, and he figured it might be good since he found it on a shelf with a bunch of other CRT's. It's a Channel Master rebuild dated October 1977. Was a little weak on the red gun when I first got it home, but let it cook on 8 volts for an hour and now it test like new. The tube's cataracts were so bad that the safety glass came right off with little effort. Looks like i now have a good 21FBP. I think I will put it in my CTC11.

Sorry if the story brings everyone down, but, I just had to share it with yall. This guy has truly been a big help to me, and, I hate seeing that the dying repair business is about to make him lose his home. Just another example of what cheap sets made in Taiwan is doing to our country.