Show us your vintage B&W sets!

[jshorva65]

Originally Posted by zenithfan1

I had a similar experience with Fedex and a '49 Muntz. They insisted on picking it back up and I never saw it again after I said I wanted it back no matter what.

FedEx will ALWAYS find a way to either steal the item or duck out of paying a claim without so much as an inspection of the damage. My first bad experience with FedEx involved a Tektronix Type 465 Oscilloscope which was sold to me as a working unit on eBay, but was delivered DOA. The trouble was obvious. A component had been displaced due to rough handling in shipment, causing an internal short. When I reported the damage, FedEx insisted on picking up the item to "inspect" it in order to process the claim for the hour of labor and cost of a new fuse for which I had billed them in the damage report. I never saw the scope again, and they insisted it never arrived at their claims department. My suspicion is that they used the information which my damage report provided to fix the scope and fence it somewhere. That was in 2002. I never chose FedEx again. I also identify technical information obtained in troubleshooting of shipping damage as protected "Work Product" under the law, thereby exercising my right to withhold information which could potentially be used by an unscrupulous employee of a freight carrier to aid in subsequent repair of a damaged item which became "lost" according to official company documents. The manner in which I apply that policy is: Provided the shipper agrees that the item is not to be removed from my premises, I will provide technical details of the damage for their reporting. I will also authorize an unlimited number of photographs of the item to be taken on-site and perform any disassembly tasks on-site which may be necessary to make critical areas visible for photography. If the shipper insists on removing the item for any reason, such removal is authorized only with appropriate documentation, photographs of the employee and his/her credentials, and under the supervision of two witnesses.

In 2008, a client made the mistake of using FedEx to ship the two cartons containing his RCA 621TS and its extremely-rare 7DP4 CRT. When I called FedEx to report the damage, I informed them that a similar incident had been handled by another carrier with an on-site inspection, and that past bad experience with items being "lost" by FedEx en-route to be "inspected" would require that they handle the claim for the 7DP4 in the same manner. First, FedEx insisted that SENDERS are responsible for initiating all damage claims and that I would need the sender to submit the report. After I asked the sender to report the damage, he informed me that they had already dismissed the claim as soon as the word "antique" was mentioned, on the grounds that no guarantee of safe delivery of "used items" was expressed or implied under Terms and Conditions for the Insurance they had sold him. Conveniently, that clause isn't mentioned at the time when the Insurance product is sold and the premium added to the shipping charges.

[Tony V]

My rule is if i cant pick it up then i wont buy it. It took one damaged set to turn me against shipping, no matter who the shipper is.
-Tony

[peverett]

After receiving a couple damaged sets, I have a rule similar to Tony V. The only modification is that I might ship a portable set that is about table radio size. I have had ok luck with these.

Of course, even picking up the set does not always preclude damage. I met someone near where a set that I purchased was located. They had loaded it in to their pickup truck to meet me. They loaded it with the back down and damaged all of the control pots located on the rear of the chassis. Luckily the CRT did not stick out and was not damaged.(Also lucky is that I have a spare chassis in my garage).

[zenithfan1]

Originally Posted by Tony V

My rule is if i cant pick it up then i wont buy it. It took one damaged set to turn me against shipping, no matter who the shipper is.
-Tony

Me too, I should have clarified. I don't have sets shipped anymore and I tell anyone that is shipping anything to me not to use fedex. My one damaged set is (or was) that Muntz.

John: They pulled the same crap with me, it was horrible. The seller (sender) didn't want to file a claim either, he had to be bothered by me everyday for a week to do it. Then this crap from fedex.

[bandersen]

All of these are in good shape, but still need some restoration. I hope to have a couple Admirals, the GE, a couple Motorolas, and the Predicta done by the end of summer.

RCA 630TS - My first vintage set. I've cleaned up the cabinet, but haven't touched the chassis yet.


Philco Predicta Princess. My 2nd set. It was originally rusted out beige. I removed the rust and repainted it red. I'm still working on the chassis.
I think it looks nice in my "retro" bedroom


Philco 50T-1401


Admiral 19A15S


Admiral 20X12


Admiral 20X122


Admiral 20X22


Admiral 24C16


Airline GSE-3020


Emerson 648A I was walking around my neighborhood and spotted this in a display window for a stereo shop. I spoke with the owner and he agreed to sell it


GE 806


Sentinel 430 I picked this up in Evanston, IL original home of Sentinel. The sellers aunt had worked in the factory during WWII building radios.


Finally, my set of 7 inch Motorolas

[zenithfan1]

You have some great sets Bob! Nice job on the restorations too.

[bandersen]

Originally Posted by zenithfan1

You have some great sets Bob! Nice job on the restorations too.

Thanks! I was just looking through all the great sets on your site. Seems that you have a Sentinel too. Mine has a gassy/weak 16RP4 which are really tough to find I've been considering trying a 16TP4 from VDC. A bit pricey though...

[grimer]

---]

[bandersen]

Originally Posted by grimer

Here is a pic of just a few sets in what used to be my dining room.My basement,
attic,garage,spare bedroom,spare closets,and a car or two are packed with tv's.
Almost to the point where it's no fun anymore
The Conrac studio monitor(lower rt) will probably be in the "Buy/sell/trade" forum soon.

Sweet! I'm afraid of reaching that situation. I hate to let stuff go.

Reminds me that I saw a Philco Safari on eBay recently for $75 in great condition that no one bid on. I hesitated 'cause I wasn't sure if it was a good deal. It re-listed and sold for over $200+ IIRC.

[Captain Video]

Hope I can still attach a picture... I posted too many on the old forum... here we go...

[Stafjohn]

Well this Western Model 31 mechanical may not be exactly B&W, but its not color. (Corrected Model 41, Thanks Steve)

[bandersen]

Originally Posted by Stafjohn

Well this Western Model 31 mechanical may not be exactly B&W, but its not color.

Wow! Where the heck did you find that?

[Captain Video]

The brand of my TV is "Colorado."

[Stafjohn]

Originally Posted by bandersen

Wow! Where the heck did you find that?

Steve is right Model 41. Well the simple answer is from my father in law's closet. But his story is much better. He was a truck mechanic, one day a garbage truck was towed into the shop and he saw this TV in the back ready to be crushed, but as fate would have it the truck broke down just in time. He recognized the mechanical TV as one similar to one he saw as a kid in the local hardware store. He has parkinsons so its hard for him to communicate, but thats the best I could understand. I think it came from the Minneapolis area.
He also gave me his mom and dads Atwater Kent 976 radio which I have restored the cabinet and had the radio repaired.

[Eric H]

Originally Posted by Stafjohn

Well this Western Model 31 mechanical may not be exactly B&W, but its not color. (Corrected Model 41, Thanks Steve)

Wow, that is just about the coolest thing ever!
How does it work, is it a projection set, the screen is big for a mechanical set.

Oh, yes, welcome to Videokarma!