Why do we collect?

[droptop]

Yes, we're self made care takers in a world that cares little about where we came from technologically speaking. I've had great fun in my 40 + years of collecting and restoring old technology. For me, it's difficult to find something in today's culture that is satisfying. Finishing the restoration of an old TV, radio, jukebox or even an open reel VTR gives me a sense of accomplishment that few today ever experience. Beyond that I take pleasure in sharing my collection with friends and family who in many cases have never seen things like a click tuner on a TV or heard a 100 + year old wax cylinder play. I think we as collectors are a special breed that looks for satisfaction in ways many people never imagine. Ladies and Gentlemen, thanks for being who you are.

[Titan1a]

From my collection of old radios, computers and furniture: from my cold, dead hands!

[ChrisW6ATV]

Why do I collect early TV sets (and things that go with them)?

Because when I was a kid, things such as our TV set often broke and we could not get them fixed. I want to "avenge" for that.
Because I could see the Chicago Standard Transformer plant while riding an El train in Chicago as a teenager, and I appreciate the golden era of American manufacturing with American parts (as Findm Keepm mentioned).
Because my one older brother got an electric project set when we were kids that I liked, and my other older brother bought an antique radio years later that I liked, too.
Because I like technological challenges.
Because, as my brother said when I was about eight years old, "I have 'old' in my system!".
Because I like that it is an unusual hobby compared to, say, stamp collecting (see my signature below).
Because bringing something back to life is highly satisfying, something we CAN control and improve in a life full of things that get worse and cannot be controlled.
Because the science of electronics is just plain COOL!

[ZackN920]

It's the Tubes! The TUBE'S!!!! Woooooooooo(ghostly sounding) lol
I don't know, just always liked vintage electronics. Tubes were very interesting to my 7/8 year old self when my dad picked up that 1948 Philco console AM/FM
radio(1264). Also always just had an interest in fans. I'm told to this day, that when I was a baby, I could be put underneath a ceiling fan and just watch it for hours in amazement. Must have been kind of funny too...

[kramden66]

A high definition tv will show high definition if it is fed such , if not and it is low like antenna tv and others then the image has a kind of - i put wax paper over the screen look , well on the old sets such an image does not have the wax paper look and actually is pleasing to the eyes.
i guess the people staring just like the headlights in the deers eyes is like i am when i hear this i phone is coming out or the galaxy 9 is to go on sale or jlo has a new song or beyonce has a new song - thats when i am the deer with the headlights in the eyes.
These sets go back to the days when there was so much to watch and they more then likely displayed those programs or could have.

[hi_volt]

When I was in high school, one of my teachers gave me an old Emerson console TV, which I restored and got working again. I still have that set 42 years later. In college, I had a TV repair and sales business that I ran out of my apartment. Lots of good memories associated with old TV sets and radios. I also appreciate the quality and craftsmanship of those old sets. Nothing like that is available today, and the current attitude is "throw it away" to get the latest and greatest (IMHO, Apple Computer is the worst offender of promoting this). So I hoard old TV sets.

[oldtvman]

For me growing up as a kid in the 50's my dad took me to a tv store one day and there was a program on tv in color! It was the most amazing thing I had seen. I was determined to find a way to own one, but it took me until the early 60's to actually buy a used ctc 7. We were the first ones in our family to own one and all the relatives would come over to watch it.

So collecting keeps the memories fresh.

[dtvmcdonald]

I saw my first color TV in 1954 and asked Santa for one. Needless to
say, I didn't get it ... until last summer, almost 60 years later. A CT-100.

[Kamakiri]

For me throughout my life, it was the "forbidden fruit".

Whenever my dad would be pulling tubes to be tested on the living room set (I think it was a CTC-15), I wasn't allowed anywhere NEAR him. I remember sitting at the top of the steps peering inside and trying to see the magic within.

Then, when I was 7, I discovered tube radios. I still have my very first radio bought in October 1978 for $1 at an auction (A Motorola 65X12 I think), and then we went back in November and I bought another (Bendix 636D). I still have them both. Then it was on to TVs, I had a 24" Motorola B/W hi-fi console set in my bedroom that my parents hated....but I bought it for $5 at that auction months after. Used it for years.

Ever since I was a boy, I have wished, wanted, and hoped that someone would teach me how to repair radios and TVs. Every old tech I ran across told me that I shouldn't fool with things like that, and cast an aura of some kind of magic dangerous voodoo over the whole thing. Loved the stuff all my life, but never learned how to fix anything.

It wasn't until my mid 20s that I got bold enough, and sick and tired enough of waiting for someone to show me the ropes that I said, "screw it, nobody wants to teach me, I'll figure it out myself". Managed to come this far....not perfect, but I'm pleased with my progress and I learn new things all the time.

One day, maybe I'll find a little boy just like I was, with that starry eyed look of tubes glowing, and I'll take him under my wing and give him the teacher I never had

My kids are too busy playing PS4 lately

[Countryford]

I started when I was about 12 or 13. I'm 31 now. My dad and I had gone to some garage sales. There were 3 radios there. Two plastic and one wood one. The wood one was in bad shape so I parted that out. I've still got the two plastic Radios. Motorola clock radio and a G.E. clock radio. Couple of years later, I moved on to TV sets. I like the styling of them. My radios vary in age from the 1920's to the 1960's. The TV sets range from the 1940's to the 1980's.
If it wasn't for my husband, I wouldn't have any new TVs.

[Kamakiri]

I'd kill to have one of your washer/dryer setups. I have no idea how you found those.

[Titan1a]

My dad (rest his soul) was a teletype repairman in the USAF. When I was a pup I'd watch him work on electrical projects. Electricity is in my blood and I passed on my love of electronics to my son. Yeah, I worked on electronics in the AF just like Dad. It's the one thing I can take with me!

[jstout66]

I was lucky.. my Uncle had a TV/Sales repair store, and as a kid, I LOVED the back-room. All the sets lined up on the repair bench... the house calls.. and getting to unbox the NEW Zenith's. I can still smell those CC' 2s fresh out of the box......

[JB5pro]

I too was very lucky to go on house calls as a boy as the helper to a great man. It was great to visit the different people. I often try to find any of them that may still be alive. Seems crazy to many but i think everybody i ever met is special to me.
i love these tv's and all related things because they help keep the memories of loved ones fresh, both gone and those who are still here. I love all this great technology and history for all the reasons mentioned by others. To see all those tubes light up on my ctc 15 was always a great thrill for me and mostly to see the exact beuatiful living color programs exactly as my loved ones and the rest of the world saw is one of my greatest pleasures.
now, if i can just get my mom to watch it with me... ... she is still afraid to enjoy the past completely.

[MRX37]

I guess for me it was because I'd find something I wanted in the trash, and could often get it working.

Now most of what I own are items that were cast off by their previous owners. Either found curbside or bought cheaply second hand. Some have minor things wrong them still, flaws as it were, but I made them functional again.

I made them live again, often by taking parts from other dead electronics to accomplish this. A bit like Frankenstein's monster in a way.