1949 Wilcox-Gay 19" need opinions

[mhamilton]

I am looking for opinions on what to do with this 1949 Wilcox-Gay TV. I got this set in 2004 when it was posted on the antique radio newsgroup. I was told it was a rare set, though I don't think that means anything other than it was from a minor manufacturer and it was a big screen for the time (19AP4 picture tube). The set is mostly made up of Dumont and RCA parts. Very standard split-IF circuitry.

I restored it back then, to a point. It was a basket case barn find so the cabinet got a complete refinish. The rusted chassis got stripped and painted with spraypaint (I toyed with the idea of having it metal plated). Of course a full electrical restoration. The 19AP4 had gone to air, so I sourced a replacement that turned out to be a bit of a dud. I paid too much for the tube, and the emissions were very marginal. On top of that, the neck length appears to be shorter (this was a previous rebuild) and that caused issues with the ion trap and focus assembly. That soured my interest in the set back then. I was able to get a picture on it with a brightner, but emissions are still very low and the contrast is terrible. So I stopped working on it after that.

The set has been sitting in my parent's den for the last 15 years, and they're getting ready to retire to the beach so I need to do something with it. I feel like I've had my fun with it, I'm hoping to sell it on to a collector who wants to finish the remaining details. Anyone have any thoughts on what might it be worth?

The list of things that still need to be done:

1. Needs a full alignment (including tuner, or that could be replaced with a better condition RCA turret tuner)
2. Replacement 19AP4 (at the time a rebuild was a possible option, I found out that's off the table now)
3. FM radio dial glass reproduced (I have images of what the decal should look like)
4. New grille cloth

Attached are some photos (sorry for the low quality, the originals are scans of 4x6 prints), as well as some recent photos. Even have the owner's manual.

Thanks for any suggestions,
-Michael








Chassis before:


After:

[Electronic M]

Probably worth $25-60. Given the bad CRT and the challenge of finding a better one; if you need it gone and someone wants it, take what they want to spend on it and run. Big monochrome consoles are not really sought after.

Here and ARF have classified pages, aside from that eBay, Craigslist, Facebook vintage tv marketplace, let go, and offer up are options...If you don't mind loading it in your car a local antique radio club swapmet or perhaps antique shop might net you a buyer.

[Kevin Kuehn]

Those early light faced CRT's were never intended to be watched in a room with that much ambient lighting. You need to remember that CRT's can't produce darkness, they can only get brighter than their turned off state. Therefore the black area of the picture can only become as dark as the face of the unlit CRT for any ambient light setting, which is why the contrast seems low in such a well lit room. In my opinion that CRT's contrast looks about normal for that amount of room lighting.

[Penthode]

Besides the lack of contrast, it looks like the set needs a good IF/ RF alignment. Picture looks smeary.

[Kevin Kuehn]

I can really appreciate all the time and effort you've put into restoring that chassis. The TV collecting community in general is a little persnickety about adopting someone else's handy work, but honestly not too many folks could have done a better job cleaning that one up.

[Sandy G]

Uhh-Huh...Damthing looks almost bran-new... Sadly enuf, gotta agree w/Tom, the bigger sets are sorta "Shunned" nowadays, thru no fault of their own...VERY Pretty set, tho, big Tooob or not..I'd LOVE to have it, if I could talk Bosslady into it, & SHE thinks I have Too Many Toys, don't fool w/the ones I GOT, much less "Need" a NEW one...Wimmens... They jus' DON'T understand...(Grin)

[MadMan]

The cabinet is gorgeous.

[decojoe67]

It's a nice set, and you'll be hard pressed to find another, but these big console TV's, unfortunately, have very little collector interest, especially these days. Beyond mechanical/pre-war TV's, rare early post-war's, early color, and the rarer Predicta models, vintage TV's are "labors of love". Like with this W-G, you can get a lot of nostalgic enjoyment out of it, but forget getting a good price when you sell. What you need to do is find someone who likes the set and basically take any decent deal.

[mhamilton]

All good points, thank you for the feedback! I guess 10-15 years ago the early big CRT sets were more popular (Dumont 21", Zenith Portholes, etc). Apparently I'm like most early TV enthusiasts, I don't really want a huge console taking up all my space either.

Maybe what will be best is for me to do is take the set home, fix some of the remaining details (namely the ion trap/CRT issue, alignment), and see where that puts things. If another collector likes this set enough I could also see trading for a smaller set.