Not Just A Lurker Anymore

[Arrowvox]

Hello all. I've been lurking around this form for a few years now, as I've had everything to learn and nothing as yet to contribute. So far I've been able to answer all my questions by searching old threads. I figure it's about time to join the party as I'm getting beyond the initial stages of my first TV restoration, a Westinghouse H-604T10, and I'm sure I'll be getting stumped soon enough. I'll start a resto thread for that TV soon, my better half is graciously tolerant of, but bored to tears by my little hobby and it will be nice to share progress with like-minded folks.

In the way of a little background, I've had an affinity for "old stuff" since I was a little kid getting toted around to farm and estate auctions in rural NW Minnesota by my family. I've been a tinkerer for just as long. Half of my childhood was spent "helping" my grandpa fix anything from tractors to toasters on the farm. Whenever a small appliance or bit of electronics broke in our home my parents would give it to me to work on (i.e. dissect and autopsy).

Jump forward a couple decades and while mechanically inclined and always curious about the mysteries of circuits, I ended up with a degree in wildlife biology. A few years ago to scratch the tinkering itch I picked up Motorola AA5 radio with a tag that said simply "Working - loud hum", and I was down the rabbit hole. After restoring a couple of old radios I made the jump to TVs when my then girlfriend saw me making eyes at the Westinghouse in the corner of an antique shop. I talked myself out of it that day, only to have her sneak back to the shop and gift it to me for my birthday. I've since added a 1960s Muntz and an early 80s Sears color set. Nothing special, except that the Muntz is the very first TV my great-grandparents owned and the Sears is the last.

Anyway, I'm happy to be joining this community properly and as a rank amateur look forward to learning from the vast knowledge pool here, and eventually making any little contributions I can.