Why do you like old tv sets?

[DianaWelch]

I like old, antique and vintage things. Whenever I saw one of those things I would think how life was back then. It's like being transported back to when there is no internet and life is moving slowly.

[tubetwister]

Originally Posted by DianaWelch

I like old, antique and vintage things. Whenever I saw one of those things I would think how life was back then. It's like being transported back to when there is no internet and life is moving slowly.

I can see that I just picked up a mid century Hallicrafters S120 AA4 gen coverage radio for a vintage bedside radio,

I have it converted to a diode from selenium 1/2wave and new style electrolytics , RF/IF aligned and working now and some audio signal path caps to finish to take down some AA5 hum at the 50C5 control grid and maybe NOS RCA or GE tubes because I can and some othert film caps just because ,


my next inmate will be a 1937-1939 Zenith 8-12 tube big round black sweep dial pre war AM /SW and maybe a 1947 to 1954 or something Zenith Transoceanic H500 model AA5 tube radio for the vintage gear here but some of thwe higher 8+ tube count old pre war Zenith are a better AM/shortwave within it's coverage than any of these AA5 radios and most other consumer radio and some comm radio on AM since and they can hold thier own on AM with a modern spendy comm.SW /VHF radio today if it's set up well .

I just want the working or fixable old 1937-1939 Zenith hammertone copper finished chassis for a steampunk look and the working radio of course like I had in H.S. ,that pre war Zenith steampunk chassis was way cool SRSLY and worked better than my Hallicrafters and National comm radios on AM .back then

SRSLY that was the pinnacle of AM consumer radio then

The TV in here is a retina searing new 4K HDR 1000 + Samsung SUHD QDOT LCD and a similar but much tamer 2015 Sony Triluminos 4K HDR in the family cinema room and both have the requisite nice 5.1/7.1 AVR + speakers external audio systems .

I like some pre war or mid century vintage or steampunk but only specific vintage electronics like the old Zenith 1937-1939 radios a transoceanic H500 since the bombers are a fortune now and maybe a late 1940's early 50's AA5 RCA globetrotter and only for 1960's the Hallicrafters model below and like that but only a general coverage radio and only a couple of them .

I have SDR radio and SDR web radio for difficult coverages and trus`me these radios can't do all that 24/7 and sensitive like the right SDR or SDRweb radio .

click image to enlarge :

[DianaWelch]

I found a really small TV set. My family thought I'm silly because I still prefer watching on it. They said why I'm making things hard for me. Hahaha!

[Dude111]

Originally Posted by DianaWelch

I found a really small TV set.

God bless you Diana!!!!

[Zenith26kc20]

more fun then ever! Star Trek "The Cage" was on a couple of weeks ago. I had the CTC9C on (exercise period)! It was warmed up and on came Star Trek. A very sarcastic friend was over (hates old TV's)!
Well, when they blew the top of the mountain off, he said, "I've never seen color like that! I told him, "That's every night at my house"!
Love em!
Original CRT! Looks like original flyback! A Latham! HEAVY and awkward!
Unbeliveable!
One day, a 21CTC2 Moto!

[Popester]

So when I worked at the mom and pop tv sales and service I started at 15 and left at 26. The writing was on the wall back then even in 1985. About 3 or 4 years later that shop was gone and my bosses newly retired. The new owner was only able to run the business about 4 years and it disappeared. In those 10 years I learned a whole lot about the value of treating a customer with respect and standing behind your word when things went wrong. God now they just sue the pants off you in today's world. Life was indeed simpler then. It's funny when I now work on stuff I wish I had the body strength and hearing and eyesite of that 15 to 26 year old I used to be long ago. I was in a Target store today looking at all the flat screen HD and UHD tv's and the first thought that came to my mind was that none of these tv's would be working or be able to be repaired in 10 years. What landfill waste. It's just sad to me what America has lost. A whole industry that was based on fixing stuff that broke and keeping it running for as long as you could. So, every time I turn on an old tv and have to wait for the sound to come on and then the picture to show and sync up. I am like Bill Cahill and find that to be a thrill. New stuff does not reach me in any way shape or form. Yes, the pictures look amazing on new tv's. But what a cost to our throwaway society they have on our planet. As for me, I will try as long as I am able to watch tv on some sort of CRT based set. It's so satisfying to keep all this old analog stuff running. It's like a kid on Christmas morning lol.

[DavGoodlin]

Originally Posted by Zenith26kc20

more fun then ever! Star Trek "The Cage" was on a couple of weeks ago. I had the CTC9C on (exercise period)! It was warmed up and on came Star Trek. A very sarcastic friend was over (hates old TV's)!
Well, when they blew the top of the mountain off, he said, "I've never seen color like that! I told him, "That's every night at my house"!
Love em!
Original CRT! Looks like original flyback! A Latham! HEAVY and awkward!
Unbeliveable!
One day, a 21CTC2 Moto!

Ha, no surprise as we tolerate modern non-CRT "color pictures". Do not expect a Motorola 'CT2 to look anything close to your RCA tho. Methinks they're rare for a reason. I just like the off-beat challenge of working on an unusual or unique design, so I would not kick a Motorola roundie off my bench.

[Titan1a]

Your heart is true! I've collected and repaired/restored just about everything you mentioned. Finding a Hammerlund or Hallicrafters would be the "icing on the cake." They're my heirlooms and I love them more than just about everything else. Tubes chase away the darkness and warm cold winter nights!!!

[mrjukebox160]

"Well, I don't actually watch anything on my vintage sets since my 15GP22 went gassy
... before that, I actually watched NFL and MLB games on it."

Just curious, Why wouldn't you enjoy the occasional use your vintage equipement? Wile I wouldn't "run them in to the ground" I feel part of owning them is to keep them working. As for the 15G situation if I understand it correctly it would have went gassy whether it was used or not. I would be happy that at least I got to enjoy it and see a picture on such a rare set. (I have never seen one in person)

[ESigma25]

Something about playing an old game console or watching a VHS on an old TV just feels...right.

[Electronic M]

If you're talking about a 1955 moto 21CT2 like mine that will be an interesting undertaking. They have almost as many bad peaking coils as an RCA CT-100/21CT55 (and nobody has came up with/tried out good subs yet) and at least one is in the chroma osc. (which I suspect may have relation to my color sync issues).

I need to get back to mine. A flu and life kinda stopped me a few months ago...I've been messing with it in the last day or so through the remnants of another flu (what is with all the flus going round here this year?), but currently, I'm more using it to check my round glass CRTs to make sure the one I'm giving up in trade for a 21AXP22 for this set is good, and my other glass tubes are good enough for the sets that need them.

[irext]

I like repairing and restoring old TV's for pretty much all the reasons given in this thread. When I was 14 (in the early seventies) I started tinkering with old TV's from the late fifties and early sixties. Most were gifts deemed not worth fixing. I felt a great deal of satisfaction bringing them back from the dead. I didn't really make any money doing this. I just enjoyed the process. I was lucky to have a local retail/repair shop nearby where I bought most of the needed parts ie caps, resistors and valves from. I owe the tech there a debt of gratitude as he guided me on the right track many times and enabled me to hone my diagnostic skills. I ended up doing an apprenticeship in that very shop where I worked installing and repairing color TV's as well as many other electronic consumer items. I also installed antennas and even car radio's. I worked there for 6 years whilst doing an associate diploma of electronics during the evenings. I guess I always knew this would only be a stepping stone for me and I could see the writing on the wall for the servicing industry as sets became cheaper and more reliable in the early eighties. I then started working for the Australian Broadcasting Corp initially as a radio tradesman but quickly advanced to an engineering officer once my course was completed. I worked initially in the TV studio maintenance dept repairing broadcast television equipment. I enjoyed that greatly and worked there for about 5 years until an opportunity to move to the Outside Broadcast section came my way. Thats when the doors really opened. Working on live broadcasts and repairing equipment in the field suited me down to the ground. I worked there for about 26 years and advanced through the system. I now work as a freelance broadcast engineer which now gives me some free time to work on vintage electronics. I love the simplicity of the old gear and the ingenious ways they overcame hurdles to make a device work with the technology of the day. It's very gratifying when you track down a fault and bring life back to an old TV/Radio etc. Also the cabinets were a piece of furniture back then. restoring the cabinet is also part of the fun. People are amazed when they see a 1956 TV working and looking as well as it did 60 years ago. Unfortunately restoreable prospects are nowhere as plentiful in Aus as they appear to be in the States. TV only dates back to 1957 here and color from 1975 so finding worthwhile resto's require a lot of searching and luck. Ebay hasn't helped either as people now want silly money for old TV's and Radio's whereas before they were give aways. I greatly enjoy reading these Forums even though I'm not familiar with the brands the basics are still the same. Pictures of the repair processes really tell a story and the lengths some go to for authenticity is amazing. My hats off to you all.

[DavGoodlin]

Originally Posted by irext

I like repairing and restoring old TV's for pretty much all the reasons given in this thread. When I was 14 (in the early seventies) I started tinkering with old TV's from the late fifties and early sixties. Most were gifts deemed not worth fixing. I felt a great deal of satisfaction bringing them back from the dead. I didn't really make any money doing this. I just enjoyed the process. I was lucky to have a local retail/repair shop nearby where I bought most of the needed parts ie caps, resistors and valves from. I owe the tech there a debt of gratitude as he guided me on the right track many times and enabled me to hone my diagnostic skills. I ended up doing an apprenticeship in that very shop where I worked installing and repairing color TV's as well as many other electronic consumer items. I also installed antennas and even car radio's. I worked there for 6 years whilst doing an associate diploma of electronics during the evenings. I guess I always knew this would only be a stepping stone for me and I could see the writing on the wall for the servicing industry as sets became cheaper and more reliable in the early eighties. I then started working for the Australian Broadcasting Corp initially as a radio tradesman but quickly advanced to an engineering officer once my course was completed. I worked initially in the TV studio maintenance dept repairing broadcast television equipment. I enjoyed that greatly and worked there for about 5 years until an opportunity to move to the Outside Broadcast section came my way. Thats when the doors really opened. Working on live broadcasts and repairing equipment in the field suited me down to the ground. I worked there for about 26 years and advanced through the system. I now work as a freelance broadcast engineer which now gives me some free time to work on vintage electronics. I love the simplicity of the old gear and the ingenious ways they overcame hurdles to make a device work with the technology of the day. It's very gratifying when you track down a fault and bring life back to an old TV/Radio etc. Also the cabinets were a piece of furniture back then. restoring the cabinet is also part of the fun. People are amazed when they see a 1956 TV working and looking as well as it did 60 years ago. Unfortunately restoreable prospects are nowhere as plentiful in Aus as they appear to be in the States. TV only dates back to 1957 here and color from 1975 so finding worthwhile resto's require a lot of searching and luck. Ebay hasn't helped either as people now want silly money for old TV's and Radio's whereas before they were give aways. I greatly enjoy reading these Forums even though I'm not familiar with the brands the basics are still the same. Pictures of the repair processes really tell a story and the lengths some go to for authenticity is amazing. My hats off to you all.

Your story sounds so familiar! I owe my debt of gratitude collectively to the Veterans who learned in the military then much later, patiently taught us what they knew, hoping we would go on to electronic greatnessyet we were happy with restoring the equipment we already had.

[KentTeffeteller]

I like vintage TV sets and electronics for many reasons. They are reminders of what the USA could manufacture once upon a time, when people paid a lot of their income for them, and when major purchases were expected to last many years, and be repairable when needed. And when quality mattered in what Americans purchased. When we were saner, more rational people, and our economy was best, and when people had decent paying jobs. A time I want to return (and eventually will do so)

[Bill Cahill]

I'm still restoring my TV's, radios, record players, and, my Edison phonographs. I love it all. I'm still working on a Symphonic portable rp right now. It's from the fifties....
My favorite is everything I own.

I'm 67 years old.........