Andy is correct, for some reason, basements are not common in Texas or Oklahoma(where I grew up). My aunt in Wichita, Kansas has one though.

Being in tornado alley, you would think basements would be common, but storm cellers(essentially small outside basements) are used instead.

One thing that is common in newer homes in Texas(much to one of my friends recent pain) is putting water pipes in attics. Not good when freezing weather arrives.

Of course, you may get lucky(or unlucky according to my wife) and find a TV shop in a small town where the owner has just about every TV left at his shop since 1946(+broken TVs from other shops). This happened to me several years ago and I am still recovering. I wish AudioKarma was around then-possibly I could have saved a few more sets.

And don't forget that many people move every year so that rare set in Chicago may be in Portland, WA.

We have a different problem down here in NE Tennessee...We were POOR around here...Still are, in a lot of instances...And so folks didn't/couldn't lay out the dinero a color set cost. Another thing was the typically lousy TV reception we got out here in the Tuilies, at least until the mid/late '60s when the initial cable TV systems came along. We went from getting 2, maybe 3 stations rather badly to having 6 or 7 perfectly overnite...That's when color really started taking off here, was when we got cable TV. In those days, of course, it was more of a "Super antenna" than anything else., there wasn't any Fox, CNN, ESPN, any of that.

Dave A. is correct. I have gotten a couple of sets, both early-mid 1950s B&W sets, here in the Austin area that were originally somewhere else. One is a 1950 GE console that orginally came from Pennsylvania. Al the repair documentation is still with the set. I have restored it(except for the phono turntable). It was to be a wine bar until I saved it.

The other is a Stromberg Carlson set with the curved ends on the top. It was originally in Utah. It was originally owned by the person who I bought it from's grandmother. After she passed away, they moved to Austin and brought the set with them and then decided to sell it. I have not yet restored this ones electronics.

The cabinets on both sets are in extremely good original condition.

The Superb owl is in a week and a half. And some people will discover that FPs don't like footballs thrown at them... :no:

Who is the "Superb Owl"? Some kind of all-knowing carnivous giant bird that can swoop down and eat you up? That sounds scary!

That's the Great Bird of the Galaxy, who swoops down on unfeeling idjits who would turn fine old TVs into bars, or stick modern TVs in 'em...

If only such a magnificent creature existed...:sigh:

No kiddin', Carmine. Just reinforces my deeply-held prejudice that only a few should be allowed to even HAVE vintage electronics....

I'm afraid that you're right Sandy. But, I wish there were more. I've already run out of space. That's assuming I'm one of the few. I might not qualify. Once I get my Sylvania 1-128 cabinet in shape and the chassis ready I'll probably change the 1-076 cabinet into a linen cabinet like the 1-128 had been. I doubt that I'll ever find a donor chassis for it.

John

Aw jeez Doug, find another - and soon! I'm snow-bound (10 inches) and have nothing to do! Even a tall tale of the one that got away would be welcome!

Seriously, didya find anything this weekend? If so, your fans are hungry.....

Cheers,

Found this on Saturday at a sale in Lexington, MI. It was still hooked up and was being used by the sale people (It had a Henry Mancini record playing!)
I believe it's a CTC-25, (never took the back off as everything still works)
Model HH 852 L and heavy as heck!

That thing is great! Very sharp. Looks like things went your way on that one, as its the colonial cabinet. I didn't know a ctc-25 chassis used that control panel. I've had a few 25's and they always had the typical concentric UHF/VHF tuner. No cataracts either, which is a big plus too. Figures its not a remote model though. Is this one a vitim of the deformed pot metal control door from excessive spring pressure?

That is sharp, great find! I really like that cabinet and color.

Thanks Doug and Mark, I am glad someone other than me likes that cabinet style as well!
I hooked it up to the rabbit ears for some old style reception today,
(1 channel!) it works great still. Oh, I got the Mancini album with it too! Somehow, the stereo in this thing actually sounds good..

Ugh! I meant to say earlier that it's most likely a CTC-21 not a 25. Looks like I am showing early signs of CRS..

Wow! I just took the back off, and found that at some time someone did the pva removal job on the crt! They did a nice job and used black silicone to seal the lens on. (BTW, Doug I checked, it is a CTC-21 chassis.)

(Back to the Silvertone set with the CHROMIX® control...)

Quoting the Fall and winter 1969 Sears catalog:

"Other features: color-improving CHROMIX® . . twist it and see how colors pop out with extra realism on a Sears set. Or, use to tint black-and-white for more pleasurable viewing. 25,000 volt brightness . . for reception even out on far edge of a station's range"

Of particular interest is their (seemingly ridiculous) equating of high ultor voltage with range of distant reception! They do this throughout the TV section of the catalog, and do the same on the Fall and winter 1963 catalog as well! (correct me if I'm wrong, but I can't imagine the HV being related to the tuner or IF sections, which are usually lower B+ than most of the circuits in a tube TV).

Also noted in the 1969 catalog was the fact that these sets were still luxury items. Sets similar (not quite identical) to the one in DRH's photos were $629.95 without remote, $729.95 with remote (nearly three months' mortgage on my parent's two-story brick house!). In contrast, the most expensive B&W 22" console was $199.95 (and a metal cabinet consolette was yours for $149.95).

LOL, I can remember Sears catalogs equating HV with Picture Quality.
i.e. 25,000 volts of picture power, 22,000 volts of picture power and so on.
The higher the voltage the higher the price usually.

Then there was the "Sears Best" logo they used for their top of the line stuff.

Estate Sale Find: 2-12-10
 

Another good weekend at the estates, I found one TV on my route. The sale was at 4061 Boudeaux Dr in Northbrook, which is a higher end north suburb. I was lucky and found a higher end TV. Once I spotted the cabinet with the doors closed, I knew right what it was but I was fearful of opening the doors to see an empty gutted cabinet.....I opened the doors and was pleased to see a fully intact 1967 Zenith "Florentine" priced perfectly at $25. Equipped with Space Command 600 remote control and has the "hi-fi" option (bass and treble controls) so that made it even better. The sound on these blow you away. Many of these were power tuning only, so its nice to find the "fully loaded" model. Zenith really put out a top notch TV with this model, the cabinet is very high quality and its also a back breaker compared to other sets of its size. I also have the '65 model of the Florentine too, that one is slightly different and uses the 25MC46 chassis, but this one being a '67 (the last year for this model series) uses the 20X1C38. I found it in the garage of all places, but the good news is, it was only moved out to the garage for the sale so it never saw the problems associated with being kept in a garage for many years. It wasn't intended to go in the junk pile fortunately, they just wanted more walking room in the bedrooms which is where this set orginally was from what I was told. Not sure why they wanted more room, the house was huge including the bedrooms. It shows, its a sharp set and clean as a pin. Once I got it loaded up, I had to take the back off and check it out. Looks like just one tube got replaced (the 6JU8), all others are originals even the 6Z10 which amazes me. It looks like the chassis never got pulled as the wire ties are still on all the cables that go up to the tuner assembly and original CRT as well. The cardboard cover for the space command chassis is still intact including the elastic band which is another good sign that the TV never saw significant repairs (hence hack repairs which drive me nuts). Its very clean inside as the house had baseboard heat. If you guys know CB radios, theres a Courier 23 on the right side of the TV you can see in the pics. I didn't buy it, they wanted an insane $150 for it. That happens to be my favorite tube type base station CB. I have a collection of those too. I've had my Courier 23 base station since I was about 10 years old that my friends mom bought for us at a resale shop to play around with. As for the TV, I never plugged it in so I have no idea if it even works but then again, its a Zenith...


http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2009-...6/DSCF1452.JPG

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WOW that is one nice looking TV and tha chassis is super clean, great find :thmbsp:

You gotta love that!Did you get a remote with it?

...

That's one very nice set. I'll bet it will fire up just fine.

Great set Doug.
I noticed all the fins on the power transformer are bent over but I don't see any way that could happen in normal service or repair, are they usually like that on the Zeniths?

I've owned several Zenith TVs with power transformers, and this is the first one I've ever seen with the fins bent like that. It's nearly impossible to tell at this distance what could have done it, unless it was the result of some sort of accident. I can't imagine any TV technician worth his salt deliberately bending these fins; techs are supposed to realize that they are there for a reason, and not to be messed with under any circumstances.

Bent over fins like this is not uncommon in the color sets. If you look, there is not a row of fins like you'd see in the roundies and earlier sets. That would be a little more objectionable if that were the case and they were still bent up. These fins may not necessarily be intended for cooling purposes. I highly doubt that this is malicious activity from a technician. I remember as a kid I would try to bend them back straight as it bothered me but seeing it on TV after TV proved to me it was a factory deal and I left it alone.

Actually, you can somewhat figure out the process how the transformer gets the black coating. You can see the outline of the diamond grating on top of the trans. Most likely there is a pool of the substance and the transformers get dropped down into it and brought back up leaving residual coating material stuck to the transformer off the grating when they get pulled off.

As for estate sales, I only go on saturdays and the average for me is usually 6 or 7 sales for any given weekend. Sometimes more, sometimes less.

...

Hey... That TV looks familiar...

Ghost of a TV

I see those stupid-asses put a gooey sticker right on the top of yours too!

Yes, it makes too much sense to put the sticker on the glass. There used to be a resale shop where I grew up called "Marklund Resale" and they priced everything with a grease crayon. Those idiots would write the price right on the cabinet and also on the screen. WD-40 would always take it off without harm but still.

Andy, the most estate sales I could practically go to would be about 13 in one day. Sales normally start at 9am, some at 10 and usually go to 3pm on average. I wish the hours were longer as it wouldn't make things so crazy to try to hit them. That 6 hours flys by so fast. If I have my route planned just right, I can go from north to south and just hit them all without back tracking. However, I usally end up wanting to start my first sale at the one that unfortunately starts at 10 and the one I want to hit last is usally the one that ends first, which is like 2pm. That screws up my whole schedule and have to compromise usually by give up a sale or two, but thats normally if there are more than 8 sales or so. Sometimes I get stuck at a sale that has the annoying outside line which they let 3 people in the house every 15 minutes. Im also lucky because I get to hear everyone whine and complain because its so cold out and they start bickering at the sale people to let more in and "whats with the wait, come on" etc. etc.. I just keep my mouth shut and wait quietly to get in. Im sure those of you from the midwest know exactly what Im talking about.

I am usually in and out of the house in minutes, Im not one of those people who while you wait in line for 40 minutes to get in, you see people inside the house who you didn't see in line. You wonder what the hell they could be looking at all this time, but these are usually the same people who buy all the knick knack junk and hold up the check out line for another 20 minutes while they get every little peice of crap priced out. All you want to do is give them the 10 bucks for the TV, say thanks and get out the door.

I was always stunned how many people have the freedom to go to estate sales on a friday, which apparently are the best days for estate sales. Very rarely do I get to do a friday sale due to work, but there are times I was able to fit one in that happened to be close to work on my lunch break. They were always jammed and the mornings were always jammed to with 40 foot lines of people waiting to get in. There are usually many estate sales advertized, about 20+ around chicagoland each weekend, but I only go the ones that advertize things that you can tell would be an old house that never changed (those are the houses with the old TV's of course). If I see ads like "Tons of womens clothes, glass figurines, book cases, leather recliner, wicker patio furniture, CD's, computers, Sanyo big screen TV, 2004 Honda CRV with 24000 miles flowed by the typical annoying one liners that still fail to get me to the sale: "everything from A to Z" or "something for everyone". When you see those one liners, it basically means "we have nothing but crap, but we think this might lure you out here anyway". Back when I was into garage sales, which was long long ago, the big words to look out for in the ads were "baby toys" or anything related to that. This eliminated about 98% of all the garage sales advertized. I eventually gave up on garage sales because they proved to be a useless waist of time. I started estate sales almost as soon as I got my drivers license. It opened to door to freedom for me to go anywhere I wanted, where as a kid, I was restricted to garage sales by bike. I used to make incredible long trips on my bike though. I really learned my local geography pretty darn good at an early age though, it was alot of fun. When I was 16 back in '99, I bought my first car for $3500 which I still have today, a '68 Buick electra. When I was 16, going to estate sales in that car was an absolute blast, I have great memories of going places in that car in my early days of driving. I was so proud of that car and that my parents also liked it. (I thank my dad for getting me into old cars). I really never changed now that I think about it, I just changed how I do things. I have however, found vintage TV's that somehow were in one of those "new" estate sales but thats only happened maybe once or twice in the last 10 years.

...

We don't have many estate sales in my area; but, the ones I've been to in the past usually had something of interest. Church rummage sales are a mixed bag. The older churches with an older congregation often have stuff of interest. The garage sales in the newer neighborhoods that advertise "baby clothes" usually mean that the people running them have never even seen a knob tuned TV, let alone owned one. The biggest problem around here are the dealers (aka, vulchers) who always show up at sales two hours early or even the day before and buy up all the good stuff so they can put it on ebay or take it to the flea market with a price tag that's 14 times higher than it should be. I can't tell you how many sales I've been to (when they opened) where something of interest was advertised and I was told, "yeah, we had an old radio; but, we sold it yesterday." The whole time I'm thinking, "What the hell do you mean you sold it yesterday, the sale wasn't supposed to start until this morning". A friend of mine, who used to live in TX, said it was illegal to sell anything at a garage or estate sale before the posted start time. I can actually see both sides of the coin on this issue. As a seller, you have to sell an item whenever the opportunity presents itself. As a buyer, it's real irritating when you show up at a sale that is advertised to start at 7 AM and find out that the very thing you wanted was sold the day before.

Recently I have been able to find a pretty good amount of tube type radios and radio phonographs at estate sales along with lots of electric motors, fan blades and fans.
I haven't seen very many tube-type TV's at all over the last 5 years or so. Mostly the ones I do see are the small black and white sets.
Old radios seem to have a lot much more sentimental value to people that old TV's and seem to be held on to a lot more...I have seen this in both buying them to own, and in what people bring in to get repaired at our repair shop.

I actually found a CTC-25 or CTC-17 this year at the thrift shop (haven't opened it up yet) but this is very rare.

Several of the estate sale companies here send out emails with links to photo galleries and this has been very helpful at spotting things I'd like to get.
I sure wish more sales would operate in the evening, at least one day so people working regular hour jobs could go easier. On the rare occasion I have gone to an estate sale on a weekday if I have taken some time off work I am amazed how many people are there at say 2:00 in the afternoon or 10:00 AM on a Thursday or Friday.

When I was a kid I often would find good stuff at garage sales but unless the ad mentions old radios or a jukebox or something like that I don't patronize garage sales. It takes 1/2 hour just to drive to town and it's too much wasted effort if the sale doesn't have any thing good.

Up until maybe 5 years ago I had never seen a true estate sale locally, and they are still extremely rare. Sometimes months will go by between listings; once this past summer there were 2 in a weekend-whoopee! I've yet to find anything decent at one. Around here there are tons of auction companies and they get most of the estates; not worth my time, usually. I did hit a couple of good estate sales one time on vacation in Kentucky; picked up some nice bw tube portables, too.

Well I decided to power it up last night. The darn thing works great with bright color picture. The remote works too, but the channel down doesn't respond. Most likely needs a touch up on the detector coil. Has good color and good sound. This one survived quite well. I really hate DTV though. I wish analog was still alive on VHF, it really made testing out and watching these old sets so much more fun and enjoyable.
Currently on the bench is the '64 RCA roundie table set I picked up in December, so it will be a while before I get this zenith set up just right.

I had a feeling it would work!

Estate sale find: 3-6-10
 

I went to a sale in the northwest side of Chicago, at 6224 W. Fletcher Ave, which is Zenith country, but somehow this 1968 RCA Victor CTC-35 showed up! The plant is up on the northwest side just down the road from this sale, so its safe to say these people were not part of the Zenith family like so many were at one time. In Chicago, if you were part of the huge electronics industry that was once here, you either worked at Zenith, Motorola, Admiral or Western Electric, and think about all the smaller ones like well gardner, hallicrafters, Seeburg, Rockola, etc. So much was here and its all gone now.
As for the sale it was a very nice home on the outside, but completely untouched on the inside. Untouched to the point of plaster and paint chips falling off the walls. Most likely the resident Mrs. Mueller was a widower since 1972 and just lived in the house and nothing was ever touched to keep up with it. I've seen some homes that are unreal how untouched they've gone. Some look like they were untouched since world war II, including the contents of the home. Its amazing how some people live for 50-60 years in the same location and things never change in that time period. I think its neat, its a great way to look at history and see how things really were.
Got the set for $5.00. They said they said it was working but when I tried it, nothing happened. Totally dead, not even tube filaments lighting up. could have had a dead outlet though as I think they moved the tv to the location that the pic was taken. Now that I think about it, its probably a switched outlet since it was next to the door.
The set saw some hard use thats for sure. The cabinet has some rough scratches. Its been in use untill atleast 1983 as there is a repair tag from November 11, 83 in there from an RCA service tech. Typical hack tech though, just slid the chassis back in, no screws or anything of the kind to keep it in place. Its all complete though. Original CRT with no cataracts but has a slight case of green halo. Interesting.

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That's a nice looking set...the knobs seem to be the style like are on my Mural TV's. I hate it when the chassis isn't fastened back to the cabinet....one time I went to tip a set up on its side I bought at an estate sale to put it on a dolly and the chassis wasn't fastened and fell over, luckily it didn't damage the CRT.
Also I notice there looks like an "auxiliary" 6AQ5 tube near the power transformer...I know some of this style of chassis had a transistorized audio output but then they went back to a tube due to problems with it.

Estate Sale Find: 3-13-10
 

Todays sale was at 245 Elgin Ave in Forest Park. It was an early 1900's two flat. The upper level did not look like it was lived in since the late 60's. I like these old two flats as the upper living level is most always the untouched and "forgotten" portion where time just stays still.

The lower level looked like it was updated last around 1970, all avocado appliances and even avocado woodgrained kitchen cabinets. Nice clean house.

Sure enough, a nice clean Zenith 4 tuber made its appearance as I walked upstairs. It was just sitting on the floor under a table of christmas decorations. This set is in great shape, it was well taken care of. Fortunately, it didn't suffer from identity theft either, all the stickers and tags are still attached to the back cover. Its model F4001W, built in November, 1974 for the '75 line. This is a special Zenith, this is the very last of the 4 tube hybrids. Its also the last of tube type Zenith TV's all together. This was the cheapest set you could get from Zenith next to a 16" model, however, being the end of an era, this set has no frills like AFC, dial lights etc. Its just a basic TV with a detended UHF tuner. It even had a sticker on back that I never saw before, a Zenith QC inspection tag.

Its not your typical zenith though, I can't say this one "works like a Zenith" because it doesn't. Its got no high voltage. You can hear the horizontal oscillator ringing though. Im sure the trippler died out on it. Fortunately, it survived all these years hidden away upstairs knowing I would save it one day.

I never get bored of these sets, ever since I was a kid I loved 4 tube hybrids. Especially broken ones because that gives me a reason to take them apart and bring them back to life.

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ta1B_ryr8bE/S5...0/DSCF1934.JPG

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http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ta1B_ryr8bE/S5...0/DSCF1961.JPG

Nice! That makes two 4 tube hybrids saved by VK members today. I have one just like this that was missing the knobs and was full of problems. It was actually one that had been given up for dead. I've done a good bit to mine; but, need to do more - including replacing the focus divider. One day, I hope to find one of the fancier older versions.