Well I know of one Clifton that's going to get restored. Assuming it is restorable that is...

You bought one?

Phil Nelson

I did indeed - the second one bundled with a National and Emerson :yes: I figured I needed one flagship set to finish off my collection. As my friend put it - "welcome to the four figure club". I'll just eat Top Ramen for the rest of the year :o

The plan is my friend in NY will pick it up during the week and deliver it on his way to the West coast in late June. Fingers crossed they make it here in one piece.
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I got the Clifton auctioned first. I had been looking for a Dumont Clifton for over 10 years. I got a Clifton advertisement off eBay this past year which advertised winning a new Clifton so I knew one was coming my way. I wanted to get one without the other tvs since I just moved back to Southern Ca this month and still have a load of tvs to haul from storage in Virginia. Your Clifton only has 5 small knobs in the center versus the six knobs on the other two. I wonder what the difference is?

You are the proud owner of an early model, which lacks a focus knob in front.

Top Ramen? You will wish you have that luxury. Maruchan is 60 cents cheaper per six pack.

Anyway, you could be getting these sets as soon as late May - including the super special mystery RCA portable, awarded to the guy with the highest blood pressure.

--
Will

yes I figured I needed one flagship set to finish off my collection. As my friend put it - "welcome to the four figure club".

:lmao:

Now that's funny. I don't think you'll ever be finished with your collection. Seems like there's always one more to get.

Congratulations on the Clifton and Motorolas.

Congratulations! I've also been searching for a Clifton or Manchu for years. I wonder who will get the third and last tomorrow morning ?

Nice! I'm working on moving some sets out to make room already :) Are you implying the sodium levels in ramen elevates blood pressure? Maybe I'll go with brown rice and beans instead :scratch2:

Looking forward to the mystery set. I definitely enjoy mystery finds way more than well publicized auctions.


Well at least for now my bucket list has been completed far sooner than I ever expected.

I felt sorry for the poor Motorolas after no one bid on them at the opening price. I figure they're good for spare parts and CRTs and the blonde cabinet looks pretty good.

The Clifton with 5 knobs is the earlier version that has no external focus control. The focus control on the 5 knob version is accessed behind the removable wooden panel just below the knobs. The 6th knob on the later version is a focus control.

What fun! Let's hope they are all delivered safely.

A Clifton is one set I would be tempted to give the Special Treatment (stuffing the paper caps, for instance).

Phil Nelson

After seeing how things went yesterday, I figured 'hey, ya never know' and went in with what I figured was a ridiculously low bid of $850, (I figured I'd be able to sell off some of my drek to raise that much.) Fortunately (?) I got outbid.

Phil, I think you'd really have your hands full trying to restuff these paper caps.


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I replaced these, and many more just like them in my Clifton.

Bob

What a pitiful bunch. You're right, not much to work with.

If a person really couldn't stand the sight of modern caps under that chassis, I guess you could make replica tubes -- new labels created in Photoshop, etc. Lots of work, but for most folks restoring a Clifton would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so why rush?

I'm not saying it has to be done that way, just indulging in some vicarious "what if" thinking. I'll likely never lay hands on one of those, so speculating & daydreaming is about all I'm left with :)

Phil Nelson

For the purest historians etc you should photograph the capacitors before removing, then bag and label them with location removed from he set etc, and keep them with documentation for the set. Then 300 years from now people can analyze it.

$14K for the GE Prewar console plus buyer premium and tax. Any know who got it?

:smoke: :D :lmao:

I know who didn't get it. :dammit:

DITTO!:tears:

Triple ditto's. It would have taken a whole year of retirement checks just for the tv. Plus commission, tax and shipping on top of that. It was fun watching though. Lots of bargains.

Does anyone know what either of the Videodynes went for?

Edit: never mind, the one I was watching went for $350 combined with a nice Hallicrafters 7"
http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/...-videodyne-tel

Such a bargain, if it had been only the Videodyne I probably would have bid but I didn't want to be obligated to shipping two sets through C&F.

Since according to the ETF prewar database there are only two HM-275s and two HM-90s we never will own one. I firmly believe if I didn't get that Dumont Clifton yesterday I never would have had one of them either. There are still a lot of late 1940s sets to go around but the rare ones will get harder to find. The number of unrestored sets is shrinking.

Videodynes, lot 1094 $400, lot 1594 $350

Speaking of bargains, the third DuMont Clifton went for $250 according to this page:

http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/...ht-40-12-inche

Big price spread between the highest and lowest prices paid for the three Cliftons. Were there big differences among them, or was this just auction randomness?

Phil Nelson

I think there were three people who really wanted and willing to pay for a Clifton. I was thinking the first one would go for about $1500. I got the first one but didn't bid on the 2nd one. The 2nd Clifton also went high so there must have been a 3rd person willing to go after it. I don't think there was any competetion by the time the 3rd one came around. I bet the buyer of that Clifton wouldn't sell it for under $1500 if he would sell it at all? Also the auction seemed quiet before lunch on the 3rd day. Maybe everyone came in late?

I was a little wary of the third because there's no picture of the insides. I am surprised it didn't go higher though since it was the last chance to get one. Possibly for a very long time.

Now I just need to find a Dumont screen like ETF has to put behind it.

How about this one guys?!
http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/...hm-275-3a-1939
Not a set you run across at a local estate sale!
Wow, is that a rare beauty

The third Dumont was complete but needed to be refinished. For that price lots of room to play. The same guy bought both ge preware sets. Funny some guy bought the 7 inch meck with the two Stromberg Calson TS10. During the pickup he came up to me and said do you want the TS10s for free? I took both and turns out one is NOS with the front instruction paper behind knobs and the price tag still on it. Check it out when I got home and the chassis and crt are NOS. CRT off the scale with Great cutoff. Too bad there big. That's the second NOS tv I get.

Anybody take any pictures of TVs etc while there at the aucton or during the live preview session?

"Now that's funny. I don't think you'll ever be finished with your collection. Seems like there's always one more to get."

I can remember when I was at the first or 2nd ETF dinner an older fellow at the table said he had 300 tvs and about 1500 radios. Someone asked what was to become of the tvs when he died and he said he set up a trust where his relatives can't touch them. I only had 10-12 tvs back then. I can also remember a yersar earlier picking up some tvs on Long Island and telling the guy I had 7 tvs and he said "I have more tvs then that in my kitchen".

All collectors can relate to that. It's all about the "next one". I started at 12 wanting ONE old radio to put on top of my dresser like my cousin had. I got one and soon had two, then four.... Every place I've lived since then I have been surrounded with these old sets. I have 44 sets (5 TV's) now, but if I had kept all them I would easily have double that. It's only space that limits me. Even now with my apartment packed full, I have my eye on a '39 Zenith console! I don't try to to justify it, I just know I'm having a good time with it - and that is all that matters!:banana:

After all, its called COLLECTING, not having. :-)

Too bad they are not 12", I could use a 12" chassis with fresh tube.
Do you have any idea if the chassis is smaller than the 12"?
I know they used the same outer cabinet for both the 10 and the 12, then just used a wider bezel for the 10. I imagine the chassis are the same or similar because the front hole positions for the knobs look the same.

What will be on Television 300 years from now?

I know...The Three Stooges.:smoke:

I sure hope so! Love the Stooges.

My friend picked up my sets yesterday. The Dumont was the most trouble not surprisingly. He said the lower chassis was only held in by one bolt so he removed it from the cabinet to lighten the load.
They should be here by the end of the month :banana:

Those Dumont "doghouse" "Telesets" are beasts! They are very unique and high quality sets though. I had one years ago and my only issue with it was that I could not watch a tape on it without about 1/4 of the top of the picture bending terribly. I later heard they are notorious for that.
Good luck with it though! It's a must have for any serious TV collector.

Thanks! It's not a "doghouse" though - it's a Clifton ;)

Oh wow!! I didn't realize you got a Clifton! Your lucky! To me, that is the most pre-war looking post-war set made. I can't wait to see pics and vids of it. I don't know much about them, but I'm assuming it's a similar chassis to the "doghouse".

It's quite different than the RA-103 chassis in the doghouse. No less than three 807s in it. Two driving the horizontal yoke and a third driving the HV coil. RA-102 Service info here: http://www.earlytelevision.org/pdf/d...-rider-tv1.pdf

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