Nice pile of TVs in York, PA
 

Wish I was closer :yes: 2nd from the right, bottom row looks like my Motorola 12K2.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-TVs-YOUR...-/180571223742

That's just down the road from me....I won't be able to look at the auction listing until tomorrow, though, as ebay won't load on this computer.

Reece was nice enough to send me the text from the auction page-thanks!

So, $30 for each set. More than I'd be willing to pay for the whole pile, but what the heck, I'll buy one just so I can at least go over and check it out. About the only thing that I'd vaguely be interested in would be the matching RCA tv stand on top of that heap. If I don't see anything I especially like, $30 would be worth it to take a 10-12" set just for the kine and take the stand along with it.

With CRT rebuilding unavailable unless/until the ETF project gets rolling, buying cheap TVs just in hopes of getting good CRTs makes some sense.

Phil Nelson

Yeah, that's exactly what I was thinking. Especially since the last couple NOS 10BP4s have sold for $250 on eBay.

Well, I was able to get onto a decent computer, and purchased one. I'll keep everyone updated....

Just got off the phone from the seller, and it looks like we'll be meeting Sunday morning to check them out. He seems like a very nice guy-he is in the process of emptying out a warehouse, so the tvs have to go.

I hope you find a hidden treasure or two :thmbsp:

I just got back, but don't have time to make but a quick post-

before I forget, here are what the sets are-starting with the right row-

the upside down tv on top is a Motorola w/ UHF
-below that is a Zenith that has a necked picture tube
-below that is a Firestone
the next row is:
that brown thing is a tv stand, but doesn't seem to match any that are piled there.
below that is an RCA square tube set
on the bottom is a late 40's Sylvania.
the middle row:
A Motorola (?) on top
An Arvin
A metal-cased Philco
next to last row:
A blonde Motorola 10-12''
A trashed Zenith Square tuber
the final row:
a motorola of some sort-it is laying face down, and I couldn't move it-probably a 10-12'' as it has an electrodynamic speaker

I'm not sure of the last make on the final set in the pile.

In back of the warehouse, he has a pretty nice Moto radio/tv/phono, but someone had robbed the 10" chassis out of it.

there was also a minty 60's Sylvania B&W as well.

Well, I've gotta run, but try to guess what set I picked out of that heap!

Did you take any pictures? There are some finds there..Someone around here may be interested in that early Sylvania!

Thanks for the info. I'll guess the Sylvania.

I'm guessing a 16" or 17" pre-Halolight Sylvania, like one of these from the TV History site:

http://www.tvhistory.tv/1950-SYLVANIA-brochure2.jpg

jr

Perhaps 6130? 7130?

The Sylvania referred to as a late '40s looks like it's the 1-245 model that uses the 1-139 chassis. It should be a 12" CRT. In the photo it looks like the speaker board is missing. The 1-139 chassis is essentially identical to my 1-108 chassis. I'm not sure what the differences are. It would have been made in 1949 or 1950.

While I'd be interested in the 1-245 if no one else is, it's the 1-128 that I would jump on if I found one.

If someone gets the 1-245 I'd be happy to explain how to use a 12LP4 if the 12VP4 is bad.

John

Or is it on a matching stand, and we are seeing the side of the metal Philco between the legs? :scratch2:

jr

I don't think they made any matching stands. If you look at the bottom set in Brochure, the curving base board between the legs can be seen in the photo and the patterned wood that runs across the middle of the set looks similar.

You can also see the mahogany paneling on the inside, through the front, which is a different color than the Philco.

John

To respond to some of the above posts: the 12" Sylvania is indeed the model you describe, it is not on a four-legged stand, someone just kicked in the speaker board. It was in pretty bad shape, but it looks like it is all there.

The one I couldn't ID is indeed a Sylvania-thanks for jogging my memory.

When I went to meet the guy, he took me to a small warehouse (more like a large garage), and pried a board loose so we could open the rotting carriage doors. As soon as we stepped in, you heard the rustling of all sorts of critters in the darkness-mostly squirrels. We only had a flashlight to show the way, and I began to guide it around the room.

There was a shelf with maybe a dozen old car radios on it, along with a completely destroyed Emerson 510. I left those alone, and trust me, that Emerson was toast, as I have kinda wanted one of those for awhile, and would be willing to put in some effort if it was salvageable.

I saw a lot of older stoves and rotting wooden furniture as well, and the seller explained that he and his father owned several pre-furnished apartments, and these were the tvs that went with them. They continued using these up until the 80s, from what I could tell. I can only wonder at the type of apartment you could get in the 80's that would come with a 12" Sylvania.

I decided to go with the Arvin, and it turns out the frame stand on top of the pile was intended for it, so I got that along with it. I don't think there are very many early Arvins around, so I was drawn to it. It appears to be complete, and the chassis looks a lot like an RCA T-100, though the control layout is quite different. The CRT tested dead, but after fiddling with it, I got it to come up well into the "good" scale, and it has a decent life test.

He said he had a spare crt, but it was in the back of the building, where the roof had collapsed. I struggled through the rubble, and saw the neck sticking out the remains of the crt's original shipping box-it was open to the sky, so the box was sopping wet and rotting away, the whole mess covered in pigeon waste and who knows what else (This is why I like living in PA-no Hantavirus to worry about). He said the crt was a 21'' for the Zenith, but no-it was a brand new 10BP4! We negotiated a price, and I took it home. It tests brand new, but it does have an intermittent short. So that was my American Pickers moment.

Awesome. I wish you had had someone following you with a video camera. Priceless Youtube material for TV collectors.

Phil Nelson

It's a model #3121TM, the mahogany tabletop model. It appears to have been manufactured by Sparks-Withington (Sparton). Not a lot of info on these.

Looking over the other models on the Tv History site, it appears the Firestone is an extremely obscure model, as there is no listing for Firestones in the 50s section, and the 40s listing just gives TBD for everything beyond '48.

A very neat story; great to come across stuff like this. I think I would have been drawn to the Arvin, too. I don't think I've ever stumbled upon one in the wild.

I've seen photos of a Firestone version of those trapezoid shaped 7JP4 portables (I forget who actually made them-Tele-Tone, TravLer?) When I think of Firestone TV sets, though, the one that comes to mind is an early/mid-50s 21" table model. Why? The house I grew up in backed up to a woods. If I walked through to the other side (better part of a mile) there was a dump pile for that farm and sitting on top was a Firestone TV. I often tried to think of a way that I could drag that poor hulk home, but never did. Amazingly, nobody had ever shot out the crt.

Neat also about those being in use up into the 80s. The equivalent of an apartment today with a TV from the 70s which, yeah, would be a dump! Unless one of us rented it, of course. Which brings to mind another story, involving a flophouse in New Jersey, but I'll save that for another time.

The set on top of the metal Philco, I think that's the one you called an Arvin?
Are you sure it's not an Andrea instead? It looks an awful lot like a TVL-12
A set I'd grab if I had the chance.

On second look I guess it's not an Andrea, it appears to have a control panel under the screen.
Still, an Arvin would be a nice find too.

Since no one seemed interested in the Sylvania 1-245 I went for it.

John

I don't think the Firestone is a model 13-G-48, but if it is I have a Sams for it that someone could have.

John

Congrats. That's a long haul for you isn't it ?

Yeah. Leadlike is picking it up and we'll figure it out from there.

John