Driving a long ways for a spare chassis.Am I stupid?
 

So I've been told by my boss who overheard me talking on my cell phone about driving across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge tunnel for a spare Zenith 29JC20 chassis that I am stupid.

He is not a tv collector,just an old tv shop owner. He said so what get one when you need it. your stupid to drive all that way.

I'm thinking of the scarcity of the parts and grabbing one while I can. I know these Zeniths are built like tanks and don't burn flybacks up like RCA but I'm thinking of 5,10,20 years down the road or it it could be next month that flyback that works now may fail or some other unobtainable part and there may not be any to be had. I mean we're talking about a near 50 year old tv.Parts ain't growing on trees and anything can fail as these sets age.

So who's stupid? I'd like to think most colectors here would be thinking like me. Plus I may buy another Zenith roundie set if another member doesn't buy it first.

See my boss has borrowed my truck and hasn't unloaded the load of dirt he picked up and I gotta wait until next weekend to make the drive. Driving the work van there is out of the question for sure.His insurance is for business and would likely not cover an accident on a weekend excursion well out of his service area.Plus that van has almost 200,000 miles with a whining rear end and would probably break down with my luck.

To explain the truck situation I let my boss use my truck whenever he needs to use it. In exchange I drive the work van everywhere including weekends and never buy gas.I just stick his credit card in the pump.I only use my own money to buy gas for a long trip to pick up something which in that case I always use my own truck.

My 2c,i think your boss is just trying to justify not emptying out your truck so you can use it to get the chassis. Id make the drive for it, thow im kindof a pacrat too so maybe not the best to comment. I think most here would agree thow, you are not stupid. Have him empty out his dirt so you can get your goodies!!

29JC20 chassis's don't come along every day and you bet I'd grab it. Throw his dirt out at the edge of his driveway and go!

Even though I personally wouldn't need one, to have access to it I would be doing someone else a favor by saving it.

Tell your boss I drove from Los Angeles to South Carolina twice to clean out a tv shop and bring a bunch of it home.
No, you are fine. If you enjoy it and it gives your old set some security its worth it. Go get it

Its worth it for a 29JC. Unfortunately, thordarson never made a replacement fly for the 29JC20, so if you have a bad fly, you're out of luck without that parts chassis. 29JC20's are known for flyback troubles as well. I had one go out on mine and I know oldtvman had one go on his too. Hopefully thats a good parts chassis and that it was scrapped due to a bad CRT and not a flyback...

You're not stupid - you have my full support here too.

Make it a fun trip - if you are into the space thing, Wallops Island is a great stop. I've stopped there many times on my trips north. I used to make the trip to Accomac with my junior sailors that got the ol' 75 in a 55 speeding ticket. The Navy said they had to have a command rep, so I'd volunteer for the day off....10 minute trial, 5 hours of sightseeing, paid for by the hapless sailor.

You might also want to do double duty - if there is anything you need but can't get where you are, chances are the Hampton Roads area will have it. Anything else you need? I'm here on the "southside" of the CBBT - if you need parts, lemme know. Arrangements can be made! Same goes for Bryan G - need anything from down here, lemme know.

Cheers,

Asking the "am I stupid for buying another old TV (for whatever reason)" in this forum is like asking "does anybody want cake?" at a Jenny Craig meeting...

Go get that bad boy, and picture all of your fellow pack-rats here cheering you on like we are in Arsineo Hall's audience.

Far away but not out of reach
 

Living 620 driving miles north of Seattle makes finding collectable sets sitting on the curb a little tough. Shipping gets exponentially expensive as the cube volume and weight go up. It took a bit of driving to find and get a 621 630 721 or how about driving 2200 miles from Chicago with the seats all the way forward (occasionally looking back at the restored working CTC 5 on the back seat diminished the pain considerably).

No, you're not stupid. Heck, I've been considering driving down to Jackson, TN to get this sad little Motorola 12K1 in the hopes the CRT is good or maybe it has parts I'll need for my 12K2. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=310320834489

Sure, it's only $10.99 BIN, but it would be a 1,000 mile round trip.
If I can squeeze 30 mph out of my VW and figure $4/gal, that's $133 plus one long day of driving :sigh: Now that's crazy :screwy:

I once bought a Renault sight unseen for $500, flew to Boston and drove it back to New Orleans. That's crazier than anything mentioned so far.

Most likely bad crt. he says the 21FB22 is a dud and he no longer has the cabinet or tuner. I was scared to death when my broken HV cup allowed the rectifier cap to get too close to the cage and the rectifier cap arced to the chassis so bad the picture disappeared and I smelled a burning smell.Talk about scrambling for the power switch. The first time I fired it up after repairs I was praying real hard that flyback was ok. I hope no here grabs the chassis out from under me now that the cat's out of the bag. I made a generous offer.

Now I wish I had seen something else mentioned on VK 24 hours ago. That dirt would already be in the driveway and I'd be on my way as soon as I got off work today. I'd have offered to prepay to save it until I got there even.
http://allentown.craigslist.org/atq/2406890002.html

I've emailed them just in case but I'm not setting my hopes too high being the cat's been let out of the bag here and I know there are members in that area.:sigh:

I have driven to Mass from VA to pick up a BW set. I also picked up another TV along the way in New London Connecticut on that trip. I have driven to St Michaels MD to pick up an RCA 630. I drive to the ETF convention in Columbus Ohio every year and always bring some TVs home.

You were close to me and bgadow when you visited St Michaels. Actually I'm about 65 miles away.Bryan is a little closer.

Well, yeah, you ARE crazy, but so what ? We ALL are, in one way or another, so do what makes you happy, & rejoice in the fact that you can indulge yrself...This is the kind of thing that you'll remember/cherish the rest of your life...

That's the early one with the two 3DG4 B+ rectifier tubes, isn't it? I've only ever SEEN TWO of those, and I have been collecting TVs since 1978. Get it!!!

Charles

That would be the chassis.It's only the chassis as the cabinet is gone. Great for spare parts as a I have a presently working one except for some bumblebee caps that need replacing. One that needs replacing right now as you can't play it more than a half hour before the vertical goes into an uncontrollable roll.

I was extremely lucky on my working one. Cabinet is kinda beat up a little but the chassis is like new and has very little use judging by the 1961 dated strong original crt and almost all original Zenith tubes(all tested good) except for the damper tube which is an RCA tube.It had no evidence whatsoever of under chassis work also.

That won't happen - Compucat, myself, and the seller are the only VK folks nearby. I can't speak for Compucat, but I'm outta room for more vintage stuff. We all wish you well in getting the chassis - ethics and civility are hallmarks of the VK crowd.

Like I said in an earlier post, lemme know if there is anything you may need parts-wise while you are in the area. a PM will do!

Cheers,

That's good to know.I had a certain member of a certain jukebox group grab out from under me a Seeburg Home Stereo Console out from under me by offering money for an item that was offered to me for free. Of course the ethics of the guy that had it where in the gutter too and he took the money.

Had arrangements to get it and everything and suddenly it was not available. The sad thing is I was getting this for my friend,not myself as I already have one. It was for the very same lady that now has the 1956 Admiral Super Cascode I have posted about a few times on here.

She only has a small suv and I have a pickup which you need to haul the 6 ft long HSC1.(Yes it really is 72" or 6ft long) you can bet your bippy I won't ask any questions or even casually mention any arrangements to get anything on that group unless it's safely in my possession.

Well if you aren't in a hurry to get the sad Motorola, I live in Jackson and have family in Chicago. I would like to make the trip up there. If you wanted I could pick up the set and bring it in July or august. $100 to help with gas, and you wouldn't have to make the trip. Just a thought.

I might take you up on that if I knew the CRT was good. Any chance you would be able to test it ?
I also have a restored Motorola 19K1 chassis that needs to find it's way down to Tennessee. I bet the owner would be happy to chip in some gas money too if you can manage it.

The 3DG4 comments made me think. I bought a load of tubes from an old TV shop around 1980. I got several 3DG4's, but never saw a set that used them. I probably still have them in a box in the basement, as everything from the shop wound up there.

Back on topic: I drove from Asheville NC to Nashville TN to pick up a Crosley 402 (I think) chassis, that just happened to have a rebuilt CRT on it, that the seller never mentioned in our emails. I could not have been happier! The CRT is vastly better than mine is.

Zenith used that rectifier tube in several models of black & white sets in the early 60's.

I have very VERY few of them, and they're a little costly to get since they were also used in some of the high-collectable audio gear. It's a high-current capable tube. I won't sell any, and I know they go for $$$$$$ on e-___y. Anyone who has or hopes to get a 29JC20, should try to have a few on hand.

Charles

...

What CRT is in the set and I will see if I can test it. I have a B&K 467 tester, but may not have the adaptor.

Well I jumped all over my boss to get his dirt out and he did but it's still gotta wait until next Sunday as I went to Bethlehem,PA to pick a blonde Zenith Porthole combo today.:banana:

Antique Electronic Supply has them listed for a dollar each! (as of today).

Indeed! It looks like they must have come out of the woodwork, or it was a fad that has passed over, among the hi-fi people in the 90s or early 2000s. Tubes get hot & cold on eBay. I remember when 6SN7s were 10 cents, and saw some brands go to $200 each (Telefunken), and now they're down again because everybody saw those prices and fished them out of storage.

Charles

I sure don't see anything wrong with that drive...heck, I've driven that far many, many times just for something to do-no TV stuff involved! Every couple years we will drive down as far as Cape Charles, just to see if it's still there, I guess! I don't go over the bridge just for fun, though, due to the $$$.

I'm glad rld drove to St.Michaels for that 630-he told me about the seller and we have become friends. I ended up getting my own 630 from him, along with lots of other goodies, usually via horse trading for audio stuff I find.

Same with vintage transistors. I sold a pair of new CK722's to a guy in S. Korea for just under 200 dollars in 1999, and now they can be had for under 20 bucks each. The only ones going for the bux now are the old Western Electric stuff, again to the foreign buyers.

With tubes, it's always a crap shoot. I used to list some "desireable types" on ebay about 10 years ago, and got mixed results. Mullard tubes, I got top dollar, but the Amperex, couldn't sell. Listed the same Amperex with the TV-7D/U test results, and got top dollar. A week later, I couldn't sell anything, but the same tubes by other sellers were hot - they had their (often bogus) "Hickok" test results. I got out quick - too much hype, little gain, and by that time I had already made enough for a Key West vacation. :D

I don't blame you - not much non-commercial stuff to do down here, lest you wanna go see or hear some artsy-fartsy stuff. The occassional concert, but DC/Baltimore seems closer for you.

Cheers,