Rca trk-12 Garage Find
 

A lady down the street is moving and has her father's old TV sitting in the garage. I believe it's an RCA TRK-12 according to pictures that I've found online. It's operating condition is unknown, but it appears to be intact (other that the cord being cut). I know nothing about vintage TV's as my collection is comprised of tubed console stereos and mono units. Is this something worth persuing? I think I can get it for next to nothing. The cabinet is in very nice shape with some minor veneer peeling. The picture tube is there and the mirror under the lid is intact. All the knobs are there, but the radio side looks to have some missing pushbutton caps. I really don't know what the heck I'd do with it, but it's just so damn cool looking!

Thanks!
Dave

Dave:

Yes, it is definitely worth getting if that is what it is. I am definitely interested in the set if you are not planning on keeping it. I am in New Jersey so not that far away.

It looks just like this (well, a lot dustier and with some veneer peeling on the right-front, curved portion of the lid):

http://videokarma.org/attachment.php...3&d=1308501916

Dave

You lucky dog! Oh what I wouldn't give to have the chance to purchase a pre-war TV for next to nothing.

If you can get it for a good price, then go for it!

This is one TV that should have good room for profit in it(should you decide that you don't want to keep it).

Tom C.

These sets sell for an average of about $6-8,000 if they are complete and have a good cabinet.

There are a few postwar mirror in lid sets that look somewhat similar, so be sure it is really a TRK-12/120 before you buy it.

If you do get it, please contact me so the set can be entered in our database.

I suspect there will be some folks green with envy over this post here.

Are you serious? I really know absolutely nothing about vintage TV's.

Absolutely!

Cheers!
Dave

Uhh, that's one of the most coveted, "Holy Grail" type sets....Survivors can about be counted on yr fingers... If you DO get it, PLEASE don't be tempted to apply power to it until its been COMPLETELY checked out...

Sandy:

If there's one thing that I learned from AK and through the restoration of my tube consoles, it's that. And the one thing that I do know about vintage TV's is that as scary as the voltages are in old tube stereos, they pale in comparison to those in old TV's.

Dave

Most Pre war sets use a "Brute Force" high voltage supply as opposed to a Flyback supply.

The Flyback type is very low amperage, it'll bite you but seldom hurt you, the brute force supply is stepped by a transformer right off the line voltage , massive amperage and instant death if you happen to come in contact with it.

The B+ is dangerous in any set but still only 200-400 volts, it'll kill you too of course but it takes longer. :D

Main thing is to be careful around any high potential, and treat it with the respect it deserves.

I wasn't talkin' about YOU, I was talkin' about the TV !! Mbwahahahaha...(Grin) Seriously, DO be careful...'Lektwissitty DON'T take no prisoners...

If this is a real post about a real TRK-12, there indeed will be a lot of envious people on here. But all due respect to the OP, there need to be photos put up of the actual set, and a serial number that isn't already in the ETF database, etc., as sadly, there have been many hoaxes out there surrounding TRK-12s and CT-100s, etc.

These things do come up for real once in awhile, as I know a building contractor who was hired to rebuild an old garage, and the lady said her late husband's non-running old Chevy had to be towed out of it first. She said the contractor could have it if he was silly enough to want it, and it turned out when he dug into the garage, that it was a '54 Corvette in showroom condition with low miles that had been parked since the 50s.

Charles

I'll try and get some pics today when she gets home. Will the serial number be on the back panel?

Dave

The serial number will be stamped on the main chassis.

Okay, this is the best I can do until I (hopefully) get it into my home.

http://videokarma.org/attachment.php...5&d=1308593838

http://videokarma.org/attachment.php...1&d=1308593820

http://videokarma.org/attachment.php...2&d=1308593820

http://videokarma.org/attachment.php...4&d=1308593820

http://videokarma.org/attachment.php...6&d=1308593878

Dave

One more.

http://videokarma.org/attachment.php...7&d=1308594121

Dave

Wow.....Like findin' a Duesenberg in a locked, dry shed....I'm in awe...

So it is what I thought?

Dave

Looks like The Real Deal to me... But I'm no Xpert...

It's a TRK-12 alright! I see some mods so it probably continued in use for quite a while.

Thanks everyone! I'll continue to talk to her about getting it. How high should I go? Would $500 be too much to offer and still be able to recoup my investment? It's obviously not operational with the cut cords, but I saw at least four chassis through the back and didn't see any empty tube sockets. I assume the picture tube is in there, but it looks to be covered in a cardboard cone.

Dave

I think you could go a few multiples of $500 and still turn a profit, but what do I know. I'd keep it. :D

I don't think you'd have any trouble reselling it for $500. This is a scarce item, worth considerably more than that. If I weren't 3,000 miles away and totally out of room for such things, I'd already be scheming how to get my hands on it.

Whatever you do, don't THINK about plugging it in, no way, nohow.

If I were transporting it, I'd try to remove some of the chassis, as well.

Phil Nelson
Phil's Old Radios
http://antiqueradio.org/index.html

Well, as I said in my first post, I know nothing about vintage television. My area of interest lies in tube consoles and radios. If I get it, I seriously doubt I'd be keeping it even if it is somewhat rare. Just how many of these things were made?

Dave

I assume you're referring to the toggle switch installed in the radio panel?

Dave

That and it appears likely the TV tuner was modified, probably with a postwar 12 or 13 channel tuner to replace the 5 channel original.

Eww, that sounds like it would effect its value a bit.

Dave

If you don't decide to keep it, you can always donate it to the ETf Museum in Hilliard,
OH. They will make sure it lives on for a very long time.

If you'll drop it off in the driveway on your way through I'll see that it's disposed of properly.

Hey ! Dammit, that's MY line...Work yer OWN side of th' Street ! (grin)

It looks like the tuner may have been replaced by a DuMont inductuner. Yes, this will reduce the value, since the cabinet was changed to make room. My guess is that the chassis was hacked to make room for the new tuner, further reducing the value.

Looks like the radio has been modified too. Some chassis photos would show what had been changed.

Even with these modifications the set is worth much more than $500.

Well, assuming everything else is original and the cabinet is in as good condition as it appears, how badly is this going to hurt its value? I can't imagine that the original tuner is something that can be picked up on ebay.

Thoughts please?
Dave

Thank you Steve, that all makes perfect sense. If I'm able to get it, the first thing I'll do is pull the back off and post some pics of the guts.

Dave

Well, apparently a little closer to finding a Jag E-Type Series 1 with a small-block Chevy shoehorned into it. Hopefully, most of the body and suspension are original. My initial excitement has waned a bit with each new post by those with knowledge. ;)

Dave

I'd suspect it's mostly original under the hood, save for the tuner and maybe the sound modified for FM. Even still, it's worth a good chunk of change - they just didn't make many of these sets to begin with. I'd say a good number of the remaining ones are in museums...

How can you tell? I didn't see FM on the radio dial.

Dave

It is possible to rebuild the original tuner if the chassis hasn't been cut to make room for the new tuner.

Our database has a total of 68 surviving TRK-12/120s, by far the highest number of any prewar sets. About 1800 were made.

http://www.earlytelevision.org/prewar_database.html

The modification for FM sound refers to FM sound for the television. Prior to 1941, TV sound was AM, and some prewar sets were modified to add FM detectors. Restoring the AM detector is usually easy.

As for value, a nice, complete set usually sells for about $8,000. The modifications affect the appearance of the set, which hurts value more than if they were only internal changes. The cabinet of this set looks pretty good. I would guess that it would sell for between $4,000 and $6,000, depending on the condition of the chassis. However, prices of old TV sets are all over the place, depending on who is looking for a particular set at any given time.

The FM reference is to how the tv tuner handled tv sound. Nothing to do with the radio which could not sniff FM.

Get down there tonight with $500 to start. I will loan you the rest for a partnership,

Dave A

Wow Steve! You are apparently VideoKarma's resident TV equivalent to AudioKarma's resident Fisher expert Carter (TheRed1). Thank you for your informative reply.

Dave