Hi. My name is Sam...
 

and I'm addicted to vintage televisions.

I'm from Mesa, Arizona. I'm 33 years old, married, with 3 boys and 1 on the way (don't know if its a boy or girl).

I have always loved items from the 1940's to 1960's.
I used to have 5-6 vintage TVs when I first got married but I think it kind of freaked out my wife so I quit cold turkey and sold them.

Well fast forward 9 years and my parents who live close by retired and are on a Mormon mission to Italy for 18 months. They asked me to check on their house once a month to make sure everything is OK. About the same time they left I started looking at this site and antiqueradios.com and got the itch back.:no:

Well, within a month I have already found a couple of TVs on craigslist and am hiding them at my parents house. I think this could be trouble.:nono:

I got the Stromberg Carlson for $75 and the Philco for $25. I just couldn't pass up such great deals!
If anyone has or know who has a metal Opera View knob for the Stromberg Carlson could you let me know.

Thanks.

You in a HEAP o' Trouble now, Boy !! (grin) GREAT lookin' sets...I think EVERYBODY oughta have a Porthole...

Hello Sam!

Vintage TVs are like Jell-O, and there's always room for Jell-O :)

That wasnt a porthole that was a stromberg-carlson

Uhh, look at the pic again...Its a STROMBERG-CARLSON Porthole...They made one, too...

Sam, you wouldn't believe the stuff I've snuck in the back door! It gets easier after you have a few....harder to notice, say, the 7th TV when you had 6 last week!

bgadow - Pretty funny, I do that too! ! ! Good thing the wife don't actually GO into that room.......

My wife just looks in "The Ship's Radio Room" & makes a face...She deals w/dying veterans all day long, strung-out veterans from Desert Scam 1 & 2, Viet Nam, Korea...but she's still not brave enuff to go into my "Radio Room".."Here There Be Tygers" 'n' all, doncha know...(grin)

Sam,

Welcome to the TV funhouse. Those two were great deals for such nice sets! I wish I could find an S-C tv, they were top-shelf stuff judging by the posts here.
There are many Philco experts here - sometimes I pretend to be one because I rescued so many at the curb in the 70s, here in Philco-land.

I can relate to having the little ones around this hobby. My barn-garage and attic are off-limits unless I'm there too. Nothing gets plugged in unless its via isolation transformer.
Once you get either of those working, they will probably want to watch some cartoons on them...lol My "crackly radios" are a big hit too, but only when there is music playing.

Dave

PS The wife should be happy you don't have a car hobby, that stuff really is hard to hide!

Dave,

Actually I'm a recovering car addict as well!
Here is a picture of my first car I bought when I was 16. A 1952 Pontiac Chieftain. The second one, 1960 Mercury 2 door hardtop, I bought after I was married. I don't have either one now.:tears:

Hello a day without tube type tvs is a day without sunshine always remember tvs are mans best friend they replaced the dog with these tube type beauties... welcome aboard the tv merrygo round hang on tight it is a fun ride...Timothy

Hi Sam,
I too have the privilage of havef having a wife who incorporated a few oldies in her decore. They get oohs and ahhs when folks visit, especialy when theyre working. When the local NBC afilliate went digital they did a piece featuring my 1948 RCA 10" set. He shot a good bit of footage of the set playing with their noon news on the screen and asked to shoot some of the insides with the back removed. His memorable quote to me was "Ive seen these in museums but I've never seen one working!" bIt turned out to be about a 5 minuite piece on air.
Enjoy the hobby and SHARE.

My wife has no idea what or how many things I have in my shop/office/warehouse. She knows about them, she just doesn't know if I have one of something or five. Sometimes I find things and just put them there. When she notices, I say they have been there a long time. She really doesn't care and she knows I do that. Now when I find something, say on ebay or craigslist, I just tell her and she buys it. Works really well. By the way, I don't complain about all the craft stuff she buys. I know a good thing. Have fun.

LOVE the '60 Merc ! And believe it or not, its styling was actually considered TAME in light of what had gone before..

well, baby #4 is here! and it's a GIRL! Here is a picture of Sadie and her 3 older brothers.

Congrats !! And I Pity the Fool who wants to date her here in about 16-17-18 years, & has to Pass Muster w/all 3 of those guys..(grin)

Welcome! Congratulations on the new bundle of joy!

ahhhhh

i use the "come on mom just one more!?" trick!
also when the parents arent home sneak them up the stairs with the help of a friend!

What a great-looking group that is! Congrats!

Congrats, get some sleep (you and your wife). I have 2 girls, mostly grown up now, but I can remember those early days like yesterday.

Nice crew sam!
Good luck, I have two girls and the baby stage goes too fast.
My oldest watched a Barbie cartoon on a 19" Zenith, 1964 monochrome set, and did not complain until the end.
She operated the turntable since age 4 (I am Ok with occasional mistakes too) Patience helps tremendously
Despite what you hear, kids can be content with old technology.

Wow, that's the truth! That poor dear is going to have a hard time getting boyfriends! I remember dealing with a similar situation when I was in high school... this girl had three older brothers... they were all far bigger than I was... and I made sure to have her home on time!

Contrats on a fine group of kids there! :thmbsp: