Prewar british tv set on ebay
 

On ebay now is a Marconi tv set with radio, model 707 from 1938. It is ebay number 6598862564. The set comes without the original loudspeaker.

Here is the pic and the link.

polaraman

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...3D50%26fvi%3D1

Yagosaga! A translation from you would help.

Dave A

A rough, condensed translation (paraphrasing raw babelfish):

"Large rare piece: Marconi 707 Radio/television from 1938. It's not missing the loudspeaker. The chassis is somewhat rusty, but the tubes appear to all be in it including the picture tube. The cabinet's right hand side has a small defect in the veneer. Very heavy and bulky - in addition, because of the sensitive picture tube the item is for pickup only, or buyer may arrange shipping.

Very rare: radio with television set, made by Marconi. Model 707 from 1937. The loutspeaker is missing, but this should not be a problem for a tv service man. The chassis is a little bit rusty. The tubes seem to be complete. The picture tube seems to be in good condition. But I have no possibility to test the tubes. The veneer has a small defect on the right top of the housing. Width: 27". The set is very heavy and bulky. The picture tube is very fragile. Pickup only, or buyer may arrange shipping.

Question: The bottom of the housing looks somehow irregular. Is it because of broken wood? In case of winning it, do I have to pick up the set immedialtely? Where do you live?
Answer: The wood is OK. It looks irregular because the set was put into the snow for the photo. The set can stand here as long as you wish, if you have paid the costs immedialtely. I live in Lindau (Bodensee, near the border to Austria).

They put this rare television in the SNOW? I hope somebody is going to SAVE this set from the seller!


polaraman

Yes, it is so. He put it into snow to have a white background of the picture. When I want to have a white background, I usually use paintshop or another photo editor, but no snow. :thmbsp:
This seller had offered several antique tv sets in the past. One of the last ones was an Ekgo with roundscreen. Most of them were sold at low prices. He mainly deals with clocks and parts of old clockworks.

I wonder what shipping company would pick this up in germany and ship it to me in the US. I'm amazed at how cheap it is with two days left. I can't afford it but I'm tempted to use the loan money I have. This was the same set that was featured in "The Secret Life of Machines".

Jonathan

Fedex for example. But there is no hurry. If you would win it, the seller would keep this set for you until you find an opportunity to get it. Another possibility: my father is travelling to the Bodensee, where the seller lives, several times a year. He could pick up the set and bring it to me. I can store it here in Brunswick until you find a way of shipping it to the U.S..

Hi I am also very tempted, but it would be a long drive from England to pick it up,I dont trust shippers and if the Emiscope tube gets broken you wont get another, if this came up for sale in the uk it would go for at least two thousand pounds maybe three even.

With a bad Emiscope tube? I have asked the seller to measure the filaments, but he replied, he's not a technician. I wrote to him, he should please a tv serviceman to do that for him. Those 15 EUROs are much less than the increase of the price if the bidders know that the crt is OK. But he did not answer. So I would be careful. Nobody really knows in which condition the TV set is. It is like some kind of roulette. Perhaps the high bidder may have luck, and perhaps not. I have decided not to bid on it, even it is easy for me to arrange the pick up and shipping of it.

...

Rare TV indeed, how would an American or actually ANYONE attempt to play TV to use this??? Isn't this another standard that's obsolete, IS this really just a museum piece???????????? I was also thinking of that CRT too Yagosaga, much of the TV value is tied to CRT condition. Is there ANY substitutes for such a tube?

:scratch2:

There are several standards converters that will convert NTSC to the old British 405 line standard. We have a number of working 405 line prewar sets in our collection:

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

It is impossible to find original CRTs for that set, but with a little work, a 7DP4 will work as a substitute.

A wonderful piece, although the final price exceeds my budget. I don't think setting it down in snow for a couple of minutes would do any real harm, as long as you promptly dried it off.