Tv turned on by itself...no joke!!
 

This was very wierd..i'd thought i'd share this with you guys..I have a Predicta Holiday model that I plugged in..hit the power switch and nothing happned, no picture or sound, the tubes didnt even light up. Well about ten minutes later I hear a clicking sound and guess what... the tubes lit up! A few secounds later the picture tube lights up and then slowly decreases to just a line across the screen and dissappears!!! Made no sound!! Maybe it hasnt been plugged in for a while or something!! Either way..its unplugged now and staying that way!

This is probably corrosion in the power switch contacts...there can end up being arcing in there and eventually the switch fails completely. I would not use till the switch was replaced as the arcing could burn the switch.

With vintage electronics I think it is a good idea to unplug or remove sources of power when not using the device. Even if fuses are added just extra protection.

Also I try to never leave TV's running if I'm not viewing it. I have had sets fail even after being restored and more damage would have been done if I was not there to remove power when the new fault happened.

Steve

i think Samantha Stevens had been trapped in the set, and you let her out when you plugged it in

Hmmmmm, Have you seen any scary movies lately?

The switch and or it's shaft have lubricants which have gummed up over the years causing the actual switch to operate slowly.

If you'll flush out the old lubricants with contact cleaner ( not the foam type ) while manipulating the switch, and with ac disconnected , it willl free up and operate normally.
If the solvent is flammible , let it evaporate a day or two before applying Ac again.

The loss of the lubricant will not cause the switch to wear out with the occational use most vintage sets receive.