Hi John,
this is one of the best sets of this brand. If you look on Molotok,
http://www.molotok.ru/search.php?str...rec=0&order=td
you find them very often, but in bad or damaged condition, for example this one:
http://www.molotok.ru/item599902782_...9_1957god.html
The phosphor of the CRT has a slightly blue tint, it is similar to the tint of a 10BP4.
You wrote, "Had other manufacturers followed that path the true cost of ownership would have been less, in my opinion."
This is a question of the economic system. One can produce a set as cheap as possible, or as reliable as possible. The Sovjets had very poor materials in that years, and they tried to produce as reliable as it was possible. With the KVN-49, they had luck. The "Starts" and the Other sets were not as reliable as this one.
By the way, this is my favourite Russian song:
http://download.sovmusic.ru/m32/katyusha.mp3
I know that this must sound very strange in American ears. But I grew up near the border of the iron curtain, and we listened daily in our radio and television from the east to such music. (The Eastern transmitters were much more powerful than the Western transmitters.)
Kind regards,
Eckhard