[Steve D.]

I just stumbled on to this thread. Don't get to the B&W forum very often. My TRK-120 story: About 35 or more years ago (pre-internet), I read an ad in a local shopping guide. The ad was for an old tv with a mirror in the top. I knew enough about pre-war TV to call on this and the owner wanted $100.00. I called my brother for help and borrowed the KTLA-TV prop van. I worked there then. Drove to Van Nuys to the sellers home. The set was sitting in his garage with a drop coth covering it. He removed the cloth and there was the 120. I caught my breath and tried to remain composed as to not have him raise the price. I did a hasty exam of the set, it was all there. He took my 100 bucks and my brother and myself, not knowing about the picture tube mounting ect. tilted the 120 on its back and slid it on to a packing blanket into the van. I secured it and we drove it to my home in the Hollywood Hills, I live in an apt. up 2 flights of stairs. We removed the chassis to lighten the load and carried the cabinet w/the pix tube still installed up to my patio. The heavy chassis followed. Over the next few days I cleaned out the crud from the cabinet and used a soft paint brush and vaccum cleaner to clean up the various chassis.
I than reinstalled all the chassis with no parts left over. Having no knowledge of the consequences, at the time, I plugged it in. I turned the power on and flipped the multi function knob to "TELEVISION". After a bit of snap, crackle and pop, but no smoke, the picture tube lit up with a bright raster. I connected the antenna lead to it and a picture appeared. The set had the 6 channel tuner.
Still feeling brave I switched to the "RADIO" position plainly marked on the panel. The TV went off and the radio dial lit up. All the buttons were intact and had Los Angeles radio station call letters on the pushbuttons. Many, long off the air. Pushing one of the buttons and the low hum of a motor was heard as the tuning indicator slowing and automatically moved to a station at the upper end of the dial. I had know Idea there was motorized tuning. I did no restoration on the set, other ten cleaning up the cabinet. I did remove the mirror from it's frame to clean it up and notice a date from some time in 1940 printed on the back. It sat in my living room for several years. When I aquired my CT-100 and then a huge CTC-5 Wingate model, I decided to sell, because of lack of space, the TRK-120. I put an ad in the local antique radio club newsletter and asked $6000.00 mid 70's dollars. I asked very high so I could bargin down to a lower price. Even then, I knew these were rare and valuable sets. An early pre-war TV collector Kent Warner lived close by and came to see it and told me it would bring at least $3000.00. He already owned a 120 and several other sets. A fellow from Huntington Beach, Ca. called me, he was very excited. Said he saw this set, as a child, at the 1939 Worlds Fair and always wanted one. He asked if I had sold it yet. I said no. Without any pause he said he would go to the bank that day and get the $6000. and bring a friend and a van the next day. Of course I accepted. Early the next morning he arrived and asked, with some stress, if I still had the set and hadn't sold it since our converation. I invited him in and he saw that the set was there and in wonderful condition. We sat at my dining room table while he counted out $6000.00 in one hundred dollar bills. Between the three of us and a furniture dolly we carefully took it one long step at a time downstairs and loaded it into his van. I never heard from him again. To this day I'm sorry I sold my TRK-120. Sorry for the long story, but it kind of fit this clif hanging thread.

Good luck Dave,
-Steve D.