[compucat]

I have found reliability of tube TVs to be a mixed bag. My Motorola 9VT1 8" electrostatic set has been very reliable needing only a few repairs in the 14 years since I first restored it. My 8" RCA metal portable has been even more reliable in about as many years. The Zenith color roundie (25MC33 chassis) has been a bit more maintenance intensive. I even considered getting rid of it at one point because I felt it needed too much attention. The color sets are always going to need more tlc because they are more complex and the is simply more to go wrong, need periodic adjustment, etc. I do like my Zenith as it is my only tube color set but I would not want to own more than one or two at the most. As it is the Zenith has always had a vertical problem where it looks like it is about to colapse for a fraction of a second. Sometimes it starts to roll or even goes to a line for a second or two. I still have not figured out what is causing that. Despite the maintenance would not want to be without tube technology in my life. Even my Bakelite five tube radios bring me so much enjoyment and they rarely have problems except the occasional need for a tube or at least a good chassis removal and cleaning once every couple years.