Quote:
Originally Posted by StellarTV
Can't have a non-working set sitting around for too long.  |
That hit a nail on the head sort of for me in a point that I think is worth noting here, just leave out the "non-working" part for now. In my experience a lot of what dictates whether or not a set needs restoration, to what degree, or even not is how long it has been retired from line current and for what reason(s), if any.
I always have to reference back to the two sets that I have owned the longest. My 56 Philco and a round about 1951 or 2 Sparton. I got both of them around the same time over 30 years ago in working condition. In those days they were more or less junk, but a few people still used them, usually older people who easily remembered a time when there was no television, so they were perfectly fine with a decent working black and white set of any age. TVs were never cheap and to many of these people they were an investment and back then we didn't invest, discard for better, re-invest, discard for better. We just used what we had for as long as it would last, and that was often a very long time.
Anyway, my point was that these sets had been used periodically since new, but also nobody let sets play around the clock back then either, so the hours on them wasn't that high. However, the time that they were used helped to keep them going longer than if they had sat since say 1965. Every time I have found a set that has been dormant for several decades, it's about a for sure restoration and you darned sure better not plug it into the AC line. Inversely, you can come and plug in either of the two sets I have mentioned and you will watch television. I must admit that the old Sparton is about ready for some caps, but it will still come on with one heck of a crisp picture. It just takes several minutes for the horizontal size to spread out, then the vertical size starts to shrink. So nothing really lasts forever, but after 60+ years of faithful service, I'm not going to complain.
