[Tubejunke]

WOW! At first I thought that this thread was in the wrong forum as the opening statement mention "53 DuMont" didn't scream out color set to me. I have only once in my life seen a DuMont round tube color set and it was more like 1963 than 53! And what a day that was at a Salvation Army thrift outlet. I walk in and there is what at a glance looks like two coffin stereos which at the time (maybe 10 years ago) were complete dumpster destiny.

At any rate, I always give all electronics a look see. First I see DuMont's great name somewhere among the stereo controls, then after seeing a TV selection but no screen (back was to the wall) I slide a wooden sort of vertical roll top cover from right to left and there was the screen. CLEAN as brand new! Even then space was sketchy here at my home/collection hoard. Decisions, decisions, WISHES, wants etc.... I picked up one end of the monolith that most DuMonts are and my decision to walk out was made. $10 price tag by the way! But I had but a few years before practically given away an RA-109A to a fellow in Richmond, VA named Tom Houtalling who was traveling around in a van bringing back whatever he could supposedly to start a museum in Richmond. We lost touch and I don't know if the museum ever came to be; or if my set is in said museum. I simply had nowhere to put the set but out in a shed with the mice. I thought it deserved better than that. I threw in a nice RCA color "roundie" with only sync trouble as well. I think I asked $30 for the pair.

The Salvation Army set was just interesting to me, but highly impractical. Same as the blonde finish similar set right beside it. I think it was a Magnavox. Mainly I hated the thought that if some oddball like me didn't get it or them, then they would end up trash. Ten years ago these sets had little to no real following as they do today. 20 years ago they were garbage pretty much. These two were $20 each and I'm sure they would have taken a lot less. I came back about a week later and both were gone. The person there said they thought somebody bought them, but weren't sure. Maybe old Tom H. I don't know of anyone local to my part of these VA woods that is warehousing old TV sets. LOL

Steve D's picture sure is neat! What a great time that must have been to be a student of electronics and/or work in the field! Today the schools teach, and largely the field is dominated by industrial based micro processor hybridized automation & related controls. I see a growing acceptance that kids who have worked on PCs and robotic toys are electronics techs. PC work requires almost no understanding of electronics. But to remain viable as a trained tech, you must understand PCs. I don't like putting PC kids in 480V plus control cabinets. But more and more are coming into the field and that's where they will end up. Cheap labor yes; safe-NO! You can check their knowledge by having them do SUPERVISED measurements with a Simpson 260 or some other analog VOM. LOL! Anyway, there is a DuMont scope like that in Steve's pic at an antique mall near Greensboro, NC if anyone is into the old test equipment or jut the DuMont name.