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Sightmaster 15-S-2...Yes, -2!
Ok Rob, I guess I had to come out of the shadows with my Sightmaster 15-S-2 as long as this Sightmaster phenomonon is threading along. Not a great photo on short notice, but it tells the story. The story is it works and is truely one-of-a kind as Steve McVoy just has the cabinet and I have found no other complete set. Now the details.
I bought it for a princely sum on ebay in the summer of 2000. It lived all of it's life in Brooklyn and came to me as you see it. Some scuffs, but very presentable. I did a minor recap to get it going, but it still needs a thorough cap transplant and alignment.
The tube is a DuMont 15DP4A that was installed in late '55. The chassis appears to be the same as your 15-S-1 Rob with two exceptions. I have the Mallory TV/FM Inductuner in mine with an odd hand-written marking on the side calling it the "Velvetuner" and noting it is for the 15-S-2. The dial for the Inductuner also had a band marking for the AM band, but it is not on the selector switch. It also has the tuning eye tube in the bottom center of the control recess. The door is down for the photo, but it is otherwise an ordinary faux drawer cover with drop pulls. The tube sits up on some very hand-made spacers in the front and the yoke is supported by a large piece of sheet metal. The wood pins on the sides of the mirror pull out to allow the removal of the mirror frame and then the CRT from the front.
A little research in 2000 found that Transvision and Sightmaster shared the same address on North Ave. in New Rochelle, NY. They also had a showroom on 5th Ave. in NY. This set was marketed as the "Sightmaster Americana", not the common "Sightmirror" as is it is usually known. The "Sightmirror" reference applies to the glass oval over the tube. It is not a one-way glass as you may think. It is a piece of "Polaroid" glass (marked on the glass) which gives the dark mirror effect when it is off. Sure looks like Grandma's bureau to me...and about as heavy.
A very bad Xerox copy of a Sightmaster ad I have implies custom (wall-mount) installations along with this set. I suspect Transvision created a new upscale badge for their ordinary sets and made a few models as a last gasp to sell as non-kit sets.
Somewhere in this computer I have some chassis shots and I will Photoshop them into a collage for another listing if anyone is interested.
Hope you enjoy this beast. Analog forever,
Dave Abramson
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