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#1
03-16-2010, 04:46 AM
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I am in doubt
Someone appeared with a 1957 Philips TV set. This is a pretty rare set here. The set is cheap and complete with back cover... BUT there's a tragic, unsolvable problem: the cabinet is compromised because of a termite infestation - really compromised, it cannot be saved. This infestation is so serious, the cabinet is so damaged that it's very certain that the cabinet will not survive shipping ( it's in another state ).
Should I buy it anyway??? Very few of these 1956/57 Philips survived here, they are very, very rare. Although the cabinet is a lost cause, I could grab it for the parts - not only electronic components such as chassis and CRT ( but I don't know if the CRT is good and the seller has no way to test it ), but also for cosmetic parts as well - the back cover, the knobs, the escutcheon, the CRT bezel... maybe I could trade them with another collector someday, or maybe ( although that's unlikely ) someday I might found another set like this and those parts might be useful... Someone could suggest that I could build another cabinet. I really don't like this idea, because the custom cabinet will never look like the factory-made one, and the reason I collect TVs is to preserve itens of the past as they were. The thing that scare me the most is the high danger envolved in shipping such a termite-ridden TV. The cabinet is really falling apart, and if the seller don't pack the TV very carefully ( both outside the TV and inside the TV, stuffing the inside with things like foam, to protect the CRT - the CRT is mounted on the cabinet ) there's a serious risk of, for instance, the CRT arriving here completely shattered. Again, this is a rare television, and it is cheap, but I cannot avoid to think: do I really need that sort of headache??? To take this TV is like going to a junkyard and buy a car that cannot be restored just because of the rare parts that someday might be useful. If the car was a 1980's car it would not be worth the trouble, but the case of this TV is like it was a rare 1920's car that was made in very small numbers. Still, I am unaesy about this - I don't like going through all the uncertainty and anxiety about will the CRT arrive intact or not??? If it doesn't arrive in one piece I will get this feeling that I threw money away, and I don't like this. If this TV were only a block away from me, none of this would be a concern, but it is 700 kilometers away, and it will have to face a long trip inside of a truck to arrive here. It's very risk. Maybe I should contact a collector who lives closer to the TV and see if he's interested... possibly it makes more sense. 
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#2
03-16-2010, 06:01 AM
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Interesting situation. Not familiar with Phillips TVs.
Are there a lot of TV collectors in Brazil? How big is this hobby here in the USA? Someday we may wish we had taken advantage of opportunities like this if this hobby gets more involvement.
__________________
CW 1950 Zenith Porthole - "Lincoln"
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#3
03-16-2010, 06:58 AM
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If you decide to take it, have the seller close the TV up inside a large plastic bag and fumigate it thoroughly to kill the bugs. Then it may be possible to save the cabinet by injecting an epoxy or some other plastic filler into the wood, over and over again. You might have to investigate on line to see what sorts of products are available. It would no doubt be a daunting task but only you know if you want to go that far. If the bugs ate through the outside finish it could be reveneered but I'll bet they confined themselves to the interior, not liking the taste of lacquer.
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Reece Perfection is hard to reach with a screwdriver. Last edited by Reece; 03-16-2010 at 07:00 AM. Reason: Grammar
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#4
03-16-2010, 07:28 AM
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Well, if you DON'T get it, you'll always be second-guessing yourself-"What if ?" But if you get it & it turns out to be a dawg, at least you could possibly harvest a few parts from it. If you got a pretty good place to keep it, or at least squirrel away the parts, Go For It !
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Benevolent Despot
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#5
03-16-2010, 08:00 AM
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cwmoser
I don't know exactly how many TV collectors we have here, but the hobby is growing in number of adepts. And many of them are guys who are in their early 20's ( I'm in my early 30's and started collecting exactly 10 years ago ).
I can say that most likely there are something around more than a hundred people collecting TVs in the whole country. The only bad thing is that 50's and many 60's TV sets are rare here, so people use to ask high prices for them, so the kids who are begining to collect TVs now are confined to collect, by most part, 70's TVs and some of the more commom plastic sets from the mid-late 1960's. As for this Philips TV that I have on my mind now... it really is a very difficult TV to find, and despite the fact that the cabinet is condemned, it is complete, so it really is a source of very interesting parts. I have some days to think deeply about this before giving the seller an answer.
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#8
03-16-2010, 01:48 PM
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The majority of the Brazilian population still watch over the air analog television.
As for a website, this is the website of the main Brazilian TV collector: http://www.televisoresantigos.com.br/
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#9
03-16-2010, 02:11 PM
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900 televisions -- Wow. Thanks for the link.
Phil Nelson
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