Later 19" and 22" B&W sets

[radiotvnut]

By the 1970s, 22" B&W sets (rather they be consoles or "tin can" table models) had dropped way off in popularity, but there were still enough senior citizens buying them to warrant manufacturers to keep making them until at least the early '80s.

As far as 19" B&W portables, those were more common in the '70s and early '80s. In the early '80s, Zenith made a 19" B&W (and a 12") that was digitally tuned.

I can tell you that even into the 1990s, there were still some older people who wanted no part of a color TV, either because of eyesight issues or because they were afraid that a color TV would x-ray them to death.

Years ago, me and some friends helped clean out an old TV shop/dealer that no longer exists, and I brought home two later model 22" Sylvania solid state B&W consoles (one was from '78 and the other one was from 1980). He told us that, even in the '80s, they had older customers that wanted a B&W set and it had to be a console, so they kept them in stock for as long as they could get them.

As far as Zenith, I remember someone saying that '81 was the last year for the 22" B&W sets because they could no longer get the 22V tubes. As far as other later B&W 22" sets, I know that Admiral made them until they exited the TV business in '79, and I once saw a Truetone-branded Admiral console from '79. Of course, Sylvania made them and I'm sure there was also a Philco variant (both brands were owned by GTE, at the time). I know that GE had some 19" sets, using the 19XA chassis, but I've seen a 22XA chassis listed in the Photofact index (but have never seen one of the actual sets).

As far as 19" B&W portables, I'm very sure that RCA and Zenith offered them through at least '83. I vaguely remember seeing a 19" B&W set in the JC Penney Christmas catalog from '86 or '87, but I don't remember the brand. Years ago, I fixed a NAP-era Philco 19" B&W for someone and it had Samsung guts in it. Then, there was some Korean off-brand 19" B&W that an older lady brought me to fix. The tube was stone dead and the chassis had issues. I told her it was worn out and wasn't worth fixing, then I asked if she wanted me to dispose of it and she was very firm in telling me that she wanted it back. I feel like she was afraid I was lying to her and was just trying to get her valuable TV or it had sentimental value.

Of course, the 12" sets continued to be made until at least the late '90s, and there was a clear-cased KTV 12" prison TV that was B&W with electronic tuning that was made in the early 2000s. Then, the little 5" sets were available until the analog turn-off in 2009. I wouldn't mind having one of the KTV 12" prison sets, but I'm not paying a ludicrous Ebay price to get one.

So, does anyone know of any other later 19" and 22" B&W sets, or have any stories to tell about them?

Pictured below is one of the Sylvania consoles.

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by radiotvnut

By the 1970s, 22" B&W sets (rather they be consoles or "tin can" table models) had dropped way off in popularity, but there were still enough senior citizens buying them to warrant manufacturers to keep making them until at least the early '80s.

As far as 19" B&W portables, those were more common in the '70s and early '80s. In the early '80s, Zenith made a 19" B&W (and a 12") that was digitally tuned.

I can tell you that even into the 1990s, there were still some older people who wanted no part of a color TV, either because of eyesight issues or because they were afraid that a color TV would x-ray them to death.

Years ago, me and some friends helped clean out an old TV shop/dealer that no longer exists, and I brought home two later model 22" Sylvania solid state B&W consoles (one was from '78 and the other one was from 1980). He told us that, even in the '80s, they had older customers that wanted a B&W set and it had to be a console, so they kept them in stock for as long as they could get them.

As far as Zenith, I remember someone saying that '81 was the last year for the 22" B&W sets because they could no longer get the 22V tubes. As far as other later B&W 22" sets, I know that Admiral made them until they exited the TV business in '79, and I once saw a Truetone-branded Admiral console from '79. Of course, Sylvania made them and I'm sure there was also a Philco variant (both brands were owned by GTE, at the time). I know that GE had some 19" sets, using the 19XA chassis, but I've seen a 22XA chassis listed in the Photofact index (but have never seen one of the actual sets).

As far as 19" B&W portables, I'm very sure that RCA and Zenith offered them through at least '83. I vaguely remember seeing a 19" B&W set in the JC Penney Christmas catalog from '86 or '87, but I don't remember the brand. Years ago, I fixed a NAP-era Philco 19" B&W for someone and it had Samsung guts in it. Then, there was some Korean off-brand 19" B&W that an older lady brought me to fix. The tube was stone dead and the chassis had issues. I told her it was worn out and wasn't worth fixing, then I asked if she wanted me to dispose of it and she was very firm in telling me that she wanted it back. I feel like she was afraid I was lying to her and was just trying to get her valuable TV or it had sentimental value.

Of course, the 12" sets continued to be made until at least the late '90s, and there was a clear-cased KTV 12" prison TV that was B&W with electronic tuning that was made in the early 2000s. Then, the little 5" sets were available until the analog turn-off in 2009. I wouldn't mind having one of the KTV 12" prison sets, but I'm not paying a ludicrous Ebay price to get one.

So, does anyone know of any other later 19" and 22" B&W sets, or have any stories to tell about them?

Pictured below is one of the Sylvania consoles.

My grandmother bought a General Electric 16" b&w TV in 1951, and kept it until she retired in 1969. She was of the generation (the Great Depression era) who did not throw anything away as long as it was still usable. Her next (and last) TV was a 25" Silvertone color set, which served her well from 1969 until she died in the mid-1980s; even after she died, the set continued to work very well for about a year or so. It never gave her so much as five minutes' worth of trouble, which is more than I can say for modern HDTVs, many of which break down within a year after purchase. (One exception to this is my present 32" Insignia HDTV, which must be at least five years old and is still working as well as when it was new, although I still have a 19-inch Zenith table model color set I bought over 20 years ago; it still works, but I haven't used it since getting the Insignia HDTV.)