Awesome red/white GE 14T009

[Charlie]

I spent the past few days in the Austin/San Antonio area. Found a cool antique mall in Austin, and just as I nearly finished walking the entire area, I came across this GE 14T009 portable... in almost excellent condition! Usually, the only examples of these sets I've come across are typically in rough condition. The only major blemish is a spot on the side above the ventilation where the paint popped off. There are a few scratches, but all minor. The chrome handle is bright and shiny. The knobs are excellent. Hell.... even the rear cover is in good shape!

The price on the tag said 120 bucks, and while that is kinda pricey, I didn't want to go home empty handed. Then, I considered it being red and in such nice condition would likely make it one of those sets that would bring an unusual high price on the Bay. So, I grabbed it and was happy with my purchase. My biggest concern was going to be the condition of the insides.

I got home last night and pulled the rear cover off. Other than a layer of dust, it looked pretty darn good from what I could see. It also looks like the tubes are all original (didn't look in the HV cage yet). Basically, the inside looks just as nice as the outside.

I had a couple of these sets years ago... they were junk sets that weren't worth the effort to restore. I only grabbed them because they were free and I thought I'd get a good CRT at least. Both CRT's were toast. So, I wasn't expecting a lot when I plugged in the tester on this one. To my surprise, with only 4 volts going to the heater, the CRT emissions in this set went well into the green. Then I turned it up to 6.3 volts, and the needle nearly went off the scale! Thinking back, I don't think I've ever had a CRT test with emissions this high. So, it looks like I've got a tube that should produce a nice bright picture.

I thought about trying to plug it in, but, I think I will wait until I get to poke around in there a little bit. I still need to look inside the HV cage and I'd also like to look on the other side of the chassis to make sure nothing looks funky. If all looks well, I might try turning it on. Also, I will be leaving in another week or so to go back to sea, and if I start playing with this set, it will likely distract me from getting things done around here in preparation for leaving. Typically, I am very easily distracted.

I'm going to assume the set wasn't used much. It looks like it may have been serviced once because there was a little piece of a customer tag on a string hanging from the HV cage. The paint that's immediately around the knobs is perfect... no marks to indicate that the knobs had been turned a lot.

Considering the condition of the set and a perfect testing CRT, I am very happy with the purchase.