Early tv techs faced color challenge

[Dan Starnes]

I grew up watching Admiral sets.. the tv repairman made a small fortune off my parents. When he got divorced my mom stated that they payed for the divorce. I watch a 1954 Admiral as my main old set, very reliable. But I have to admit, I still call the tv repairman by first name, and he is still in business, and must be close to 80. In fact he recapped my Admiral when I got it last year. I collect old radios also and there were probably 10 tv/radio repair shops in Quincy IL in the 1970's when I started collecting. Now there are 2. And neither repairs radios anymore.
Dan
ps I still have a Motorola portable purchased by my parents in 1962 to fill a void of a dead and being repaired Admiral. It has been a great set and I still watch it a few times a year with no service done on it in 40 years at least.

[Captain Video]

Probably the most commom early 50's TVs here in Brazil are those bakelite Admirals. It looks like they were imported by very large numbers. Most important, the bakelite cabinet, being termite-proof, ensured that they survived in much greater numbers than their wood cabinet conterparts. I have been warned that the 17 inch models indeed have terrible performances, but that the 21 inch version was quite a good set.

I am not at all convinced of what the old man said, that "Admiral was something to admire when worked right" , because if that was the case it would not have been such a successful brand here - they sold so many TVs in the early 50's that around 1958 they actually opened a factory here, that produced not only TVs but also refrigerators and air conditioners. In fact, I remember that when I was a small boy, on the early 80's, I still saw some 1960's Admiral TV sets on the living rooms of some neighbors, and old Admiral air conditioners were something commom to see in use.

[speakerlust]

When I worked in television shops almost 30 years ago, I was sent out in
the field with a De-Gaussing coil and a tool roll for playing around with the
screens/guns/convergence, Etc. I'm not sure how good I did but the people
seemed happy .... I'd flip ye ole set-up switch in the back or get the
bar generator out an play around for awhile ---- Darn those old flybacks
could bite though !!! ---- That darn De-Gaussing coil made me so much
easy money, and knowing to flip that set-up switch did too --- Then there
was the usual, horizontal output regulators/Vertical and retrace regulators...
You really couldn't go wrong with the SAM's and the fricken library in my town had so many ......... Those were the daze ...........

[RVonse]

Originally Posted by Captain Video

I am not at all convinced of what the old man said, that "Admiral was something to admire when worked right" , because if that was the case it would not have been such a successful brand here - .

They weren't very good sets, they were just cheaper to buy. A lot cheaper than RCA or Zenith.

[speakerlust]

AWE-YES ---- Then there was the illustrious BeamScope !!! ---- That 25 inch diagonal magnifying glass that had prism like grooves in it......
The claim was that you attach it to the front of your tiny little black and white portable TV and it would enlarge the picture and make it color too !!!
All the guys at the TV shop that I worked at laughed themselves silly over that one .... I wound up with one and tried it out just for laughs
It magnified the picture all right, and there was this colorful corona over all of the images and around the edges of the television set... truly an under-
appreciated device I took it outside and melted a hole right through a popcan with it !!!! .... Then I melted a lead tire weight !!!
I set it up on two chairs and barely focused it on a griddle with I cooked
everything on that either turned out totally scorched or half raw......
I forget what happened to that gem ??? ...