Philco Briefcase 19

[Jeffhs]

Phil, I had a Briefcase 19 portable about 35 years ago. When I saw your post it reminded me of it. Mine was a trash-day find, but it worked--and quite well, all things considered. The built-in antenna was gone, but the handle was still there and still rotated; however, I used rabbit ears and had very good reception from all three Cleveland network stations (channels 3, 5 and 8 from Cleveland at the time, early 1970s). I used that set quite a bit, especially from 1973 to 1975 after my 1964 Sears Silvertone roundie color set went bad (video output circuit board cracked when I tried to replace the 6AW8 video output tube ).

That $60 asking price at your local antique mall does sound high to me as well, considering that the Briefcase 19 was new in 1961--forty-six years ago. I wouldn't have paid more than $25 for that set. I don't know whether the TV works or not, but if it has problems or it won't power on at all, it may not be worth the high price that antique mall is asking for it.