What did I do!?!?

[mattdavala]

Wow, out of the twenty tubes(including the CRT) only two are origional! I was surprised to see two labled Majestic!!

Definatly a high hours Tv. Flyback still looks ok, and CRT is a replacement and no brightener. I still have to wait to bring it inside. Maybe this weekend. Then I can test tubes. Caps are waiting until I get the Sams.

Is it unusual to have the CRT come out during chassis removal? It seems like to pull the chassis, the CRT comes with it! I'd rather it stay inside, where its less likely to have me bump it. Oh well, the TV does need to be recapped no matter what! I'll just have to be super safe.

Best regards,
Matt Davala

[Phil Nelson]

Originally Posted by mattdavala

Is it unusual to have the CRT come out during chassis removal? It seems like to pull the chassis, the CRT comes with it!

Not unusual for early TVs, especially those with smaller CRTs such as 7JP4s.

Some are anchored better than others. I award the National TV-7 an A+ for securely attaching the CRT to the chassis in a round metal bracket cushioned with felt. I give the Hallicrafters 505 (aka T-54) a D- for anchoring the CRT only at its socket and letting the bell float free except for the rubbery front gasket attached to the cabinet.

Look carefully for things like speaker wires, etc., before sliding the chassis out, but you probably know all about that.

Phil Nelson

[RetroHacker]

Originally Posted by mattdavala

Is it unusual to have the CRT come out during chassis removal? It seems like to pull the chassis, the CRT comes with it!

Not really. A lot of sets are built this way, even the large screen sets. The set currently on the bench is a 21" Zenith. The huge 21" picture tube is mounted to the chassis with metal straps. I always remove the tube from the chassis to work on it - you don't want the picture tube to have to support the weight of the chassis strapped to it. Remove the tube, then put a soft cloth down on something solid and out of the way, and put the tube, face down, on the cloth. Avoid putting tubes on the floor - too easy to bump, unless it's in a closet or something. And be sure that whatever you put the tube on is good and solid, and not going to tip.

-Ian

[Arkay]

Congratulations on a beautiful console! Cleaned up, repaired, oiled, etc... even your wife should appreciate that one. It's very nice looking!

Originally Posted by RetroHacker

Matt, Matt, Matt... You're going about this all wrong. You're not supposed to come out and _say_ you brought home another TV set. Never say "Look what I just bought". Here's what you do:

Keep your collection in a semi-orderly yet poorly space-utilized fashion. It's also a good idea to have a couple of "spacers" in the form of junk sets or junk cabinets.

"Organize" once and a while, moving things around. Possibly make the collection take up more space by poorly storing things.

When you get a new set, "organize" things, and shuffle the new set underheath and behind existing ones. Stack things in better, so it looks like there is less stuff.

A month later "organize" again. Throw away one of your "spacers". If you don't have spacers, drive around on garbage day and pick some up.

When the new TV comes to the front, and you get asked "Is that new?", you can proudly reply. "No, I've had it for months. See, I've been cleaning - I threw away two sets!"


And _that_ is how you collect televisions.

-Ian

This is hilarious! I thought it was only we "audio" guys who did all this creative "re-organizing" to hide new acquisitions. Guess TV people are just the same!

Atually, I would be more of a TV person, too, if I didn't live in a modest apartment in Hong Kong. Love the old CRT beasts, too, but even creative re-organizing cannot hide a console in a place like this. An amp, yes, sometimes even a pair of speakers, but a big old floorstander? Just no way... Besides, just don't see them around here. Occasional odd portables and a few Phillips Discoverers and such, but nothing like what is shown in this thread.

The problem with this strategy, of course, is that it only works for a couple of years. At some point, every place that had a "spacer" has been filled with something good, and all the stuff is packed in cheek-by-jowl with no more "give" in the spacing. At that point, she starts to notice how, even though you keep "cleaning up" the area and "getting rid of" stuff, the total volume just keeps growing. She can't recognize WHAT is new, but just knows something has to be.

By that point, if you are lucky, you start to burn out on the obsession, and are willing to actually pare back the collection and keep less, getting rid of the earlier acquisitions and only hanging onto what is really "special" to you. I'm finally at about that point.