Is this really the OLDEST TV in the UK?

[David Roper]

The tube probably isn't as bright as new, but it wasn't very bright then either.

[Bill Cahill]

Didn't I see some miniature tubes on the chassis?
If so, that wouldn't be pre-war. It's be post-war.
Bill Cahill

[compucat]

I don't see why you would NEED to switch it off after two hours as mentioned in the video other than to preserve difficult to find parts. The announcer gave the impression that these sets could only be run for short periods of time which might be a bit misleading to those unfamilliar with vintage technology.

[mbates14]

I didnt see any miniature tubes. i seen some globe style tubes in the first shot, and numerous "coke-bottle" style tubes. no minatures

[bandersen]

Originally Posted by compucat

I don't see why you would NEED to switch it off after two hours as mentioned in the video other than to preserve difficult to find parts. The announcer gave the impression that these sets could only be run for short periods of time which might be a bit misleading to those unfamilliar with vintage technology.

Maybe that was just his opinion that more than two hours of TV viewing in one sitting is unhealthy

[tubesrule]

I think the 2 hour comment got misconstrued. Jeff told me he does use the television occasionally to watch stuff from the 1930's and 40's like cartoons and movies. He commented that he usually never runs the set longer than watching a movie, about 2 hours. Somehow that got reported as you don't want to run the set longer than 2 hours.

BTW this set is definitely from 1936 and contains no miniature tubes, or should I say valves

Another interesting twist in the reporting was that since Jeff only showed the volume, brightness and vertical hold knob, many papers reported that those were the only controls required on the set!

Darryl

[Dave S]

Originally Posted by tubesrule

Another interesting twist...

And another interesting twist is that he offered a nice on-camera testimonial for the "Aurora Video Converter." (Yay, Darryl !)

[amptramp]

This is listed as the oldest TV set in a residence. The first time I went to England (on business), I had to visit Thorn EMI Central Research Labs and I was not too happy about being stuck there for a week. When I got to the place (about a mile north of the main EMI building and about five miles north of Heathrow Airport in the Hayes Middlesex area), there was a 10-foot section of an antenna in the parking lot. I checked in with the receptionist for the person I was about to meet and she called his extension then said, "He will be a few minutes, perhaps you may want to look at the museum over there."

I went over expecting to see some minor items from the company's past. When I got there, I couldn't believe it. Several prewar TV's all restored to exact original concours condition, starting with a 1936. All of this was behind glass in clean room conditions and my noseprints are still on the glass. One looked like the one in the video but there was also an "entertainment centre" version with radio and record player. And you would know without anyone having to say it that each of these sets had an interesting pedigree since they were only affordable by the royals or the peerage.

I mentioned it to my contact when I finally got to see him about fifteen minutes later and he said, "Did you see the antenna outside?"

"Yes."

"That is the top ten feet off the original TV transmitting antenna."

"You mean the first your company made?"

"No, the first one, period. By anybody. Anywhere."

So the trip I thought was going to be a bummer turned out to be quite entertaining.