My first Firestone TV!

[Tubejunke]

The mask looks identical to that of my RCA 8T-243. I was surprised when I found by dropping it on the floor and having it snap in two that it was made of wood. Luckily a clean break that is hardly noticeable. I would replace it if I ever saw another, but the project has been pushed aside for several years now.

I always thought that oddball names like Firestone (for TVs) were interesting when looking through old Life and Look magazines as a kid. Nice find!

[earlyfilm]

Originally Posted by Tubejunke

The mask looks identical to that of my RCA 8T-243.

Yes, it does, but the RCA 8T243 uses a 10BP4 while the Firestone look-alike uses a 7JP4!

Tele-Tone sold by mail order and often used small time dealers in places where Television was just starting. In small towns, people had seen the expensive RCA sets pictured in magazines, but had never seen them in person, so most Tele-Tone sets copied the RCA styling to mislead potential buyers who had no idea about actual set size. A picture is a picture without an indication of the actual size.

This look-alikeness and small size is what attracted me to the Tele-Tones in the first place.

James.

[azbigsam]

The Firestone is up and running thanks to a friend of mine who works on vintage electronics. He also cleaned up some of the sloppy work that was done previously. While not perfect, the picture is very watchable.