What RCA Did I Have?

[jstout66]

Okay.... I have never run across a set like this again, and don't recall seeing one posted or talked about here. Am hoping any "RCA Guy" can chime in.
When I worked in my Uncle's shop, we got an odd trade in. I would say it was a circa 1957-1962ish era RCA B&W Console. What made it odd, is that it had a huge control panel with a built in clock. The control panel had these slide levers for each channel, so along the top of all the slide controls was the channels listed 2-13 and each lever could be slid to a preset time. So.. if you put it in auto mode, It would change channels at a certain time. It had a motor with a large belt that attached to the tuner IIRC, to change the stations. Set was NOT remote. Unfortunately the picture tube was about dead, so I remember messing with it in the back room, but could never talk my Uncle into ordering a picture tube for it.
Has anyone seen one of those. If so.. what model were they, and how long did RCA offer that feature?

[damen]

Is this it??

[jstout66]

my god Damen, you found it!!!!!!!!!
Everyone thought I was nuts when I'd try to describe it.
Thank YOU!!!!!!!!

[dishdude]

Wow that thing sure looks wild!

[Electronic M]

What a fascinating design! I wonder if any still exist?

[Phil Nelson]

I wonder if any were ever sold? Seems like one of those gimmicky features driven by engineering: "Hey, we know how to design a TV to do this -- do you think anyone would pay extra for it?"

If that satisfied a real customer need, RCA would have sold bunches of them and other manufacturers would have wasted no time in copying the feature. I guess Joe Average didn't find it too burdensome to walk over and turn the channel knob when he wanted to watch The Honeymooners.

Phil Nelson
Phil's Old Radios
http://antiqueradio.org/index.html

[Findm-Keepm]

Originally Posted by Phil Nelson

I wonder if any were ever sold? Seems like one of those gimmicky features driven by engineering: "Hey, we know how to design a TV to do this -- do you think anyone would pay extra for it?"

If that satisfied a real customer need, RCA would have sold bunches of them and other manufacturers would have wasted no time in copying the feature. I guess Joe Average didn't find it too burdensome to walk over and turn the channel knob when he wanted to watch The Honeymooners.

Phil Nelson
Phil's Old Radios
http://antiqueradio.org/index.html

RCA advertised it in the Sept 14th 1959 issue of LIFE magazine - probably a rich-folk set, no price mentioned. Google Books has a scan - looks like an insert to the magazine:

https://books.google.com/books?id=BU...021%22&f=false

[jstout66]

I would agree Phil. Pure gimmick, and I suspect didn't sell well at all.
The "Programmer" functioned well, but IIRC, it had a MAZE of wires, and the set had a motor that ran off the timer, and there was a belt from that motor that attached to the tuner. I actually know where my set is, but it got vandalized...

[walterbeers]

Darned, it sure would be nice to restore one of those. How badly vandalized? Probably could find a CRT for it, and make a back for the set, and maybe even do some refinishing, or replace the speaker cloth. But if the guts are broken up, or cabinet has big broken places, it's probably history. Maybe someone on here has one, or knows of one. Have to keep checking e-bay and CL.

[bgadow]

I'm guessing the it added quit a bit to the price, maybe pushing it toward color territory? You'd want to make sure that clock was precise...I could just see it changing the channels in the last minutes of some mystery show!