The "one that ALWAYS "gets away"..

[rca2000]

Who here has a number of those "special" sets they seek out, that always seem to "get away"?? Now I am NOT talking about some "one off". I am talking about sets that were mass--produced (eve on a very small scale,l like the RCA2000, which I own 2 of).

IN my own case---I always seem to miss sets such as the RCA "Direct address" sets. I have had the opportunity to get these 3 times, one was a 19" set--and they always get away.

ALso a set i have never seen--a 1968 model Zenith SOLID STATE 19" BW (other than HV rect) set--chassis # 1y21B55. It is a flat--chassis with hand--wired construction. I have the Zenith technical manual and sams--but I have NEVER seen one. I DO have a 1M30T20 13" 1965 set, though.

Same with the RCA CTC49 set. I missed one chassis only, over 25 years ago.

Funny, I figured all of these SS sets would be MUCH easier to find than many tube sets, like a CTC-5 or 29JC20. Instead,I have both of those and a CTC-7 too.


SO, what sort of POST--WAR sets do you all seek--that always seem to "get away"??

[Eric H]

Well I let a Raytheon Porthole "get away" from me on eBay this week, I dilly dallied around contemplating the cost of shipping then when I decided to do it it was already sold.

[Jon A.]

My '82 19" ColorTrak may be in that category for some. The only ones whose pictures I have been able to find online are the non-remote versions.

[wkand]

My problem is sets I once had that I have no longer that were not all that special in their own right, but had significance to me that I did not appreciate till they were gone.

I have had the following sets that I wish I had kept. I did not really have
room for them at the time, but I could made or found room if I had exercised a bit more ambition. Not that I could not pursue them today.

19 Inch color portable Kmart (Warwick built) SKC 1960 from 1974.
GE 14 inch bw portable from about 1957
Midland (Sharp) 16 inch tube bw portable 1972

I still do have a Zenith roundie 25MC33 chassis combo and a 23 inch Motorola color console from 1967.

[zeno]

The ones that got away ?
I will bring tears to your eyes. Its what I threw away.
Avantis, Zorns, a 19" Sony / Beta combo in a teak
cabinet ( with timer) over 2K new & 300lbs , a 2000, space age & military styled jap sets, 50's B&W consoles, roundies by the gross, portholes.
Nobody wanted them. Sometimes we would pull a still
working set that was not resellable. I would put it out
front FREE but only a few got taken. By the late 90's we had to
recycle. Had a 30' container that got full every 2-3 weeks.
Every load about 1/4 monitors, 1/4 tube TV's & 1/2 SS TV's
most of which worked or had very minor problems. Enuf.

The 1Y21B55 you desire was not common. Probably saw
6 at most. All had bad ground lugs. IIRC the on/off/vol
was a gang switch. Turn for STBY instant on, pull for
full power on. The sets were indestructable & only had
the grounds & the tits in the switches break off. Same type
switch Maggie & Admiral liked to use. Hated them switches.
Next they had a nice modular B&W much like the beloved SS
color flat chassis. I think it also went into consoles replacing
the world renowned & long lived 14N22. Then things went
down hill. 19" + chassis was a POS upright main board.
PCB almost melted like plastic when soldering. Same with the
12" chassis at the time. Funny thing is although they were
physically crap cans they still preformed perfectly.

73 Zeno