Do you/did you usually tend to stick to one brand for your main sets?

Growing up in the 60's and 70's, I remember that our family usually stuck to RCA's (and the occaisional Zenith) for our sets. I was wondering if most of the people here who had multiple sets in the house stuck to one brand, or had multiple brands. The first sets I remember us having in the house were a circa 1960 (the year I was born) RCA 21" console, then a circa 1963 GE 11" portable which my brother and I had in our bedroom (a neighbour worked for the ad company GE used in Canada, and got it for us at a good price). Other than that, when a set conked out, we usually went for RCA, except for our first color set, a Zenith from 1969--that set lasted for years!
Sorry for rambling, but I was just wondering if most of you (or your family) had a "brand loyalty"--something which I doubt most people have now!

[Chad Hauris]

Back in the 70's my dad used to be really into consumer reports, doing lots of research about the best brand to buy. The sets my parents had were a 1975 Zenith Solid State Chromacolor II (wedding present), then a 1985 Panasonic console. (still have the Panasonic and parts from the Zenith). Then in 1993 I went along on the TV shopping trip and we got a Magnavox, can't remember why we picked that one! I really don't think it was the greatest.

When I lived with my parents we also used sets such as RCA
CTC-38, old GE's, etc. as other family sets because I could keep up with the maintenance of them. When I moved away they bought a bunch of new TV's as I wasn't there to fix old ones (still have those old sets, though). They bought a variety of brands such as Toshiba and Sharp for all new sets throughout the house.

[drh4683]

My parents bought a brand new 1974 RCA mural tv when they got married. Then in 1981, they bought a brand new 25" rca colortrak with pushbutton channel entry console. Since that was a big purchase, a free 13" b/w rca portable was a throw in to the deal. That little set got lots of atari use. All those rcas still work like brand new today, we still have them. However, we did have a zenith allegro "wedge" system that my dad bought back in 1975, and that was our basment sound system for years. In 1985 mom and dad bought a magnavox side loader VHS. In 1990 my dad got one of those little 5" kitchen color tvs for my mom for christmas.
My brother bought my parents a dvd back in 1999 and it forced them to get a "better" tv so the got a 52" mitsubishi projection which is the everyday watcher for them today.

Luckily, we still have ALL of our oldie electronic equipment from the past. My parents never really got into the electronic thing, it was more or less whatever worked/looked good for the money. But I would say they were RCA people as we never had to do a big repair to the rca colortrac. We always loved watching that set and remember countless times how they would compliment how good the picture looked as the tv aged. I put a new on off volume pot in it back in 1996, thats it. Still has the bright sharp picture like it always had

[bgadow]

We pretty much had an all GE house. The local dealer sold GE & Zenith (in earlier times he sold Admiral, I think also Philco & Motorola, but before my time) my Dad would barter a lot with him. (paint his van in return for a new color console, etc.) The first set I remember was an early 70's (late 60's?) GE color console, tube of course, it was a pretty good set, from what I recall, but we did see the reparman a lot. In about 79 Dad bought Mom a Zenith Allegro console stereo for Christmas. About 81 he bought a new GE 25" console. He wanted a Zenith but the dealer told him the GE was better It had push button tuning & VIR but Dad didn't spring for remote. Actually, he probably would have never bought the tv except he thought the old one had a fuzzy picture. After we got the new set he realized he needed glasses! We also had an early 60s GE "suitcase" bw portable that my uncle gave us for a second tv. Later another uncle gave me a big GE table model color set that must have been from about 67 or so. It had a sync problem which had to be fixed first. Said it had a new crt but it had cataracts pretty bad. Never a great picture, UHF tuner kept breaking. Later bought a used Portacolor. The tv Dad has now is a '90 GE 20" table set which has been troublefree.

[Jeffhs]

We had different makes of TVs at home when I was growing up. My folks' first set, after they were married in 1955 (the year before I was born), was an RCA 21" console (almost like polaraman's RCA!) which they bought used; then they got a Crosley Super V 21" blonde console several years later. The Crosley was put downstairs in the basement along with the RCA (which had long since bitten the dust) in '65 or so and was replaced by a Silvertone 17" all-channel portable the same year.

We went through several makes of TVs by the end of the '70s, but I was always partial to Zenith (though I had a Sears Silvertone color roundie fron 1970-73 and some other brands before coming back to Zenith in the late '70s). Had an old Zenith 23" console I picked up from the trash in the late '60s which was missing all its tubes but two (CRT and HV rectifier), but it was worth the time and money I put into it to get it working again.

I had two Zenith 13" color portables in the late '70s-early '80s that worked very well on antennas and also on a cable box, but I left them behind when I moved (see below for the story of another of my Zeniths).

I also had a 12" Zenith monochrome portable from 1978 until 2000 which never gave me five minutes' worth of trouble. (That was Zenith years before they started going downhill.) I'd still have that set today, but I put it out with the trash after I moved to my apartment because I had no room for it (with two color sets in the place), and also that the Zenith didn't work worth a hill of beans on its monopole antenna (I now live in a village which is right on the edge of the Cleveland stations' coverage areas, some 45 miles from the transmitters). Couldn't put up an outside TV antenna here if I wanted to (lease restrictions), which is why the apartment building in which I live is wired for cable. Also, sometime in the '80s the detented UHF channel selector broke and jammed on channel 69 or something like that, so I couldn't get the CBS station in Cleveland on that set anymore since the station had moved to channel 19 in the mid-'90s.

I bought a Zenith integrated stereo system (am/fm/8-track/phono/cassette) in 1982, which I had for 17 years. Left it behind as well when I moved; bought a new up-to-date bookshelf stereo by Aiwa.

I no longer have any sort of "brand loyalty" to any make of TV manufactured today, although I am still partial to older Zenith radios (I have two, both from the '50s). I would not own another Zenith TV, however, after reading the horror stories, in this forum and elsewhere, about the reliability problems with these sets and their CRTs. I'm not so sure I'd get another RCA either, again after having read about the problems with the on-board tuners (and having had mine repaired twice for such a problem; however, I think it will run for years now, since the connections around the tuner were resoldered when the RF port was replaced two years ago).

If I were to buy another TV set tomorrow, it would probably be one of the better Japanese makes such as Sharp, Toshiba, JVC or Sony. An old friend of mine has three Toshiba color sets in his house and hasn't had much trouble with any of them, that I am aware of. He told me the reason he is so loyal to Toshiba is, now get this, so he can use the same remote with any one of them. The picture quality on his sets on cable is great (I saw the reception on the set in his living room last year), so this could be another reason he is partial to this brand of TV set. TV owners are generally a loyal bunch; when they find a brand they like and that works well, they stick with it for years or decades.

There were really only 4 TVs in my household growing up. A very late 50's or early 60's Zenith B&W portable which I don't clearly remember the screen size, but that it had a most unusual channel indicator (checkerboard square thing).

This was followed by one or two other small B&W Zeniths. Can't quite recall the screen size, 9" or 12" They worked alright except I recall VHF tuner problems. They knob would get flaky and you'd have to jiggle it or even press it to one side or another....and one of the 2 tubes in the tune itself would go bad at least once a year.

I got to the point where I'd replace this tube and clean the tuner myself (was just a kid at the time, and it mortified my mother that I was poking around inside there!)

This was followed by a pair of cheap small Panasonic B&Ws for me and my siblings. These were around 9" and were probably the last tube sets they made....the next year they went solid state but the style stayed the same.

At this same time we got an early Sony Trinitron 17" KV-1701 which never needed any service. Sad to say all of these got thrown away. As I've spoke of in earlier posts, my family could be considered mostly a Zenith one because of relatives who've worked for Zenith in Chicago.

When I moved out on my own the first couple of sets I've bought were also Zeniths (a early 80's console and a late 80's portable) both of which lasted quite a long time. Ended up giving away the console and then bought the portable--both were color.

When my last one blew up Zenith was no longer any good so I opted for a Wega Sony flat screen....it was built in Compton Calif. I wanted a quality set that at least had American labor content. Had looked at Philips and some others that are still built here, but I like the sharpness of this set.

I put a LOT of hours on my sets as I'm a total vidiot and they still have performed long lives with no service needed until they've died.

One thing I remember about the first Sony is that you could turn on or off the "Instant On" feature. You could actually see the glowing filaments int the picture tube when you left this on.

Have heard all the horror stories about fires or early tube death, but I felt that by leaving it on then the filament and guns would be more thermally stable and that alone may extend the life.

Two things led me to this conclusion..........was told by some military types that after turning back on equipment that had been on standby that they'd end up failing due to the thermal shock supposedly. This was corroborated by a friend's dad who was the founder of Elektra records. He had racks of McIntosh equipment that he kept on all the time, none of which ever seemed to need any repairs.

Anthony

[Chad Hauris]

There is another thread here about instant-on...I usually disable it in sets that use it, as I have only seen 3 cases of CRT fil. burn-out in my 250 or so sets...1 was where a booster was used on the CRT and another was due to gas (there was filament continuity but wouldn't light.) The third appeared to have actually burned out.

[Sandy G]

We were a Zenith family, until my dad bought one of the 1st Porta-Colors in late '65 or '66. That little guy ran for about 9 years until we got our 1st "family-sized" Trinitron. Been Sony pretty much ever since. We had a Sears color set B4 the GE that was so bad, sometimes it would go kerflooey before the service guy got out of our driveway. My dad sold it to a friend of his, & it worked great for the next 10 years. Just didn't like us, I guess.-Sandy G.

Forgot to mention, an Aunt of mine (in Chicago) worked for Sears. Her house looked like a Sears catalog in real life as most everything in it was from them.

This was in the days when they sold good quality stuff, and her employee discount didn't hurt either.

She was one of the first in the family to have a large color console....Sears brand of course. I remember it had a control panel that tilted out (near the tuner) to gain access to the various color controls.

She had at least 2 sets over the years that I recall (both Sears of course) but I think only the newer one had that feature. This was probably very late 60's into the early 70's

Anyone know who may have made those sets? Thanks

Anthony

[merrylander]

The Sears color set we had was built by Sanyo, don't know about the whole line though.

Rob

[Sandy G]

In all fairness, that TV was the only thing we ever got from Sears that wasn't up-to-snuff, & they always tried to make it right. I was just a kid, but I've often wondered who made it-seems like it was about 17-19", & was of course all tubes. Maybe it was a Sanyo- I do remember it was made in Japan.-Sandy G.

[jstout66]

I remember our sets. Our first one was a 19" RCA B&W portable. Probably a 1963 model. In 1970 or 1971 when I was 5, my Uncle (who had just opened his tv store) brought us one of his trade in's. It was a 19" RCA color console (would love to find one of those now....) It was probably a 1965-1966 model. Then when the flyback burned up in that (1978) We got yet another trade-in set, that I wanted. A HUGE Zenith (1966 model) with Space Command. I had my Uncle replace the flyback, AND put in a new Chromacolor picture tube. I LOVED that set. The sound was fantastic, and the cabinet was HUGE. Also loved clicking away on that Space Command. Anyway... I guess kind of back to the original topic, My grandpa LOVED RCA's until my Uncle opened his shop, then it was nothing but Zenith. My parents have never purchased a new set, as they always got a choice of trade-ins from my Uncles shop. Now that the shop is long gone, I just purchased my parents a used Magnavox console. (1994 vintage) My mom still wants a console cabinet, and it's hard to come across one that is stereo / cable ready/ with remote. I think you can get them on special order new, but they are pricey. And I would NEVER buy a Zenith or RCA set now. Altho before I knew better I bought an RCA CTC-185 new in 2/2000 The set has a GREAT picture but the sound is starting to be "touchy". I'll probably buy a Sony when that set goes out. It probably doesn't pay to be brand loyal now since everything new is a piece of crap anyway that is not made to last.

[Chad Hauris]

There is an RCA console that is fairly modern that is good...probably among the last consoles they made. Think it is a 93 model. Don't remember the chassis number, I think it preceded the CTC-177. Magnavox late model consoles are pretty good too, but I think the RCA's have slightly better performance.

The Zenith consoles, from that time period are the worst...bad CRT's. My grandma got one in around 93 after their CTC-31 finally quit (I was not in the area so could not help repair). The Zenith CRT went out and I think they got it repaired under warranty, but they did not get the convergence right! I've got one of those Zeniths, think I will try converting to an RCA crt from a non-functional CTC-177 (may have to improvise a mounting system).

[Big Dave]

In our house, the earliest I remember was a Silvertone blond BW floor model. That was in use until the Watergate hearings. My father bought an Airline color floor model (passed it off as a Mother's day present). He wanted to watch the hearings in color. The horizontal out died in around 1979 and the set went unused for about a year. He bought a 19" Sylvania (E series solid state chassis). The yoke shorted out four years later. Since then (up to and after my father's death, the set in the living room were ones I fixed up.

Another note about the Airline color set. It was the first set I ever fixed. A new 6KD6 brought the first picture in about a year. This set was later relegated to the basement for video games until the CRT died. It was plucked and tossed. The first new TV since the Sylvania, was one of those glorious Zen-stars (z e n i t h+gold star) floor models. It died after seven years. Again we went with sets I rescued and fixed. Now a Panasonic 32 incher serves as the main set.

My main set since I moved is an RCA colortrak from the late 70's (rescued from the curb). When I have it on (which is seldom), it looks nice. Since my Andrea BW is restored, I have using it. No matter which set I watch on, what comes out is crap.

[polaraman]

We had a Quasar console color set. (mid to late 60's ?) Not certain if it was round or a square CRT. I am surprised that we had a color set back then. They were pretty expensive and we were rather poor. Dad was in the Army(enlisted/drafted) and I know he did not make much. I do remember watching Watergate hearings and moon landings on it. We had it up until 1978. It was replaced with some plastic table top set. We did not have cable TV till 1986. The line ran down the road behind us but not ours. Eventually enough houses were built on our road and we could not be ignored. Like to find that set again. Where are all the Quasar sets????

polaraman