RCA round tube color TV

[gyusher]

I have to tell this story. Early in our marriage when we had little money I came across a big old RCA round tube color TV at a bargain, 25 dollars, we bought it, had as good a picture as I have seen even by todays standards. We took it home turned it on and about 30 minutes later we had a very dim picture, but the longer it played the brighter it got. This TV was in beautiful condition so I had the TV repair man come to my house to look at it. He took the back off and said "come here I want to show you something" It seems that these TVs generate a lot of heat and all the insulation on the wires inside were as brittle as glass, you couldnt touch one without it shattering. The repair man said it was over to toss it. However still no money and it worked but as time went by it took longer and longer to come up in brightness, now about 2 hours so I decided we would just leave it on and turn down the sound at night. Four years later, yes 4 years later while sitting on the patio my wife said someone is BarBQing can you smell it, didnt smell like BBQ to me but the pungent oder of electrical trouble. We looked around outside didnt see anything when I had to go in the house, well the house was full of smoke, fortunatly my friend was there and we picked up that TV and ran outside with it. The power supply had a melt down and black melted rubber was running out the back of the set. The next day I took the back off and what a mess.
I will never forget that RCA, dont remember the model, many people do not believe this story but as god is my witness that old RCA played 24/7 for over 4 years before dieing. . .
Excuse the lengthy tale but thought some of you round tube fans would be interested.

[Steve D.]

What you think is a record setting event, may have been a terrible tragedy. You're lucky you were able to save your house, when that set went up in smoke. Even luckier that you weren't asleep. I wonder if your fire insurance policy covers shorted brain cells?

[Steve Hoffman]

What a kidder you are, Steve-O!

[gyusher]

Steve D. You are exactly right in what you say, what we did in those years was not a responsible thing to do, I wouldnt consider anything like that today. We were young and the thought never crossed our minds that it would do anything but shut down. That one experience taught me a lot, I dont know what I would have done in the middle of the night , I wasnt trying to set a record just commenting on how well that old TV worked.

[Steve D.]

Hey Man,
Glad you're still with us. Sorry if I seemed a little harsh. I've teased the high-voltage genie myself over the years.