Oops , that one slipped by...
<span style="font-size: medium;">thanks for catching that Jon. </span>
<span style="font-size: medium;">thanks for catching that Jon. </span>
Vintage Appliance Advertisments Part Two
- Thread starter Ultramatic
- Start date
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Magnavox 1958
Philco 1959
RCA 1954
Philco Predictas
Awesome as they are, the Predictas are prone to trouble. All of that heat being generated inside a small box got everything frying in fairly short order. Most restorations involve a peripheral fan to keep things cool, but generally it's not a good idea to operate a Predicta for too long at a time. My guess is that the "barber pole" models are the most difficult to find. They looked to be extremely top-heavy and entirely inappropriate for earthquake country households.
We had a 1951 Capehart for our first TV. Model 325-F in a maple cabinet. From the dates on the ads above, it appears that 1951 was the first year Capehart offered a rectangular screen. Ours was big and heavy, and was hard to justify saving as a result. I sold it as part of my mom's estate sale a few years ago. It's also a much more complicated than average set for its day, and would require a more involved and extensive restoration.
That 30" Dumont is impressive. I'll bet it's downright impossible to find replacement CRT's for those. Many sets of similar vintage that have small screens survived with good CRT's because by the time they started to have problems, the CRT had plenty of useful life left, but most people opted to buy a new set with a larger screen rather than fix the old small screen one. Lucky for people like me, sets like my 1950 Admiral 10" bakelite "Consolette" was sent to the attic or other storage space for the next 25 years before landing in a thrift store. I got mine for $5 in 1980 and had it re-capped for $100 several years ago. It sits in my guest room now and I will watch it once in a while. The technology is primitive, and even on a 30" Dumont screen there would be compromises with level of contrast from scene to scene, so early TV's are best appreciated for what they are.
Awesome as they are, the Predictas are prone to trouble. All of that heat being generated inside a small box got everything frying in fairly short order. Most restorations involve a peripheral fan to keep things cool, but generally it's not a good idea to operate a Predicta for too long at a time. My guess is that the "barber pole" models are the most difficult to find. They looked to be extremely top-heavy and entirely inappropriate for earthquake country households.
We had a 1951 Capehart for our first TV. Model 325-F in a maple cabinet. From the dates on the ads above, it appears that 1951 was the first year Capehart offered a rectangular screen. Ours was big and heavy, and was hard to justify saving as a result. I sold it as part of my mom's estate sale a few years ago. It's also a much more complicated than average set for its day, and would require a more involved and extensive restoration.
That 30" Dumont is impressive. I'll bet it's downright impossible to find replacement CRT's for those. Many sets of similar vintage that have small screens survived with good CRT's because by the time they started to have problems, the CRT had plenty of useful life left, but most people opted to buy a new set with a larger screen rather than fix the old small screen one. Lucky for people like me, sets like my 1950 Admiral 10" bakelite "Consolette" was sent to the attic or other storage space for the next 25 years before landing in a thrift store. I got mine for $5 in 1980 and had it re-capped for $100 several years ago. It sits in my guest room now and I will watch it once in a while. The technology is primitive, and even on a 30" Dumont screen there would be compromises with level of contrast from scene to scene, so early TV's are best appreciated for what they are.
DuMont Color Set.
<span style="font-size: medium;">About 20 years ago, with a heavy heart, I had to throw out my folks 1966 DuMont color console. It was our first color set. It had suffered some damage in the NYC blackout in 1977 (the picture became out of focus). It was replaced with a new Zenith. Initially the DuMont went into the closet to be repaired "someday", the cabinet was so beautiful. But it never was. Finally I had to get rid of it because the space was needed. If I knew then just how rare that set is today, I would had NEVER gotten rid of it. </span>
<span style="font-size: medium;">About 20 years ago, with a heavy heart, I had to throw out my folks 1966 DuMont color console. It was our first color set. It had suffered some damage in the NYC blackout in 1977 (the picture became out of focus). It was replaced with a new Zenith. Initially the DuMont went into the closet to be repaired "someday", the cabinet was so beautiful. But it never was. Finally I had to get rid of it because the space was needed. If I knew then just how rare that set is today, I would had NEVER gotten rid of it. </span>
30" DuMont-didn't think such a critter existed in those days until I saw the ad-bet you need a FORKLIFT to get that TV into your living room-the cabinet doesn't have pockets for the forks?Hate to manhandle that set into a house.I found a much smaller older Dumont set by the side of a road in Baltimore years ago-found during an AM station RF proof doing feild strenght readings.Found a total of 3 TVs that day.Found two others in trash piles waiting pickup.Rogers car was full of TV's that day.Dropped off the sets at our houses afterward.Temporaily stored my old set collection-many found in dumpsters-besides the DuMont-had a console Philco and working remote-from a dumpster.A Motorola set from another dumpster-and it worked,too.The DuMont was fine-had sawdust in it.Vacuumed out-agin just find.I had these stored at a radio station transmitter site temp for a move.
the site was broken into,my sets,Joes,and Rogers were stolen along with some other equipment not tied down.Only thing left was the RCA 5H AM transmitter becuase it was large,heavy,operating and hard connected.I haven't tried to rebuild my set collection since then.All of our sets worked-the theif got quite a haul-guess he had a large truck to haul them in.And its was cool to watch the "Thing" from Laserdisc on the DuMont-it looked rather spooky played on that TV.
the site was broken into,my sets,Joes,and Rogers were stolen along with some other equipment not tied down.Only thing left was the RCA 5H AM transmitter becuase it was large,heavy,operating and hard connected.I haven't tried to rebuild my set collection since then.All of our sets worked-the theif got quite a haul-guess he had a large truck to haul them in.And its was cool to watch the "Thing" from Laserdisc on the DuMont-it looked rather spooky played on that TV.
I just realized
whats happend to RCA? They made the best IMHO color televisions, they made records ,had broadcasting studios, made radios. They even made washers for a time!
whats happend to RCA? They made the best IMHO color televisions, they made records ,had broadcasting studios, made radios. They even made washers for a time!
Westinghouse Portable DW & Sunbeam Mixmaster Jr.
Post# 551062, Reply# 9 10/21/2011 at 15:44 by Ultramatic (New York City)
We had the exact Westinghouse dishwasher when we moved to North Babylon from Long Beach, where we had no dishwasher. It did a great job, too. We still have Mom's Sunbeam Mixmaster Jr. and it works fine, just nobody uses it!
Post# 551062, Reply# 9 10/21/2011 at 15:44 by Ultramatic (New York City)
We had the exact Westinghouse dishwasher when we moved to North Babylon from Long Beach, where we had no dishwasher. It did a great job, too. We still have Mom's Sunbeam Mixmaster Jr. and it works fine, just nobody uses it!
whirlcool
Well-known member
whats happend to RCA? They made the best IMHO color televisions, they made records ,had broadcasting studios, made radios. They even made washers for a time!
And they also made mainframe computer systems in the 60's & early 70's too! They were called the RCA Spectra Series. But sometime in the early 70's RCA exited the computer market.
RCA carried on until around 1986 or so when GE bought them and the NBC television network which was always closely associated with RCA. GE then sold the RCA consumer goods to the French company Thomson. Then RCA records was sold to the BMG music group.
Eventually Sony Music took over BMG and simply rolled BMG into the Sony music family thus ending RCA records.
In 2010, Thomson sold the rights to the RCA consumer goods (television, car stereo, etc.) to the ON Corporation. On currently manufactures televisions and other consumer electonics under the RCA name.
I really condensed this for the thread, there are quite a few websites about RCA history. As one can see, RCA is only a mere ghost of what it used to be!
And they also made mainframe computer systems in the 60's & early 70's too! They were called the RCA Spectra Series. But sometime in the early 70's RCA exited the computer market.
RCA carried on until around 1986 or so when GE bought them and the NBC television network which was always closely associated with RCA. GE then sold the RCA consumer goods to the French company Thomson. Then RCA records was sold to the BMG music group.
Eventually Sony Music took over BMG and simply rolled BMG into the Sony music family thus ending RCA records.
In 2010, Thomson sold the rights to the RCA consumer goods (television, car stereo, etc.) to the ON Corporation. On currently manufactures televisions and other consumer electonics under the RCA name.
I really condensed this for the thread, there are quite a few websites about RCA history. As one can see, RCA is only a mere ghost of what it used to be!
nurdlinger
Well-known member
Stromberg Carlson 1950
My aunt, uncle, and grandmother who all lived together had this television with the oriental figures in relief. The painted portions of the cabinet were all black. It was kept for decades after the TV stopped working. All have passed on now, but my cousin still owns the house and contents. I should ask whether the TV is still around.
My aunt, uncle, and grandmother who all lived together had this television with the oriental figures in relief. The painted portions of the cabinet were all black. It was kept for decades after the TV stopped working. All have passed on now, but my cousin still owns the house and contents. I should ask whether the TV is still around.
Dealt with RCA broadcast equipment A LOT at one time-they were the king.Now its Harris.RCA equipment was well made-and pretty easy to service.Parts were easily availabe-even for older RCA equipment-now its all gone!Harris and Contenetal electronics sell most transmitters and broadcast equipment now.continental is an old company like RCA-they also build a lot of equipment for the Gov't and military-their main factory is in downtown Dallas,Texas-have been thru it.Harris is based out of Quincy,Illonous.the old RCA broadcast factories in Camden,New Jersey--have been torn down.
Sunbeam 1955
Norge 1946
Admiral 1959
Philco 1941
Zenith 1955
Stromberg Carlson Set
Tom, if that S-C set is still in your cousin's possession, and if he or she is willing to part with it, there's a strong possibility that the CRT is still good and all the set needs is to have its capacitors replaced and perhaps a resistor or two. The tubes are likely all fine. The guy that fixed my Admiral advised that tubes rarely go bad. I have a directory of guys who fix old TV's and radios and I believe there's at least one guy in the Phoenix/Tucson area. My Admiral's re-cap job came to just under $100 for parts and labor.
Your aunt & uncle's S-C set probably isn't worth a whole lot as is, even to a collector, but it's likely worth more than the average console from that period because S-C produced some of the most beautiful cabinetry ever to contain a television set. It would be worth getting if it's up for grabs, if you have room for it, and if you are interested in getting it back up and running.
Tom, if that S-C set is still in your cousin's possession, and if he or she is willing to part with it, there's a strong possibility that the CRT is still good and all the set needs is to have its capacitors replaced and perhaps a resistor or two. The tubes are likely all fine. The guy that fixed my Admiral advised that tubes rarely go bad. I have a directory of guys who fix old TV's and radios and I believe there's at least one guy in the Phoenix/Tucson area. My Admiral's re-cap job came to just under $100 for parts and labor.
Your aunt & uncle's S-C set probably isn't worth a whole lot as is, even to a collector, but it's likely worth more than the average console from that period because S-C produced some of the most beautiful cabinetry ever to contain a television set. It would be worth getting if it's up for grabs, if you have room for it, and if you are interested in getting it back up and running.
fltcoils
Member
RCA, later Thompson, design office was on US31 just north of Indianapolis. The built their office to look like a radio.
It apparently has moved, the building is now part of a health network.
Here's what street view shows.
It apparently has moved, the building is now part of a health network.
Here's what street view shows.
Leonard 1937
<span style="font-size: medium;">Never heard of this brand. </span>
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<span style="font-size: medium;">Never heard of this brand. </span>
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