Those were the days...

joewhite57

SatelliteGuys Pro
May 7, 2009
539
483
Indiana
We didn't have a TV until the early '60s. My father bought a maybe 19" "Metal Cabinet" portable B/W TV from a guy that was remodeling a motel. It was well used, but still worked. He put up an antenna outside (after the next paycheck or so) and we picked up 1 channel, until the weather got bad and we could pick up stations from over 100 miles away. Didn't last long and back to one channel.

We had one of those on wheels. Back then the cords weren’t polarized, case could give you a hell of a thrill if you were grounded.
 

billowens

SatelliteGuys Guru
Aug 12, 2008
133
92
East Texas
We didn't have a TV until the early '60s. My father bought a maybe 19" "Metal Cabinet" portable B/W TV from a guy that was remodeling a motel. It was well used, but still worked. He put up an antenna outside (after the next paycheck or so) and we picked up 1 channel, until the weather got bad and we could pick up stations from over 100 miles away. Didn't last long and back to one channel.
Edit: One thing for sure, only picking up one channel, we didn't need a remote (even if we would have know what one was at that time).
 

billowens

SatelliteGuys Guru
Aug 12, 2008
133
92
East Texas
We had one of those on wheels. Back then the cords weren’t polarized, case could give you a hell of a thrill if you were grounded.
Yes, they could light you up. This one came mounted on a pole looking thing that bolted to the floor. Dad took that off and set it on an old end table. We were poor and didn't even know it!

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eddie willers

SatelliteGuys Pro
Sep 15, 2003
1,229
1,149
Braselton, Ga.
I remember my folks first TV, an Admiral, about 1949. The only programming I recall was boxing on the Dumont Network out of New York City. The TV was eventually replaced when the "Horizontal Hold" would not lock.
When something went wrong with our set, my father would pull the tubes and put them into a paper bag for me to walk to the 7/11 and use their testing stand. You'd line up the pins that matched on the tester stand and if it lit up, you were OK. If it didn't, you'd pull out the drawer below and get its replacement.
 

navychop

Member of the Month - July 2014!
Pub Member / Supporter
Lifetime Supporter
Jul 20, 2005
60,108
27,437
Northern VA
I worked at a TV store that also took in repairs. The heaviest item on Earth is a metal cased 19" Zenith "portable" going into the back seat of a Cadillac.

Try my 36” CRT and 27” CRT that I am trying to hire a couple of Mormon kids to help me take to the dump.


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navychop

Member of the Month - July 2014!
Pub Member / Supporter
Lifetime Supporter
Jul 20, 2005
60,108
27,437
Northern VA
When something went wrong with our set, my father would pull the tubes and put them into a paper bag for me to walk to the 7/11 and use their testing stand. You'd line up the pins that matched on the tester stand and if it lit up, you were OK. If it didn't, you'd pull out the drawer below and get its replacement.

Did that MANY times, but not at 7-11

I WISH I could do that now with my Kuba valves (tubes).


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osu1991

SatelliteGuys Master
Sep 4, 2004
10,192
2,598
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
Try my 36” CRT and 27” CRT that I am trying to hire a couple of Mormon kids to help me take to the dump.


Sent from my iPhone using the SatelliteGuys app!

The old 40in RCA CRT stayed on the shelf in the garage for the new owners, when my dad sold his last house 4 or 5 yrs ago. It still worked perfectly, but the garage was as far as we ever got it when they replaced it with an LCD in the bedroom.
 
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dishdude

SatelliteGuys God
Supporting Founder
Sep 7, 2003
25,523
46,604
Phoenix, AZ
Take them to Goodwill. It’s a free dropoff...

They don't even want them! Never thought I'd see the day when you couldn't give a TV away.

*As of May 1, 2016, Goodwill of Central and Northern Arizona is no longer accepting CRT Box TVs or TVs more than 5 years old. Plasma/LCD/LED TVs are still accepted. We thank you for your understanding.
 

peggy97850

SatelliteGuys Pro
Mar 16, 2012
594
239
Western US
It's all down hill for Satellite from here on out. The only question is when you will stop using them entirely. With the prices continuing to go up for programming and the ever increasing DISH fees added to customer bills , it is harder and harder to stay with them.
Some of us don't have many other options since OTA isn't available. YouTube TV does offer my locals, but not all the channels I get from Dish - still debating if I want to switch once my Flex pkg discount pricing expires in August, really like H3 & Primetime Anytime - but I agree, pricing is becoming an issue (especially on a fixed income).
 
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Claude Greiner

SatelliteGuys Master
Supporting Founder
Sep 8, 2003
13,213
3,776
Detroit - The Paris of the Midwest
I remember going to Sears to watch the Retailer Chats, then having DISH get all pissed off I was watching and threatening local retailers for leaking me information from the chats... when in reality I was just watching at sears. They never bugged me there. :D

I used to do that also when I was going to college.

I remember doing a memory dump on the receiver to reset the parental code on the retailer chat channel.
 

eddie willers

SatelliteGuys Pro
Sep 15, 2003
1,229
1,149
Braselton, Ga.
Sony had a 40", the biggest RCA I remember was a 38" 16:9 with built in DirecTV receiver. All of those big CRTs weigh a ton, especially the ones with the flat face. There was A LOT of glass in those monsters.
Yeah. Sony made some 40" WEGAs towards the end, but it was Mitsubishi that sold quite a few as they were a bargain at $3999. It took 4 grown men to deliver. Nowadays I see little old ladies toss a 40" into their buggy and roll it to the front.
 
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Claude Greiner

SatelliteGuys Master
Supporting Founder
Sep 8, 2003
13,213
3,776
Detroit - The Paris of the Midwest
Yeah. Sony made some 40" WEGAs towards the end, but it was Mitsubishi that sold quite a few as they were a bargain at $3999. It took 4 grown men to deliver. Nowadays I see little old ladies toss a 40" into their buggy and roll it to the front.

I still got my 32 wega from 2001.

Still got it, but refuse to move it after I set it in its spot 17 years ago.

Had a fire in 2005 and I made the cleaning company and the movers move it.

It’s a great Tv, just didn’t realize how bad the picture was after getting a 55 LG OLED
 

mwdxer1

SatelliteGuys Pro
Nov 3, 2015
1,937
1,806
Seaside Oregon
When something went wrong with our set, my father would pull the tubes and put them into a paper bag for me to walk to the 7/11 and use their testing stand. You'd line up the pins that matched on the tester stand and if it lit up, you were OK. If it didn't, you'd pull out the drawer below and get its replacement.
I used to do the same thing. I think I have my old tube tester somewhere. Probably with a bunch of old Radio/TV tubes I still have.
 
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Magic Static

SatelliteGuys Master
Lifetime Supporter
Oct 12, 2010
7,498
4,853
Montana
I gave away my big CRT analogue set. I ran an ad on CL and pointed out with pictures and text you could connect a game console to this set. Also had the remote. ;) Some lucky kid's mom snatched it quickly. She almost backed off when she discovered how heavy it was but I had it loaded in her car before should could think about it.
 

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