Another Curtis Mathes BEAST!
 

Man! They must have had it in their heads that bigger was better! Or, at least until they tried moving the damn thing!

This one's in PA.

http://cgi.aol.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI...sPageName=WDVW

:wtf:
That thing on top is ugly!
It doesn't even look like it belongs but it houses the tuner so it must be original. Wonder if the 8 track is an add on?

Yeah, the control panel does look a little strange. They could have done a better job with the knob layout.

After seeing all of these big CM sets lately, it makes me realize that mine must have been one of the cheaper ones!

I have seen that top hutch part on a lot of CM consoles...have not seen an older tube type with real wood veneer though...all the ones I have seen have been particle board. The 8-track looks to be a Craig unit so it was likely someone hooked it up to the CM in the late 70's/early 80's.

:banana:

Well hot-damn, a Craig! I know they used to be a great name in Car-stereo! Hmmm, what ever happened to Craig?

Lancaster isn't a bad trip for me, but, geesh...no room around here for such a monster & it sure isn't going to win any beauty contests. If it was in bad condition I could see buying it for the crt but as it is, in working shape-I just hope somebody can save it.

Curtis Mathes console TV control panel
 

The control panel on that set is rather unusual, especially for a console. I've never seen one like that before. The last time I saw anything even remotely resembling this layout was when I saw a pic, some years ago, of the pop-up control panel of a certain model of RCA solid-state b&w 12" portable from the '70s or so (can't recall the model number offhand, but it could also be operated from batteries, IIRC).

The eight-track system definitely looks like an add-on, as it isn't built into the hutch or the TV console itself.

Craig was a Japanese electronics import company, its heyday being in the '60s and '70s. I note, however, that the company must be making a comeback of sorts, as I occasionally see CD/MP3 players with the Craig name on them being advertised in Circuit City and Best Buy ad flyers in our Sunday newspaper.

Craig also made car stereos for awhile. Don't know if they are still in that facet of the business, but I do recall seeing ads for AM/FM/cassette auto receivers from them a few years ago. It wouldn't surprise me, however, if they are in fact still in the mobile audio business, these days turning out AM/FM/CD or CD/satellite radio systems.

I just took a second look at the CM console being discussed here. The control hutch, IMO, really isn't that ugly--just unique. The hutch has two sliding doors that can hide everything in there, including the aftermarket 8-track deck in this one, so the controls and everything else behind them won't be an eyesore when the set is not being used.

BTW, speaking of eyesores, have you ever noticed how unattractive the front control panels are on many old TVs? The manufacturers try to make up for it by using fancy badges and things on the panels, but the controls are still in full view on most sets. (When the lettering starts wearing off the knobs after a few years, it just makes the problem worse.) The cleanest-looking front panels I've seen on older sets have been the tilt-out control clusters in '70s-vintage RCA color TVs, and a similar design used by Zenith in the '60s and possibly early '70s for their b&w and color consoles, not to mention a line of Admiral color consoles in the '60s with tilt-out control panels as well. I had a 23" Zenith B&W console with such an arrangement; the secondary controls were behind a swing-down door below the CRT. The only two controls visible on the front of the set were the channel selector and on-off/volume control.

New TVs are being manufactured with fewer front-panel adjustments, so we may be seeing a comeback of this sort of design. Almost all TVs, VCRs, and DVD players today are being made with on-screen menus and controls, with only a row of push buttons on the front panel, generally below the CRT in the case of TV sets. My own RCA CTC185 has such a control panel; at night, when my living room is almost dark (except for one lamp in a corner of the room behind the TV), the front control buttons are nearly invisible, as they are black, the same color as the TV cabinet. This is also a big reason I don't want to get rid of this set any time soon, or at least as long as it works (I have an extended service contract on it that runs through 2006)--the newer RCA table sets are in high-tech silver-color cabinets, with the front controls plainly visible.

New Philips Magnavox TVs are available these days only in that color cabinet (silver), but I wouldn't touch them with a ten-foot clip lead because of the flimsy contruction of these sets; I've heard it is possible to push the set off any table it is set on (because of the lightweight construction) without half trying, even when simply pressing one of the front-panel control buttons.

I wonder, as I write this, how many new "Magnavox" TVs have appeared in repair shops for replacement of smashed CRTs or other problems caused when the set fell off the table or stand while the owner was simply turning on the thing or changing channels, invoking menu options or trying to perform other control commands by using the front panel controls. Personally, if I had a set like that, I'd stick to invoking the menus and their options, not to mention volume-on/off and channel selection, via the remote, and would leave the front panel buttons for use only in emergencies, such as when the remote batteries eventually expire (this often happens right when you're all set to watch a favorite show) and you can't find new ones immediately. I rarely use the front buttons on my RCA, preferring instead to operate my entire entertainment system (not just the TV) with an aftermarket RCA universal home-theater remote (RCU-800B). It works well for me, and saves wear and tear on the front controls (almost all of which are pushbuttons) of my entertainment gear.

For the price someone gave for that thing when it was new, you'd think they'd GIVE you a remote back then! That way, you could close the top sliding doors covering the controls and just use the remote.

It would be interesting to know what kind of price tag that thing originally had.

So far, all of the 60's CM consoles I've seen were wood and veneer. The two I have are, and the several CM's I went to look at during my last vacation were as well.

It seems that I've only seen two or three listings for CM color chassis during the roundie era. They were probably more focused on a very wide variety of cabinet styles and just depended on RCA clone chassis to go into them. One of the reasons I say this is because my CM set was made in 66, but uses a cTC15 clone... and 15's came out in what... 63?

polaraman is the winner! We will soon know what makes this beast tick!!!! Could eight of you meet me at my house next week to get it into the house? :D

LOOK OUT FOLKS! HE'S A FREE MAN AND IS GONNA BUY 'UM ALL!!! :yikes:

Hell, it'll take 8 people to lift the radio/tape unit off the top of that sucker...Assuming of course, it DOES come off. Great score, anyway-Sandy G.

You certainly don't mind driving some distance to get one of these! Georgia to PA is a pretty good haul!

Congrats on the win! I was really hoping someone here would get this. And when your day comes to pass on, we'll make sure they use the set as your coffin!

Good luck on it's move!

I actually am from Pennsylvania. I am going home (PA) on leave this week to vote and visit the folks. Lancaster is like 30 miles away. I had hoped to line up some sets to make the drive more interesting. Scheduled to pick up a Westinghouse in Virgnia on Sunday. No girlfriend equals plenty of cash!! :naughty:

Yeah, I hear ya! I recall my check book getting unusually fat after my wife split. Not to say she wasn't worth a thin checkbook, but, it is quite amazing how much it grows once they leave.

You ain't kidding! that has to weigh 300 lbs :yikes:

Maybe you can sell the eight track for enough to pay for the set. :D

I have a friend who's looking for a beast system. The wider and bigger, the better. Prefferably in the Northeast region.

I think this one's a bit too radical, though. He wants a bit lower and ULTRAWIDE. Wooden, TV, phono, stereo. I'd prefer a roundie since I'm gonna have to fix the thing ;)

Nasa,

Seems like this one would have been good for your friend... although i don't recall where it was. I think this one was up for auction a few weeks back. I don't think they come any wider than this one... wasn't it like 80 inches wide???

Aren't the dollies in the picture part of the original equpment?


Reece

Charlie - yeah, that's what he wants! If anyone sees one in the Northeast area, or on ebay on the east coast - let me know. Has to have a stereo in it too.

1/2 the reason he wants them - they're cool. Other 1/2? Too big for the parents to throw out on him!

Remember, the wider the better!

I just arrived home! The beast is on the back of the truck. The CRT has a 1 AUGUST1980 rebuild date stamped on it. More later


polaraman

Wow... you got that set in your truck? Hope you remembered to pick your testicles up off the ground after you loaded it! :D

It took three of us to get it in! There was a one foot drop from the dock to the bed of my truck. Broke one of the legs off loading it. I am going to Home Depot after work to get some wheels for this tank. :scratch2: Got two more sets on the trip. I will post those on the black and white thread.


polaraman

A 1980 rebuild date on that tube is pretty good! With putting that money into it, one would assume they got at least 10+ years more use out of it, so it couldn't have been out of service for very long. I think the last year my Uncle put in a round tube was 1982 and it was a chore to find one available then. I still remember that set. It was a "plain Jane" CTC-16 and he put in a Sylvania "New Gun" tube and a flyback. Can't wait for you to post your "findings" and pix!

The tube that keeps going and going . . .
 

If this set's former owner got 24 years of good service from that CRT (and it still makes a good picture today), it must have been a good tube. :thmbsp: When you consider most tubes are getting dim after ten years (some modern ones get too weak to watch after only three to five years), if a tube is double that age, and then some, and still has a good picture, good brightness and all, it is excellent--almost unbelievable. I would be tempted to think your CM console wasn't even used that much, or perhaps very rarely, after the new CRT was installed.

Too bad the TV program That's Incredible! isn't around anymore. If it were, I'd suggest you try to get your CM on it. As I said above, 24 good years from a color CRT is darned nearly incredible. The only thing I can figure is that the CRT in your set was made by RCA or some other manufacturer from TV's early days, as the tube seems to be every bit like the Energizer battery--it keeps going and going and going . . .

BTW, sorry to hear that one leg broke off the console while you were offloading it from your truck. (Shouldn't be too much of a job reattaching it, although you will have the heck of a time putting the cabinet in a position such that you can do it; seems to me you may have to take the chassis out, do something with the control hutch on top . . . Even at that, the cabinet will be heavy enough that you'll need plenty of help to get it on its back.)

The idea of putting wheels on the cabinet is good--I never heard of that being done with a console that big. If you do that, however, just make sure the set doesn't go rolling around in your living room or basement, wherever you plan to put it, every time you so much as nudge the cabinet. When/if it does, believe me, you'll know it--it will sound like a freight train rumbling through the house or worse. :D

Here it is!!! It has AM/FM Stereo with a tuning eye!

Is it hiding? I don't see anything! :dunno:

Pictures do not seem to be loading. I will try later.

Second try!

Closer TV chassis. Missing a 12BY7 tube.

Radio chassis. Too hard to see.

Another view.

Yeah that looks like the C20/C21 chassis. It appears that someone yanked the 6AQ5 audio tube.

Hey you can't kill those old trucks!

When you picked it up, did the owner have any story or history about the set?

My trusty steed hauled this monster home!

The set was donated to the Boys and Girls club. They then sold it on Ebay. They also have a real nice thrift store. I also bought a Heywood Wakefield coffee table. I will sell that to get some money back from the trip. They had a real nice operation for kids. It was nice to see the effort they were taking. No information about the history of the set.

polaraman

It don't look nearly as huge & outsized from the back as it does from the front. That's a set of SERIOUS speakers it has-bet you can't wait to hear 'em. GREAT score-you should be very, very proud !! -Sandy G.

You may need to take out a loan to pay the electric bill when you run that rig! LOL

Anthony

The 6AQ5 may have been omitted from the factory as the sound from the TV would come through the stereo amp on this model.

On my CM color set, they actually give you a choice. There is a standard 4" speaker that operates from the tv chassis 6AQ5. Or, if you like, just turn on stereo amp to "TV" and then the sound comes thru the rest of the speakers... although it will not be in stereo.

I have a VCR/DVD player combo connected to CM and pulls double duty. The back of the player has both 75 ohm coax and rca outputs. The 75 ohm coax connector of course is plugged into the tv using a 75-300 ohm transformer. The RCA L & R audio outputs plug into the "TAPE" inputs of the stereo amp. Now, I can use the VCR/DVD player as my cable box, and for any tv station broadcasting in stereo, I turn on the stereo amp to TAPE. Sound is awsome! There is, however, a selector on the big amp that says TV, but it is only in mono, and personally, i find it to sound kinda cheesy. Of course, setting up the player this way also gives your DVD's in stereo as well.

If I am simply listening to an audio CD, just pop it in the DVD player and turn on the stereo amp to tape while leaving the tv off. Playing music CD's thru these old tube stereos is awesome! You get a super-clean sound without it sounding so digital. Also, I find the tube amps in these big consoles to have really impressive stereo seperation.

Come to think of it, i'd love to hear that new Motorola tube system that Doug brought home a few days ago!

It's baaack: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...129477242&rd=1