|
For me vintage color tv's mean a couple of things. They were extremely expensive and were the most complicated device in the average person's home, until the VCR and the home computer arrived in the 70's/80's. Growing up i had been given several hand-me-down or trash picked B&W sets but It wasn't until Christmas 1982 that I had my own color set, a RCA color portable XL-100. Color TV has always been special and expensive. Motels and motor courts always boasted of Color Televisions available in their rooms. Television always meant more to me than just a consumer product. It was a whole industry all the way from sales, to parts supply houses, to picture tube rebuilders, to repair shops. at one time i bet there was a thousand people within Metro Nashville that made a living entirely because of the TV set. I knew every television repair shop within bicycle range from my house "There were 4 in that range. plus the Rexall had a tube tester and a few tubes for sale." I used to drop in to one really local one and watch the techs repair customers sets. They let me hang out and ask questions. It was a different time back then.
The next thing is that old American made electronics really stand the test of time, back in 1985 i was helping a friend of mine move out of the dorm at a local college. and in the hallway of his dorm was a dead Goldstar television that the previous roomate had abandoned after it failed with less than 6 months use. I took it home and opened it up and it had the worst build quality i had ever seen, I counted at least a dozen cold solder joints. back then (iirc) it was the first color 13 inch tv that sold for $129.99 . when Zeniths were $199. I would never have believed that Goldstar would eventually become LG and one day buy out Zenith.
Lastly is the simply reason that these sets remind me of my life growing up, favorite shows look best on a set you originally watched them on, ha ha ha.
Logan
|