Vintage Conrac Color Broadcast Monitor and Tuner

I have a vintage Conrac color "Air" broadcast monitor. Model CY817/ModG Type TM27BC RCA. Manufactured by Conrac Division Olinda CA. Also have a Conrac Tuner Model AV 82E. Both items have been carefully stored for years, but worked perfectly when last used as my home tv set (approx. 1987). Many new tubes were installed at that time. Do any of the experts on this list think there is value in these items?

[Sandy G]

Could be. You got any pics ? Is this a "roundie"? This bad boy might be a monitor version of the CT-100, the 1st color set from '54. If it is, yeah, it's worth just a smidgen, especially if the CRT's still good...

I work at a affiliate tv broadcast station and collected the best of the gear we were getting rid of. This was a $1800 monitor for the xmtr and still had a beautiful pix when I stopped using it for a home set around 1988 or so. I wouldn't say the tube is round, it is a broadcast monitor so has to follow the 4x3 standard. I think that the caps are probably dried out, but most of the tubes were new in both the monitor and tuner.

Here's the problem. Husband is doing the garage roof, has a dumpster and wants to heave the things. They have sentimental value to me and I know they are of historic value for broadcast tv. I am just not interested in ebaying them. I might ship them if I thought I could make a little money or donate them to a museum if they would pay for the shipping. I think that anyone who is truly into vintage equipment would love to fiddle with them.

I have pictures, how do I post them here? Or can people request them emailed? Sorry, real novice here. But I think I am at the right place?
Patrice

[Steve McVoy]

The earliest monitors were the TM-10 (15 inch) and TM-21 (21 inch). Those are the ones that have significant value. Anything newer isn't worth a whole lot.

[Kamakiri]

Just click the "Post Reply" button instead of the Quick Reply, and go to Manage Attachments, and you'll be able to post a pic

Thanks for the help. Here's the pictures. Notice the "air" indicator lamp. Our station was originally an RCA 'turnkey." Our chief wanted the best of everything and got it. Not much is left now, just a few racks and a vanity RCA light.

[RetroHacker]

Very cool! I don't know how much they would be worth - a lot of tube color stuff isn't worth anything unless it's really old (round picture tube type), but then again, this hobby isn't about the money, it's about having fun. It's actually fortunate that this old stuff isn't worth anything, because otherwise I couldn't afford it . But that's very cool. Wish I had something like that. Got any pictures from the back?

-Ian

Ian, you're right, they're probably not worth a lot of money. However this is the ultimate monitor for messing with knobs. If you look closely you can see that the panels were lockable. ;-] (And the keys were kept in the chief's office.) One of my earliest jobs was setting these monitors up to bars once a week (or more often as necessary). I also chipped the studio cameras every day (many times a day) with Conrac monitors. I can't remember if there is a bar generator in it or not. Don't have pictures of back yet, waiting for help turning it around. Rack mounted, so the backs and sides are not there. However, I think RCA tried to keep panel sizes standard. There might be some around that would "fit."

When I inherited these, several of our engineers, including the chief, stood around in the shop for days putting in tubes, setting it up just right for me. The tuner had been set on one station for so long that it had to be recalibrated to pick up everything else in town! I was so poor at that time and I couldn't afford any kind of tv set. My apartment was also very cold in the winter. The Conrac solved both of my problems! It radiates a lot of heat! And what a beautiful picture it had. I ran it through my stereo system for sound, even though none of us were broadcasting in stereo yet. So it had a nice sound as well.

I've contacted WZTV at CHUM in Toronto to see if they want it. I may never hear back from them however. I have only a few days to find a new home or they will be in the dumpster. If only I could hold the other half's mulitple motorcyles for hostage. ;-)

[yagosaga]

Hi Patrice,

I would keep it if I were on your place. Of course, some people might say, that this monitor has no value. But do you know how many of this monitors still exist? If it has a good crt, and if you can bring it easily to working condition, it is worth to keep it. I am the owner of a monitor from 1970. It has no value. But the technique is unique:

http://bs.cyty.com/menschen/e-etzold...h/MC47_3BA.htm

These old relicts have no other advocate than us. If we don't take it's part, no one else will do it.

Kind regards,
Eckhard (from Germany)

[Kamakiri]

If you're close enough to Buffalo, I would love to play with it along with my Ikegami and Sony trinicon cams and all of my other vintage broadcast gear

I'd be willling to take a drive to save them!

[RetroHacker]

Patrice - if you really do want to be rid of it, I would be glad to give it a home and provided Kamakari doesn't want it too bad) - I don't have anything like this and would enjoy it. You didn't mention where you were located - If you're within driving distance for me, I could come pick it up. Drop me a Private Message if you want.

But most importantly, it should go to a good home - and I'm sure that if I'm too far away, that some other AK'er would look after it.

-Ian

[Sandy G]

I'd like to have it, but I live in Tennessee, really have no use for it, Tim's trying to set up a studio, he's A LOT closer, be better if either Ian or Tim gets it. I'm really a dilletante when it comes to this stuff-tim at least has a pretty good idea of how to work on it, a skill I'm sadly lacking. Ian prolly knows how to work on 'em a helluva lot more than I do, too.

Thanks to everybody for your interest! It was fun to reminisce about this monitor. I am so glad that there is a large group of people preserving tv history. I decided to let Tim have a go at the thing since he asked first. It sounds like he has a good place to put it in. Perhaps it will have a second life. He's promised that when he gets it up and running we can have a look at his studio.

We often joke at work that we are like a broadcast museum. My audio board is over 20 years old. I am holding my breath for a new digital one. But I started getting grey hair before they broke down and went stereo only a few years ago. They may just go totally digital and bypass switchers, audio boards and camera people all together. They finally got the budget for a non-linear desktop editing system for the newsroom. So far our attempts at using pc based Chyron that intergrates with the news program ENPS are not very stable. The thing crashes all the time, files get lost, it's unpredictable and cranky. It makes putting on a newscast a hair raising experience.

We still have a lot of conversion to make in the engineering area to just make everthing digitally compatible for the eventual switch to HD in 2009. We keep finding analog things pop up that have been cranking along without trouble for years. We just discovered that the studio sqauwk box is powered by a TANDY power amplifier when it failed one day! Then we found out that every single one of them on ebay is being bought up by the same guy at exorbitant prices.

I promise if any stuff of interest at work heads towards the dumpster I will notify you again.
Patrice

[Kamakiri]

Thanks Patrice!

Here's a quick shot of some of the gear that will be keeping it company, a lot of it is still to be unpacked and hooked up.

Tim,
We are still using a sony umatic in the pit for client playback tapes. This isn't vintage gear. ;-)