dropped a 1956 hotpoint

[AUdubon5425]

On some Hotpoints/GEs I have from that era all that "isolates" the hot chassis from the cabinet is a thin piece of cardboard.

[radiotron]

Originally Posted by AiboPet

YIKES!

Don't stack TV sets on top of other sets....especially if that bottom set is on legs of any sort. That's just an accident waiting to happen. I'm even weird about putting my little tiny micro sets on top of eachother. MOST of them sit directly on a shelf. I do have in the front room a couple little 4" sets on top of some 9" color sets...but I'm more concerned about scratching the cabinets than them falling over or something.

Big 'ol sets are far too "front heavy" to be stacking. The larger "newer" sets are WORSE with that problem, because the little PC board "chassis" isn't NEARLY heavy enough to keep the set down in back.

well this stack wasnt big it was just on top a zenith console.

although i do stack em' high!
my highest stack is a sylvania halolight combo,and a zenith color ontop that and a sylvania slim jim on that a silvertone radio ontop that then a pair of 50s rabbit ears.

[Mal Fuller]

There's a reason your set was called a "Hotpoint."

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by Mal Fuller

There's a reason your set was called a "Hotpoint."

The Hotpoint name seemed to be rather common in Australia. They even have radios with that name.

[Eric H]

Hotpoint was a General Electric brand, the TV"s are pretty much identical internally with minor cosmetic differences.

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by Eric H

Hotpoint was a General Electric brand, the TV"s are pretty much identical internally with minor cosmetic differences.

I'm well aware of that! The original service manuals showed both logo's on the front cover.

[Sandy G]

Wasn't Hotpoint GE's "Downmarket" brand ? Virtually the same as GE, except a little less ornate in chrome filigree and/or paint schemes ? GE was a "High Street" brand, sold by the "Big" stores on the main street, while Hotpoint was sold by Fred's Bargain House types..At least, that's how I sorta remember things...

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by Sandy G

Wasn't Hotpoint GE's "Downmarket" brand ? Virtually the same as GE, except a little less ornate in chrome filigree and/or paint schemes ? GE was a "High Street" brand, sold by the "Big" stores on the main street, while Hotpoint was sold by Fred's Bargain House types..At least, that's how I sorta remember things...

IIRC, GE dealers could sell Hotpoint products, but not vice-versa. Goes back to the days of fair-trading. Big name products were never discounted.
In order to make the sale, trade-in allowance was considered. It had to be shown on the invoice.

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by radiotron

well this stack wasnt big it was just on top a zenith console.

although i do stack em' high!
my highest stack is a sylvania halolight combo,and a zenith color ontop that and a sylvania slim jim on that a silvertone radio ontop that then a pair of 50s rabbit ears.

I agree with aibopet; that stack (the big one you mention with three large TVs and a radio) is a safety hazard. I'd put those sets next to one another on a shelf or some other arrangement so that they cannot possibly fall. I have seen small portable TVs set atop consoles (pre-DTV), and some folks use their old CRT TV as a stand for a new flat screen when the old set goes bad; this is OK and safe, since the stack is not that high (just two sets, and flat screens aren't that large or heavy anyway so there's almost no load on top of the old sets). Your arrangement, as aibopet stated, is an accident just waiting to happen, and it probably will -- sooner rather than later.

[wa2ise]

Originally Posted by Jeffhs

I agree with aibopet; that stack (the big one you mention with three large TVs and a radio) is a safety hazard. I'd put those sets next to one another on a shelf or some other arrangement so that they cannot possibly fall. .

Seriously, we all want you to be successful in this hobby, and us oldtimers (aka oldfarts )want to point out various potential pitfalls. And though it may be hard to believe, we all were kids your age eons ago. I was a kid when our collectables here were in current production. Yes, that old...
That said:

I imagine as a kid (correct me if I'm wrong, please) you have a standard issue bedroom in a single family house on a quarter acre lot, and thus not a lot of room for your sets. But you do need to be sure nothing can fall, and get broken or hit you or someone else. Even your kid brother...

Also you probably have little spending money, so buying new caps is harder for you than most of us. But back in my day (imagine geezer voice)"I remember, young man, TV was always in B&W") I got usable caps and such from junked but still recent production TV sets and such. And today a BPC CRT TV set will have a circuit board a bunch of likely good caps of the sort you could use to replace the wax caps in your collectable sets. If possible, just take the circuit board and leave behind the cabinet and CRT of the BPC set, and please don't make a mess. PC computer power supplies also have usable caps and such.

[old_coot88]

Keep in mind too that most of a TV set's weight is in the front (in the thick glass faceplate of the CRT). The TV is much more prone to tipping over forward than backward. Always carry the TV with its face toward you. Much easier on your back that way.
An exception might be a transformer-operated set with the heavy power transformer at the rear of the chassis.

[Sandy G]

Look, you might think we're doggin' you, or making fun of you-We're NOT. We''re TRYING to give you the benefit of our collective experience, so HOPEFULLY, you WON'T make some of the mistakes some of us did...TVs are FUN, but never forget they can be DANGEROUS, too...You gotta ALWAYS Be Careful..NO TV is worth your getting hurt-Or WORSE-over..Secondly, we DON'T wanna see you Bugger Up a desirable old TV-They ARE getting harder & harder to come by..

[DavGoodlin]

Anything: black + White = value to somebody, but only if its not fubar'ed
A rule I always followed as a kid was to never stack more than two high.
A warmer, dryer corner of the basement is good enough to protect stuff from trouble.
Using carpet samples, doormats, drywall pieces or just cardboard as stacking protection is wise
A set with legs or casters under it are not made to carry much more than two times the console's weight.
A 19"portable was tempting to put on top of a table model sitting on a console but violates the two-high rule! So don't do it!