[MickMcmichael]

Several years ago myself and Rich (Slidertogrid) were offered the opportunity to 'clear some old tellies' from a ramshackle and heavily woodwormed premises up in Yorkshire. We analysed some online pictures sent by the owners who were clearing the family home following a bereavement. We had to make a rough offer for the sets based on the pictures and a brief description offered to us by the executor of the estate - the son of the bereaved.

There were other interested parties lining up if we didn't wish to go ahead with the clearance. We were able to identify a few specific models from the pictures but an offer was difficult to work out for over 30 items quoted by the estate.

Well, two days later we were in a hired long wheel base Transit and heading up the A1 armed with foldover cheese sandwiches and packets of wine gums.

We arrived at around midday. The overgrown back garden sported an American Dodge from the 1970's and several other vintage American vehicles. They were in such a bad state that not even Tim and Fuzz would have wanted to restore them!

Up three storeys were the tellies, radio's and parts. They were all stacked around the edges of the loft. Nobody dared to put any weight in the middle of the small space due to the badly rotted rafters and floor boards.

The owner, a portly chap in his forties, demonstrated the trampoline effects of jumping on the floorboards as a warning to us to take care.

It's worth mentioning at this point (as this thread is all about a Thorn 850 TV) that I'd been looking for an 850 for years and never found one. I used to buy these sets for 25p a time from a local TV shop in the mid 70's. My Dad had to fetch them in his Vauxhall Viva for me but never more than two at a time! My mate Rich had wanted a 'blue front' GEC d/s for years and never found one, but we had identified both models in the pictures. That's why we were here!

Both were easily spotted after Jumping Jack Flash had finished putting the eebie jeebies up us on the loft rafters. He went back downstairs for a bacon sandwich (or two) and left us to cart these many tellies down the several flights of stairs and to the Transit.

By 4pm we were done. Amongst many other sets, Rich was happy with his GEC blue fronter and I had THREE 850's. Lovely! We left behind several piles of wood dust which were radio's destroyed by worm. All of the highly varnished TV sets and others had escaped the creepy crawlies.

Talk about a junk bomb going off. This house had it all!

Some five years down the line and I've decided to get one of the 850's up on the bench. The G6 I'd started earlier this summer has had to go back into hibernation for the winter due to cataclysmic bodgery and innumerable headaches.

So here's one of the 850's. It's a Marconiphone 4610. Hardly ever worked on. A nice original chassis with what I call a 'proper' dual standard chassis - one with a valve UHF rotary tuner.

I've brushed out the inside and wound it up slowly on the variac.

Tube a bit poorly (a bit?...jeeezzz) and cramped frame. It will get better. Very soon.

Time is limited but updates will be forthcoming. Might have to look out my one spare heater tranny with the 20% extra tapping.

Will update again later this week.

Cheers All,

Mick.