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Vintage Television and Video Vintage television and video equipment, programmes, VCRs etc. |
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24th Dec 2017, 10:31 am | #1 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Worthing, West Sussex, UK
Posts: 5,185
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Interesting letter from 1953
Reading through the August 1953 edition of Practical Television, I came across the following letter:
OLD RECEIVER RESULTS SIR, -The following may be of interest. I purchased a television and radio, receiver. (3 bands) in 1939. It was used for televising before the war, during the war was used for broadcast reception, it went through the "blitz" in South London, it has been serviced only once, three or four small condensers replaced on sound only. Otherwise everything is as purchased, same 12in. tube and valves, there is a slight " ion burn " on . tube, but the picture is still 100 per cent. at Croydon, using an inside aerial. I am not certain, but I think I paid £45 for the set in console cabinet, and it all looks as good as new today. I wonder if there are any more veterans giving such service. ALFRED RYALL (Croydon). I love the fact it was referred to as a Veteran at only 14 years old! I wonder when it was finally retired from service, and if it still exists somewhere today? Mark |
24th Dec 2017, 10:57 am | #2 |
Dekatron
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Edinburgh, UK.
Posts: 3,273
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Re: Interesting letter from 1953
£45 seems quite a good price for 12" console set including a 3 band radio in 1939. It got me wondering which make and model it might have been. The nearest I could think of was the Baird T18. Perhaps there was quite a bit of discounting as the international situation worsened.
Peter Last edited by peter_scott; 24th Dec 2017 at 11:08 am. |
24th Dec 2017, 11:58 am | #3 |
Octode
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Carmel, Llannerchymedd, Anglesey, UK.
Posts: 1,498
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Re: Interesting letter from 1953
I used to have a huge Marconi TV & radio on which the sound had to be tuned in on a special section of the radio. It had a vertical tube viewed in the mirror and a lethal mains-derived HT. I had to get the EHT transformer rewound, after which it worked perfectly. I recall watching the maiden flight of Concorde on it from Rowridge with a home brewed converter to shift the frequency down to the AP frequency.
The sad thing is that while in Australia I lent it to a country TV shop for display and never went back to collect it... |
24th Dec 2017, 2:11 pm | #4 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Warnham, West Sussex. 10 miles south of DORKING.
Posts: 9,145
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Re: Interesting letter from 1953
I think the pre war models were on the whole very reliable. The electrostatic models were probably less so due to the high number of high voltage capacitors involved. Very few actually survived into the 50's.
Many of the EMI models soldiered on until the EHT transformer failed. J. |
24th Dec 2017, 11:33 pm | #5 |
Octode
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Belper Derbyshire
Posts: 1,910
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Re: Interesting letter from 1953
A very interesting letter.
An interesting question arises, What percentage of the total number of television receivers were destroyed through enemy action as presumably most of them at this time were still within the London region and were at a high risk from aerial bombing. Christopher Capener
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Interests in the collection and restoration of Tefifon players and 405 line television |
25th Dec 2017, 12:23 am | #6 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Ramsbottom (Nr Bury) Lancs or Bexhill (Nr Hastings) Sussex.
Posts: 5,814
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Re: Interesting letter from 1953
Good question Christopher but it might be easier to research the numbers manufactured in the first place, rather than those wiped out by enemy action-if they were that is! I've seen one or two articles over the years from people talking about the London second handmarkets post war [a salvage economy]. One major collector said he would be up at 3am [sleeping in a chair, in his clothes] and go down to certain areas where vans and lorries brought "antique" stock in and this would be traded among dealers before regular market business commenced. He described lots of radio gear he had obtained very cheaply [20's/30's] and would be home by 6am... going back to bed.
I can't recall a mention of TV's in particular but bombed out housing doesn't necessarily mean lost TV's perhaps or maybe not at that particular point? Dave |
25th Dec 2017, 3:12 pm | #7 |
Dekatron
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Edinburgh, UK.
Posts: 3,273
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Re: Interesting letter from 1953
I seem to have the following television production figures from the Radio Manufacturers Association:
1936 427 1937 1,627 1938 7,194 1939 (production stopped in September) 9,315 Total 18,999 Peter |