TV sets of years past

[berwyn senator]

Remember the old black and white sets? The antennas screwed on the back of sets and had to be twisted and turned in order to get a good picture.Each channel was different.then a tuner on the set had to be also adjusted.There were all kinds of gadgets on the market all claiming a better picture,out door antennas bolted to a  chimney or roof.When the set wouldn't work there were tv repair men that would come to the house.The man would come with a case of tools and tubes,while he worked in the back a large mirror would be placed in front of the set so he could see the picture.Bills for repairs were never very much usually around $8.00,if the set didn't need a new tuner.Some manufactures were known to have bad tuners,only way to find out is when you bought one.I think we only had four channels,2,5 7 9 ? Saturday night kids would come over to watch Shook Theater and Marvin as host showing horror films Dracula,Frankenstein,and Wolfman.

[buzz]

Didn't the stations sign off the air at a certain hour ?  I seem to remember some ridiculous geometric symbol would be displayed when they stopped programming.

[berwyn senator]

Yes they did sign off around midnight after the late night movie,other stations without movies went off the air earlier.

[berwyn senator]

I bought a Sony portable 12"color set for $400 1970 no remote,that was all we could afford. Look what can be purchased today for the same amount of money.

[watcher]

Didn't the stations sign off the air at a certain hour ?  I seem to remember some ridiculous geometric symbol would be displayed when they stopped programming.

When TV arrived, programming was limited to a few hours a day. Equipment was in constant need of adjustment. The test pattern provided both transmitters and receivers a tool to tweak the signal for the clearest picture. In addition to the V-hold, H-hold, contrast, brightness and fine tuning knobs on the front, there were several adjustments on the rear of the chassis made with a "special" tool.

[buzz]

Yep, that's it.

[berwyn senator]

The black and white sets had a big picture tub,and many small ones.

[dualref]

And the early color sets had those oval screens rather than rectangular. A family down the street got a RCA color set around 1958 or so. I remember going over there with my dad to look at it. My dad said if I even look at that set the wrong way I'll get slapped! But I remember that the snow on the screen between stations (like Channel 6) even was in color!

I think it wasn't until about 1963 or 64 that rectangular screens appeared on color television.

[dualref]

And the early color sets had those oval screens rather than rectangular. A family down the street got a RCA color set around 1958 or so. I remember going over there with my dad to look at it. My dad said if I even look at that set the wrong way I'll get slapped! But I remember that the snow on the screen between stations (like Channel 6) even was in color!

I think it wasn't until about 1963 or 64 that rectangular screens appeared on color television.

[berwyn senator]

1971 we bought Motorola works in a drawer color 27' console,cost six hundred dollars.That year I had more company especially for sports programs.