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Early 1950’s GE TV CRT

G

GADFRAN

Experienced Member
Joined
Dec 1, 2007
Messages
318
Location
Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States
Thought some of you might be interested in this.

Found it going thru some old pictures while doing my STS [science, technology & society] research

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Old timers – memories !

New timers – wow was that what it was like back then !

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EARLY1950SGETVFINAL.jpg

About a 11 – 12 “ screen – hard to see from across room – but is was all we had – only B / W of course.

1980’s Kaypros of course had a green / black CRT screen 9 “ and you know how hard that could be to see sometimes.

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My Dad worked for GE and got a big discount on all GE appliances – you name it and we had it.

So when home TV became popular back then, he knew we had to have it too.

We were the first on the block / neighborhood to get one.

Every Saturday morning my friends showed up early in the morning for cartoon shows while we quietly [Mom & Dad were still sleeping] ate our cereal / cold milk.

We old timers know all the popular shows we squinted to see especially on the weekends.

We sure have come along way for both computer and TV screens, no longer CRT’s, and measured in feet not inches !

Our neighbor has a 6 + footer that required the wall to be reinforced. When I walk by his window 50 feet away, I can clearly see what he is watching.

He even uses it for his computer work.

Bill Gates probably would be so proud – MS Word on the big 6 foot screen.

Just how big will they get ?

When I worked for a major compressed gas company, we were the major supplier of NF3 – nitrogen trifluoride – used to make these LCD’s. Not so good for the atmosphere, but business is business and consumer wants need to be fulfilled.

Enjoy !

Frank
 
Looks real familiar. My Dad held out for 17" Starrett table model. We got the thing in November of 1950. Someone convinced him he could hook up the antenna leads to a floor lamp with the 3-way bulb (unplugged of course). As I remember, he tried every kind of indoor antenna that there was and never committed to a roof or chimney mount. I remember the trips to the corner drug store with Dad and his paper sack full of electron tubes. That was all part of having a TV in the 50's.
 
Yes – old tube testers !

You bring back some long distant memories !

That was my job !

If the TV or radio was not working, my job was to take up a paper bag of tubes from them to the local drug store and plug them in a 2” x 2” by 4” high box, make the right settings and see if they tested as working.

If not, then you went to the bottom of the box and picked a new tube to take home to see if that fixed the problem.


My Dad also had one of those first big [1’ x 1’ x 6 “ ? ] portable radios [probably again GE] that used several those big about 6” x 2” cylindrical batteries to run it. Those tubes + the batteries were always in need of replacement.

But people were amazed at a picnic that a “portable radio” even existed. Back then, at a picnic, you just turned up the car radio while the engine was running so the battery did not run down.

=================================================================

Today, we charge all our “devices” – including laptops / netbooks / etc. - from the cigarette lighter outlet in our cars !

Back then the Dick Tracy watch type device was just a “ figment of our imagination “ – today – we all know so well what is so available – but for us old timers, we like things bigger not smaller !

==========================================================

BTW [by the way I understand in the more modern lingo !] was Starret [sp] from MA and they also made tools ? My Dad loved those tools – they were the best if you could get them and afford them.

Long ago out of business I understand – relative worked there - for obvious reasons – time moves on - sound familiar – Lenovo not IBM - who could imagine ? – locally – Bethlehem Steel / AT& T / Mack Trucks / etc. – gone – who could imagine ?

===============================================================

Thanks for the trip down ” memory lane “ – I will be thinking about it and related items for many days – rather than all that negative stuff we all have no control over !.

===============================================================

Today – transistors, chips, etc. – not even worth replacing especially if soldered in – at least some of the Kaypros had plug in chips so you could swap easily – but disadvantage of loosening of course. Transistors all soldered as far as I know.

So today, just buy a new device and not even try to replace the mainboard !

=============================================================

All the best to you and all on VC site for [Easter] holidays – however you may celebrate it !

Frank

P.S.

Not complaining, just “ explaining “ as the saying goes – also not taking sides – gets too complex too fast !

Just the facts – use them as you want.

As a scientist – facts are neutral

Technology uses the facts – not so neutral

Society determines what it wants from science and technology – may not be so good !

Thus = STS !


I am off “the soap box” now – who is next for their two [2] cents like mine – not worth much – but may be interesting ?
 
I still remember our first TV--a 10" 1948 Philco. Had a huge power transformer in it. Replaced by a 1953 RCA 21 (ISTR) incher. We had that until about 1964, when we got our first color TV--a Zenith.

Technology may have advanced, but content has just gotten worse and worse. There are days where I never even bother to turn the stupid thing on because I can't find anything I want to watch.

Whatever happened to the TV variety show? Talk shows are incredibly dumb--I still remember Jack Paar interviewing Fidel Castro...
 
GADFRAN said:
Yes – old tube testers !

You bring back some long distant memories !

That was my job !

If the TV or radio was not working, my job was to take up a paper bag of tubes from them to the local drug store and plug them in a 2” x 2” by 4” high box, make the right settings and see if they tested as working.

If not, then you went to the bottom of the box and picked a new tube to take home to see if that fixed the problem.


My Dad also had one of those first big [1’ x 1’ x 6 “ ? ] portable radios [probably again GE] that used several those big about 6” x 2” cylindrical batteries to run it. Those tubes + the batteries were always in need of replacement.

But people were amazed at a picnic that a “portable radio” even existed. Back then, at a picnic, you just turned up the car radio while the engine was running so the battery did not run down.

=================================================================

Today, we charge all our “devices” – including laptops / netbooks / etc. - from the cigarette lighter outlet in our cars !

Back then the Dick Tracy watch type device was just a “ figment of our imagination “ – today – we all know so well what is so available – but for us old timers, we like things bigger not smaller !

==========================================================

BTW [by the way I understand in the more modern lingo !] was Starret [sp] from MA and they also made tools ? My Dad loved those tools – they were the best if you could get them and afford them.

Long ago out of business I understand – relative worked there - for obvious reasons – time moves on - sound familiar – Lenovo not IBM - who could imagine ? – locally – Bethlehem Steel / AT& T / Mack Trucks / etc. – gone – who could imagine ?

===============================================================

Thanks for the trip down ” memory lane “ – I will be thinking about it and related items for many days – rather than all that negative stuff we all have no control over !.

===============================================================

Today – transistors, chips, etc. – not even worth replacing especially if soldered in – at least some of the Kaypros had plug in chips so you could swap easily – but disadvantage of loosening of course. Transistors all soldered as far as I know.

So today, just buy a new device and not even try to replace the mainboard !

=============================================================

All the best to you and all on VC site for [Easter] holidays – however you may celebrate it !

Frank

P.S.

Not complaining, just “ explaining “ as the saying goes – also not taking sides – gets too complex too fast !

Just the facts – use them as you want.

As a scientist – facts are neutral

Technology uses the facts – not so neutral

Society determines what it wants from science and technology – may not be so good !

Thus = STS !


I am off “the soap box” now – who is next for their two [2] cents like mine – not worth much – but may be interesting ?
Click to expand...

Found this on the Starrett . . .

http://www.tvhistory.tv/1950-Starrett-NYHerald.JPG
 
Chuck(G) said:
I still remember our first TV--a 10" 1948 Philco. Had a huge power transformer in it. Replaced by a 1953 RCA 21 (ISTR) incher. We had that until about 1964, when we got our first color TV--a Zenith.

Technology may have advanced, but content has just gotten worse and worse. There are days where I never even bother to turn the stupid thing on because I can't find anything I want to watch.

Whatever happened to the TV variety show? Talk shows are incredibly dumb--I still remember Jack Paar interviewing Fidel Castro...
Click to expand...

When I was a kid I inherited my grandmother's 10" Halicrafter. I had it in my bedroom and no other kid on the block had one. It was a real beauty with an all-wood cabinet. All of the control knobs were on the front panel. The channel selector was an array of push buttons from 2 to 13. It came with a 'bubble magnifier' which you could pull out from under chassis and make it look like it was a 15 incher or so. I had that thing until I went into the service in 1957. 'Ed Sullivan', 'Jackie Gleason', and 'I love Lucy' were the big 3 in our home (I seem to remember that my mother was the program director back in those days).
 
Heh. For a time, I had a TV that my uncle gave me--a Stromberg-Carlson with a two-segment tuner--one side tuned continuously from channel 1 to 6 and the other, from 7 to 13. You could pick up 6 meter ham transmissions on the bottom, sort of the way you could pick up analog cell phone conversations with the UHF continuous tuners that would tune through channel 83.

Those old turret tuners with the 21MHz IF were useful for tuning the VHF ham bands--just pop out a few "tiles" and modify them for 6 or 2 meters.

As far as programs, well, yes, Jack Paar, The Bell Telephone Hour, Ernie Kovacs, (My mom liked Loretta Young--I couldn't stand her), Amos 'n' Andy, The Honyemooners, Science Fiction Theatre, Alfred Hitchcock, and of course, The Twilight Zone are shows that come immedately to mind.
 
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