This tv has been on display at my local museum for as long as i can remember, and one of my friends posted a pic of it on facebook.. Ive always wandered what kind of tv that is and how old it is. Its one of the few things that peaked my interest in antique electronics. I imagine one of you can answer my questions, ive just never seen anything like it on here before, and ive seen alot of antique tvs on here..lol

That is a Motorola VT-71 with a magnifying lense, aftermarket(I think) stand, and some other stuff. Looks odd with all that non-origional junk slapped on...

wow, would of never guessed that.. are they still common tvs?

It is the most common post-war to pre-1950 set. They had the best production numbers of any model at the time. Many TV collectors have one (I have a blond one infact) and there are many restoration threads both here and on VK that can be found by a simple web search. Moto kept the cost down by engineering a chassis with a very low tube count for the time, but they did this with clever design tricks that made for good preformance rather than take the Muntz aproach of snipping parts untill it stopped working and then reconnecting the last cut. There were a TON of chassis revisions made in the several years that moto was turning them out, so one should track down the right schematic before working on one. There were mahogany and blond versions, and different models with that chassis but in portable letherette (model VT-73) or bakelite cabinets (VT-72 I think).

There are several parts that go bad on this set that one would not normally think to change (ie ballast, video detector diode,...).

If you want one they are avaliable quite often, and are fairly inexpensive compared to many sets of the same period (provided you purchase it from a sane seller).

If you are still curious about this set there is much more info out there if you search this site(using google) for the model number I gave you.

Tom C.

That looks like a nice example of that set, but the stand and rabbit-ears are not era-correct. They are mid-late '50's. It looks good as a display anyway. Those magnifyers were generic and made to fit every size screen.

Looks like a magnifier for a larger (10"?) screen.

You know how long it's been since I heard anyone say that? I don't either.

Well I'm sure I read it here in the last year or so since I joined......So maybe I do know..

Stuff like that tends to stick in my head when I read it.

Tom C.

I heard it long before Algore invented the internet. Back when you could still buy one.

Madman Muntz's 4-track car players weren't all that shabby. First, there's only so many ways you can screw that up. Second, I highly suspect he had them built and badged by a legitimate supplier.

just seen one on ebay, and they wanted 499.00 for it...

No way he'll get even close to that. It's $150-$250 set in excellent condition and working. As-is, you can get one for under $100 if you look around.

Mine came from the MARC Extravaganza donation auction. I asked someone what he thought it would go for, and he bought it for me at the price he thought it would go for (40$)!

Granted mine is missing the back, knobs and has a very lousy cabinet.

I believe this is the set you are referring to: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-1940s-M ... 0700608177?

It's interesting in some ways. It's blonde, very early (channel #1), has the original manuals, back and knobs and a bonus magnifier. On the other had, it seems the entire top has come loose!

I believe that is the bottom view, not a "topless" view

Nope, that's a top view all right. Looks like someone busted all the glue blocks off and popped the top loose.


This is what you'd see from the bottom (note this is a picture from a different set).

OMG! That set is a pile of junk! A parts sets worth under $50. Give the man a hearty handshake after the sale too!

What makes you say that ? Other than the top being loose, it's very complete and one of the rarer early sets. Heck a used untested 7JP4 just sold for $135.

Calling it "junk" maybe was a bit harsh. At $500 BIN I don't feel too bad about it though. At $50-$100 I would.
If the CRT tests good then there's your value, if you can ever get that melted mask- goop off it. (It hardens like concrete - I had to do it once myself). Getting it off the inside of the faceplate without damage is going to take skill too. The cabinet needs a full restoration and has serious veneer issues. Blonde finishes are not easy to restore properly without skill. It's also missing the bottom pan that goes under the chassis. The guts are not supposed to be open like that. Being it's not a rare set, I would pass on it and wait for a nicer example. You'll find a nice one in working condition for that price (likely less) if your patiant. Just my opinion.
Joe

Joe,

Believe it or not, that deteriorated rubber mask on the VT-71 will easily come off of both the plastic faceplate and the CRT with just plain warm water. I didn't believe it until I had to deal with it. But it comes off.

You reminded me that I did hear about that, of course after I battled doing it the hard way! The repro is available too, so that solves the mask issue with this set. It's entirely possible to make a decent set out of it, only at an initial half-a-grand investment, would it be worth it?