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Posted: 12/4/2015 9:14:58 AM EDT
[#1]
Sometimes I wish I could browse arfcom on one of those TVs, its harder to slap a flat screen monitor
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Posted: 12/4/2015 9:51:39 AM EDT
[#2]
We banged our set so much the whole side was warped in.
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Posted: 12/4/2015 9:56:53 AM EDT
[#3]
Quote HistoryThat's all fine and dandy unless you only had a black and white TV 
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Posted: 12/4/2015 1:47:33 PM EDT
[#4]
The technical term for this is "percussive maintenance".
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Posted: 12/4/2015 1:59:01 PM EDT
[#5]
It had a brightness knob too.....but no matter how much I turned it up....TV was still stupid.
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Posted: 12/4/2015 2:03:31 PM EDT
[#6]
No, we didn't do that, but, I remember picking up up a new "picture tube" from Sears and then watching my father install it.
He would also send me down to the grocery store by the age of eight with vacuum tubes to test and replace. |
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Posted: 12/4/2015 2:18:42 PM EDT
[#7]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I remember the wonderful smell of hot dust as the tubes heated up and the warm orange glow the TV threw up on the wall behind it at night 
I also remember heading down to Radio Shack with Dad to use the tube testing machines when something wasn't working quite right. Our local drugstore had a real cool looking tube tester. I always liked looking at that. Oh, Dukes of Hazzard is almost on- better get downstairs early to warm up the TV! I hear there are some new stations coming up on something called "UHF". I don't know why people would need more than 3 channels- the TV Guide is full of things to watch! |
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Posted: 12/4/2015 2:42:42 PM EDT
[#8]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Reseated loose tubes or something. See, older tvs had the precursor to the internet contained within them. They were a series of tubes. Related: Anybody else remember the what the correct combination of button presses and using the tuning knob on early cable boxes would get you? Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
I dont know why the banging worked? Reseated loose tubes or something. See, older tvs had the precursor to the internet contained within them. They were a series of tubes. Related: Anybody else remember the what the correct combination of button presses and using the tuning knob on early cable boxes would get you? Rotary tv tuners also were a series of contacts that would become dirty. Slapping the set or simply fucking with the tuner dial could improve the connections. (Worked on TVs back in the day. I even fixed a B/W round tube for an old lady) (My Grandpa had the first color TV in town.) |
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Posted: 12/4/2015 2:54:02 PM EDT
[#9]
Back in the 50's and 60's we only got 1 channel and ya i remember slapping Da tube.
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Posted: 12/4/2015 2:57:40 PM EDT
[#10]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Learning the necessary "Kentucky Windage" of your tv and house, so that when you got the station adjusted at the tv, it was perfect when you sat in your seat. Holy crap, I forgot all about that! Great description. |
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Posted: 12/4/2015 2:58:56 PM EDT
[#11]
Hey junior, go stand over there.....
2 feet closer to the set, a little to the left..... Stay. |
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Posted: 12/4/2015 3:00:02 PM EDT
[#12]
What sucked was getting up to screw with the set, having it clear up right when you got to it, then act up again when you walked away to sit back down......
I also loved the static electricity you could pick up from the degausser by touching the screen. The dog learned to stay clear of me when I was near the TV....... |
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Posted: 12/4/2015 3:00:40 PM EDT
[#13]
I remember squinting between the horizontal blocking lines on the Spice channel to try and see boobs.
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Posted: 12/4/2015 3:01:04 PM EDT
[#14]
Remember, I remember slapping the black & white TV.
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Posted: 12/4/2015 3:02:11 PM EDT
[#15]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Hey junior, go stand over there..... 2 feet closer to the set, a little to the left..... Stay. Many won't get it, I remember this well. |
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Posted: 12/4/2015 3:03:38 PM EDT
[#16]
Dad taught me the proper smack technique, no son you have to hit it here! 3 stations, black & white, color was for the rich kids. Tube testing at the drugstore, Wild Wild West and Ed Sullivan on the weekends.
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Posted: 12/4/2015 3:06:54 PM EDT
[#17]
1980s, Dad kept an old, heeled, dress shoe next to the rotary dial TV for just that purpose, the case had a crack running up the side. I developed an interest in electronics later in my teen years in the quest to fix the stuff in a less violent manner.
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Posted: 12/4/2015 3:09:33 PM EDT
[#18]
Laying on back below TV so you could change channels with feet on knobs.
 Holy shit how things have changed in the last 15 years.
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Posted: 12/4/2015 3:12:52 PM EDT
[#19]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
How about having to go outside and turn the antenna??? Am I the only one who grew up with a motorized antenna rotator?
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Posted: 12/4/2015 3:28:23 PM EDT
[#20]
Quoted:
Back in the day you had to slap on the side or top of it to make it quit rolling or make the static stop. (Our vertical roll knob didnt work worth a shit )I still do that... I kick the PC too. and it works |
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Posted: 12/4/2015 3:33:48 PM EDT
[#21]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I remember the wonderful smell of hot dust as the tubes heated up and the warm orange glow the TV threw up on the wall behind it at night
I also remember heading down to Radio Shack with Dad to use the tube testing machines when something wasn't working quite right. Yep. Thanks for the blast from the past. The pre-solid state TV's and radios....recall peeping through the vented backs and soaking in the radiation.
That reminds me...had to have been about '68...old BW Philco console TV was acting stupid, so the old man gets the TV repairman to do a house call. He does his fix and as Pop is paying him the repairman says "Tell you what, your set there is pretty old. There is a new TV on the market. It is the best thing since sliced bread and if you want to upgrade, buy it. It is called a Sony. It is spelled...S...O...N...Y. It is made in Jay-pan and believe it or not, they have zero problems with them. It ain't like the rest of the cheap junk you see coming from the Japs."
Damn, I'm getting old. |
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Posted: 12/4/2015 3:38:21 PM EDT
[#22]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Am I the only one who grew up with a motorized antenna rotator?
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
How about having to go outside and turn the antenna??? Am I the only one who grew up with a motorized antenna rotator?
You must have been "rich folks". Probably had the first color set in the hood, too.
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Posted: 12/4/2015 3:39:54 PM EDT
[#23]
I remember Mom and Dad driving most of the day so we could arrived at my Grandmother's house in time to watch the Wonderful World of Disney in COLOR!
We get there and lightening had struck the antennae earlier so we just sat and looked at colored snow. 
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Posted: 12/4/2015 3:48:02 PM EDT
[#24]
I wish I could apply that logic to some people I know. .....
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Posted: 12/4/2015 3:49:28 PM EDT
[#25]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I remember Mom and Dad driving most of the day so we could arrived at my Grandmother's house in time to watch the Wonderful World of Disney in COLOR! We get there and lightening had struck the antennae earlier so we just sat and looked at colored snow. This would usually cause a blown balun coil on the TV. I replaced a few of those.... |
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Posted: 12/4/2015 3:51:06 PM EDT
[#26]
My dad got a piece of triangular tower for free. He sacrificed a swivel bar stool for the bearing and welded a pipe to attach the antenna. My brother and I used to have to climb out his bedroom window to adjust the antenna.
My dad grew up on a farm, worked construction and in a steel mill after that. When he would smack the TV, I thought he would break the damn thing. After working on electronic in the Navy, I'm surprised the CRT didn't give way. |
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Posted: 12/4/2015 3:53:30 PM EDT
[#27]
My pop brought a cheap BW set home from a bar ne night.
He set it up in our dining room. My mom would watch her soap operas and game dhows while cooking, ironing, etc during the day. Every now and then the picture would go out. She'd tap the back of the picture tube with a wooden spoon to get it to work again. |
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Posted: 12/4/2015 3:56:34 PM EDT
[#28]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
An antenna is an antenna. There is no "digital antenna". Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Is it possible to hook up a regular antenna to these new tvs. What would the reception be like? Need a digital antenna (rabbit ears) and they aren't expensive. The reception is very good. An antenna is an antenna. There is no "digital antenna". The new digital broadcast band is not the same freq as the old analog bands. Thus you need a different antenna for reception. |
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Posted: 12/4/2015 4:10:49 PM EDT
[#29]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Putting foil on em. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Oh yeah. And messing with the damn rabbit ears. Putting foil on em. this |
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Posted: 12/4/2015 4:31:23 PM EDT
[#30]
Who remembers back when you wanted to watch TV, you had to ride into town and stand outside Woolworth? They had a TV in the window facing outside.
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Posted: 12/4/2015 4:33:15 PM EDT
[#31]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I still beat the shit out of electronics to get them to work. My girlfriends yells at me a lot for that. Ummmmmm...... I'm getting this vision of which 'electronics' you might be speaking of. Not sure whether to start drinking heavily... |
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Posted: 12/4/2015 6:06:18 PM EDT
[#32]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
That's all fine and dandy unless you only had a black and white TV
Quote HistoryQuoted:
That's all fine and dandy unless you only had a black and white TV
I remember the day that I discovered that Gunsmoke was in color. |
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Posted: 12/4/2015 6:08:46 PM EDT
[#33]
I had a 35" RCA that had some sort of loose connection. Picture would go away and a hard smack would make it come back, until one day there was a puff of smoke.
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Posted: 12/4/2015 6:22:58 PM EDT
[#34]
Teach those tubes who's boss!
I guess my question would be, who remembers fixing the TV? The backs used to come off and there was stuff in there you could adjust and replace. Who remembers the ultrasonic remote controls? ETA: 
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Posted: 12/4/2015 6:51:23 PM EDT
[#35]
"Tuning" the rabbit ears, and using tin foil to boost the signal! Yeah, I remember all of that.
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Posted: 12/4/2015 7:00:41 PM EDT
[#36]
Yes I still slap electronics around in order to get them to work. It's a 50/50 shot, they'll either work better or worse.
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Posted: 12/4/2015 7:01:02 PM EDT
[#37]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I haven't seen a big ass console TV in 20 years. Remember them? My grandparents are still using a 27 inch console they bought probably early 90s. I remember thinking how big and cool it was since we were upgrading from a 21 inch. Now i feel like im squinting to see the damn tiny shitty picture from across the room.lol. |
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Posted: 12/4/2015 7:06:51 PM EDT
[#38]
When I was a kid I rigged up a system wth a bag of rice, rope, and two pullies. Place the bag on to of the tv then tie the rope to the bag and run it through the pullies back to the captains chair. This way no one ( me since I was the gopher) had to get up and hit it.
Of course it didn't work all of the time, but it did the trick most of the time. |
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Posted: 12/4/2015 7:10:18 PM EDT
[#39]
Yep, 'The Gold Old Days'.
I was born in 1960, my Dad was kind but firm. Saturday nights, we were allowed to stay up all night if we could! Watched channel 11, WIIC, Pittsburgh, PA, 'Chiller Theatre.' With Bill Cardille. Then, they would sign off, so, WE had to move the antenna for another station. Oldest brother on a gable roof with channel locks moving antenna, me outside bathroom door, other brother at bottom of stairs, relaying my Dads commands, 'Okay, right there, no, back the other way......' Best time of my life, and drinking orange soda or rootbeer with ice cream -floats- cheese pepperoni. *ETA* Yep, our od B&W TV would lose sound, had to smack it just right. 1966 went to my Aunts on a Saturday AM, she just got a color TV! With the wired remote, clunk, clunk, clunk. I thought, 'What next, maybe a man on the moon?' |
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Posted: 12/4/2015 7:11:56 PM EDT
[#40]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Am I the only one who grew up with a motorized antenna rotator?
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
How about having to go outside and turn the antenna??? Am I the only one who grew up with a motorized antenna rotator?
My dad built our TV from a HeathKit - it had a motorized tuner. You still had to get up to change the channel but you could hold the button and the dial would rotate on its own and scroll through the channels. We thought it was really futuristic. |
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Posted: 12/4/2015 7:15:39 PM EDT
[#41]
Don't forget going to Radio Shack with your "Battery Card"... |
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Posted: 12/4/2015 8:10:00 PM EDT
[#42]
I have to slap the wife to get her to work right!
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Posted: 12/5/2015 7:16:56 AM EDT
[#43]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Am I the only one who grew up with a motorized antenna rotator?
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
How about having to go outside and turn the antenna??? Am I the only one who grew up with a motorized antenna rotator?
Rich kid huh?
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Posted: 12/5/2015 7:29:47 AM EDT
[#44]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
The new digital broadcast band is not the same freq as the old analog bands. Thus you need a different antenna for reception. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Is it possible to hook up a regular antenna to these new tvs. What would the reception be like? Need a digital antenna (rabbit ears) and they aren't expensive. The reception is very good. An antenna is an antenna. There is no "digital antenna". The new digital broadcast band is not the same freq as the old analog bands. Thus you need a different antenna for reception. Nope |
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Posted: 12/5/2015 7:46:15 AM EDT
[#45]
Our B&W TV had the light gathering eye located on the front. Placing your hand over the front of it made the screen go black. Pissed my sister off more than a few times.
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Posted: 12/5/2015 7:57:35 AM EDT
[#46]
Yep. Also CRT monitors.
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Posted: 12/5/2015 7:59:44 AM EDT
[#47]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Am I the only one who grew up with a motorized antenna rotator? Quote HistoryQuoted: Quoted: How about having to go outside and turn the antenna??? Am I the only one who grew up with a motorized antenna rotator? Got cable for a few years, went to go back to the rotor, and it had rusted in position. Dad went up, aimed it toward Cleveland, and said 7 channels are good enough. No more random Canadian stations when atmospheric conditions were right. |
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Posted: 12/5/2015 8:07:51 AM EDT
[#48]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Yeah. When your "big screen" 27" TV has to weigh 200+ lbs. We had the original piano key type VCR . I remember trying to replace the belts. That was a nightmare. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
I haven't seen a big ass console TV in 20 years. Remember them? Yeah. When your "big screen" 27" TV has to weigh 200+ lbs. We had the original piano key type VCR . I remember trying to replace the belts. That was a nightmare. Hell, I still have an original Betamax! |
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