Finally found a vintage TV, actually two! I Predicta you're going to like these

So I've been wanting to find a reasonably-priced vintage TV set for the house, preferably one that works.  I have this idea of setting it up to play old black and white TV shows (3 Stooges, Leave It To Beaver, stuff like that).  I look a lot.  Sometimes I'll find something I like on that auction site, but it's usually 2,700 miles from me and the seller won't ship!  I also check the local Craigslist, but you don't see too many vintage TVs on there.

On Memorial Day weekend I spotted a sweet looking Predicta on Craigslist, but it had two problems:  one, it was kinda highly priced at $249, and two, it was in Annapolis.  That was Memorial Day weekend.  NO WAY was I going to try driving toward the beach, I would die of old age trying to get there and back with all the beach traffic.

But seeing that ad prompted me to check ebay, and I spotted some TVs that were in Rockville, MD, just around the beltway and not real far from where I work.  I contacted the seller and he said he had a bunch of TVs and old radios he bought from an estate, and he said I could come look at them.  I noticed a number of portable TVs in his auctions, and also, a Predicta that had a starting bid of $19.99 with no reserve.

So I took a long lunch on Wednesday to check out the stuff.  I had enough cash in my pocket I figured to get something.  After looking things over I asked if he would end auctions early if we could agree on a price for something and he said yea, it would save him having to package and ship things.  So we cut a deal on these babies:

This one is small and light weight but has great lines and matches the colors of our 1962 Shasta camper - woo hoo!

This beauty is the perfect size and color to use with our 1962 Shasta Airflyte camper.

 I plan to take it apart and clean it then find someone who can go through it and make it work.

Don't you love the details that went into the channel selector?  Why can't design today be this good?

Even the antenna housing looks cool!

So that's the GE portable.

And this, dear friends, is one awesome Predicta!

I have to do some research on both of these before I even attempt to plug them in.  From what I know there are people who know a lot about the Predicta, and one or more who will even restore them.  In the meantime, I'm now looking for the right TV stand for the Predicta.  Being a fanatic for black wrought iron hairpin legs, I want one of those TV stands that has a swivel base - I think that would be perfect for this set.

So, how will these sets look after they're cleaned up? Don't touch that dial!  I'll be back with more on each of them once I make some progress.