Brand new to the hobby and on the lookout for a vintage Philips TV

Hi Jamie, welcome to the forum.

I think the vast majority of us used to find our TV's on e-bay, I would say more than half of mine were but rarely these days. Just a handful of my other TVs coming from people contacting me via this site. What used to be another good source was getting to know your local house clearance firm. However, the rise of sets appearing on e-bay mean they now just put them on there or want an over inflated price not to do so.

e-bay although good, often gives the ill informed, the wrong impression. Trouble is not all TV's are equal and unless you know this field folk just assume, "Ooo its old init! Its got a picture tube, (CRT) a wooden cabinet.. must be wurf" a bob or two".

I frequently see run of the mill late 80s sets up for ridiculous prices. The price is never adjusted to be more realistic so you see the same sets relisted week after week, month after month, some folk never take the hint. All because they likely saw a first gen colour TV like a Philips G6, Baird 700 series, Thorn 2000 etc fetch anywhere between £800 - £1200. These latter sets rightly command those prices but the former ones do not. That's not to say some nice examples don't turn up because they do.

There's a rather nice Tandberg TD2 on there at present. Quite rare and should fetch a good price or someone will get a bargain. There's also as I'm sure you've seen, a Philips G8, a Rediffusion MKIII and an early Rediffusion with an A823 chassis (early 70's) (no links as not permitted here). 

You might consider looking on your local Gumtree, also FaceBook Market Place. I've know collectors still find bargains on both of those, recently an HMV 2701 given away! 

Finally there is a chap in Oldham who has quite a number of Philips G8's, other sets and VCRs, stored in an old Mill. Apparently he is selling them as the place is going to be redeveloped. A couple of members on this forum went down there a couple of weeks ago and picked a few up. No idea where you are but that might be an option. No idea what they had to pay but don't expect to pay peanuts, however, I don't believe his prices are unreasonable.

It all depends on how realistic you are and what budget you have and how much you want to satisfy that nostalgia itch.

Hope that helps.

p.s.

In the mean time if you've not seen these in our brochure section, prepare to drool ? 

https://www.radios-tv.co.uk/philips-g8/

https://www.radios-tv.co.uk/philips/

https://www.radios-tv.co.uk/the-g11-project/

@jamiejamiebrown

found your way here then 😉 Welcome!

@jamiejamiebrown

Hi Jamie,

Of course, finding yourself a TV is only the start. Repairing it and then setting it up so that it displays a decent picture can be a very long journey indeed!

It won't just be a case of getting it home, plugging in your game console and away you go.

If you don't have experience of fault finding techniques, reading circuit diagrams and the general art of repairing colour TV's, It can be a struggle. Plus there are essential safety aspects that you must be aware of when working on TV's.

Colour TV especially, pushed the boundaries of electronics and they needed a lot of repairs back when they were new. Now at 50 odd years old it takes considerable effort to get a set working well.

There are people around who will repair vintage TV's, but due to the work involved, it can be expensive.

I'm not trying to put you off, but you need to be aware what you are letting yourself in for!

All the best

Nick

Just to add to what Nick said above, the most dangerous thing about old TV's is they breed.... And it doesn't require 2 of them to start it either!

I have a few Philips sets here, Not sure what chassis is in the little 14" portable I have, it'll be a K something!

Welcome aboard!

Lloyd.