# How Many of YOU STILL Have a B&W TV set? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 23, 2003, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-still-have-a-b-w-tv-set/197145 "2003-08-23T13:44:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2003, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-still-have-a-b-w-tv-set/197145/1 "2003-08-23T13:44:43Z")
I still have one! Its a 1963 model, and it works just fine! Can I get a converter so I can watch HDTV with it? That would be something…high definition Black and White! ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2003, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-still-have-a-b-w-tv-set/197145/2 "2003-08-23T15:31:55Z")
I have a 5" B&W TV that I bought from [half.com](http://half.com) for $11.46. I use it in the kitchen and spare bedroom. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2003, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-still-have-a-b-w-tv-set/197145/3 "2003-08-23T16:48:30Z")
I have a clock/radio/TV (5" B&W) combo on my computer desk. ---
**Author:** ![Trigonal\_Planar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/0ea827/32.png) [@Trigonal\_Planar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trigonal_Planar)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2003, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-still-have-a-b-w-tv-set/197145/4 "2003-08-23T18:28:58Z")
We have an old B&W TV from that late 60s/early 70s. It uses one of those button pannels on a really long wire. ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2003, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-still-have-a-b-w-tv-set/197145/5 "2003-08-23T19:12:38Z")
I have a Philco B&W TV that’s so old, it doesn’t have a UHF tuner. I think it dates from about 1963, and just gets channels 2-13. It’s in the spare bedroom, and it picks up local channels 2, 5, 8, and 11 (ABC, Fox, PBS and NBC respectively). It works great, although occasionally you have to adjust the vertical hold. (remember that?) It’s a “portable,” in that it has a suitcase-type handle on the top of it. But it weighs about 45 lbs! ---
**Author:** ![j.c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@j.c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j.c)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2003, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-still-have-a-b-w-tv-set/197145/6 "2003-08-23T22:34:51Z")
Radio TV with a 4-inch screen. Amuse myself by using the converter to make it pick up cable channels. ---
**Author:** ![JimOfAllTrades](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@JimOfAllTrades](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimOfAllTrades)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-still-have-a-b-w-tv-set/197145/7 "2003-08-24T03:43:30Z")
I’ve got a 1949 Hoffman television. My parents bought it new, and it just never got thrown out. When I was a teenager in the early 1970s, I found it down in the basement, and since I didn’t have a TV in my bedroom, I opened it up, ran the tubes at Radio Shack, cleaned up the tuner a little, and got it working. I used it for everyday for about three years. About 15 years ago, I found it again in storage, and plugged it in. Still worked. I’ve kept it since then, but haven’t tried to use it. The case is in pretty bad shape, and all the original knobs were lost before I resurrected it 30 years ago, but I think it would still work. ---
**Author:** ![Krisfer\_the\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Krisfer\_the\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krisfer_the_Cat)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-still-have-a-b-w-tv-set/197145/8 "2003-08-24T04:42:59Z")
We have one that has the color thingies going out… everything on the screen is blue and green. Does that count? ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-still-have-a-b-w-tv-set/197145/9 "2003-08-24T05:38:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ralph124c \* > \*\*I still have one! Its a 1963 model, and it works just fine! \*\* Cool. Does it have a remote control? ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-still-have-a-b-w-tv-set/197145/10 "2003-08-24T06:37:01Z")
We have a black and white 19 inch tv that we used to have in the kitchen. ---
**Author:** ![williambaskerville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f14d63/32.png) [@williambaskerville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/williambaskerville)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-still-have-a-b-w-tv-set/197145/11 "2003-08-24T07:30:15Z")
I still technically have one…but only because I collect ancient computers and have a couple of models that only work with a b+w TV. ---
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-still-have-a-b-w-tv-set/197145/12 "2003-08-24T12:08:40Z")
I have a couple, but I use them on my (now classic) Roland S-series rack mount samplers. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-still-have-a-b-w-tv-set/197145/13 "2003-08-24T13:29:02Z")
I have a GE 12 inch (?)–I’m trying to remember when it was bought (late 1970’s?). The UHF tuner goes to 83 so theoretically I could get cellular on it. I have it here in the computer room. It works fine for what i use it for. Brian ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-still-have-a-b-w-tv-set/197145/14 "2003-08-24T20:18:24Z")
Heh. And I thought it was cool that our TV is older than we are…but only by about a year or so (my SO’s parents bought it after they married, and before he was born, in 1981). It doesn’t have a remote control, and only gets 13 channels with cable, 2 without (we don’t bother paying for cable because of this). Our VCR was bought at the same time. Both work perfectly, and with an RF adapter, we have added a DVD player and 2 Playstations to the set-up! When I was a kid, we had a black and white TV in my parent’s room - my grandmother used to watch it when she was staying with us for a few months before she died. I don’t know what became of it. I imagine my parents sold it when we moved to the next house, or before moving to Europe. ---
**Author:** ![TelcontarStorm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3ab097/32.png) [@TelcontarStorm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TelcontarStorm)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2003, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-still-have-a-b-w-tv-set/197145/15 "2003-08-24T23:29:56Z")
Oh yea. I love my B&W 10 incher. It’s in my bedroom. I’ve got the antenna that came with it, and a butterfly. (Paid a buck for that one) It gets more stations (3 States and a Providence) than the colour remote in the livingroom. I’ve steadfastly refused a new TV for my room because it works so damn well. ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2003, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-still-have-a-b-w-tv-set/197145/16 "2003-08-25T18:32:28Z")
I have the one my aunt (who passed away in 1995) used in her bedroom. I think it’s a General Electric brand (I’m not home or I’d check). It’s quite small and lightweight. When I tried it out it still worked. i wasn’t used to having to wait for the picture to warm up and to see the orange glow of vacuum tubes inside. My father has one out in his workshop. I think he got it in the early 1980’s. He uses it to watch football games or the news while he’s working on some project. ---
**Author:** ![Myron\_Van\_Horowitzski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Myron\_Van\_Horowitzski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myron_Van_Horowitzski)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2003, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-of-you-still-have-a-b-w-tv-set/197145/17 "2003-08-25T19:14:32Z")
I still have a bitty little Zenith that has a car adaptor. Once I actually watched a Packer game on it en route on I90.