Just saw an interesting old b/w portable at the local markets. It was an Emerson ac/dc, about 12" in a red wooden (timber?) case. 110v with an American style plug.

Warren

I always wanted a portable like that

‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
"I'd rather have a CRT than nothing" - me
"people just throw working CRTs out, it is NOT FUNNY!" -me

It had quite a crowd around it and sold within minutes for $100!

That is awesome! It reminds me of an old Olivetti Valentine Typewriter. I'm concerned about the whole 'American power supply' and 'AC-DC' part though. I hope whoever bought it know what they are doing.

Chris

From what Marc says, it was probably transformerless. Maybe the wooden case was a safety feature. I did get another couple of photos through the crowd that I'll send to Brad.

I forgot to mention that it was only a 2 pin plug so there's no guarantee where the active would end up.

A very rare set to see in Australia. Being AC/DC it will be transformerless with a live chassis. Highly likely that it has not been converted to run on 240v so the new owner better be careful!

Guess what has shown up on EBay, with a $300 price tag?

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/VINTAGE-1950S-EMERSON-AC-DC-PORTABLE-TELEVISION-MODEL-1234-120-WATTS-/171059720455.

Pretty impressive, huh? The starting price on the other hand though, well, it's something for sure! I'll be interested to see if it sells, or if the seller lowers the price.

Chris

What are the chances of there being two of those sets in Lawson? And no, it wasn't me I always suspected a lot of people wandering around at our local markets were dealers. I wonder if I got him excited by taking photos of it. Good luck to him, I thought $100 was a bit steep. I might take some of my old radios up to the next market if they're going to pay that much!

I'd never be surprised as to what might be lurking in garages in the Blue Mountains. The whole region is a very old part of town and still inhabited by people who keep rather than throw away.

About three months ago I toured most of the antique shops between Blaxland and Katoomba. Most are Aladdin's caves with lots of things I'd love to own. You don't see many places like that in Sydney anymore.

Soon I will be going back - four or five shops up there I didn't get a chance to check out last time.

‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
A valve a day keeps the transistor away...

There's an antique shop here in Lawson in what was the original Lawson shops from the late 1800's . I haven't seen it open since I was a kid. It might only open by appointment, or not at all! I've often tried to peer in through the dirty windows but it's very dark inside.

Warren, sounds like you need a flashlight! I always carry a small 9v flashlight when I go to antique shops, as they are usually cramped and dark in the back (where the good stuff is usually tucked away on dusty shelves behind piles of other 'junk').

Chris

Scraps, is that the shop opposite a car park on the north side of the railway? If so, they are open to the public though the place is that dark it is hard to notice. There's not much in either of the shops there unfortunately, not for radio collectors anyway.

Before the government widened the Great Western Highway there used to be a milk bar there and about six doors, Sydney-bound, there was a TV repair shop with the AWA sign up above the awning. He used to have several radios for sale in there. The signs of progress buggered that up though.

‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
A valve a day keeps the transistor away...

That's the antique store. It was a grocery store til the early 60's. I don't know how it survived as the shopping centre had moved to the South side of the railway in the early 1920's. You must have been lucky to find it open!

Dad used to send me into the AWA repair shop to buy TV valves for his attempted repairs. He was too embarrassed to get then himself. I suspect local repair shops made a lot of money from customers like him. It was in business for over 50 years and had a huge garage sale of accumulated spares just before it closed a couple of years ago.

The retired owner was Mayor of the Blue Mountains for quite a few years. His technician for  as long as I can remember still lives in town as well.