[Doghouse Riley]

I've just been directed to this old thread by a google search.

At the age of twenty in the early sixties, I managed a radio, TV and electrical appliance store in North London.

I remember the Ferguson 705 well, as we used to sell or rent them. They were supplied with a stand. They had a motorised turret tuner, for all of two channels, they also could come with a remote control on a long lead. Limited functions, on off, volume and channel change.
They weren't a bad set.

Same era as the notorious Ultra 1775, which usually developed a roll fault.
The cure was usually the replacement of a PCL82 valve. My engineer (of a similar age to me) when called out for that problem, would replace the valve and often make as if to go without checking it. If questioned by the renter, he'd grumble a bit, turn the set on and of course the problem was seen to be cured.

On one occasion having performed that "act," for a little old lady, he saw that the set also had a partial frame collapse, so there was a 2" gap at the top and bottom of the screen. "Why didn't you tell me about that as well?"

Apparently it had been like that for quite some time before it had started rolling and it hadn't bothered her, as she thought that was how programmes should now appear, sort of "wide screen, like the pictures."
So he fixed that too and stayed for a cup of tea and a piece of cake.

Happy days!