Philco BT1840 TV - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

plaka78 · 14th Jul 2012, 6:31 pm

I spotted this Philco BT1840 TV at the Antique market in Salisbury. It is priced at £150 and appears to be in good condition.

Heatercathodeshort · 15th Jul 2012, 9:06 pm

Very interesting. By the look of that double 'D' mask it is a 16" model with a metal cone tube of the MW41-1 or English Electric T901 style, around 1951. A bit expensive at £150 especially as the tube is very likely to be U/S. A rare receiver all ther same. J.

Duke_Nukem · 15th Jul 2012, 9:59 pm

Its a late '49 model and should be equipped with a 12 inch tube (possibly Mazda), though that screen does look a little flat.

Glad I wasn't at that antique market as with just a little haggling it'd now be sat in my car whilst I worked out where the hell to put it !

TTFN,
Jon

Feedback · 12th Nov 2014, 4:47 pm

Apologies for re-opening an old thread but this was the first TV in my home when I was a kid.

My father bought it in 1953 for the Coronation. Our TV supplier, Edwards Radio, Oxford Road Reading UK, installed an H aerial and delivered no less than 3 different console models. They asked us to use them for 2 weeks and decide which we liked best. What wonderful service in those days. Dad chose the Philco BT 1840, which also had a good radio and a shortwave band or bands. I recall this was the most expensive of the three sets at 112 guineas, a small fortune in those days, when most men earned about £10 a week.

The circuit did not seem to incorporate any way to discharge the tube on switch off, so the picture turned into an ever decreasing circle which became a spot of increasing intensity and took several minutes to fade. Sadly this soon caused a round brownish burn mark to appear in the centre of the tube but we watched it like this until ITV was introduced in our area, when we changed to a "modern" 17 inch set.

Both of these sets required the head of the family to sit there with a book of complex instructions and jump up every few minutes to adjust the vertical, horizontal and line holds etc, as the picture always had a mind of it's own.

14th Jul 2012, 6:31 pm	#1
plaka78 Pentode Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK. Posts: 174	Philco BT1840 TV I spotted this Philco BT1840 TV at the Antique market in Salisbury. It is priced at £150 and appears to be in good condition. Attached Thumbnails

15th Jul 2012, 9:06 pm	#2
Heatercathodeshort Dekatron Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Warnham, West Sussex. 10 miles south of DORKING. Posts: 9,147	Re: Philco BT1840 TV Very interesting. By the look of that double 'D' mask it is a 16" model with a metal cone tube of the MW41-1 or English Electric T901 style, around 1951. A bit expensive at £150 especially as the tube is very likely to be U/S. A rare receiver all ther same. J.

15th Jul 2012, 9:59 pm	#3
Duke_Nukem Octode Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Birmingham, West Midlands, UK. Posts: 1,268	Re: Philco BT1840 TV Its a late '49 model and should be equipped with a 12 inch tube (possibly Mazda), though that screen does look a little flat. Glad I wasn't at that antique market as with just a little haggling it'd now be sat in my car whilst I worked out where the hell to put it ! TTFN, Jon

12th Nov 2014, 4:47 pm	#4
Feedback Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Peel, Isle of Man Posts: 6	Re: Philco BT1840 TV Apologies for re-opening an old thread but this was the first TV in my home when I was a kid. My father bought it in 1953 for the Coronation. Our TV supplier, Edwards Radio, Oxford Road Reading UK, installed an H aerial and delivered no less than 3 different console models. They asked us to use them for 2 weeks and decide which we liked best. What wonderful service in those days. Dad chose the Philco BT 1840, which also had a good radio and a shortwave band or bands. I recall this was the most expensive of the three sets at 112 guineas, a small fortune in those days, when most men earned about £10 a week. The circuit did not seem to incorporate any way to discharge the tube on switch off, so the picture turned into an ever decreasing circle which became a spot of increasing intensity and took several minutes to fade. Sadly this soon caused a round brownish burn mark to appear in the centre of the tube but we watched it like this until ITV was introduced in our area, when we changed to a "modern" 17 inch set. Both of these sets required the head of the family to sit there with a book of complex instructions and jump up every few minutes to adjust the vertical, horizontal and line holds etc, as the picture always had a mind of it's own. Last edited by Feedback; 12th Nov 2014 at 4:48 pm. Reason: expansion