1974 Philco Ford Model B370 Space Age TV in Tangerine

Fourth of my five new Space Age TV's, in Museum-like Condition

 

In a Nutshell
A fine Space Age TV made by the short-lived (1966-74) Philco-Ford Company in 1974

Introduction:
On Oct. 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched world's first satellite, Sputnik 1 into an orbit around planet earth, and 4 weeks later Sputnik 2 with dog Laika on board. This surprise success started the space race and what we today call the space age, succeeding but still being part of the atomic age, and precipitating the cold war between USSR and USA. First US launches (Vanguard) were disastrous, but the foundation of NASA in 1958 made missions like Pioneer 4, Mercury, Gemini, and finally Apollo great successes. The Apollo program was launched to do space exploration around (but not on) the Moon. Speaking to Congress and the Nation, President John F. Kennedy on May 25, 1961 radically altered the direction of the program by saying: "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important in the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish". The projected price tag was an incredible $25 billion dollars. On July 16-24, 1969 Apollo 11 (Columbia and Eagle) on a Saturn V with the astronauts Neil A. Armstrong (commander), Michael Collins (CM pilot), Edwin E. (Buzz) Aldrin Jr. (LM pilot) accomplished the first manned lunar landing and lunar surface exploration (EVA), watched by over 500 million people around the world. From then on, amplified by the Challenger and Columbia space shuttle accidents in 1986 and 2003 and the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 public perception of space exploration got dominated by its dangers (Apollo 13, the Film 1995, "Houston, we have a problem") and costs (conspiracy advocates are still convinced that the moon landing was faked by using left-over scenes from Stanley Kubrick's 1968 movie "2001: A Space Odyssey"); space exploration shifted to unmanned missions and to the private sector, respectively. Scientific and military progress had triggered Googie and atomic age designs in architecture and industry and space age designs for basic commodities, fashion, music and arts. A prominent example is the 1957 flatware made by Arne Jacobsen (pict.22 of my Video Capsule writeup), used in the Space Odyssey and still sold after 57 years for $20 a piece on eBay.
In 1960 Philco after the Predicta debacle applied for bankruptcy protection and, on Dec.11, 1961 was bought by Ford, their relations dating back to the 1930's when Philco was the leading radio producer and Ford the leading car manufacturer (ref.2), joining Philco's expertise in car rados with Ford's knowledge of mass production. During the only 8 years existence of this odd couple (1966-74) Philco made some very fine radio and TV sets. The 1974 Philco bullet shaped model B370 is the fourth of five space age TV's for sale. It came in several colors, the most common being "polo white" (extension WH in model name) and the most attractive being this "tangerine" color (extension TG). The smoked acrylic front cover hides the contours of the CRT tube and contributes to the cabalistic streamlined appearance of this space age TV. As the Predicta was the last for Philco as an independent company, also this TV was a last; for the Philco Ford company. Unique features are its 320º swiveling tulip stand and its practical top handle.

Additional information:
ref.1: http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/philco_b370ftq.html
ref.2: http://www.oldradio.com/archives/hardware/philco.htm


About my Philco TV:

The TV is in mint visual and working condition. There are no scratches on the cabinet or on the acrylic front cover, that often is missing alltogether. The 30" antenna is original, complete, straight and corrosionless. The chassis was cleaned and all moveable parts were treated with contact spray (pict.19). The set was tested with a VCR connected directly to the antenna with a piece of wire. The better way would be the use of a 75/300 ohm TV antenna transformer adapter, readily available in many thrift stores and on eBay. Watch a short video (click on pict.22) with the TV playing a section of "Casablanca". During the video volume, contrast and brightness tests are performed. The picture has good brightness and contrast and the sound is perfect. The blackened-out parts of the screen in some of the still photos are caused by missing synchronisation between camera and TV and are absent in live view. Please e-mail me (Kris) for any questions, ich spreche Deutsch, je parle Français.




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Here are the specifications:

Technical Description of Item
Manufacturer Philco Ford
Model Bullet (Space Age) B370ETG/C, chassis 4BI17/C
Type Black and White TV
Year 1974
Serial Number 044244
Cabinet Tangerine (red) perforated cabinet on 320° horizontally swiveling tulip stand
Chassis, CRT Solid state with transistors and IC's, 9" B&W screen
Tuning range Standard VHF turret & UHF dial tuner
Front controls On/off, UHF tuner, VHF tuner, brightness, volume
Back Controls Antenna connections, vert. lin, vert. hold, vert. height, contrast, horiz. hold
Front display UHF, VHF high, VHF low
Size (WxDxH) 13¾" x 11" x 10¾"
Weight 14 lbs = 6.4 kg
Comment As good as it gets Philco Bullet TV, serviced and working
                    

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