*OT* Dragnet Episode

The viewing quality... priceless.

I'm old enough to remember when a GP charged /five dollars/ for a house call. Five dollars was a lot of money then (ca 1955).

I'm listening, and unfortunately (???), Stan Freberg permanently ruined "Dragnet".

Just wondering whether that new brand of rosin-core solder ever took off...

Was there really a Kaye-Halbert TV? I assume that's one of the names changed to protect the innocent.

I wonder if all those green dots the guy applied improved the picture and/or sound quality...

Yes, there was. Don't you ever do any research?

PlainBill

I'd place the show as somewhat earlier - probably 1952 or 53. $100 would be a good month's pay at that time.

PlainBill

Not really off topic. What one charges for repair service is relevent.

Using an inflation calculator at:

I find that $5 in 1952 is worth $41 in 2009. Not even close to what I would charge for this type of service call today.

The best I can do for a field service call, to replace a single component, is about $125 today. However, much of this added overhead isn't from inflation. It's from increased tax burden, increased overhead, insurance requirements, anticipated warranty funding, inventory depreciation charges, and supporting my decadent and lavish lifestyle.

Even the 5U4 has lost much of its value. Only $5.75 today:

As I vaguely recall, my first minimum wage job in the early 1960's was for about $1/hr.

At the time federal minimum wage was about the same. Today, I charge $75/hr for shop labor. As I vaguely recall, shop labor in the late

I do. I did a browser search, and nothing at all showed up.

As Stan Freberg would say... a second dress for your wife.

Perhaps you should try Google instead of searching your browser?

Who are you, anyway? You don't have the guts to use your own name.

Deals with repair service scams.

As 'bait, the used a Kaye-Halbert 16'' TV and shorted out 5u4g tube. Estimated house visit and replacement of a 5u4g tube: $4.50.

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Here's a Sam's for one on ebay:

And a video from someone that owns one.

What other obscure brands of television am I ignorant of (he asked, with more than a touch of sarcasm)?

I should have realized the name was legit, when one of the characters started bragging about his Leica IIIf, the penultimate of the Leica screw-thread cameras.

I'm assuming you're talking to me, but you didn't quote me. They're my real initials. But since when was using one's name a requirement for posting to Usenet?

In any case, lighten up - I was only teasing you a bit.

The ultimate being a Canon 7s with f0.95 lens?

Geoff.

No, the Leica IIIg. Not that I wouldn't mind having one.

I don't at all mind being teased, but your remarks seemed rather blunt. I have been -- and sometimes still am -- guilty of such things, myself.

I had a Leica IIIc, with almost all the accessories, lenses, and enlarger many years ago. Nobody builds cameras like that any more. I did some side by side comparisons with a common SLR of the time (Asahi Pentax Spotmatic). The picture quality difference was really obvious. I replaced the focal plane shutter, mirrors, and rebuilt the self-timer several times. Unfortunately, I sold everything in the late 1980's for peanuts. Sniff...

$500,000 for a Leica MP2. $200,000 ea for some others.

I don't know. Why don't you list the ones you DO remember, then go here

PlainBill

Thanks for the ref. At least 20% of the names were unfamiliar.

The most-interesting was "Natalie Kalmus", the woman whose name appears as "Technicolor consultant" on pre-1950 films. She was the once-wife of Herbert Kalmus, the principal developer of Technicolor.