Fish Dancer Loc: Guntersville, Alabama

And 12’ back to the couch and it was uphill both ways. 😂😂

Fish Dancer Loc: Guntersville, Alabama

Does anyone remember the blue, yellow and green screen you could put in front of a black and white tv? It would make the sky blue. The faces yellow. And the ground green. Pretty hokey.

FixorFish Loc: SW Oregon

We didn't have to manually move the rooftop antenna, it turned mechanically......we turned the ROTOR (brown plastic box with big gold button and compass directions) to northwest to get CBS in Topeka, southwest for NBC in Wichita(if the weather was clear) and on a really clear, cold night, wait for the clicker to turn to the north and slightly east to get ABC in Kansas City..... sometimes. About '64 Emporia got cable...."Catfish Cable", no less ! I was happy as a pig in mud....clear picture and sound....all of four stations and a bunch of locally produced shows.
Never missed "Harold Ensley, the Sportsman's friend" (🎶"gone fishin', instead of just a wishin' 🎶") on Saturday afternoon, then later in the evening, polish shoes with Dad, while watching "Rawhide" and "Have Gun, Will Travel".....loved Paladin, wanted to grow up to become him !
Another memory of those days in flatland country, was late at night, listening on the radio to WLS in Chicago, or KOMA in Oklahoma City, or my favorite....KAAY... Little Rock.
As a youth, it seemed like magic, huh ?

PS....I bought a color TV while a junior in college('73)....my parents bought their first "color set" a year later !

Frank romero Loc: Clovis, NM

I had remote before most everyone. Had 1of my kids change channel for me. Haha

wd4ity Loc: Middle Georgia, Forsyth

We used to call that an "Armstrong rotor".

Jer Loc: N. Illinois 🇺🇸

Yup. I was Dad’s remote control.😁

TigerRob Loc: Greenville, SC

Yes, we had tin foil at one time and a twisted wire coat hanger at another time. Then we upgraded to the outside antenna which was mounted on a 1" galvanized pipe and attached to our oil drum just outside the back door.

Barnacles Loc: Northern California

When we got our first TV, you had to pull down all the shades or close the curtains to watch it in the daytime. The picture tube wasn't all that bright and ambient light washed it out badly. I think we watched TV for about ten years before Bonanza came around.
Our neighbor had a set with a 5" round screen and a row of 12 push buttons. Then TV's got bigger and bigger and then in the early 60's, they started making portable sets and suddenly smaller got to be a good thing. I remember one Japanese brand that hit the market with a TV the size of a box of cigars, and it had about a 2" screen. It actually came with a large lens that you clipped on the front so that it would be watchable. Kind of like using a slide viewer.

BadFisherman Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas

A lot of memories brought out in this thread. Plum left out that I also watched many of the earliest TV classics, to include Sid Caeser's Show of Shows, The Texaco Star Theater with Milton Berle, Rin Tin Tin along with Lassie and Walt Disney Presents, plus I Love Lucy, Our Mrs. Brooks and The People's Choice, etc. I particularly enjoyed watching Ol' Yeller and Davy Crockett during the Walt Disney Hour, and can't leave out Howdy Doody.

Many of you seemed to touch on some of the many tricks of bringing in a decent picture on screen. Great memories

Jer Loc: N. Illinois 🇺🇸

Don’t forget Sky King and Roy Rogers.

BadFisherman Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas

Good point, Jer...but, I couldn't list 'em all.

TigerRob Loc: Greenville, SC

And Black Beauty (a horse) and Lone Ranger and Gunsmoke ---

GSMJr Loc: SoCal> Pflugerville (Austin), TX

We got our first TV in 1953 before most others in our town except the rich people. We could only afford a 21-inch TV because my mother was tight with the money and my dad “knew someone”.
The Ed Sullivan Show was a regular in our house.
I still have an original pong game.

Does anyone else remember the console radio with the green cat-eye tuning?

Big TC Loc: Raytown, MO.

I remember the TV dinners that still came out of the oven. They had foil on top of the tray
We didn't have a TV in the living room. Mom and dad had one in their room and the other was in the basement.

GSMJr Loc: SoCal> Pflugerville (Austin), TX

I watched Ricky Dink and You with that overlay on the screen on Saturday mornings.