# Vintage Christmas catalogs



## Capt Worley PE (Feb 3, 2014)

Take a trip down memory lane and check out the toys of yesteryear,

http://192.185.93.157/~wishbook/


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## csb (Feb 3, 2014)

Hey, a set of those Super Bowl pins from the 1986 catalog (in the first couple of pages) showed up on Pawn Stars!


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## Dleg (Feb 3, 2014)

Awesome! I found one of my favorite toys ever, in the 1975 Sears catalog: the girder and panel skyscraper set. This thing was awesome - I always wondered why it disappeared. I could buy it today, if it was available:


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## Dleg (Feb 3, 2014)

LOL: Evil Knievel Snake River Canyon jump set!


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## Master slacker (Feb 3, 2014)

P... I... M... P...


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## Master slacker (Feb 3, 2014)

HFS! I remember this page like it was yesterday!


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## Master slacker (Feb 3, 2014)

And the Micro Machines! :i_cry:


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## Dleg (Feb 4, 2014)

Aaaaay, Fonzie! LOL - 1977. Look at the Welcome Back Kotter action figures. I don't remember those!


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## Sapper PE LS (Feb 4, 2014)

1985 Sears beginning on page titled "Transformers" and then continuing for approximately 20 pages or so, I knew every single freakin item in those pages at one point in my life.


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## Capt Worley PE (Feb 4, 2014)

Dleg said:


> Awesome! I found one of my favorite toys ever, in the 1975 Sears catalog: the girder and panel skyscraper set. This thing was awesome - I always wondered why it disappeared. I could buy it today, if it was available:




I loved mine. I still have what's left at my parents' house. It is slightly different. The girders/panels are blue, the road is black with yellow stripes, and mine has a drawbridge mechanism.

Heck! I didn't know they made them as far back as 1958!

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=sprint+sanyo+flip+phone&amp;_osacat=0&amp;_from=R40&amp;_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR2.TRC1.A0.Xgirder+panel+building+set&amp;_nkw=girder+panel+building+set&amp;_sacat=0

Go shopping, Dleg!


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## snickerd3 (Feb 4, 2014)

the tinkertoy set we ordered for minisnick has a skyscrapper part to it, fromt he picture it looks slightly grid like, but not quite what that old school one is.


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## Capt Worley PE (Feb 4, 2014)

TVs sure are a bargain in comparison...1978 ad


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## csb (Feb 4, 2014)

"Remote control lets you change channels up or down, adjust volume, turn set on or off from the comfort of your chair."

Up OR down! That's fancy!

(I do remember our remote that only featured these options.)


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## knight1fox3 (Feb 4, 2014)

Master slacker said:


> HFS! I remember this page like it was yesterday!


+100


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## Dleg (Feb 5, 2014)

Remote control?!

I swear, up until the age of about 14, I thought my name was "Change the Channel to..."


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## Flyer_PE (Feb 5, 2014)

Dleg said:


> Remote control?!
> 
> I swear, up until the age of about 14, I thought my name was "Change the Channel to..."


^I had two jobs until about that same age.

Job 1: TV Remote

Job 2: Automatic front hubs for the 4WD truck.


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## Road Guy (Feb 5, 2014)

Same story!


And I thought we were cool because our cable box came with a remote control (with a wire attached to the cable box).

True story!


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## Dleg (Feb 5, 2014)

^ I remember those, and I still think of the channel line-up in the 12-key format those things used to be in, with 1-12, flip a switch and get 13-24, and then the final tier 25-36. I still feel like I am in the future when I watch any channel higher than 36 today.


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## Sapper PE LS (Feb 5, 2014)

Yes, there were two dials on our tv, 1-12 and 13- some number that was only static. In fact, in the 13 and up range, there were only three channels that we got, channel 35, 44, and 65. 35 was Fox, 44 was something else that always played the best cartoons, and 65 was one of those weird ones that only kind of came in every once in a while and when it did it was like "whoa, what is this show, it's different and cool!!!". Even if it sucked.


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## Capt Worley PE (Feb 6, 2014)

Sapper said:


> Yes, there were two dials on our tv, 1-12 and 13- some number that was only static.




It was 82 or 83 at the upper range, IIRC.

On our TV 2-12 were in the center on a black knob, and 13-? were on a silver ring on the circumference of the black knob.

I got channel changing duties AND movie the antenna duties. The antenna was some modified remote ham unit. Dak-da-dak-stop...move it back-dak-good.


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## engineergurl (Feb 6, 2014)

I remember we had one of each of those (two dials vs. one dial) they were small little black and white tv's and then we had a giant console color tv in the basement that sat there for years after it stopped working (lime green screen). It was too heavy to move, so my parents just put the new tv on top of it.


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## Sapper PE LS (Feb 6, 2014)

So, one of the greatest days of my life growing up was the day my dad bought a TV antenna turner. It was a motor that mounted to the outside antenna pole and a wire trailed down to a little dial on the floor by my dad's chair. When you turned the dial, the motor would turn the antenna outside the house and you could position it so that you could pull in the most optimized channels. We went from 3 channels in the 13 and up range to like 7!


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## engineergurl (Feb 6, 2014)

we weren't allowed to watch much tv anyway, usually just the news was on in the morning while we got ready for school, and then we got to watch Saturday morning cartoons before my Dad would cart us off to whatever "lesson" we were taking at the Girls Club or where ever...


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## Sapper PE LS (Feb 6, 2014)

I watched so much tv in my formative years that I totally rebelled as an adult and have probably watched a grand total of 150 hours since I graduated high school. Well, maybe a few more, but seriously, I watch like four hours a month only during Walking Dead season and before that, the last time I watched TV was about 4 hours a month during Lost season.


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## Capt Worley PE (Feb 6, 2014)

I remember when Turner Broadcasting consisted of WTBS channel 17 in da ATL. Used to love going to my cousin's house because 17 showed old LIS reruns.


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## engineergurl (Feb 6, 2014)

the only reason we have cable is because of my husband. I would rather spend three or four dollars a week on a book to read than $150 on millions of channels with nothing on.


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## Capt Worley PE (Feb 6, 2014)

The sad thing about cable is that even the 'good' channels (NGC, DSC, History) have become overwhelmed with freality shows and manufactured drama. Dropping cable has become a monthly discussion.


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## Ble_PE (Feb 6, 2014)

We've been cable/satellite free for over a year now and we rarely miss it. We have Netflix streaming and I can pick up most of the local channels with an antenna, so we don't miss much. I definitely don't miss the $100 a month to basically watch The Disney Channel.


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## engineergurl (Feb 6, 2014)

^^ that works for people with reliable internet service or even reliable cell phone service where they live. Plus for what we pay for data between the two, I wouldn't want to stream much more than what we already do.


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## knight1fox3 (Feb 6, 2014)

Capt Worley PE said:


> The sad thing about cable is that even the 'good' channels (NGC, DSC, History) have become overwhelmed with freality shows and manufactured drama.


Yup. Cutting cable was the best decision.



Ble_PE said:


> We've been cable/satellite free for over a year now and we rarely miss it. We have Netflix streaming and I can pick up most of the local channels with an antenna, so we don't miss much. I definitely don't miss the $100 a month to basically watch The Disney Channel.


+100



engineergurl said:


> ^^ that works for people with reliable internet service or even reliable cell phone service where they live. Plus for what we pay for data between the two, I wouldn't want to stream much more than what we already do.


Do we really need to have this conversation again? 

With the right range extender/repeater equipment, we could get you high-speed Internet. :thumbs: Already set up something similar for the in-laws who live in central WI which is considered "the middle of nowhere".


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## Sapper PE LS (Feb 6, 2014)

If I could convince my wife that we don't need cable, I'd win a damn medal.


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## engineergurl (Feb 6, 2014)

knight1fox3 said:


> Do we really need to have this conversation again?
> 
> With the right range extender/repeater equipment...



And EG zoned out.... anyway

I already have one of these things http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&amp;l=en&amp;s=dhs&amp;cs=19&amp;sku=A5349160&amp;ST=pla&amp;dgc=ST&amp;cid=262077&amp;lid=4742363&amp;acd=1230980731501410


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## knight1fox3 (Feb 6, 2014)

^ that's just a Wi-Fi extender. I'm talking something with some real power that would get you a 4G connection that would rival a hard-wired cable/DSL connection.


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## engineergurl (Feb 6, 2014)

I just looked at the internet... are you talking those panels that cost $900?!?


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## Lumber Jim (Feb 6, 2014)

knight1fox3 said:


> ^ that's just a Wi-Fi extender. I'm talking something with some real power that would get you a 4G connection that would rival a hard-wired cable/DSL connection.




intrigued...


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## knight1fox3 (Feb 6, 2014)

engineergurl said:


> I just looked at the internet... are you talking those panels that cost $900?!?






Lumber Jim said:


> knight1fox3 said:
> 
> 
> > ^ that's just a Wi-Fi extender. I'm talking something with some real power that would get you a 4G connection that would rival a hard-wired cable/DSL connection.
> ...


There was no mention of any budgetary limitations. Only that there was a solution available.


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## engineergurl (Feb 6, 2014)

dude... I don't like spending money even if I have it, which usually I don't... lol


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## Dleg (Feb 6, 2014)

How did we get from the 1975 Sears Christmas Catalog to a $900 4G Internet thingy?


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## knight1fox3 (Feb 6, 2014)

^ it means we've done our work here. LOL


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## wilheldp_PE (Feb 6, 2014)

Dleg said:


> How did we get from the 1975 Sears Christmas Catalog to a $900 4G Internet thingy?






The real question is how did it take 30 posts for this thread to derail?


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## mudpuppy (Feb 6, 2014)

Sapper said:


> Yes, there were two dials on our tv, 1-12 and 13- some number that was only static. In fact, in the 13 and up range, there were only three channels that we got, channel 35, 44, and 65. 35 was Fox, 44 was something else that always played the best cartoons, and 65 was one of those weird ones that only kind of came in every once in a while and when it did it was like "whoa, what is this show, it's different and cool!!!". Even if it sucked.




What, you had Fox when you were a kid? It didn't exist when I was a kid. At least until I was 9. Ah the good ole days!


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## Road Guy (Feb 6, 2014)




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## Dleg (Feb 7, 2014)

Now we are officially derailed.


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