I include myself in that statement as well. I have been looking for the final piece for my office and I found it at a second hand store a couple of weeks ago. It is a Panasonic 32″ LCD TV. The best part is that I paid $12.50 for it. I plan on using it for a second monitor as well as connecting techno junk to it. I have a VCR, Blu-ray player and an X-Box 360.

It is not something that I do a lot, but every so often I stop into second hand stores looking for techno junk. I had hoped that I would be farther along but I am looking for to build my younger son a hi-fi system. I want a receiver that has a phono input and a turntable first. The trick is, it has to be a reasonable price. I see them for $75-100 occasionally but that is too much in my mind when I can buy them on eBay for $50.

It seems like two or three years ago, I saw many to fit my criteria. But, it seems like the market caught onto the steal of a deal these $25 receivers were. Phono inputs disappeared from about 2000 to 2020. The point of those is that they are amplified inputs whereas plugging into one of the other choices are not. That means that you can put a DVD into a CD input and the only harm would be the label not matching. But, you cant plug a traditional record player into a CD input, it sounds bad.

The point of all of that is receivers became ubiquitous in the same time that phono inputs were phased out. Now, audio/visual systems are out of vogue to be replaced by sound bars. We did the same ourselves which is why I ended up with the system in my office. But, this also makes finding the right receiver significantly difficult to find.

I should be writing about TVs and not audio equipment. I have considered buying several different TVs. What made this one different was the price. The sticker said $25 and it was half off. It doesn’t hurt that it is a Panasonic.

We have three different brands in our house. We have two Samsungs that are LED TVs. We have a Magnavox that is an LCD TV and a Panasonic that is a Plasma TV. I say all of the time that I don’t watch much TV and I truly don’t. But, the one I watch the most is the smallest (32″ Magnavox). I turn on the news while I am cooking or a game while I am canning.

The TV that I like the most is the Plasma TV. It was our first flat screen. I appreciate the color of TV. I find it to be the brightest in all lighting conditions. It is big enough but it seems like it is not compensating for something else. I hate the washed out LED screens. I don’t like the bluish cast that they make either.

I have been a longtime fan of the brand Panasonic. It is sad that they lost out in the TV wars because I think that they made some of the best electronics around. Our last TV we replaced around Super Bowl I was about to throw a brick through it. It would turn off while watching, it would fail to turn on and the software was garbage. It was one of those Chinese brands not allowed in the government buildings out of spyware concerns.

One downside of buying used is often things are missing. In this case it is the remote control. That will likely cost more than the TV itself. But, the good news is that since I already have a Panasonic TV, VCR and DVD player plus a universal remote for my receiver, I will not rush out and buy one. I will look for one second hand and if I never find one, it wont be a big deal.

End Your Programming Routine: My techno junk pursuit is all about opportunity. I am only willing to buy it if it is cheap. Anybody can plunk down a chunk of change and setup a shiny system. I am all about keeping good old equipment running, even if it is out of vogue. It is doubly exciting when it is a bargain.