Watch TV from the 90s and earlier

To make the 80's TV more authentic, is there an option to change channels via a pair of vice-grips that are permanently attached to the stub where the missing/broken channel knob should be? Because that's how I experienced it.

The static effect is nice for creating a low-fi vibe, but some kind of CRT effect (like many arcade & console emulators have) would be even better.

My dad had a penchant for repairing things using plastic handles off of disposable razors. This was back when razors had straight plastic handles, not the ergonomic, overmolded grips of today. We had one in place of the missing knob on our TV.

At University we had a tv that would give static shocks every time you tried to change the channel.

sounds like some maintenance guy didn't properly ground the ground plug in that outlet... (or it was one of the old two prong outlets and you used an adapter and just did what we all did and leave the ground wire hanging there instead of screwing it properly into the outlet cover screw like we were supposed to)

This is my favorite internet comment this year. Thanks.

I had several televisions where the reception was off a bit, but if you turned the dial a very small amount, like 1mm or so, it would look better. So we would wedge matchbooks or cardboard in the dial to hold it there. Happened across several different models.

Also ones where the flyback transformer was dying, which would collapse the picture. But banging the TV would bring it back to life for 10-30 minutes. So we had a pile of shoes near the couch to throw at the TV as needed.

Most analog TVs I've used had a fine tuning dial surrounding the channel knob and sometimes you had to use that.

I don't know about "most", depends on the timeframe. Many had them, many did not.

Wouldn’t surprise me if I did something stupid like that.

Yes, and it really needs to emulate the constant need to realign the "rabbit ears" antenna you made from a wire coathanger that is jammed into the back too.

That's so you can tune into the Cellular AMPS networks on channels 69 through 83.

That reminds me of the episode of Married with Children where Al calls for the family to get in “fox viewing positions” and everyone takes an antenna somewhere in the room. This was literally me as we lived somewhat rural and i could pick up signals from other towns if i put tin foil on the rabbit ears and touched the lamp when watching. I felt like I was cheating the system somehow.