I was out riding around with a friend and we decided to hit the SA. I quickly saw this Zenith console TV with no price. The manager said it worked and I could have it for $25. Well, I turned it on and got sound, HV, but no raster. I called the manager over and pointed out that the set didn't work and could we negotiate on the price. He turned every knob on the front without any luck. He asked what I'd give; and, I said $10. Unfortunately, we were in my friends' car; so, I paid for it and my Mother and I went to pick it up in our SUV this afternoon. Of course, I had to hear all the flack about "that stupid old TV" and "you don't have any room for it" and "you need not think it's coming in the house".

It is a model G4548P and uses the 25GC45 chassis. It still has all the stickers including a "4 lead capacitor modified" sticker and a McAllister and Son TV sticker from '85. McAllister's was yet another TV repair shop victim that closed due to the current TV repair situation that everyone here is aware of.

The cabinet is in good shape; but, sloppy repair work is evident. The only cabinet back screw that remains is the one by the AC interlock. There is a power resistor in the horizontal circuit, located on the flat part of the chassis that someone just attached a clip lead across! I've seen that resistor open; but, I always used ANOTHER RESISTOR to replace it! There are pieces of RTV layng in the cabinet from where the tripler was replaced and there are several of those little blue things that help hold the modules in place laying in the cabinet.

I have not checked for date codes; but, I'm going to guess it was made in '76. Some of my friends and family may think this is a "stupid old TV" but I will continue to buy these as long as I can find them and the price is right.

Some of my friends and family may think this is a "stupid old TV" but I will continue to buy these as long as I can find them and the price is right.
Damn straight!:D Nice find, those are getting quite rare and are definitely worth saving. :thmbsp:

That looks like a nice set. With some loving care the sloppy work can be undone and the set will become a great daily watcher. People who don't share the collecting spirit will never see sense in acquiring just one more piece but don't let that discourage you. Just keep them out of sight and out of mind. Keep us posted on your progress.

Great find. Good luck with getting her going again.

For me its not even about the urge to collect things. I see sets on the curb or in thrifts like this and know they need saving, so I save em. The accumulation is a mere by-product (I swear :D)

Just as I figured it would be, loose connections and/or dirty controls. I fired it up a few minutes ago and kept flipping the chromatic switch and finally got a picture! I'm going to resolder and clean the module contacts and spray the controls and I hope that takes care of the problem. The picture wasn't great; but, should look fine after a gray scale, purity, and convergence adjustment.

I don't think the issue over here is the fact that I have this hobby. It's the fact that the basement and shop are full of TV's and other electronics. I really do need to straighten up my area because I couldn't use any of this stuff now even if I fixed it! The only radios in the house are the ones on shelves and the only TV's in the house are the ones being watched.

I will say that the SA is becoming pretty resourceful when it comes to finding old TV's. I've found 3 there in the last three months. The manager told me today that they get old TV's in all the time. He acted like he may want to have the newer sets that come in repaired for resell. Maybe we can work out some sort of agreement as far as me getting the really old sets that come in. At any rate, I'm going to have to keep a close watch on that store. I'm afraid the non-working old sets will get thrown out if they think no one is interested in them.

that is a great set! i have a spare working chassis for my 25 set.i will never get to use it as these seem to go on and on and on.actually,your 23v has the better picture.for some reason those 23vs are brighter and crisper in my opinion.i am happy for your find and another one saved.

Well, I've made progress with the Zenith. The intermittent video turned out to be casued by the video output module. At first, when the screen would go dark, I could flip the set-up switch and get a setup line and it was evident there was video there. When I turned the G2 controls down, there was still a line on the screen. I pulled the old video module and resoldered the resistor network. When I reinstalled the module, I still had no picture and there was no video evident when the service switch was switched to setup. I borrowed a module from another set and the picture came back and stayed back. The first picture is of analog channel 11 OTA. I still need to touch up the purity, convergence, and vertical size. Now, this brings us to the newest problem...

When I connected my Digitalstream DTV converter, I get a lot of interference in the picture, as can be seen. I tried the set on 3 and 4, adjusted the fine tuning, and tried different interconnect cables between the box and the TV. Nothing seems to help. I have the same converter connected to my 17" CCII and the picture is crystal clear. I have not tried the console with a VCR or cable yet. Any ideas as to what I can do about this interference?

I'm such a dumb butt! I checked the cable; but, I failed to check the matching transformer on the back of the set. That turned out to be the culprit!