I was searching CL the other day and came across an ad for two old black and white tvs. One was a Zenith Space Command 300 from on or around 1961, haven't been inside the back yet. It also has the sleep timer. I do see that the asbestos sheet has fallen down from the SC chassis. It is filled to the brim with dust, the lens is missing from the channel indicator, and about every tube looks to be changed from what I can see. Someone soldered a new 'lytic in underneath and left the old one in circuit. and there are some resistors soldered in series which also does not look very nice. It is full of "white time bombs" and I dropped the remote and broke it.:thumbsdn:Grrrr. At least it was already cracked and not mint. But, even though it has several failing tubes including the HOT, it works with a nice bright and sharp picture. A little shaky and undersize but nice considering. It also does not respond to the remote so there will be plenty to do with this one, but I think it is a keeper. It also came with the original manual and hang tag. :thmbsp:
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii90/zenithfan1/000_0181.jpg
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii90/zenithfan1/100_4066.jpg
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii90/zenithfan1/100_4073.jpg
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii90/zenithfan1/100_4075.jpg
http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii90/zenithfan1/100_4086.jpg

Nice set, I love that textured vinyl covering!

Nice set with space command and a good CRT. I would agree that this one is a keeper!

Kinda reminds me of mine, only a couple years older. Verrry nice!

I like those 60s Zenith b/w table sets. Never seen that particular covering over the cabinet before.

Great find! I also like the unique cabinet design

Nice set, I love that textured vinyl covering!

Me too. It says "Early 60's" quite well. :thmbsp::D:banana::yes:

The nice guy that had the sets is named Jim, he's moving and sadly, the beautiful 1963 house that his dad built is being torn down. It's located in Northfield Il, about 20 minutes from where I work. I left work a little early so I could meet the guy before he left for the night. If you noticed in the first posting it said for two b/w tvs, and yes there are two.
This is the funny part, The '59 RCA somewhat mini console with screw in legs was upstairs. I asked him how much longer he was going to be there so I could try to get someone over there to get it, he said about three more days and he was sad to throw it in a dumpster. I said dumpster??! well, lets go up and see it. Believe it or not, I stuffed it into the back seat of my 1993 Mazda Protege clown car! I said to myself as I was leaving, man, my ol lady is gonna kill me when I get home. So....I got an Idea. This is also how I know for sure I have the "Tv sickness" I brought it back to the middle school I work at in Lake Forest and hid it in a closet under the stairs and covered it with a blanket. I don't think she does but I'll know today if she reads my posts He He. It can't stay there for long but at least it isn't in the dumpster. If anyone is interested in it, please PM me. He also threw in a 1950 Sonora Am radio/automatic turntable and the best part, all this was free!!

So, I still have the '59 RCA at the middle school. I was caught up on work orders and such last night so I figured I'd see if she works or not. I took the back off to find a brightener on the tube. All chassis tubes appear to be original. So I plugged it in and it came on without any caps going. It was very dim but brightened up after 15 min. I then covered it and took it down to the Lake Forest cable tv station just down the hall. They let me hook it up and see what the picture looked like. They got a kick out of seeing such an old set. The picture was bad at first but then brightened up nicely and got very sharp. I think the brightener was not needed, the thing comes on bright and sharp every time now, I'll bring the CRT tester and see the actual condition later. The caps are all orange drops and maroon drops with no paper/wax ones or white time bombs. The cans run cool as a cucumber as well. This is the best part, after it warmed up and had a nice picture the Cub Scout troop came in for a tour of the tv station. Everyone was amazed by this tv that bores me. It was really cool though, they all were asking questions about it and old sets in general. I never get one person that wants to hear that stuff so a whole room full was awesome. It was really cool to see the little 2nd graders so wowed by that set, as they all come from mansions and you would not expect that reaction. I turned on the Simpsons and a whole crowd of kids sat down in front of the set. This was the first time it was used in over 20 years according to the original owner. One kid asked me why it said "12" the guy from the tv station said that is what channel it was on. The kid said he'd never seen a tv where you have to turn a "knob" to change the channel. So even that was cool to them. One parent said that is before remote control. I of course told the group all about Zenith and the first practical remote. So, the timing was really good for them as they got to see the tv station and got a lesson of tv history. It was really fun teaching the kids about that stuff. I just figured I'd share that with you guys.
Mark

So, I still have the '59 RCA at the middle school. I was caught up on work orders and such last night so I figured I'd see if she works or not. I took the back off to find a brightener on the tube. All chassis tubes appear to be original. So I plugged it in and it came on without any caps going. It was very dim but brightened up after 15 min. I then covered it and took it down to the Lake Forest cable tv station just down the hall. They let me hook it up and see what the picture looked like. They got a kick out of seeing such an old set. The picture was bad at first but then brightened up nicely and got very sharp. I think the brightener was not needed, the thing comes on bright and sharp every time now, I'll bring the CRT tester and see the actual condition later. The caps are all orange drops and maroon drops with no paper/wax ones or white time bombs. The cans run cool as a cucumber as well. This is the best part, after it warmed up and had a nice picture the Cub Scout troop came in for a tour of the tv station. Everyone was amazed by this tv that bores me. It was really cool though, they all were asking questions about it and old sets in general. I never get one person that wants to hear that stuff so a whole room full was awesome. It was really cool to see the little 2nd graders so wowed by that set, as they all come from mansions and you would not expect that reaction. I turned on the Simpsons and a whole crowd of kids sat down in front of the set. This was the first time it was used in over 20 years according to the original owner. One kid asked me why it said "12" the guy from the tv station said that is what channel it was on. The kid said he'd never seen a tv where you have to turn a "knob" to change the channel. So even that was cool to them. One parent said that is before remote control. I of course told the group all about Zenith and the first practical remote. So, the timing was really good for them as they got to see the tv station and got a lesson of tv history. It was really fun teaching the kids about that stuff. I just figured I'd share that with you guys.
Mark

I'm glad you received such a positive response from those kids. What a change from the usual snotty nose, spoiled brats that we often have to deal with. When I was in jr. high; I would bring old radios to my American history class to show off. My history teacher had an interest in old tube radios; so, that's how that all came about. Some of my classmates were really interested in those old radios and were in awe that I had stuff that old and could actually fix them. Most of the kids, however, thought I was some sort of nut case for fooling with stuff that old. Some didn't even know what these items were until they were told that they were radios.

I hope you won't get in trouble for exposing those poor children to all that old-TV radiation. :sigh:

So, are you gonna show the RCA to us too? :scratch2:

So, are you gonna show the RCA to us too? :scratch2:

Yeah, I just have to remember to bring my camera. I have to work next weekend, I'll do it then.