View Full Version : '86 zenith


zenith2134
06-20-2015, 01:32 PM
I got this set today. It's a 19" with the 9-470 singleboard chassis. It's way too new and uninteresting for me to normally bother with, but I had to save it since it is like new. The power cord was still factory-wrapped and it had its user manual. Great pic on it after a focus adjustment and tuner cleaning. These make great daily watchers, and they're built in USA (Missouri)

Jon A.
06-20-2015, 03:50 PM
Sounds like a worthwhile save, and at least it looks like something older. Also, it won't take over a room.

I have to wonder though if the chassis is Mexican-built and only final assembly was done at the Springfield, Missouri plant.

zenith2134
06-20-2015, 03:55 PM
I thought the same thing, but the chassis was Springfield as well. I have an 88 13" though, and by then it was Mexico made

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dishdude
06-20-2015, 04:59 PM
That looks pristine.

zeno
06-20-2015, 05:05 PM
Good basic set. The only things we didnt like about them
were they had cheap looking knobs starting with 9-181 board
custom series & the boards were not marked on the bottom.
Other than that they ran forever. Hard to believe its been 30 yrs
since I sold these. Sets were so reliable by then I dont remember
them like the 60's & 70's TV's. Nothing much to remember,
sell it & if you were lucky you may see it in 10 or 15 yrs for
a minor repair. That killed us.......

BTW this is another griplet set. Just the secondary control
board has them & of course they went int. A snap to fix but
I cant remember if they were griplets or stakes.

73 Zeno:smoke:

zenith2134
06-20-2015, 05:30 PM
Oh this one does have the griplet problem? I didn't examine the boards in much detail. One thing which I notice now, unfortunately is that it has a slight purity issue. The top corners have poor purity only visible on a white raster (not on a red one oddly). I tried a degauassing wand to no avail. However, it is barely noticeable during normal viewing, and convergence is solid all around on a crosshatch pattern

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zenith2134
06-21-2015, 07:24 PM
I'm going to just pitch this one to the curb since I cannot tolerate any misregistration of a crt's color. I doubt that a re-setting up of the neck components will help this one but it's a last ditch attempt.

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Dreamsbeard
06-22-2015, 05:47 AM
I'm going to just pitch this one to the curb since I cannot tolerate any misregistration of a crt's color. I doubt that a re-setting up of the neck components will help this one but it's a last ditch attempt.

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Have you tried the purity rings first? I'd hate to see this set trashed because of this!

dieseljeep
06-22-2015, 09:46 AM
Good basic set. The only things we didnt like about them
were they had cheap looking knobs starting with 9-181 board
custom series & the boards were not marked on the bottom.
Other than that they ran forever. Hard to believe its been 30 yrs
since I sold these. Sets were so reliable by then I dont remember
them like the 60's & 70's TV's. Nothing much to remember,
sell it & if you were lucky you may see it in 10 or 15 yrs for
a minor repair. That killed us.......

BTW this is another griplet set. Just the secondary control
board has them & of course they went int. A snap to fix but
I cant remember if they were griplets or stakes.

73 Zeno:smoke:

I bought one for $219 at American TV. They were one of the first big-box stores in south east Wisconsin. The Zenith dealers would complain that they were selling Zenith products for less than the smaller dealers could buy them from the distributor.

zenith2134
06-22-2015, 12:49 PM
Here's the best I could get it AFTER playing with yoke position and purity rings. It's really not all that bad while watchin a movie, but I can't use a crt with bad setup..it just bothers me.

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zenith2134
06-22-2015, 12:49 PM
187142

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dieseljeep
06-22-2015, 08:58 PM
Here's the best I could get it AFTER playing with yoke position and purity rings. It's really not all that bad while watchin a movie, but I can't use a crt with bad setup..it just bothers me.

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I almost feel the same way as you do.
Right now, I'm dealing with three sets that have a gray-scale issue. Not real bad, but while watching all the B/W programs on OTA digital channels, it's obvious that the picture leans too far toward one primary color.
Give the Zenith to the thrift or where ever it came from. :sigh:

Jon A.
06-22-2015, 09:22 PM
The purity problem might be the reason this set apparently wasn't used. Were some CRTs just defective this way?

zenith2134
06-22-2015, 09:34 PM
I tried demagnetising the mounting ears on the tube, and the cabinet trim which has a thin metal strip. Longshot. I'm watching it now and it makes such a great pic its just a shame that its marred in an annoying way. I pulled the magnet assembly and redid convergence and purity and was back at point A...

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zeno
06-24-2015, 05:29 PM
First off dont drive the brite & contrast hard. It can throw
things off. Especially while doing the CRT set up !
You can try some correction magnets. They are taped or
glued to the bell near the corners. You put up a pure
green only raster as best you can. You put it on the
bad area & move it in & out also turn it to get the best
correction. When you are happy tape it down.
Dont try it with a B&W raster, you will go nuts ! I
dont remember the style Zenith used but look inside to see
if any fell off.

73 Zeno:smoke:

dieseljeep
06-25-2015, 01:22 PM
First off dont drive the brite & contrast hard. It can throw
things off. Especially while doing the CRT set up !
You can try some correction magnets. They are taped or
glued to the bell near the corners. You put up a pure
green only raster as best you can. You put it on the
bad area & move it in & out also turn it to get the best
correction. When you are happy tape it down.
Dont try it with a B&W raster, you will go nuts ! I
dont remember the style Zenith used but look inside to see
if any fell off.

73 Zeno:smoke:
Also, don't go near the back of the CRT with the degausing coil. The stick on magnets demagnetize real easy. :sigh:

zenith2134
06-27-2015, 08:09 PM
That's the thing, she looks absolutely fine on a red green or blue raster, as fed by my Leader lcg-396 ntsc generator. But on a pure white pattern there is some purple blotching. I've tried the affixion of magnetic material to a crt bell before, it can be a real pain.
I'm not going to toss this though, people have commented that it has such a great pic! It's amazing how a non-tech person doesn't even recognize faults which torture us!

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Jon A.
06-27-2015, 10:47 PM
I'm not going to toss this though, people have commented that it has such a great pic! It's amazing how a non-tech person doesn't even recognize faults which torture us!
Well now, if even the non-tech types like it, that's a plus in my opinion.

I recall a dark spot in the upper left of my 1987 Trinitron's screen. It never bothered me when something was playing. To each their own I guess.

zenith2134
07-06-2015, 06:54 PM
This one's totally repaired. I put a strip of refrigerator magnet on the crt bell at the top left corner. Held it on with double sided tape. It makes quite a nice white raster now.

zeno
07-07-2015, 05:13 AM
This one's totally repaired. I put a strip of refrigerator magnet on the crt bell at the top left corner. Held it on with double sided tape. It makes quite a nice white raster now.

Now thats Yankee ingenuity. Who da thunk.

73 Zeno:smoke:

Jon A.
07-07-2015, 08:27 AM
Now thats Yankee ingenuity. Who da thunk.

73 Zeno:smoke:
Or redneck engineering as I like to call it. :thmbsp: I'm working on my master's in that.

TVTim
07-11-2015, 07:42 PM
Cool looking set. Love that you were watching Burn Notice. BEST SHOW that is no longer on TV.