Should i bother restoring a zenith?

[Kamakiri]

Access plate on the bottom on mine is missing, so it's an easy check

What's it look like?

[Zenith26kc20]

The metal cabinets are my favorite. The color circuitry can be a bit of work for someone used to RCA sets but the Zenith flybacks are way(!) more reliable.
The tuners on the early Zenith colors are great also!

[old_coot88]

Originally Posted by Tubejunke

Hey, will you check you horizontal "efficiency" coil and see if it is rigid or sort of flopping around as if the stem is cracked...

If by some miracle the coil is still intact, i wonder if one could rig some kinda non-metallic pressure clamp to keep it that way(?).
If doable, the same could be done to preserve those blue coils on the convergence board.

[Tubejunke]

Originally Posted by old_coot88

If by some miracle the coil is still intact, i wonder if one could rig some kinda non-metallic pressure clamp to keep it that way(?).
If doable, the same could be done to preserve those blue coils on the convergence board.

That is what I have been thinking. I mean it should simply be a coil of wire with I assume an iron, movable core. If the plastic case has just hardened and cracked leaving it wobbly, I would think something like plastic epoxy or super glue would restore the structural integrity. AND if nobody has noodled with the adjustment, no further issues should exist.

Now this is saying a lot coming from someone who is asking someone else to look at theirs as for all I know they might have been wobbly from the get go, but I doubt it. Just saying I know little about it. The only reason that I found the condition is that when I brought the set home the first symptom I encountered was no high voltage along with the horizontal output tube having a red glowing plate. Not a good thing with these sets. The evidently delicate nature of the horizontal/high voltage circuitry and it's proper set up is what gives me such concern.

Anyway, tube investigation proved that almost all of the related tubes to these circuits were shot. I replaced them and then the set cam alive and seemed to be stable other than an odd sort of horizontal interference line running about 3 inches in from the left side of the raster. Not a bar, but a sort of jagged line. This line was the only thing that was less than perfect with one beautiful color picture until as I have mentioned, the color went out to black and white.

I will never forget how neat it was when I first applied full service drop voltage to the set. You could sit and watch things come to life after decades of dormancy. The most interesting was the color, which I didn't really expect to be as wonderful as it ended up being. It started as a pure black and white picture and I was pleased by sizes and linearity being spot on. Suddenly a small area near the center of the C.R.T. began showing sort of a swirl of color which slowly grew until the picture was full color. I didn't even have to mess with the Hue or other adjustments! What a good feeling!

Of course the color went away faster than it came to life, but I see that as being a minor issue. It's the power supply and sweep circuits that I think need full integrity and immediate attention. That goes for all sets really.....

[Tubejunke]

Originally Posted by Kamakiri

Access plate on the bottom on mine is missing, so it's an easy check

What's it look like?

First, Horizontal Efficiency is stamped into the chassis on the control pot mounting flange near the end where the high voltage related tubes, cage etc. are located. There will be an obvious adjustment there which is actually horizontal linearity. Evidently "efficiency" is just Zenith's pet name.

So if you are looking at the adjustment end, then the business end is just behind the chassis steel. You can reach in from underneath and gently give this coil a feel to see if it is rigid, or if the winding portion which points straight out toward the front of the chassis is loose or "wobbly" as I call it. So, it is something about a pencil's diameter which is the adjustment shaft coming from the inner wall of the chassis and protrudes out a couple or three inches to a thumb sized winding.

Again, be gentle as the plastic in some of these old sets can fall apart pretty easily. We don't want your set to have a new problem! On the flip side, you need to know the condition of such things yourself. More than one person has told me that if this coil is indeed messed up, then you are looking at the H.O. plate (I think) or grid current problems that haunt these old color sets.

Anyway, let me know what you see, or feel, in yours. I really appreciate it. I once had a box of yokes for these sets that I had junked, but they are long gone now. Wish I had them; I would send you one!

[Kamakiri]

Guess I got lucky....mine is like brand new.....

[radiomec]

I think that if you'll be able to restore your Zenith, you'll have a great TV set! I have a wonderful roundie color Zenith Parkhurst, and it is really a great set!


However guys... I'm looking for a tv set too... I hope that you remember my post about the RCA Worthington. I have a nice Nordmende Spectra Color with four screens, one of the first series with tubes, that I could also use as exchange goods if somebody here on Videokarma would find a CTC7 Worthington (21RC899)...

[Tubejunke]

Originally Posted by Kamakiri

Guess I got lucky....mine is like brand new.....

Somehow I missed your post. So yours is like brand new you say. That means I guess that it is rigid to the touch and not sort of springy like the shaft is broken or something. By "to the touch" I mean putting your finger on the top or end of it and gently attempting to move it.

[Kamakiri]

Yep, and I'm actually REALLY glad that you bumped this thread. I came across this out of a Zenith color set that I parted out this past summer. I *believe* this is a spare to the one you're looking for, yes? If so, it's yours.

This came out of the set in this photo: http://www.videokarma.org/attachment...5&d=1369873491

[zeno]

That one looks like the hoz hold coil.

The line in the picture is probably a barkhausen or snivet. (sp?)
Saw a few caused by hoz output tube. Dont remember any more
about them, think is was more common in the olden days.

73 Zeno

[init4fun]

Originally Posted by zeno

That one looks like the hoz hold coil.

The line in the picture is probably a barkhausen or snivet. (sp?)
Saw a few caused by hoz output tube. Dont remember any more
about them, think is was more common in the olden days.

73 Zeno

Hey guys ,

Speaking of Barkhausen , does anyone remember the little magnet gadget that was supposed to mitigate it ? Not the "Damper Rings" like the Audiophile guys now use , but more like something looking kinda like an ION trap , just designed to fit around a Horizontal output tube . In all my years of TV repair "back in the day" I recall seeing 3 or 4 of them , but never experimented with any of them for fear of having my fingers THAT close to a running Horizontal Output . I presume one was to rotate this about the tube till the raggedy picture edge went away , and then tighten it into position with a little thumbscrew .

[Electronic M]

Originally Posted by init4fun

...like something looking kinda like an ION trap , just designed to fit around a Horizontal output tube .

Those WERE ION traps...Most HO Tubes were about as big around as a CRT neck so it worked.

[Tubejunke]

Originally Posted by Kamakiri

Yep, and I'm actually REALLY glad that you bumped this thread. I came across this out of a Zenith color set that I parted out this past summer. I *believe* this is a spare to the one you're looking for, yes? If so, it's yours.

This came out of the set in this photo: http://www.videokarma.org/attachment...5&d=1369873491

Well, the set in the photo is a few years newer, but the coil could be the same. I have the part # somewhere here in another thread and in an email, but not right in front of me. On another computer actually, but I'll get it and post it. Is there a number on that one? Thanks so much for thinking of this!

[Kamakiri]

No numbers on it at all. Cap that's across the two outer terminals is a .0011 @ 400V. If you think it'll work, just PM me your address and I'll send it to you. If it works, great! If not, no harm done

[Tubejunke]

I took a good look at mine tonight, and as much as I hate to say it; I believe Zeno is right. That is probably a horizontal hold coil. Mine is yellow plastic and much shorter. Also, the winding conductor on mine looks substantially thicker.

Thanks a ton for the effort and the offer. Mine is definitely toast though. Originally I thought that just the mount or outer shaft might be compromised, but suspicions have always led me to wonder if the actual winding was still tight, or had it loosened up. It is definitely loose or springy and that would certainly not be good in operation.

So, I will find one of those, grab a few caps, and try out that color crystal that was given to me to get the color back and I should be good to go. I may just do the non polarized caps for starters. If all works well, it will be all cosmetics afterward. I would like to find a really nice control door and a better (nice) channel selector if anyone has extras.