Newer Zenith console?

[Rod Beauvex]

Saw one in a satellite dealer shop. Didn't catch the model, but it was a newer stereo set with S-video. Worth looking at, or do they have weird problems like those newer RCAs?

[Console User]

How new? We have a 1991 Model and has been very reliable. It has only been in the shop one time and that was this Spring.

[radiotvnut]

If it was made between circa '93-'99; run from it! Those were the ones that had bad CRT's. The later ones usually had either Thomson or Philips CRT's that held up better; but, the TV's were still nothing to write home about.

[Rod Beauvex]

Totally fogot about this thread. The woman did say they didn't work, so we'll have to pass then.

[Console User]

Someone told me one time that Zenith CRT's didn't have the best of picture tubes in them? The 1991 Model we have has alot darker picture than any of our other sets we have had. What can you say about the 1991 Zenith CRT? The one we have is still the original one in it. I hope it holds out .

[radiotvnut]

'91 Zenith CRT's were not that great; but, they were not as bad as what was to come. If yours has held up for 22 years; then, it must be a good one.

Zenith CRT's really took a nosedive in '93. They would become weak and/or intermittently short/arc. They often failed under warranty and the replacement CRT's were not any better. When the tubes shorted, they would take out the power supply and/or video output stages. What was really frustrating is when I'd fix the chassis, think the set was fixed; and, three weeks later, it would come back to bite me in the butt because the CRT arced and blew up the chassis again. These intermittent CRT's will usually never show up as "shorted" on a CRT tester.

Starting around '98, Zenith started to figure out that they could no longer make a good CRT and they started using either bonded yoke Thomson CRT's or LG/Philips CRT's. However, I've seen a few '99 Zenith's that used a Zenith CRT; and, yes, they were bad.

Sometime in '99, LG finally absorbed what was left of Zenith and within a few years, there were no more Zenith CRT TV's. Recently, I had a 2001 Zenith 25" console that was likely one of their last console models. I think the last Zenith CRT sets were the "healthview" line for hospital use.

During the late '90's until around 2006, I was getting boatloads of Zenith's from the local Zenith dealer. Many of them were junked because of a bad CRT. Some others got a donor CRT out of another brand of TV and some had their original CRT's rejuvenated and sold very cheaply to customers who didn't want to spend much on a TV; and, yes, the customers were made aware as to why the TV was being sold cheap. Many of those customers didn't care what the picture looked like, they just wanted something with sound and some sort of picture.

My favorite Zenith's were the chromacolor solid state models and the first System 3 ("K"-line chassis) for the '79 model year. The next model year brought us the infamous 9-160 power supply module and it continued to go down the drain from there. When I was getting sets from the Zenith dealer, I got more excited to get a '70's Chromacolor II over the 3 year old junk with bad CRT's.

[radiotvnut]

Oh, and if you ever see a Zenith marked as "Digital System 3", leave it where you found it. Those were actually very expensive TOTL sets from around '88-'91; but, were a royal PITA. A friend had the 31" console version of that set that he paid $1600 for back around '89. When the Zenith shop wasn't working on it, I was. Towards the end of him using it, I rejuvenated the CRT; but, after a few months, the CRT started going weak again and the vertical linearity started going south. He used the set for a few years to hold up a table model TV, until he one day gave me the old Zenith. I bumped the CRT again, replaced some bad capacitors in the vertical circuit, and gave the TV to the salvation army.

[zeno]

Originally Posted by Console User

Someone told me one time that Zenith CRT's didn't have the best of picture tubes in them? The 1991 Model we have has alot darker picture than any of our other sets we have had. What can you say about the 1991 Zenith CRT? The one we have is still the original one in it. I hope it holds out .

If its been dark for a long time I dont think its the jug.
RTVnut sums it up well but I will add a few things. We were one
of the biggest mom & pop Zenith dealers in E. New England. I
would guess about 20% of the CRT's were good & had a long life.
When one was bad Zenith replaced them out to 5 yrs for free
or at a discount. Depended on how much a set costs and other factors.
We never heard what went wrong. There was never an answer
at seminars from the Chicago folks just "we are fixing it". In
the mid 90's when we all but stopped selling Zenith & built up
our Sony sales. Most of our Zenith sales were to old folk then,
many had been Zenith all there life & would take nothing else.
Sonys had problems to, as did everyone else. Everything was
getting cheaper, more complex & parts were getting discontinued
after 3-4 yrs. Garbage from China was showing up more & more
in brand name sets. Reliability & repairability were plummeting.
Bottom line is play it safe & avoid Zenith from 1990 on &
anything else 1995 on. The era of quality was OVER.


73 Zeno

[sampson159]

zenith built themselves right out of business.electronics were first rate and a zenith product would easily give you at least ten years of service.when sylvanias were lasting about 4-7 years,rca were a little better,etc.no replacement of units because they lasted too long.i just bought a zenith combo this morning.advanced system 3 from 1982.pristine condition with a sharp crt and the radio is excellent.all paperwork including bill of sale.dated 6/1983 for 1495.00 including tax and delivery.wood and plastic cabinet is perfect without a blemish anywhere.not the era of zenith i would have preferred but still a decent zenith built product.

[radiotvnut]

That's a nice combo and it must have been one of their last. Does it have an 8-track or cassette player? From what I can see of the turntable, it looks like one of their beld driven models that uses a Shure magnetic cartridge.

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by radiotvnut

If it was made between circa '93-'99; run from it! Those were the ones that had bad CRT's.

Were all 1993-1999 Zenith CRTs bad? My Zenith Sentry 2, circa 1995, still has its original CRT. Still makes a good picture today, 18 years after I got the TV. I never had one bit of trouble with the tube or anything else in the four years I used that set as a daily watcher. Maybe I was just lucky to have gotten a set of this vintage with a good CRT.

[radiotvnut]

A few good ones slipped out; but, not many. The 25" and 27" CRT's were the worst; but, I've seen many weak 19"/20" tubes. The 13" tubes, by the '90's, were usually imported from another source; so, not many problems with them.

[technicolor]

Originally Posted by sampson159

zenith built themselves right out of business.electronics were first rate and a zenith product would easily give you at least ten years of service.when sylvanias were lasting about 4-7 years,rca were a little better,etc.no replacement of units because they lasted too long.i just bought a zenith combo this morning.advanced system 3 from 1982.pristine condition with a sharp crt and the radio is excellent.all paperwork including bill of sale.dated 6/1983 for 1495.00 including tax and delivery.wood and plastic cabinet is perfect without a blemish anywhere.not the era of zenith i would have preferred but still a decent zenith built product.

excellent buy Ron, just be prepared for woman to start throwing themselves at you. Since i started buying combo's woman sense my power and off course solicit me for unspeakable sex acts.

[technicolor]

Originally Posted by radiotvnut

'91 Zenith CRT's were not that great; but, they were not as bad as what was to come. If yours has held up for 22 years; then, it must be a good one.

Zenith CRT's really took a nosedive in '93. They would become weak and/or intermittently short/arc. They often failed under warranty and the replacement CRT's were not any better. When the tubes shorted, they would take out the power supply and/or video output stages. What was really frustrating is when I'd fix the chassis, think the set was fixed; and, three weeks later, it would come back to bite me in the butt because the CRT arced and blew up the chassis again. These intermittent CRT's will usually never show up as "shorted" on a CRT tester.

Starting around '98, Zenith started to figure out that they could no longer make a good CRT and they started using either bonded yoke Thomson CRT's or LG/Philips CRT's. However, I've seen a few '99 Zenith's that used a Zenith CRT; and, yes, they were bad.

Sometime in '99, LG finally absorbed what was left of Zenith and within a few years, there were no more Zenith CRT TV's. Recently, I had a 2001 Zenith 25" console that was likely one of their last console models. I think the last Zenith CRT sets were the "healthview" line for hospital use.

During the late '90's until around 2006, I was getting boatloads of Zenith's from the local Zenith dealer. Many of them were junked because of a bad CRT. Some others got a donor CRT out of another brand of TV and some had their original CRT's rejuvenated and sold very cheaply to customers who didn't want to spend much on a TV; and, yes, the customers were made aware as to why the TV was being sold cheap. Many of those customers didn't care what the picture looked like, they just wanted something with sound and some sort of picture.

My favorite Zenith's were the chromacolor solid state models and the first System 3 ("K"-line chassis) for the '79 model year. The next model year brought us the infamous 9-160 power supply module and it continued to go down the drain from there. When I was getting sets from the Zenith dealer, I got more excited to get a '70's Chromacolor II over the 3 year old junk with bad CRT's.

my 73 chromacolor puts out and amazing picture, that's 40 years ago. doubt it has even had it's crt replaced.

[radiotvnut]

Probably not. Those '70's Zenith color CRT's rarely fail. I've seen one totally dead one in a '74ish vertical chassis chromacolor II TV and a couple weak; but, still usable ones. For the most part, the older Zenith CRT's held up longer than anybody else's CRT's.