Zenith TV Model# SC1923W

Hello Everyone,
I am new to this forum and I need some help. I have a Zenith tv Model# SC1923W that was given to me. I am trying to locate a manual for it. I of course started at the Zenith site, but apparently Zenith does not archive the old manuals. Anyone out there have one of the tv's or a manual for it? I need to know how to add channels to it. Also what type of battery does the remote take? I never saw a battery like the one it says it needs. I thought it would just take the normal AA or AAA ,but it doesn't. Any help on this would be appreciated. I need someone to explain to me what the buttons on the front of the tv do? "b'cast- catv- hrc- icc" also "Skip" and "AFC Fixed Search" ?? also on the front of the tv itself there is a set of buttons numbered 1 thru 0 ? and beside that is a button that has "ENT" above it and "CH" below it. does that have anything to do with entering or adding new channels to this tv? Thanks in advance!!

[andy]

...

[superdeez]

I presume this is one of the mid 80s Zeniths with the LED channel display and the random access keypad on the set?

Older TV remotes frequently took 9V batteries. Look inside the battery door or on it.

The buttons on the set itself numbered "1-0" (presumably similar to a phone or calculator keypad?) are for random channel access for remoteless sets. "Ent" is short for enter, to confirm that's the channel you want.

The bottons on the set that say "b'cast" and "catv" are buttons to switch the UHF tuner between broadcast and cable operation. "hrc" and "icc" are two other cable TV modes. "skip" tells the tuner circutry to skip a channel when tuning past it using channel up or down.

"AFC fixed search" should be an automatic channel scan--the type many modern sets do on initial power up after a loss of standby power. Try pressing it and see what happens, hey, the TV may setup its own channel database!

Thank You for your quick response! but I forgot to mention also the remote that came with the tv itself is not currently working. I managed to program a universal remote to work with this tv, so if there are any buttons I need to push on the remote that came with the tv itself, please let me know. I tell you what, for as old as this tv is, it still has decent picture quality! Its just this tv will go up to channel 59 fine, and then when you hit the up channel button on the remote it skips to 69, and there are channels in between there that we watch, and also there are channels up above that , that we watch, so I am just trying to see if I can get them all programmed in this tv.

It says on the remote that came with the tv that it takes Type (J) 6V not sure if I have ever seen a battery like that??? just thought they all took either AA or AAA

[kx250rider]

Originally Posted by Nugrl

It says on the remote that came with the tv that it takes Type (J) 6V not sure if I have ever seen a battery like that??? just thought they all took either AA or AAA

The J battery is a weird one, and was only used in those early 80s Zeniths. You can still get them at Radio Shack, and in the photo & electronics section of WalMart or Target, etc. But the battery was about $9 last time I checked, so you might be better off just using the universal. And unless you have a SpacePhone in your set (and want to use the SpacePhone), all functions of the TV will work fine with the universal.

On the TV keyboard, you can put channels in memory by keying the channel and pressing ENTER on the TV keyboard. Note that they will not stay in "favorite channel" memory if you key them in by the remote. And to get rid of ones you don't want, go to that channel and push SKIP. Most Cable TV signals around here are "STD" setting, but you can play with that switch and see which position gets the most channels for you. The AFC is also an experiment. First set it as FIXED, and see if some channels have no color or no sound, or are out of tune. If so, go to SEARCH AFT and see if that's better. The FIXED position makes the channels change much quicker though, if it works in your neighborhood.

Charles

[Jeffhs]

"AFC fixed/search" in Zenith TVs of 1980s-'90s vintage has to do with the tuner AFC system, not the channel scan, IIRC. The search option is used if you have a video game or some other external device which does not work or works poorly with the option set to fixed. The search feature causes the tuner to search for an external unit's true output frequency, which is very often different from a broadcast or cable signal. For use with regular broadcast TV or cable, I'd leave the fixed/search option set to "fixed" and forget about it. Zenith used this option on many of its cable-ready sets of this vintage (it is on an OSD submenu on some sets, like the Sentry 2 series). The channel search is done by locating AUTO CH. SEARCH on the OSD setup menu and pressing either ADJUST key to start. The tuner will then search for and store in memory all active channels in your area or on your cable system.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards,

Wow! I appreciate all the info you all have been able to give me. This sounds like a very informative forum with very intelligent people! That is what I really like about the web. There is always someone out there that can help you! ok, but heres another question for you. How do I get to the so called "OSD Setup Menu" to let the tv do the "AUTO CH. SEARCH" ? If I could at least get to that, I would be set! ;-)

And to think my brother was going to throw this tv in the garbage! tisk...tisk...tisk ;-)
It is working out fine for me as a spare tv! it was manufactured in June 1986 is says on the tag on the back. I guess they just don't make things like they use to. I have a 32" Sony Trinitron that I paid about $1000 for 8 years ago and its sitting in my shed now because I dont' know whats wrong with it. When you turn it on, it takes a while to get a picture, so there is no video at first, but you have audio??? then after its on for a while the screen goes to a black screen, but you still have audio. Any suggestions? When I bought it, I also bought a liftetime warranty on the picture tube, but I don't know if that is what is causing this. So I haven't had them send someone out to check it out, because I figured with my luck it won't be the picture tube and I will have to pay for the service call. : ( So needless to say, I am currently watching one of my old 19" tvs that I bought about 20 years ago. It only goes up to channel 43 I think. so I had to use a vcr for the tuner to pick up the upper channels. At least this old Zenith gets the upper channels! I really don't see anything wrong with this tv, the only thing that is a little annoying is that when you first turn it on, you hear some screaching sorta noise, then after its on for a little while it quits doing it. what is causing that?

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by Nugrl

Wow! I appreciate all the info you all have been able to give me. This sounds like a very informative forum with very intelligent people! That is what I really like about the web. There is always someone out there that can help you! ok, but heres another question for you. How do I get to the so called "OSD Setup Menu" to let the tv do the "AUTO CH. SEARCH" ? If I could at least get to that, I would be set! ;-)

I'm not familiar with the SC1923W Zenith, but here's a procedure that works with my SMS1917SG Sentry 2. Yours will most likely be similar. On the front panel of your set there should be a button marked "MENU", and one identical to it on the remote. Either will work. Press this button once. A menu should appear on your TV screen with several options. One of these should be "AUTO CH. SEARCH" or similar wording. Place the on-screen cursor over this selection and press the SELECT button on the front panel or remote once. A message should now appear on your screen: AUTO CHANNEL SEARCH - PRESS ADJUST KEY TO CONTINUE. Press one of the ADJUST keys to start the search. Depending on the model (again, not being familiar with yours, I don't know how it shows what I am about to describe), you may see several rows of colored dots on your TV screen, indicating the search has begun and is now in progress. Once the search is complete, a message will appear on your screen: AUTO CHANNEL SEARCH COMPLETE. TUNING BAND IS CABLE-CATV. XX CHANNELS FOUND (where xx is the actual number of broadcast and/or cable channels found by the system). Press the ENTER button on the panel/remote to return to the program picture and you're done.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards,

[Sandy G]

We aren't all that smart; We just stay at Holiday Inns...

[JCFitz]

Originally Posted by Jeffhs

I'm not familiar with the SC1923W Zenith, but here's a procedure that works with my SMS1917SG Sentry 2. Yours will most likely be similar. On the front panel of your set there should be a button marked "MENU", and one identical to it on the remote. Either will work. Press this button once. A menu should appear on your TV screen with several options. One of these should be "AUTO CH. SEARCH" or similar wording. Place the on-screen cursor over this selection and press the SELECT button on the front panel or remote once. A message should now appear on your screen: AUTO CHANNEL SEARCH - PRESS ADJUST KEY TO CONTINUE. Press one of the ADJUST keys to start the search. Depending on the model (again, not being familiar with yours, I don't know how it shows what I am about to describe), you may see several rows of colored dots on your TV screen, indicating the search has begun and is now in progress. Once the search is complete, a message will appear on your screen: AUTO CHANNEL SEARCH COMPLETE. TUNING BAND IS CABLE-CATV. XX CHANNELS FOUND (where xx is the actual number of broadcast and/or cable channels found by the system). Press the ENTER button on the panel/remote to return to the program picture and you're done.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards,

That set was made before they had onscreen menus and autoprogram.The channels have to be set manually.Zenith started having that feature with the digital sets of the late 80s.

Well I did manage to get the channels programmed in. I had to do it manually, between the remote and the ENT button on front of the tv. No, this tv does not have the "Menu" button you spoke of, nor does it have it on the remote. But I figured it out, how to do it with the universal remote that I programmed for that tv and using the "ENT" button on the front panel of the tv itself. So thank you for all your help! I guess no one has any suggestions about that "newer" Sony Trinitron I have sitting here in the shed collecting dust. I explained in one of my previous posts what it does. if you would scroll up you can see what I am talking about. You all sound very knowledgable to me, so I just thought perhaps you might have an idea what might be wrong with that tv also? But once again "Thank You" for your quick and informative response on the Zenith tv!

[brokenbroken]

Originally Posted by Nugrl

And to think my brother was going to throw this tv in the garbage! tisk...tisk...tisk ;-)
It is working out fine for me as a spare tv! it was manufactured in June 1986 is says on the tag on the back. I guess they just don't make things like they use to. I have a 32" Sony Trinitron that I paid about $1000 for 8 years ago and its sitting in my shed now because I dont' know whats wrong with it. When you turn it on, it takes a while to get a picture, so there is no video at first, but you have audio??? then after its on for a while the screen goes to a black screen, but you still have audio. Any suggestions? When I bought it, I also bought a liftetime warranty on the picture tube, but I don't know if that is what is causing this. So I haven't had them send someone out to check it out, because I figured with my luck it won't be the picture tube and I will have to pay for the service call. : ( So needless to say, I am currently watching one of my old 19" tvs that I bought about 20 years ago. It only goes up to channel 43 I think. so I had to use a vcr for the tuner to pick up the upper channels. At least this old Zenith gets the upper channels! I really don't see anything wrong with this tv, the only thing that is a little annoying is that when you first turn it on, you hear some screaching sorta noise, then after its on for a little while it quits doing it. what is causing that?

I've seen a lot of mid to late 90's Sony's with that problem. There's a circuit in there that's supposed to sense when the picture tube is warmed up before sending video. That circuit could be acting up or the tube can be weak. Every one I've come across (and fixed a few that were new enough to be worth a new tube)has had a weak tube. You can usually do a temporary fix by turning up the screen control slightly. But if you have a warranty, I probably wouldn't mess with it.

[jstout66]

I have a J battery I will send you for free if you're interested. It still should be good. PM if interested.