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Old 05-20-2017, 02:32 PM
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decojoe67 decojoe67 is offline
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The very first Zenith "Transoceanic" radio

I did a trade with a friend for this rather rare 1942 Zenith "Clipper" Transoceanic 7G605 portable radio. This version with the sailboat stitched grill cloth was the first short run of this first Transoceanic radio. This represents CEO McDonalds original intent to have this for use on his sailboat. It was soon changed to the bomber-plane design due to the onset of WWII, which is the more common model. It took a lot of trail and error for the Zenith engineers to work the bugs out of this set, have it fit in such a small case, and have it work properly under very humid conditions. Besides getting a recap to fine working condition, this set appears to have never been cleaned and detailed. It has such a nice patina I really don't even want to touch it! I definitely wont polish-up the gold metal parts. I'm glad to have this piece of radio history in my collection.
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Old 05-20-2017, 02:47 PM
consoleguy67 consoleguy67 is offline
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Beautiful set!
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Old 05-20-2017, 03:20 PM
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Beautiful set!
Thank you. It evokes the WWII era for me and how so many people snatched-up this set to stay informed of the latest events wherever they went. The Transoceanic would become one of the most longest-lived type of radio of all time. It went from 1942 to 1981!
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Old 05-20-2017, 05:02 PM
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She's a beauty!
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Old 05-20-2017, 07:08 PM
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decojoe67 decojoe67 is offline
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She's a beauty!
Thanks. Amazing how a portable set like this survived 75 years without any serious damage! I'll get around to giving it a gentle cleaning and sprucing-up some time. I am really liking it as-is right now!
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Old 05-20-2017, 07:09 PM
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There's just "Something" about a spiffy Tooob T/O...
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Old 05-20-2017, 08:13 PM
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KentTeffeteller KentTeffeteller is offline
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And this is not just the first Zenith T/O. you had to rub it in and score the early version with the Sailboat grill design, (later in the run changed to a bomber). It's also in beautiful condition to boot.
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Old 05-20-2017, 09:17 PM
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And this is not just the first Zenith T/O. you had to rub it in and score the early version with the Sailboat grill design, (later in the run changed to a bomber). It's also in beautiful condition to boot.
Honestly, I'm only really learning about this set now that I have it! I didn't know just how scarce the sailboat grill-cloth version is, and how good the condition is in relation to what turns up before I bought it. I'm also glad that the grill cloth is not a possible swap-out. It has a nice aged patina. I did a trade/cash deal on it, and I realize now that my friend was quite fair with me. Although in general it has a utilitarian appearance, it has nice details that make it very appealing. A much more primitive look than the post-war versions.
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Old 05-20-2017, 11:01 PM
Titan1a Titan1a is offline
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They don't make them like this anymore. If they malfunction or break you throw away and buy new. Not my tube sets: not EVER!
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Old 05-31-2017, 11:32 PM
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Originally Posted by Titan1a View Post
They don't make them like this anymore. If they malfunction or break you throw away and buy new. Not my tube sets: not EVER!
Zenith did make their radios to last (at least until the 1980s-'90s, when the D7000Y series, the last "good" TO in my opinion, was made in Taiwan with a PC board), and not just the tube-powered TOs. I have three solid-state TOs here, all eBay finds. One works on all bands (AM and SW), but the dial cord broke; the second is the AM/FM/SW version, which currently works only on FM (I never did figure out why) and was modified by its previous owner to use a rechargeable battery pack; and the third is the same as the second, except my third TO works on all bands except standard broadcast, but the alignment on all bands is so far off it isn't funny. The set's former owner must have been fiddling with the alignment adjustments without benefit of a signal generator and alignment instructions. (I was recently informed by a VK or ARF member that the failure of the BC band in my TO is due to a shorted transistor.) The set uses a standard Zenith 12-volt wall wart with the tiny plug at the end of the output cable, and has the matching jack on the left side of the cabinet, looking at the radio from the front.

You are so right--they don't make them like that anymore (metal chassis, socketed transistors in the SS TOs, etc.), and I for one, being a Zenith radio collector, was sorry to see them go; all the more reason for those of us with well-built tube and SS T/Os to keep our sets in working order. These radios represented a level of build and sound quality we will never, ever see again, especially from Zenith, which no longer exists.
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Last edited by Jeffhs; 05-31-2017 at 11:37 PM.
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Old 05-20-2017, 11:19 PM
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Wow that is an impressive score!

That and a fairly short run post war variant are the only two tube TOs I need to have the complete tube line.

IIRC last year a dealer at Radiofest had one that they wanted ~$800 for.
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Old 05-21-2017, 06:12 AM
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decojoe67 decojoe67 is offline
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Originally Posted by Electronic M View Post
Wow that is an impressive score!

That and a fairly short run post war variant are the only two tube TOs I need to have the complete tube line.

IIRC last year a dealer at Radiofest had one that they wanted ~$800 for.
I was lucky my friend got another and allowed this one go. This was the first chance I ever had to acquire one.
Wow. With the trade and cash, this one probably cost me a little over $400.
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Old 05-23-2017, 10:00 AM
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Its great to see the first one after working on a few others. Thanks for sharing.
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Old 05-23-2017, 08:46 PM
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Its great to see the first one after working on a few others. Thanks for sharing.
You're welcome. I have a H500 myself and enjoy seeing how much more primitive the pre-war model looked, which I find more appealing. It seems after the war that Zenith wanted the T/O to look more upscale and modern.

Last edited by decojoe67; 05-25-2017 at 04:54 AM.
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Old 05-24-2017, 08:13 PM
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I've found that a lot of the better Tooob stuff is a lot more robust & serviceable than its given credit for.
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