1962/3 Zenith 27KC20Q

[Penthode]

Hi All,

This interesting Zenith followed me home this evening. I had been looking for a very early Zenith color (1962) for some time and this one popped up on Craigslist only a mile from where I live here in Syracuse, NY.

The chassis, from what I can gather, is the second Zenith set after their introduction (or perhaps reintroduction) into the color set market. It is the table model in a metal cabinet and is very clean and unmolested apart from top of cabinet surface rust which has damaged the faux wood grain finish. A bonus is the Space Commander 400 remote control system.

This shall provide an interesting restoration over the coming months. I have looked for of these sets for many years and was surprised to find this pop out of the blue. How rare is this model?

The set was sold to me with the original 90 day service contract dated November 1962 plus the original bill of sale for $655. I also picked up the set from the address listed on the service contract and bill of sale.

[Tom S]

Fantastic set. Hope it comes to life and we see some pictures soon. Nice find. Good luck hope the tube is great.

[tvcollector]

I've got the same set, other than the fact it's got a turntable on one side and a receiver on the other.. The TV chassis is one hell of a neat chassis, even has the remote, which I think mine is a 600, but I could be wrong.. Unfortunately I'm getting rid of mine due to it being an overly BIG combo unit..

[Kamakiri]

Wish I'd have known you were looking for one. Selling my nearly identical set shortly.

[hi_volt]

Nice looking set. Remote control, too...

[BigDavesTV]

Congratulations on your excellent find, it'll be great to see it working someday! I got a kick out of the Bill of Sale, where it's described as a "colored" TV! :-) That set looks very well cared for, the remote control hardly has any wear to it, unlike the Space Command 600 controller that goes to my '66 Zenith Roundie. Please keep us posted, Dave.

[rca2000]

From what I have been able to gather--that chassis is MORE rare than the earlier 29JC20 chassis today--because it was only made for a short time--before the 26KC20 replaced it totally. I have NEVER seen one in person--and only a few here have seen or had one. I have a 29JC20 set with a not too good tube, on the other hand--and DID have a complete chassis also, until it was STOLEN from my garage last year.

I wonder how good the tube is on this one? Mine shows VERY good on the blue and green guns...but the RED gun is weak and will NOT take rejuvination on the 70. But giving it about 7.5 volts DOES bring the emission of the red up, to near normal.

[Username1]

Beautiful tv !

What are the on cabinet controls like if you are not using the remote....?

Looks like an up/down buttons for tuning.... Is the on/off volume behind
a door...? Please post a few picts when you get the time.... Looks like
something I have not seen before.....


Good luck with the tv ! !

.

[Tubejunke]

Hooray! At LAST something besides a freaking RCA! I have some older threads about my similar 1964 model 5111 with the metal chassis, but no Space Command. Maybe this thread will motivate me to continue to try to get mine right.

So many people talk about what great performers these old Zeniths were and they are often working as found. I was not one of those lucky people, but mine panned out OK for being dormant for about 30 years. It's got a ways to go, but I'll get there if the woman doesn't make me remove it from my bench area in the kitchen.

It was there before her! LOL! Ouch.....

[ceebee23]

wow... at the original address .. 50 years is a long time!!! I hope she bursts in to life after this time like the sleeping beauty she is

[miniman82]

Originally Posted by Penthode

The set was sold to me with the original 90 day service contract dated November 1962 plus the original bill of sale for $655. I also picked up the set from the address listed on the service contract and bill of sale.

Similar story with my CTC-4, I picked it up from the original owner's home. Crazy thing is, there were service tags inside indicating it had been in use up till 1972...

[Penthode]

Originally Posted by miniman82

Similar story with my CTC-4, I picked it up from the original owner's home. Crazy thing is, there were service tags inside indicating it had been in use up till 1972...

With the documents I received with the Zenith, it appeared two subsequent sets were purchased as subsequent replacement sets: a hybrid GE in the early 70's and a solid state mid/late 80's Capehart . There was no sign of the later sets in the house. This suggested despite newer "replacement" TV sets bought, the previous owner hung on to the old Zenith. I was told by the new owner of the house, the set was hidden away with stuff placed on top hence I do not believe the Zenith was used much at all after the new sets were bought. Perhaps sentimentality and the memory of the hefty purchase price made it difficult to part with the Zenith? Nevertheless the Zenith remained in the same house for nearly 52 years.

I tested the sets original Zenith CRT and there was initially little sign of any cathode emission. Leaving the tube heated for an evening, the tube eventually showed good emission on all three guns. I wonder if there is a relationship how many years the tube sits dormant and how long it takes to wake up?

[rca2000]

Originally Posted by miniman82

Similar story with my CTC-4, I picked it up from the original owner's home. Crazy thing is, there were service tags inside indicating it had been in use up till 1972...

According to the real money value calculator--that is nearly $5K by todays standards !! 4790 to be exact.. If one looks around a bit--you can find a fairly decent used CAR--for 4790-or LESS today..

Man these were EXPENSIVE back ' in the day " !!

[rca2000]

Originally Posted by Penthode

With the documents I received with the Zenith, it appeared two subsequent sets were purchased as subsequent replacement sets: a hybrid GE in the early 70's and a solid state mid/late 80's Capehart . There was no sign of the later sets in the house. This suggested despite newer "replacement" TV sets bought, the previous owner hung on to the old Zenith. I was told by the new owner of the house, the set was hidden away with stuff placed on top hence I do not believe the Zenith was used much at all after the new sets were bought. Perhaps sentimentality and the memory of the hefty purchase price made it difficult to part with the Zenith? Nevertheless the Zenith remained in the same house for nearly 52 years.

I tested the sets original Zenith CRT and there was initially little sign of any cathode emission. Leaving the tube heated for an evening, the tube eventually showed good emission on all three guns. I wonder if there is a relationship how many years the tube sits dormant and how long it takes to wake up?

One way or another...SOMETHING prevented it's demise. And it sat there for all of those years...just WAITING for someone like one of us to come along--who would appreciate it for what it is. In all likelihood--those other sets LONG ago--hit a packer truck..but somehow--the Zenith was spared...

And aren't you glad it was ?

You said-"stuff was on top of it" and so it was used as a "shelf" That MAY be what saved it...

Round color tubes often have decent life after all of this time. Both of the CTC-5's I have ran across in recent years had very good, like new tubes. But my 29JC20 does NOT have a good tube, the red gun is weak--and will not come up. I wonder why--maybe my set got a lot more use--or the tube was defective from the beginning. It will work--but is obviously deficient on the reds.

I do have a JP22 I could put it it that is quite good--but it has been sold. I have one more--in a 24NC31 parts set--a channel master dated 1979 I think--that I think tested good some years ago--and maybe sometime--I will put it in there. One way or another--I am going to pull that tube and all else-- and get rid of the cabinet--I need the room for other sets.

[Tubejunke]

Originally Posted by rca2000

You said-"stuff was on top of it" and so it was used as a "shelf" That MAY be what saved it...

Round color tubes often have decent life after all of this time. Both of the CTC-5's I have ran across in recent years had very good, like new tubes.

I think some of the subjects such as original cost that we have hit upon lend to sets first not being taken for granted as we do today often letting them play around the clock or somewhere close. I remember as a youngster in the 70s that the ONE family set (a 19" Sears Medalist) was only used a few hours a day, and not every day just some days.

It went like this: The housewife watched a couple of hours of soap operas; when we came home from school we watched a few 1/2 hr shows or cartoons. Dad and sometimes mom watched 1/2 hr. local news followed by the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite. Then often there were the prime time favorites of the era for a couple of hours.

Again, even then a color TV of any size was an investment as well as (often) a nice piece of furniture, so even when a set developed some problem that deemed it not worth going to the repair shop again, it was kept. Perhaps a table model would go nicely on top of the old console. That happened a lot! I remember about 1981 or so Dad brought home our first console with a HUGE 24" or 25" tube and remote control. Almost unbelievable at the time. We didn't yet know what the funny round antenna thing sticking out the back would be for. That came several years later when they finally ran cable vision out our road.

Was it really that long ago?