Now all you'll need is a matching Levi Gremlin!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3282663854&category=3638

Anthony

I had one of those that I sold to a movie studio in Burbank (?) back about 4 years ago. I remember that it was sent attention John Denver! :eek:

The seller says he/she cannot find the date the set was made, but I don't think it was 1968. I had a Zenith 12" b&w solid-state portable TV in 1978 that looked exactly like that denim set, except for the cabinet color (black) and a slight difference in the front panel layout (different style of channel selector knobs). The denim set was likely solid state as well. I think the set was probably made around the same time mine was, give or take a couple years.

As I recall, the denin craze (for cars anyway) was the mid to late 70's

Anthony

The 1968 date mentioned in the ad refers to radiation control standards adopted by the Dep't of Health, Education, and Welfare in that year. The set appears to be early 70's as it doesn't have a detented UHF tuner. Also, the set appears to be a tube type because of the vertical linearity control.

Hi All! I'm the one that bought this set. I was thinking it would be solid state as well since I remember selling solid state models. Zenith must have sold this model for a few years. This one is dated 1974 and is a "hybrid" Set looks good but I'm kind of dissapointed. The vertical is weak. The tube tests good and it looks okay when it's on, but tends to "roll" allot and you have to adjust it ALL the time. Hollar if anyone is interested in it. I'll ship it to anyone who will pay postage.

Originally posted by jstout66
Hi All! I'm the one that bought this set. I was thinking it would be solid state as well since I remember selling solid state models. Zenith must have sold this model for a few years. This one is dated 1974 and is a "hybrid" Set looks good but I'm kind of dissapointed. The vertical is weak. The tube tests good and it looks okay when it's on, but tends to "roll" allot and you have to adjust it ALL the time. Hollar if anyone is interested in it. I'll ship it to anyone who will pay postage.

I wouldn't get rid of that set just yet; it is probably repairable, if you do some looking. Sounds to me like one or more resistors may have drifted off value in the vertical osc/output circuit, or perhaps one or more capacitors in that circuit are leaky. Since you say the V osc/out tube itself is good, this sounds very likely, although I would try replacing the tube again if you haven't already. Sometimes tube testers can give false readings, as standard emission testers do not check tubes under actual operating conditions (unless you have a fancy tester like a Hickok or other lab-grade instrument; these were mutual-conductance testers, which do test tubes under operating conditions. They generally gave the user a very accurate idea of the true condition of most tubes. These testers can also detect tube faults ordinary emission testers cannot find, such as grid emission).

However, the direct-substitution technique very often produces the best results. If you still have the vertical problem after subbing the set's vertical tube with a fresh one, then, of course, a look into the circuitry is in order.

Good luck. Your set worked well (without the vertical problem) when it was new; it will work again. Zeniths, until the GS era of the '90s to the present, were good sets. I've had many such sets in the past; had a Zenith 12" b&w solid-state portable I bought new in 1978 which lasted 22 years, and was still working very well--except for a broken UHF detent mechanism--when I got rid of it four years ago--because I had no room for it in my small apartment and because it didn't make a good picture on an indoor antenna; I live in a fringe area some 35 miles from the Cleveland TV stations. I have a Zenith 19" color set in my bedroom which I've had almost ten years; have had no trouble whatsoever with it [still has the original CRT], and it still makes a great picture on the cable system in my small town. I presently use it as a backup for the RCA set in my living room, and will probably use the Zenith as my main watcher when the RCA eventually goes West. I use a cable box ahead of the TV, so as long as the set works on channel 4 (as both my sets do), I can use either TV just as well.

Once you repair that vertical problem, your set will probably last years. Those older Zeniths were built to last, unlike today's GS-built sets with the Zenith name and lightning-bolt Z emblem below the CRT (don't let that fool you--it's just a marketing symbol anymore). I would avoid Zenith like the plague if I were buying a new set today. As many before me have said, these sets are nothing but trouble. GS has, unfortunately, irreparably damaged the once proud reputation of the original Zenith Radio Corporation of Chicago. IMO, we AKers owe it to ourselves to hang on to any and all old Zenith TVs, radios, and phonographs we can get our hands on (I have two old Zenith radios, including one in a beautiful walnut table-model cabinet that sounds incredible and works extremely well for having been made 41 years ago, I wouldn't dream of parting with).

BTW: If any of you manage to get hold of either or both halves of the Zenith "Radio Nurse" baby monitor from 1937, I'd hang on to it as well. These are extremely rare, as most of them were junked after Pearl Harbor because of the Japanese name on the case. These can and often do fetch quite a bit on ebay, even if they are not working.

Kind regards,