I got an Avanti
 

At least I think it's an Avanti. Like an idiot, I didn't bother to write down the model number and now that it's in place, I really don't want to drag it back out and check. I did note that it was manufactured in August of 1979.

Anyhoo, I got if off Craigslist for 50 bucks and a two-hour trip to Pennsylvania. It works really well (the seller was watching Speed Racer when we picked it up), even though I neglected to take a picture of it in operation... When I got it home I pulled off the back to vacuum out the dust and was pleasantly surprised to note that it was clean as a whistle inside.

Does anyone know what the remote for this set looks like? I want to check ebay for one, as the universal remote I got for it doesn't work. There's apparently a Zoom feature that looks like it might have potential. I'm also confused about the settings on the remote switch. Off and Remote I understand, but Manual? Is Off the same as a "vacation switch" that turns off quick warm-up?

Here are the few pictures I did take:

veg

That's just about the very last Avanti made. Kind of rare! Most of the ones I see are either Chromacolor I or II, with the occasional hybrid. Nice!

Charles

Nice! I didn't know that Zenith made an Avanti into the system 3 era. I can tell you that the remote for that set will be of the ultrasonic variety. I don't think Zenith switched to IR until '80-'81. I wonder when Zenith actually discontinued this style of cabinet.

---

I didn't even know Zenith made a system 3 in the Avanti cabinet, I always assumed they quit making these cabinets at the same time as the chromacolor 2 sets. The basic cabinet even looks the same (except for the controls) as my '74 with the horizontal ss chassis. I used to have the smaller 19" Avanti with the vertical chromacolor 2 chassis, but I've never seen an older Avanti with the hybrid chassis either.

And that one even has the zoom, I've had a lot of Zenith system 3s, but never got one with the zoom.

Yep, that's the one.

I have that exact remote siting right here. Ill have to see if it goes to anything I have.

Thanks for the assistance and the kind words. I'll keep my eye peeled for that remote--the Zoom button will remind me what I'm looking for. Def. an ultrasonic remote, as I can see the mic for it and it's covered by a grill. Kinda sucks that neither the set itself nor the remote will let you scroll through channels. And you have to press Enter every time or it'll flip right back to 2.

veg

Thats the same exact set as my 79 system 3 although mine is a wood cabinet. the remote is certainly Ultrasonic. The zoom is a cool feature and they make a good pic as long as the crt ain't weak.

A perfect set for you! If you don't have luck finding that remote, let me know. Fairly good chance I have one here.

If I remember correctly, the Manual position of that switch disables the remote receiver so the TV will work from the front panel only. This is handy if the batteries go dead in your remote or if it gets broken or otherwise damaged; when these sets were made the universal remote had not yet been invented (today's universals will not work with ultrasonic remote control systems anyway), so if not for that defeat switch, the TV would be completely unusable if anything happened to the hand unit. I'm not sure what the "off" position was used for, although it makes sense that it would defeat the instant-on feature. If I had one of these TVs and were going on vacation, however, I wouldn't trust just that switch to kill all power to the set; I'd pull the plug. Unless the switch actually does open the power circuit entirely, there would probably still be a small amount of voltage going into the set--for preset channel memories and the like.

From what I have read about the Zoom function on high-end Zenith color TVs, it was just a frill that served only to raise the price of the sets and probably wasn't used much. The same could be said for the Space Phone system built into some high-end Zeniths; this feature was often included with the zoom function. Most of the time the Space Phone feature of these high-end sets probably went unused anyway, since most American homes have a telephone within easy reach of the couch in the living room or else the family keeps a cordless handset on an end table.

Awesome score! That Avanti is clean as a whistle! I had a 19" 1979 Zenith and I swear it used IR for the remote... I could be mistaken for the 82 Zenith 19" I had a long time ago..

---

I have a Avanti system 3. Posted the pics a years ago on the old forum.

I believe it was always either SpacePhone or Zoom, but never both on the same TV.

I've also seen some mention by more that one person of a hybrid Avanti... To my knowledge there is no such thing... In other words, Avantis are SS-only.

I'm sure Doug knows for sure. :thmbsp:

Going by memory, the Avanti came out in '72-3 and was a 4 tube hybrid. Then the flat horizontal SS chassis after that. I think they sold them both at the same time for a little while before going completely SS.......IIRC.

Ooops! My bad. I must have been thinking about Zenith or RCA console TVs with "direct address" tuning (one of which was mentioned in a thread here some time ago); these had no controls whatsoever on the set itself (they were all on the remote), so if anything were to happen to the controller, the viewer was out of luck.

You are correct as to the occasional malfunctions of ultrasonic remotes. There are cases on record where these systems have been activated by such things as jingling keys, a dog's ID tags bouncing against each other, etc., causing the TV to switch on or change channels in the middle of the night, when everyone was asleep; a defeat switch for the remote receiver would eliminate this possibility by disabling it entirely. I can just picture a family having gone to bed after watching a movie (or the late news) on their Zenith Space Command TV, only to be awakened at 2 a. m. by either a test pattern tone or an announcer reading the station's sign off, simply because the family dog had walked in front of the set and activated the remote receiver with its tags.

Zenith's Flash-Matic, introduced in certain models of their high-end sets in 1955 and only lasting a year in the product lineup, was the company's first attempt at wireless remote control of a television receiver. The system worked after a fashion, but had at least one very serious flaw: if stray light of any kind hit one or more of the photocells at each corner of the CRT mask, the television would literally go wild.

It is little wonder (and a blessing, in a way) that the Flash-Matic system was discontinued and did not return the following year--or ever again. The company had better luck with its ultrasonic SC remotes that followed, and better yet when IR (infrared) remote signaling became the industry standard; after all, an IR remote system cannot be falsely triggered by stray ambient light or by incidental sounds in a room such as dog tags, ice cubes clinking in glasses, or even the set's own horizontal oscillator being off frequency ever so slightly. The last sometimes caused random, unpredictable triggering of ultrasonic remote systems; harmonics of the 15.75kHz horizontal oscillator frequency would be interpreted (or misinterpreted, if you wish) by early SC remote receivers as control signals. The television would change channels, mute and unmute the sound, etc. for no apparent reason; this more often than not left the family baffled as to why their set, which worked perfectly well in all other respects, was acting so strangely.

Everybody's gotta get into the act!

Here's Montgomery Wards version from the 1974 Christmas catalog. Very similar to the Avanti, though in a somewhat graceless cabinet.

veg

Zenith, you wouldn't happen to have a copy of the owner's manual would you? I want to make some adjustments to the picture and I can't seem to get it to the point where I really like it. (The problem is that black/dark areas in the picture are really dark, making them hard to see. I like a little less contrast, myself.) I tried adjusting the black level and that helps some but not enough.

veg

---

Thanks, Andy. Unfortunately, there's no contrast knob (at least on the front.) There's Black Level and "Picture", which I think just means brightness. I'm thinking a greyscale adjustment is in my future, but I'm not looking forward to pulling the set out of its current location.

"Black Level" means Brightness and "Picture" is usually a combination of Contrast with slight color saturation adjustment, but sometimes it's just Contrast.

I don't think MW's version of the Zenith Avanti cabinet is "graceless", any more than I think the Avanti itself was. I think MW must have gotten its cabinets from the same supplier as did Zenith, as the former is practically identical to the Avanti except for the control panel. The Avanti was, I firmly believe, an attempt by Zenith to break with tradition and to produce a completely different "avant-garde" style of TV cabinet, different from any other manufacturer's set of the period. This type of "funky" designs for TV and radio cabinets, etc. was quite popular all through the 1970s, although of course more traditional styles were still available during this time as well.

The Avanti may well have been one of the first such breaks with tradition as far as television cabinet styles went, but other manufacturers soon followed with their own crazy designs and color schemes; RCA and GE 12" portable TVs of the '70s with their bright orange, red, green, etc. cabinets come to mind. I wouldn't have put it past them to come up with a wild, psychedelic color scheme for some of their sets' cabinets in the early '70s, but alas, it never happened. I never had such a set with a bright-color cabinet; the closest I ever came to having a portable TV in any color cabinet was a Zenith J121Y 12" solid-state b&w portable, bought new in 1978. That set's cabinet was jet black, with silver and black control labels on the control and tuner cluster and silver-color knobs (I eventually covered the black cabinet with walnut-grain contact paper). I wish I would have kept that set, as it was working well when I got rid of it ten years ago. Strong CRT, excellent picture and sound ... the only reason I gave it up was lack of room in my small apartment, as I already had (and still have) two color sets.

I wonder who actually made that set for MW. Control layout sort of looks like an Admiral.

On my RCA XL-100 CTC185 (and other sets in that series), the contrast control (one of several on-screen controls activated by selecting option one on the picture quality menu) will vary the color saturation to a degree, as well as contrast. The black level (brightness), of course, is usually adjusted so that black objects in the picture are solid black. Most people don't bother with these controls (or the color adjustments), preferring to leave them set at the factory defaults; this is why RCAs (and other sets) have an option on the picture quality menu called "Reset Picture Controls." This is option seven on the CTC18x series' picture quality menu, and will reset all video controls (except contrast) to midrange. This feature was described in advertising literature for older RCA sets as a means to allow the viewer to reset the picture adjustments to factory defaults if children, for example, play with the color or video controls; a single press of the Accu-Color (also called ACM, Automatic Color Monitor, on early-1970s RCA color sets) button will return the settings to the defaults, allowing the viewer to reset them as he or she will if he/she is not satisfied with the factory settings.

Never knew Wards sold an Avanti knock-off. But in my opinion, it actually looks better to me than the Zenith - and I own a '74 Avanti. :)

SAMS, anyone?
 

Okay, so I got out the hand mirror and deduced that the set is model SL2535X. Does anyone have a SAMS I could borrow? I'd go out and buy it, but Sammy wants 34 bucks for it :eek: Seems kind of outrageous to me.

I'm planning on doing a grey scale adjustment on it to see if that will clear up the "too much contrast" problem. Not sure if it'll help, but I guess it couldn't hurt, either. I'm hoping the SAMS also has some information about how to properly set the user controls.

Also still looking for the remote control if anyone has one for sale.

Thanks!

veg

I was looking through some papers in my stash a few weeks ago and did, indeed, spot an Admiral that had that cabinet. Maybe I can find it again?

Bob, I'll look through my remotes and see how close I can get.

Who buys SAMS anymore save for old tv collectors? Is it possible to still subscribe to them for the new sets that you can't get parts for?

Apparently so; maybe only on DVD now? That is one dedicated shop that still gets 'em!

The Sams for this set is 1905-2, I don't have it. Radiotvnut recently posted about a bunch that he had to get rid of, maybe he can help?

The remote that is pictured earlier in the thread, is it the correct one? I have one just like it in good condition, just a little worn where it says "computer space command". I didn't have a handy way of testing except aiming it at the cats! One of them is very sensitive, it seems, and he didn't like it one bit, especially pushing channel 6!

If you think it will work just let me know, it is yours. Ultrasonic, direct channel entry so it would have a keypad on the set I guess.

I'll see if I have that Sam's. If I do, you can have it.

Prior to me buying all of those Sam's from the TV shop in '99, I'd buy a new one from time to time if the set was nice enough. I think they were between $17 and $19 back then, which was too much to spend on some sets by the time parts cost were added in. After I bought that collection, I briefly subscribed to POM at about $60/month. I soon realized that I was throwing money away.

Now, a Sams is $25+ and it would be pointless to spend that much for a schematic + parts for a TV that might not even bring $50. As far as newer sets go, I'm about to the point where if I can't fix it without a schematic, I junk it.

Thank you Bryan and Radiotvnut! PMs sent.

veg

Would this remote work?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Zenith-ZOOM-Spac...item4cf0949e5f

I'm not really sure, but I'm thinking no for a couple of reasons; on the set itself, there's no way to scroll through the channels. You have to press two digits and Enter for each channel. This remote only has the scan function. It also looks like the volume uses some kind of presets, as there's no Up or Down button.

That said, I have it on watch in My Ebay. I might bid on it just because I like the way it looks!

Veg,
I didn't receive your PM. I'm not sure if I have your address written down anywhere, but if you send it to me I'll mail that remote to you.

Bryan:
Not sure what I did wrong, but apparently it was *something*!

Re-sent the PM and a duplicate by email just in case.

Thanks!!

veg

On the way to ya, Veg!

Meanwhile, I found that magazine I was looking for which shows some variations on the Avanti theme. These are from the September 1974 Electronic Technician/Dealer which previews the new '75 models. The first is an Admiral 25L91; I sure didn't realize they had digital tuning that early-I really thought Admiral was still in the "dark ages" at that time. Second is a Philco-Ford C2507FPC which, the caption says, uses their BOSS 300 chassis. Finally, that last one is an RCA GT803 with the CTC68 chassis featuring knob tuning but digital channel display (like a '75 Magnavox I parted out a couple years ago-I guess that was the big gimmick that year.)

i used to own a philco avanti style cabinet.mine was a hybrid.terrific picture.i always liked the philco picture tube look.of course,it had electrolytic problems but it served us for about 2 years before it was sold.i have a friend who has a flat chassis avanti.he got it in the early 90s and i replaced the focus block.what a great set!bleachwhited the cabinet and applied 10 coats of tung oil.beautiful.havent heard from him in 7-8 years but i am sure he still has it.