Curtis-Mathes/Zenith
 

Someone just brought me a Curtis-Mathes console, from '94, to fix. And, this TV is obviously a rebadged Zenith. I know that the earlier CM solid state sets were rebadged NEC and there were some rebadged RCA's in the late '80's; but, CM must have been scraping the bottom of the barrel when they started using Zenith as a supplier.

The fix for that TV may be as simple as adding a digital-to-analog converter box, because older TVs cannot process the new digital signals. Hope this helps.

I must agree regarding the late eighties and early nineties Zenith sets....really bad tubes and mediocre cab's/chassis. I remember finding a 1986 Color Sentry 19" on the curb.. it powered up but the flip-down keypad was inop. Those ribbon connectors were all torn up...what a headache. Plus there was obvious video smearing on channels I could access...Back to the curb she went.

NEC on the other hand, seems like a solid bet through the 80s...and even today they make LED sets with innoivative features such as a (!) carbon emission calculator....very unique stuff.

Here are 3 of those 80's era CM branded sets with NEC electronics.
Only have 1 of the consoles left, gave one away to someone who needed it.
Amazing pictures today even after more than a quarter of a century.

I got around to opening this one and it's all Zenith, down to the horrible A68ACT00X CRT; which, is dead. I told the owner and he said to junk it. By this time, CM's slogan really should have read, "Expensive and damn well NOT worth it". If CM was still offering a 5 year warranty on their CRT's by this time, I can understand what drove them under.

Normally, I'll try to rejuvenate a weak tube; but, since these tubes were trash to begin with, I didn't even bother. If it came up at all, it would probably either fall back down in a short time period or arc and burn up the power supply. Then, I'd have an angry customer on my hands. So, it's just best to let this one go.

i never liked anything curtis mathis sold. all plastic and particle board. and way the hell to much money for a cabinet built of sawdust. steve

In the 1990s, I had one of the NEC-branded "monitor TVs" (tech/industrial look with a piece of glass covering almost the entire front area) from about 1984-85. I was not impressed with its picture, especially compared with a real Sony Profeel. Edge enhancement, fair-to-average high-voltage regulation (which makes objects on the screen change position as the rest of the content changes), and limited contrast ability.