Quote:
Originally Posted by Thyratron
Just came across an otherwise Zenith-looking System 3 (ca. 1984) with Space Phone, apparently stereo sound, Zenith controls, Zenith-type materials. . . but it was labeled "Heath" and had a sticker saying it was produced in Benton Harbor, MI. Did Zenith license these out, or was it something else altogether?
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Zenith was a subsidiary of Heathkit at the time that TV was made, so the design and features of the set (which were the intellectual property of Zenith at the time) were licensed to Heathkit of Benton Harbor, Michigan for the latter's use. Heathkit also marketed a multi-band radio in the early '80s that was a dead ringer for Zenith's solid-state Trans-Oceanic portable, even down to the rotating drum dial linked to the bandswitch; Heath also had a line of home computers under the "Heath/Zenith" brand.
Heathkit went out of the kit electronics business shortly thereafter; I don't know if they are still selling computers or if they went out of business entirely after that.
Zenith itself closed its Chicago television plant in the late 1980s and went overseas to Korea, becoming "Lucky Goldstar" or LG. The LG plant used the Zenith lightning bolt trademark for a short time on its televisions (shortly after the move to Korea), under license from Zenith, of course, but later dropped it in favor of the circular LG logo which now appears on the display frame of all new LG TVs. The Zenith lightning bolt, not to mention the Zenith name or even the famous Zenith crest (a shield-like symbol with a "Z" in the center and a crown on top, which was used on Zenith radios and TVs for decades and became a legendary Zenith trademark), are no longer used.