my other TV is a Zenith
Hi Doug,
My living room TV is a 19" Zenith from 1967. (Nowadays I'm strictly a B/W guy; I threw out my 19" solid state color set back in 2001 and went back to toobs. I've never been sorry!) Mine has the regular 19" CRT rather than the squared-off one. I love it, because it works PERFECTLY and has a razor-sharp picture. I got it off eBay from a guy whose grandfather had owned it. He was obviously one of those anal-retentive people who take good care of everything. It had all the original papers, including the instruction book, an advertising brochure, the bill of sale, the salesman's card, and a slip of paper documenting the one repair it ever had: replacement of the yoke & horiz output tube. I'll post a pic when I get home. I agree that you find a lot more Zeniths, even on the East Coast. I think there are two reasons: first, they're more likely to still be working; and second, I think I read that Zenith sold a lot more B/W TV's than RCA. I seldom find a 60's era TV in thrift shops any more (but I live in a small town). When I do, it's more than likely to be a Zenith.
Getting back to the RCA's, another good thing about the '63 and early '64 16-inchers is that they use a 13GF7 vert osc/output instead of the 15KY8. The 'GF7 is the novar version of the reliable twin triodes like 6CM7, 6EM7, 15FM7, 6EA7, that last forever. The 'KY8 is about the worst toob RCA (and Sylvania) made. After a few years, just about every one of them develops either a sluggish oscillator section or a tired output section that causes the height to vary, sometimes wildly. Even the NOS ones I picked up seem to have problems. Maybe they get gassy. Have you noticed this?
Doug E.
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