'81 System 3 Zenith

[zenith2134]

Yeah I think my problem was a bit different but thank you for the tip, and welcome to Audiokarma! What I ended up doing was to simply adjust the APC for best colorbars and white balance (drive) on both UHF and VHF. It lined up and now looks really good.

Oh about the cabinets: I noticed that the plastic back cover is made by Dow Chemical Corp. Kind of interesting. The grade of plastic is worlds better than the modern stuff I keep finding.

Stay tuned guys. I plan on starting a new thread here soon based on old video gme consoles. I have an Atari 2600 (with the B&W/Color switch!), a Super Nintendo, a N64, and then PS1 and PS2. I stopped there.

But the old games look really good on these type of set. A late-run delta CRT set probably looks the best with old gaming systems IMO but the inline sets from Zenith, RCA, GE and NAP seem to do a fine job as well. My general rule about home games is that if it came supplied with a composite video connector, its best to use a newer monitor. These games are often graphic intensive, and I'm sure Sony sold more sets by adding the composite/SVHS connector to PS1.

[basil lambri]

Zenith 2134, I have news about my Zenith TV. I have 2 Zenith System 3 sets and I tested the other one with the Color Sentry button on with a test pattern (NTSC generator) with my blue-filtered glasses and I saw that the color level and tint were away from the standard. I don't know where they set them at the factory. So, I think that since you changed the automatic tint setting you ruined your TV for good. If you care about Color Sentry picture my advice is that you get a new System 3 TV. You can get a cheap one at Craigslist for example. Those model TVs had great picture. They can match an HDTV. Plus they are CRT (tube) type, a time-proven technology.

[zenith2134]

Basil, I am fairly confident that mine is set up correctly now...but since I on't use color sentry, I can rest assured that the set is right how I want it. IMO, eve when adjusted right, the color sentry usually messes with the greyscale as it adjusts the brightness to match the ambient lighting around the set. Nver cared for this feature.

[colortrakker]

My '83 System 3 has sub-controls for Color Sentry that you adjust behind the door with an eyeglass screwdriver. Mine came with the tint preset skewed a little too red. I screwed it back down to normal. As far as drive and bias (which really determine the grayscale), though, I think I have to actually take the back off to get to them. There are no controls on the back.