Zenith B&W with digital tuner

[Jeffhs]

Originally posted by jstout66
my 1979 Color Zenith System 3 does that too. (defaults to channel 2) I wonder if all early electronic tuners did that?

I think the memory retention system works only as long as there is power to the set. My RCA CTC185 (1999) will stay on the last channel it was on as long as it is plugged in. However, if there is a power outage or the set is unplugged for any reason, the tuner will reset to channel 2. I have a Zenith Sentry 2 19" TV which does this as well.

Most modern TVs, whether or not they have digital OSD or varactor tuning, will work with a cable box as long as the tuner can be set to the channel the box's output is on. (In the early '80s, when cable came to my area, I used a Zenith 13" color portable with electronic varactor tuning with a cable box for several years; no problems and excellent reception.)

My RCA and Zenith sets work well with a Motorola digital cable box that outputs to channel 4 in this area (the digital music service on channels in the 400 range is great as well). However, as I have read in a few posts here, some very old sets may run into AGC overload or sync problems when used on today's cable systems, because of the much stronger signal from the cable. Again, however, as long as the tuner can be set on the output channel for the cable box, even a vintage set should work with it, even if it means touching up the AGC or fringe lock adjustments to compensate for the stronger cable signal. The tuner or IF strip may have to be realigned, but these cases are rare except perhaps for early postwar sets (the RCA 8TK241 and others of late-'40s vintage come to mind).