Help with Zenith B&W

[dsndblm]

Originally Posted by zeno

The chassis number is good. It is listed as Sams 1076-3.
DO NOT buy the Sams for $22, thats a last resort. As far as repairs
go start with the most major one. Dont blindly recap or replace
tubes that check weak. Most old Zeniths come to life & work
fine with questionable parts. Its just the way they are.
Best is to post a pix showing the symptom. True content from a
VCR or DVD are best. Test patterns can also help sometimes.

73 Zeno
LFOD !

I received my RF modulator today. I powered up the Zenith with the modulator attached to a VCR, DVD player, DVR. The picture looked the best using the DVR. You were spot on correct. The old Zenith doesn't work half bad just the way it sits. The picture on all sources is still a little fuzzy around the edges. The picture seems a tad out of focus, not quite straight on the screen.

But, watching one of the channels that play the old black and white re runs nets a very decent picture. This old tube gear still amazes me. The Zenith was used for countless hours when I was kid, still works.

Thanks for the advice!

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by dsndblm

I received my RF modulator today. I powered up the Zenith with the modulator attached to a VCR, DVD player, DVR. The picture looked the best using the DVR. You were spot on correct. The old Zenith doesn't work half bad just the way it sits. The picture on all sources is still a little fuzzy around the edges. The picture seems a tad out of focus, not quite straight on the screen.

But, watching one of the channels that play the old black and white re runs nets a very decent picture. This old tube gear still amazes me. The Zenith was used for countless hours when I was kid, still works.

Thanks for the advice!

I agree. Your set does make an excellent picture on your area's satellite TV service; this was a hallmark of Zenith television (and Zenith electronics in general) from the company's beginnings until its untimely ending in the late '80s.

You say, however, that you are "lost in the desert" between Phoenix and Tucson. Does your area not have cable service? I wonder about this because these days, most areas have some kind of cable service, except very small towns or rural areas hundreds of miles away from any major city. I realize where you are (or anywhere else, because all TV is digital these days) you won't get anything on a standard TV antenna, but I would guess your satellite does receive broadcast TV from either or both Phoenix and Tucson, in addition to most cable networks such as CNN, MTV, MSNBC, FOX/FOX News, et al.

Zenith electronics (not just TV sets) were made to last, and were quality equipment from the beginning (the company was founded in Chicago in 1918) until the Zenith Radio Corporation was taken over by Korean electronics giant LG in the late 1980s-early nineties.

I've owned Zenith TVs and other gear for years and was very disappointed, to say the least, when they left Chicago. From about 1982 until 1999 I had a four-mode stereo system which had been built to Zenith's standards, but had been manufactured in Korea. The unit was still one of Zenith's best in the '80s. I also owned two 13" Zenith portable color TVs, one made in 1979, the other in '83; both sets had excellent pictures.

Unfortunately, these sets were lost when I moved in late 1999. I did, however, manage to keep my Zenith SMS1917SG 19" color table model set. The last time I used it, with an RF modulator and a Roku streaming video device, the Zenith 19" set still worked as well as it always did at my former home, and still does to this day. Even though I don't use it much (except to test it every few months or so) since getting a flat screen in 2010, I am going to hold on to this set as long as it works since, as the expression goes, they don't make them (Zenith TVs) like that anymore.

[dsndblm]

Originally Posted by Jeffhs

I agree. Your set does make an excellent picture on your area's satellite TV service; this was a hallmark of Zenith television (and Zenith electronics in general) from the company's beginnings until its untimely ending in the late '80s.

You say, however, that you are "lost in the desert" between Phoenix and Tucson. Does your area not have cable service? I wonder about this because these days, most areas have some kind of cable service, except very small towns or rural areas hundreds of miles away from any major city. I realize where you are (or anywhere else, because all TV is digital these days) you won't get anything on a standard TV antenna, but I would guess your satellite does receive broadcast TV from either or both Phoenix and Tucson, in addition to most cable networks such as CNN, MTV, MSNBC, FOX/FOX News, et al.

Zenith electronics (not just TV sets) were made to last, and were quality equipment from the beginning (the company was founded in Chicago in 1918) until the Zenith Radio Corporation was taken over by Korean electronics giant LG in the late 1980s-early nineties.

I've owned Zenith TVs and other gear for years and was very disappointed, to say the least, when they left Chicago. From about 1982 until 1999 I had a four-mode stereo system which had been built to Zenith's standards, but had been manufactured in Korea. The unit was still one of Zenith's best in the '80s. I also owned two 13" Zenith portable color TVs, one made in 1979, the other in '83; both sets had excellent pictures.

Unfortunately, these sets were lost when I moved in late 1999. I did, however, manage to keep my Zenith SMS1917SG 19" color table model set. The last time I used it, with an RF modulator and a Roku streaming video device, the Zenith 19" set still worked as well as it always did at my former home, and still does to this day. Even though I don't use it much (except to test it every few months or so) since getting a flat screen in 2010, I am going to hold on to this set as long as it works since, as the expression goes, they don't make them (Zenith TVs) like that anymore.

We are located about 40 miles south east of Phoenix. Not quite as desolate as I made it sound. We get clear radio signals from Phoenix and Tucson. When analog TV was around, we were able to pick up stations from both cities.Although, thinking about it, since I made this Videokarma account, my town has tripled in size, Phoenix has added about 3 million people. This state is growing quick, too quick.

I agree with you on Zenith quality. I had two Transoceanic radios that I restored and eventually sold. They were built well! I bet my little TV has easily a couple of thousand hours of use. It played all day when I was a kid.

I might buy a digital antenna, I have a digital to analog converter that I bought at a hamfest a few years ago. Could be a good combo for the Zenith.

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by dsndblm

We are located about 40 miles south east of Phoenix. Not quite as desolate as I made it sound. We get clear radio signals from Phoenix and Tucson. When analog TV was around, we were able to pick up stations from both cities.Although, thinking about it, since I made this Videokarma account, my town has tripled in size, Phoenix has added about 3 million people. This state is growing quick, too quick.

I agree with you on Zenith quality. I had two Transoceanic radios that I restored and eventually sold. They were built well! I bet my little TV has easily a couple of thousand hours of use. It played all day when I was a kid.

I might buy a digital antenna, I have a digital to analog converter that I bought at a hamfest a few years ago. Could be a good combo for the Zenith.

You have to get a Zenith DTV convertor. Keep your Zenith all Zenith.

[old_coot88]

My Zenith DTV box was virtually bulletproof until it aged about 10 years, then started going wonky. But turned out to be an easy fix. Discussion here -

http://www.videokarma.org/showthread...ght=old_coot88

Works like brand new again.