19" Zenith - Nothing Special ? - Videokarma.org TV - Video

Snade · #1 12-17-2007, 10:16 PM

This has been at the local thrift for a couple of months.

For some reason I am drawn to it.

The cabinet has a little dust but no visible scratches. Single tuner knob turns with solid clicks. Priced at $9.

What do you think ? Nothing special or nice set ? How old is it ?

Cheers, Snade

MRX37 · #2 12-17-2007, 10:38 PM

Appears to be from the 70's.

If you like it, why not save it? $9.00 is not bad for a TV assuming it works.

radiotvnut · #3 12-17-2007, 11:19 PM

That's an early '80's set. It probably uses the 9-160 series power supply module. If it powers up and produces a decent picture, I'd go for it. Those 9-160 boards were bad about having loose solder connections and those inline CRT's that were used in those sets didn't seem to hold up as well as the older delta gun tubes. Still would be worth grabbing if the tube is good. That single knob tuner was a very popular design used by Zenith from around '74 or '75 up until the mid '80's. It has channels 2-13 and I think six UHF positions that can be set to your local stations.

zenith2134 · #4 12-18-2007, 12:28 PM

True, it had its flaws, but its still miles better than today's CRT sets. Besides, the styling is very cool. I'd grab it.

Keefla · #5 12-18-2007, 08:23 PM

back in the day a buddy of mine had one of these blaring away all day in his college dorm room, lasted through 4 years of that and another 5 in his apartment. Picture always looked decent on it, i kinda like the simple style too.

Sandy G · #6 12-18-2007, 09:09 PM

It needs a good home..It WANTS to come home w/you...Whaddya say, Snade ? C'mon, be a pal, be a buddyroo...

Carmine · #7 12-18-2007, 09:51 PM

I'm pretty happy with mine... In-line CRT and all... picture quality is great.

(Don't judge by that lousy cell phone camera pic)

Snade · #8 12-18-2007, 09:54 PM

Ok, I'm gonna go for it.

Wish me luck that it is still there and sneaking it into the house.

Snade

radiotvnut · #9 12-18-2007, 11:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carmine

I'm pretty happy with mine... In-line CRT and all... picture quality is great.

(Don't judge by that lousy cell phone camera pic)

Is your set one of the last Chromacolor II's with the flip down metal chassis & inline CRT or is it a newer set with the System 3 type chassis?

zenith2134 · #10 12-19-2007, 11:04 AM

Carmine's Zenith looks identical to a 1981 system 3 I picked up over this summer. Only difference is that his door is white and mine is simulated woodgrain.

Snade, congrats on another classic tv find.

Carmine · #11 12-19-2007, 09:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by radiotvnut

Is your set one of the last Chromacolor II's with the flip down metal chassis & inline CRT or is it a newer set with the System 3 type chassis?

I haven't had it open in about 8 years worth of daily service, so I have kinda forgotten! But I'm pretty sure it is a Chromacolor II. It neither says "Chromacolor, nor System3" anywhere on the set.

radiotvnut · #12 12-19-2007, 11:10 PM

If it weighs a ton, has a red reset button on the back where the AC cord goes in, and an AC cord interlock; it's a Chromacolor. We had an '80 Zenith that physically looked like this except it had a brown door. It was a "ditch find" and needed a new 9-160 to get it going again. It had a picture that would put most modern sets to shame. That set eventually wound up in the youth room of my old church. I'll bet it's still there!

sampson159 · #13 12-20-2007, 12:48 AM

those are some good sets. probably the last of the quality zeniths. i would take i in a heartbeat. save it!

Snade · #14 12-20-2007, 04:32 PM

Aaaaaarrrrg !!

Just went back to the thrift to snag it ......... and it was gone. I was way too slow pulling the trigger on this one.

Maybe it went to a poor family that needed it.

Live to fight another day.

Can't complain, I recently snagged an early 80's Trinitron from the same thrift and it has become my favorite TV in the family room.

Cheers, Snade

radiotvnut · #15 12-20-2007, 06:26 PM

That's the way it usually happens. Something can sit there forever until you show an interest and then it disappears by the time you go back to get it. In the future, if you see any pre '83 Zenith at a good price, grab it! I think it was around '83 when they went to the 9-181/9-186 style chassis. While even those were good playing sets, I feel sorry for you if you ever have to troubleshoot the power supply or horizontal sweep circuit in one of these. I have gotten lucky and fixed some of these; but, I've had far too many that wouldn't fire up and I wound up giving up on them. I've also seen one bad module in these take out the other module. It seems like those 9-186 horizontal sweep modules can fail and nothing will check bad. I think I replaced a transistor on one; but, the rest required a board swap. Maybe I'm just missing something, but I never cared for the 9-181/9-186 chassis.

Of course, any Chromacolor, Chromacolor II, or tube set needs to be saved.