Grand homecoming: Zenith Chromacolor - Videokarma.org TV - Video

kx250rider · #1 07-10-2008, 12:05 PM

I bought this as a "failry late model" set at the Salvation Army store in about 1980. It's an SD-4740W, and was made in late 1972 as a 1973 set. It's seen more use than just about any set I know of, as when my mother was still living I set it up for her to use and she had it on 18 hours/day from 1985 to 1988, then my aunt used it daily, and so did I. But it 2006, when my ex girlfriend of 9 years and I split up, I let her borrow it long-term since she didn't have any set. She used it all day every day, and finally I decided that I miss the set, and I went up to Santa Clarita and gave her a 32" Toshiba and took back my Zenith.

So here it is, back home! I hooked it up with a digital converter, as the reception here on digital is much better than regular air VHF. As it has been for the 28 years I've had it, it's working perfectly. It's been in a fire, been thrashed around in the Northridge Earthquake of 1994, and been used and used and used. All I've ever done to it was safety caps (when I got it in '80)., and I've put 2 or 3 rebuilt Sylvania 25VDMP22 deep black tubes in it. The one in there now I put in maybe in 1995. Still strong! I also upgraded the tripler and elimintated the old, troublesome focus divider. But other than that, the set has been 100% reliable.

Glad to have it back

Charles

*zenithfan1* · #2 07-10-2008, 12:12 PM

Glad you have it back! That thing has a very interesting history and a lot of centimental value. Nice picture too!

radiotvnut · #3 07-10-2008, 12:15 PM

Nice set! You must have upgraded the tripler from the original ecg500a to the ecg526 with the built in focus divider. I'll bet that set uses the solid state flat chassis. I think those were the best sets Zenith ever made!

kx250rider · #4 07-10-2008, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by radiotvnut

Nice set! You must have upgraded the tripler from the original ecg500a to the ecg526 with the built in focus divider. I'll bet that set uses the solid state flat chassis. I think those were the best sets Zenith ever made!

It is the flat chassis... And you're right on the tripler! I hate those focus dividers; they always arc. I did that at the same time as the safety caps.

Charles

zenith2134 · #5 07-10-2008, 01:12 PM

Sounds like it's gonna keep on lasting for years. Nice picture, I agree on that! The style of the front of the set kind of resembles the first-generation system 3's.

radiotvnut · #6 07-10-2008, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kx250rider

It is the flat chassis... And you're right on the tripler! I hate those focus dividers; they always arc. I did that at the same time as the safety caps.

Charles

It seems like those steel cabinet sets are very difficult to find these days. I saw a 4-tube hybrid very similar to yours and it wouldn't fit in the back of my Mother's car and she wouldn't take me back in the van to get it. I really hated not getting that set. I'll bet your set even has the steel back.

My 19" 4-tube hybrid has one of those pesky focus resistors in it. It starts hissing after the set has been on for a few minutes.

drh4683 · #7 07-10-2008, 06:38 PM

Thats a nice TV! Ive never seen one of those in a table model. Im curious what the back cover looks like. Did solid state horizontal chassis sets have the steel back cover? That set must be the border line when they went to the fiber board backs for the table sets.

sampson159 · #8 07-10-2008, 06:44 PM

that is the one! absolutely the best set ever made. wish i had one!!

kx250rider · #9 07-10-2008, 11:25 PM

Thanks for all the compliments!!!!

This one is the steel back... I've seen quite a few of this design around here, as I think they were made to be used as built-ins. A lot of bigger homes had built-in sets, so there were a lot of high-end TVs in cheap metal cabinets, I guess... Since this one was at the Salvation Army store when it was only 8 years old, I suspect it was a built-in in some mansion up in Beverly Hills, and it got upstaged, upgraded and donated.

Charles

vinylisfinal · #10 07-10-2008, 11:47 PM

beautiful set! very nice

radiotvnut · #11 07-10-2008, 11:51 PM

Hang on to that set, if for no other reason but to see how long it will last.

I know the steel back Zenith's went away, for the most part, by the mid '70's. In the mid '90's, I was visiting a TV shop I once frequented and saw a Zenith steel cabinet TV complete with steel back. I looked at the front of the set and it was actually a newer System 3 set with digital remote tuning! Upon closer inspection, it looked more like a commercial set like what schools used.

roundscreen · #12 07-12-2008, 04:37 PM

When I had my tv store, I sold over a hundred used zenith sets like yours.
Never had a call back on one of them and one I know is still in service.
That is a nice clear picture.
Ed

*zenithfan1* · #13 07-14-2008, 06:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drh4683

Thats a nice TV! Ive never seen one of those in a table model. Im curious what the back cover looks like. Did solid state horizontal chassis sets have the steel back cover? That set must be the border line when they went to the fiber board backs for the table sets.

I was just looking at a Zenith Chromacolor in a metal cabinet that has the horizontal chassis and it looked to be the first solid state. It has the same metal cover as the '67 that you gave me. It's at at Tom's house, he said I could have it but I don't have room. I spotted it when I picked up Chris's set on Friday.

Jeffhs · #14 07-14-2008, 10:57 AM

Duplicate post. Please disregard.

I agree that you should hold on to your Zenith CC set, as it will probably last years now with the new HV tripler; like the RCA CTC185 series once the ground points around the onboard tuner are soldered properly (this was a real problem in that series until RCA started mounting the tuner separately from the chassis, starting with the CTC203 IIRC). I have a RCA that is now eight years old and still makes a great picture on digital cable. (Had the tuner problem repaired when I had the set serviced for another problem, about a year after I bought it.) I also have a Zenith Sentry 2 19" table set, new in 1995, which also still works every bit as well as when it was new. I don't use it much these days except for occasional tests and cross-checking when I have cable trouble, but it is in line to replace my RCA CTC185 19" when the latter eventually goes belly-up. This may not be for quite a while since, the Energizer batteries, this set just keeps going and going...like the Zenith.

Jeffhs · #15 07-14-2008, 11:13 AM

I agree that you should hold on to your Zenith CC set, as it will probably last years now with the new HV tripler; like the RCA CTC185 series once the ground points around the onboard tuner are soldered properly. I have a Zenith Sentry 2 table set, 13 years old, that still works every bit as well as when it was new; I haven't had to have it serviced once in all that time, although it hasn't been used much since 1999. It was my daily watcher for four years, 1995-99, at my former home, but when I moved in '99, I bought an RCA CTC185 and put the Sentry 2 in the bedroom--the Zenith is now used only for cross-checking when I have cable trouble. However, the Zenith is in line to replace the CTC185 when the latter goes belly-up. My Zenith Sentry 2 is nothing fancy, but the four years I used it daily it worked like a champ; even has the original CRT.

I cannot say enough good things about Zenith TVs prior to the GS (GoldStar, later and to this day LG or Lucky Goldstar) takeover in the mid-'80s. Those older sets were built well, performed well, and will last for years; yours should work well long after the digital transition next year.