Zenith 13" CCII space command portable

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by AUdubon5425

Jeff, Zenith marketed those from about the time of that ad (late '78) through at least 1981 or '82.

Thanks, Ryan. I had a feeling these Zenith combo sets were from the late 1970s, again because of the eight-track tape deck. I remember eight-track stereo tape in cars (my dad's second wife had one in her car in the early '70s), but this Zenith stereo, my first real stereo system, was the first home stereo I had ever seen with an 8-track deck.

BTW, if 1982 was the last year for these Zenith combo units, I must have gotten one of the last ones marketed. I don't remember ever seeing this particular combo system sold new anywhere after '82 (I do see used ones, and variations of them, every now and then on eBay nowadays), at least not in the store where I purchased my system; in fact, I don't know if that store is still in business. It moved from its suburban Cleveland location to its present one a few years ago, but since I moved (ironically, to within six or eight miles of their present location), I lost touch with them and haven't heard or read a word from them since -- in newspaper ads or elsewhere.

Update: Yup, East End TV and Appliance is out of business. I tried looking them up in the local Yellow Pages and on Google -- no luck. Perhaps they couldn't keep up with it when flat-panel TV, DVD, HDTV, Blu-ray and the like came in, though I can't imagine why they would have so much trouble selling the new stuff; after all, they were going great guns selling CRT TVs and stereo systems in the '80s.