Old Sears

[Jeffhs]

If that set was made any time from the mid-1970s on, it should have a detented (click-stop) tuner. All sets (except those with electronic tuning) from that era until the end of NTSC analog TV have this type of tuner, as it was mandated by the FCC to make UHF tuning as easy as VHF.

If the UHF tuner just spins freely, the detent mechanism is likely broken. The tuner will still work, but no click-click when you turn the knob. I had two Zenith TVs this happened to; one was restored to usable condition by a local repair shop by soldering the detent gears together or otherwise disengaging the now-inoperative detent so that the tuner just turned silently, without clicking. The detent on my other Zenith, a 12" solid-state portable, just broke and jammed the tuner on one channel. This is one reason I like the electronic tuners in today's flat screen TVs--there is nothing to wear out, jam or otherwise go wrong with the tuning mechanism, because there is none. The worst that can happen with an electronic tuner, aside from component failures, is the up-down tuning buttons on the TV itself could stick or fail. Many folks get around this by using the identical channel up-down buttons on the remote. I even read (on Insignia's support forum) where one set was restored to normal operation simply by disconnecting the entire control panel when the buttons went bad; the TV was still usable with the remote. I may try that with my own Insignia flat screen if the set's buttons start acting up; I have nothing to lose, since the set is now nearly four years old and, of course, well out of warranty.