I got an Avanti

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by andy

I'm not sure what you're talking about. With the remote switch on, the front panel buttons still work (like on any TV). I have never known a TV that disables the controls on the set. The inclusion of a remote on/off switch was mostly a carryover from the old days when the remote chassis used a lot of power. Also, ultrasonic remotes can misbehave under certain conditions, so it's not a bad idea to be able to disable it.

Ooops! My bad. I must have been thinking about Zenith or RCA console TVs with "direct address" tuning (one of which was mentioned in a thread here some time ago); these had no controls whatsoever on the set itself (they were all on the remote), so if anything were to happen to the controller, the viewer was out of luck.

You are correct as to the occasional malfunctions of ultrasonic remotes. There are cases on record where these systems have been activated by such things as jingling keys, a dog's ID tags bouncing against each other, etc., causing the TV to switch on or change channels in the middle of the night, when everyone was asleep; a defeat switch for the remote receiver would eliminate this possibility by disabling it entirely. I can just picture a family having gone to bed after watching a movie (or the late news) on their Zenith Space Command TV, only to be awakened at 2 a. m. by either a test pattern tone or an announcer reading the station's sign off, simply because the family dog had walked in front of the set and activated the remote receiver with its tags.

Zenith's Flash-Matic, introduced in certain models of their high-end sets in 1955 and only lasting a year in the product lineup, was the company's first attempt at wireless remote control of a television receiver. The system worked after a fashion, but had at least one very serious flaw: if stray light of any kind hit one or more of the photocells at each corner of the CRT mask, the television would literally go wild.

It is little wonder (and a blessing, in a way) that the Flash-Matic system was discontinued and did not return the following year--or ever again. The company had better luck with its ultrasonic SC remotes that followed, and better yet when IR (infrared) remote signaling became the industry standard; after all, an IR remote system cannot be falsely triggered by stray ambient light or by incidental sounds in a room such as dog tags, ice cubes clinking in glasses, or even the set's own horizontal oscillator being off frequency ever so slightly. The last sometimes caused random, unpredictable triggering of ultrasonic remote systems; harmonics of the 15.75kHz horizontal oscillator frequency would be interpreted (or misinterpreted, if you wish) by early SC remote receivers as control signals. The television would change channels, mute and unmute the sound, etc. for no apparent reason; this more often than not left the family baffled as to why their set, which worked perfectly well in all other respects, was acting so strangely.

[veg-o-matic]

Everybody's gotta get into the act!

Here's Montgomery Wards version from the 1974 Christmas catalog. Very similar to the Avanti, though in a somewhat graceless cabinet.

veg

[veg-o-matic]

Originally Posted by zenith2134

Thats the same exact set as my 79 system 3 although mine is a wood cabinet. the remote is certainly Ultrasonic. The zoom is a cool feature and they make a good pic as long as the crt ain't weak.

Zenith, you wouldn't happen to have a copy of the owner's manual would you? I want to make some adjustments to the picture and I can't seem to get it to the point where I really like it. (The problem is that black/dark areas in the picture are really dark, making them hard to see. I like a little less contrast, myself.) I tried adjusting the black level and that helps some but not enough.

veg

[andy]

---

[veg-o-matic]

Thanks, Andy. Unfortunately, there's no contrast knob (at least on the front.) There's Black Level and "Picture", which I think just means brightness. I'm thinking a greyscale adjustment is in my future, but I'm not looking forward to pulling the set out of its current location.

[rpm1200]

"Black Level" means Brightness and "Picture" is usually a combination of Contrast with slight color saturation adjustment, but sometimes it's just Contrast.

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by veg-o-matic

Everybody's gotta get into the act!

Here's Montgomery Wards version from the 1974 Christmas catalog. Very similar to the Avanti, though in a somewhat graceless cabinet.

veg

I don't think MW's version of the Zenith Avanti cabinet is "graceless", any more than I think the Avanti itself was. I think MW must have gotten its cabinets from the same supplier as did Zenith, as the former is practically identical to the Avanti except for the control panel. The Avanti was, I firmly believe, an attempt by Zenith to break with tradition and to produce a completely different "avant-garde" style of TV cabinet, different from any other manufacturer's set of the period. This type of "funky" designs for TV and radio cabinets, etc. was quite popular all through the 1970s, although of course more traditional styles were still available during this time as well.

The Avanti may well have been one of the first such breaks with tradition as far as television cabinet styles went, but other manufacturers soon followed with their own crazy designs and color schemes; RCA and GE 12" portable TVs of the '70s with their bright orange, red, green, etc. cabinets come to mind. I wouldn't have put it past them to come up with a wild, psychedelic color scheme for some of their sets' cabinets in the early '70s, but alas, it never happened. I never had such a set with a bright-color cabinet; the closest I ever came to having a portable TV in any color cabinet was a Zenith J121Y 12" solid-state b&w portable, bought new in 1978. That set's cabinet was jet black, with silver and black control labels on the control and tuner cluster and silver-color knobs (I eventually covered the black cabinet with walnut-grain contact paper). I wish I would have kept that set, as it was working well when I got rid of it ten years ago. Strong CRT, excellent picture and sound ... the only reason I gave it up was lack of room in my small apartment, as I already had (and still have) two color sets.

[radiotvnut]

I wonder who actually made that set for MW. Control layout sort of looks like an Admiral.

[Jeffhs]

Originally Posted by rpm1200

"Black Level" means Brightness and "Picture" is usually a combination of Contrast with slight color saturation adjustment, but sometimes it's just Contrast.

On my RCA XL-100 CTC185 (and other sets in that series), the contrast control (one of several on-screen controls activated by selecting option one on the picture quality menu) will vary the color saturation to a degree, as well as contrast. The black level (brightness), of course, is usually adjusted so that black objects in the picture are solid black. Most people don't bother with these controls (or the color adjustments), preferring to leave them set at the factory defaults; this is why RCAs (and other sets) have an option on the picture quality menu called "Reset Picture Controls." This is option seven on the CTC18x series' picture quality menu, and will reset all video controls (except contrast) to midrange. This feature was described in advertising literature for older RCA sets as a means to allow the viewer to reset the picture adjustments to factory defaults if children, for example, play with the color or video controls; a single press of the Accu-Color (also called ACM, Automatic Color Monitor, on early-1970s RCA color sets) button will return the settings to the defaults, allowing the viewer to reset them as he or she will if he/she is not satisfied with the factory settings.

[AndyMack]

Never knew Wards sold an Avanti knock-off. But in my opinion, it actually looks better to me than the Zenith - and I own a '74 Avanti.

[veg-o-matic]

Okay, so I got out the hand mirror and deduced that the set is model SL2535X. Does anyone have a SAMS I could borrow? I'd go out and buy it, but Sammy wants 34 bucks for it Seems kind of outrageous to me.

I'm planning on doing a grey scale adjustment on it to see if that will clear up the "too much contrast" problem. Not sure if it'll help, but I guess it couldn't hurt, either. I'm hoping the SAMS also has some information about how to properly set the user controls.

Also still looking for the remote control if anyone has one for sale.

Thanks!

veg

[bgadow]

I was looking through some papers in my stash a few weeks ago and did, indeed, spot an Admiral that had that cabinet. Maybe I can find it again?

Bob, I'll look through my remotes and see how close I can get.

[leadlike]

Who buys SAMS anymore save for old tv collectors? Is it possible to still subscribe to them for the new sets that you can't get parts for?

[bgadow]

Apparently so; maybe only on DVD now? That is one dedicated shop that still gets 'em!

The Sams for this set is 1905-2, I don't have it. Radiotvnut recently posted about a bunch that he had to get rid of, maybe he can help?

The remote that is pictured earlier in the thread, is it the correct one? I have one just like it in good condition, just a little worn where it says "computer space command". I didn't have a handy way of testing except aiming it at the cats! One of them is very sensitive, it seems, and he didn't like it one bit, especially pushing channel 6!

If you think it will work just let me know, it is yours. Ultrasonic, direct channel entry so it would have a keypad on the set I guess.

[radiotvnut]

I'll see if I have that Sam's. If I do, you can have it.

Prior to me buying all of those Sam's from the TV shop in '99, I'd buy a new one from time to time if the set was nice enough. I think they were between $17 and $19 back then, which was too much to spend on some sets by the time parts cost were added in. After I bought that collection, I briefly subscribed to POM at about $60/month. I soon realized that I was throwing money away.

Now, a Sams is $25+ and it would be pointless to spend that much for a schematic + parts for a TV that might not even bring $50. As far as newer sets go, I'm about to the point where if I can't fix it without a schematic, I junk it.