1950 Zenith

[charokeeroad]

I know UPS will pack for you and guarentee it too. All depends on the overall condition of the set. Has the chassis been restored?

[John Marinello]

Originally Posted by cwmoser

I want one like John Marinello's "Byron" Porthole TV.
Is that a 19" CRT?

Carl

Yes it was a 19-incher, but I no longer have it. It was a minty set.
How 'bout a 16-incher "little brother" to it?

[Sandy G]

I want a 10" leather-covered tabletop...An' people in Hades want Ice Water, too...And one is as likely to happen as the other, I fear...(grin)

[John Marinello]

Originally Posted by Sandy G

I want a 10" leather-covered tabletop...

You'll have to make one, as they were only available as a 12-incher.

[Sandy G]

Originally Posted by John Marinello

You'll have to make one, as they were only available as a 12-incher.

Oh, well...Guess I'll hafta "Make Do" w/a lousy 12-incher...(grin)

[John Marinello]

It's back, with a mild price reduction:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...:WNARL:US:1123

I enlarged one of the photos, and it kinda looks like the plastic insulator
around the CRT is full of cracks. A replacement might be tough to find?
I'm not sure what causes these to become hard & brittle, but my best
guess would be excessive exposure to sunlight. Most of them remain
soft & pliable.

[pugs5061]

Well he did call me before he relisted it. Of course my kids took the call and I missed him. I am having second thoughts on my offer but if the CRT is good I'd still do it. At this point I'll just wait and see if he sells it on ebay and contact him if it doesn't sell. Please be advised that if your interested go for it, I am just making sure it doesn't end up in the landfill.

[cwmoser]

I've restored a Zenith porthole almost exactly like this one - really fun project, my first TV restoration. It will be a beautiful TV when restored.

Carl

[John Marinello]

It's back, again:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-1950-Zen...item2311f92c7f

Price reduced again.

[pugs5061]

Well I now own another TV. I will update you all when I get it home with more pictures and a report on the CRT. My feeling is that if the CRT is good, I did excellent. If the CRT is not good, I have a cool looking nonworking TV that if could ever find a CRT might work someday. The cabinet doesn't worry me too much even if it needs a total restoration. This is where I'll start. My efforts recapping and restoring the electronics will have to wait until I finish my other 2 sets. I'm still a newbie to this, learning more every time I sit down and work on a set. I still want to practice on the 2 others before I tackle something that would be sacrilage to screw up.
Bret

[DaveWM]

practice is a good thing, if it worked with out any effort it would not be nearly as rewarding.

[pugs5061]

Picked up this set today and I'm pleasantly surprised! The varnish scratches are nothing to me, (I'm in construction), all this cabinet needs is a good sanding, stain and some laquer. All the knobs are there and the metal cover on the front is there and in good condition. The CRT although I wouldn't call it good yet did manage to get well above the 300 good emissions on my B&K 445 after about an hour "cooking" at about 8 volts. Life test was not there yet. Close but I am going to wait until I have time for the restoration before I say it is good or bad. The chassis has a little bit of rust but not bad and in fact better than my other 2 sets had started out with. The bottom transformer looks almost like new! The set turned out to be a 24G24 Chassis with the same cabinet that cmoser is calling a "Lincoln" with a 16EP4 (Banderson are you interested in a CRT that is close to good?). As said above, I love the looks of this set but I am a newbie here with very little time. It's boating season now and then football season (I hope my son is playing varsity this year!) and then wrestling etc. etc., so I have caught the bug but reality tells me I can't spend hours working on old TV sets! That being said if someone wants or needs items from this set let me know (for the good of the hobby and to help you guys, NOT TO MAKE MONEY HERE). I bought the set for $100 and I bought it because no one else did. I would definetly prefer someone buying the whole set and would be willing to help in the shipping process. If this thread needs to be moved to classifieds then please move it. If no one responds I will wait the couple years til the kids are gone and make myself a cool new(old) TV. Pictures can be forwarded but my online account is down due to nonuse and I really can't post them here without alot of hassle.

Bret Pugsley

[bandersen]

Hi Bret. I like your attitude I picked up a really good 16GP4 from captainmoody a few weeks ago and another good one more recently. Actually very close to Barrington in Island Lake, IL.

They are shorter and 10 degrees steeper, but I hope to make one of them work. Plus my 16EP4 may have a smidgen of life left. I'd rather someone restore your whole set than see it parted out.

If you'd ever like some help getting your sets working just let me know - I'd be glad to help.

[pugs5061]

Glad to hear that Bob. I'm sitting here wondering if maybe I want to be the one restoring it and having second thoughts. My wife thinks I'm crazy and my kids have no interest whatsoever when I "disappear" to work on TV's. If the CRT was for sure good I would restore it and the post above wouldn't have sounded like it did. It's just that even with the CRT testing I'm not sure it would work. I also don't think I am electronically savvy enough to make a 16gp4 work. On a side note, Island Lake may be closer to me than Barrington, I live on the Fox River near Port Barrington. Maybe I'm just frustrasted with the sets I am already working on, On my Motorola it seems as though my 8bp4 is dead. Fully recapped with full HV I just can't get a raster no matter what I do. The RCA 129 TA I was working on won't give me HV, I think the Horizontal drive is bad, I've been patiently waiting for either of those items to show up someplace without much luck. Can I test the Motorola with a 5AX4?(the test crt if that isn't the right #) A reasonably priced 7JP4 would be ok too but they always seem to be going for $100+. This hobby is growing up as we speak and I feel this is a sign of things to come and YOU personally will be someone who could take advantage of this. I have spent too many hours watching your videos hoping to figure something out and I can tell this is NOT your intent and speaking just for myself it's a breath of fresh air and I will say thank you for spending as much time as you do making those videos.

Bret Pugsley

[bandersen]

Thanks for the kind words.
The 5AXP4 is magnetic deflection while the 8BP4 is electrostatic. Totally different bases and voltages.
If you're ever out my way, I can test you 8BP4 in my Sencore CR70. For that matter, you could bring over the whole set too. I have a good 8BP4 in my Motorola 9T1 we could try out.