Does anyone know anything about this Zenith set?

[josephdaniel]

So how common is it on these setss for the plastic to crumble on things when they are touched?
According to the seller they liked the set so much in the early 90's they had it completely re conditioned but it apparently stopped working some time in the early 2000's and has been sitting ever since because they could not justify the cost of having someone come out and repair the set in house.. I am guessing that since this is a tube set that a few of the tubes got weak and died, that or a bad tippler would be my best guess.... Could be the HOT aswell...

[josephdaniel]

Originally Posted by sampson159

shame its gone.that is one fine piece of electronics.saw many of these sets.rarely needed repairs.billy would grab every one he could for resale."the picture will sell it and they never came back."billy made millions in an econimically repressed area of columbus

It's gone because I bought it silly! I got it for the princely sum of $10.00 and moving it down a flight of stairs!

[TVTim]

Cool looking set. Good luck with it!

[josephdaniel]

I will post the picture from the craigslist ad in a few...

[josephdaniel]

Here is a picture I pulled from teh ad before it was taken down.

[sampson159]

thats a good looking cabinet on that set.should be an excellent performer.good find!

[DavGoodlin]

Originally Posted by josephdaniel

Here is a picture I pulled from teh ad before it was taken down.

Mr Squirrel has seen this in a 1973 model, but the one in post #20 above is a Top-of-the-line 1971 model. Thats when Zenith was mopping the floor with all thier competitors.
My grandma had one with the same knob layout and swing open controls below the speaker, 25V picture tube, it was a 12B14C50 chassis.
It required few repairs and got lots of use in the first 12 years. The tuner was incredible for DX reception IIRC
I kept it going for another 7 but it became a bench-tech challenge, replacing electrolytics, varistors and other odd components.

Like a high performance car, these had odd symptoms and "special items" (thanks, Old Coot!) you had to watch out for to avoid disaster.
The crumbly plastic as noted above (thanks for the warning, Tim) is an age issue as much as heat issue.

[DavGoodlin]

Originally Posted by sampson159

shame its gone.that is one fine piece of electronics.saw many of these sets.rarely needed repairs.billy would grab every one he could for resale."the picture will sell it and they never came back."billy made millions in an econimically repressed area of columbus

Amen to that, I sold many of these in the early-mid 80s, found at curbs with a minor issue and excellent CRT, advertised from $100-150 in the "pennysaver", got me through school

Still have the 12B14C52-23V in a similar plastic-front cabinet to Joe's, safe in my attic, that my folks bought when I was 8, future project

[josephdaniel]

So how hard would it be to find plastic parts that are crumbling.. From what I can tell these sets are pretty hard to find here in Texas...

[Kamakiri]

I believe I may have a complete yoke for one of those still if you need it.

[G.B.]

For Zenith Late 60's Early 70's. You could get Hybred first early 70's. This was solid state with High Voltage Tubes. Then 1974-5 all Solid State . Zenith waited & did modual only for each circuit. This way like a tube, problems in vertical change modual. You could repair modual or put in New one. Fix later or send back for refurbish.

RCA did XL 100 First Solid State TV, but one one big board. Big board had lots of bugs in it. Both come out saying no more Vertical & Horizontal Hold control ever again. RCA did modual soon after big board bugs. Modual had epoxy or somthing covering parts.

[old_coot88]

Originally Posted by DavGoodlin

...Like a high performance car, these had odd symptoms and "special items"..... you had to watch out for to avoid disaster.

Of course The hor. efficiency coil was a standard circuit component ubiquitous to other brands besides Zenith. Zenith was the only one using the notorious plastic coil forms (AFAIK).

...The crumbly plastic as noted above (thanks for the warning, Tim) is an age issue as much as heat issue.

Correct. It's seen most frequently in old roundies and 19" metal cabinet table models with marginal cooling. And in very high hours sets.
But upon acquiring any Zenith tube color set, the very first thing to check is the H efficiency coil to be sure it's intact. If it's come apart, you can't run the set without burning up the H output tube. Hence the earlier ("burst aortic aneurysm" metaphor).

A discussion here (the OP used the term "H. Oscillator tube", meaning to say "H. Output tube")...
http://videokarma.org/showthread.php...fficiency+coil

I remember the listing. It was listed for a couple of months. IIRC It's not in the worst part of town, but not the best either. I would make sure you go there in the daytime.

[josephdaniel]

Yeah, I noticed :p
I have lived next door to millionairs and have lived in the ghetto (that was a house that was inhereted in a preveiously nice neighborhood...) that house is the last hold out on th block to have painted wooden sidelong, and a flower bed... Incidny it has been robbed twice in the past few years :p
Basically, I'm good in almost any environment and yeah, I wouldent meet any Craigslist seller at night for obvious reasons...

[zeno]

Originally Posted by josephdaniel

So how hard would it be to find plastic parts that are crumbling.. From what I can tell these sets are pretty hard to find here in Texas...

Not to worry. There are ways IF you have the problem. It
happens but not on all of them.

73 Zeno