Found a 1972 Zenith portable color set

[sampson159]

these sets produced the best picture for a delta gun.sold many of these in the shop days and never had one come back for any repairs.built like tanks and performed flawlessly.great find

[zeno]

Yes convergence is different but its a delta tube, a
chromacolor.
Second rocker is AFC, no chromatic on them.
Bright, contrast & V hold on side like many others Zeniths.
Sharpness on rear, only some models had it.
Most of the 14 & 16 " had low focus jugs, IIRC only the
chromacolors had high focus.

Originally Posted by Electronic M

Static AND dynamic convergence look odd.....It has a 2 petal convergence clover which screams inline gun set to me, but from what I can see inside the neck of the CRT and phosphors it looks like a deltagun CRT. I'd love to know exactly what it is and how it works.

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by zeno

Yes convergence is different but its a delta tube, a
chromacolor.
Second rocker is AFC, no chromatic on them.
Bright, contrast & V hold on side like many others Zeniths.
Sharpness on rear, only some models had it.
Most of the 14 & 16 " had low focus jugs, IIRC only the
chromacolors had high focus.

I bought one from you, Doug!
IIRC, it's a "D" model. Naturally, I still have it. When I bought it, I inquired if it had the high focus voltage CRT, which it has. Still a great set!
I see your set has the Standard Coil tuner.

[Findm-Keepm]

Originally Posted by old_coot88

Yep it's a big barberpole resistor focus divider. The white lead goes down to the focus pot and black lead to the CRT focus anode.

63-8676, 63-8970, 63-9012, depending on the chassis. Only real difference is in the mounting and the anode lead length. Some made universals, with multiple mounting methods - threaded nut, mounting plate and ears, all on the same divider.

[dieseljeep]

I see the set uses a 600ma heater string, which seemed rare for the 70's, except for the Japanese sets. I wonder how many other sets used the 9AH9 and few other gems. It looks like the set uses a 26LX6.
Correction! The GE Porta Color sets used 600ma tubes as well.
BTW, I never saw one of those metal cased demod chips fail, just the dark brown plastic button style.

[drh4683]

Originally Posted by dieseljeep

I bought one from you, Doug!
IIRC, it's a "D" model. Naturally, I still have it. When I bought it, I inquired if it had the high focus voltage CRT, which it has. Still a great set!
I see your set has the Standard Coil tuner.

Did you get that one from me when you picked up the Motorola console? I honestly don't remember which one you got. I used to have so many. Was it in the beige cabinet with the brown control panel and plain tuning knobs? That's the only D line model I remember. I had about 3 of those at the time you stopped by around 2009 or 2010. I still have one I got from Carmen's TV in Berwyn back in 2002. It was sitting on the shelf in the shop unrepaired because the customer didn't want to spend the money for a new HOT which went to air. I saw it and Carmen told me to "take it with me" which made my day. That's the last time I found one of these sets locally.

I wish I could turn the clock back about 20 years. These sets were quite plentiful still and I had a number of them. Every so often one would pop up at the local resale shop where I used to live and they were priced between $30-$50 then which was pretty expensive. I had an incredibly unique last gasp 14" tube portable from late '74 or early '75 with the detented UHF tuner. It was in the charcoal colored cabinet. I wish I still had that one as I've never seen anything else like it in 20 years. I took a photo of it back in 1998 before I cast it away on ebay, never keeping a record where it went... I still have that photo which I should scan and post.

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by drh4683

Did you get that one from me when you picked up the Motorola console? I honestly don't remember which one you got. I used to have so many. Was it in the beige cabinet with the brown control panel and plain tuning knobs? That's the only D line model I remember. I had about 3 of those at the time you stopped by around 2009 or 2010. I still have one I got from Carmen's TV in Berwyn back in 2002. It was sitting on the shelf in the shop unrepaired because the customer didn't want to spend the money for a new HOT which went to air. I saw it and Carmen told me to "take it with me" which made my day. That's the last time I found one of these sets locally.

I wish I could turn the clock back about 20 years. These sets were quite plentiful still and I had a number of them. Every so often one would pop up at the local resale shop where I used to live and they were priced between $30-$50 then which was pretty expensive. I had an incredibly unique last gasp 14" tube portable from late '74 or early '75 with the detented UHF tuner. It was in the charcoal colored cabinet. I wish I still had that one as I've never seen anything else like it in 20 years. I took a photo of it back in 1998 before I cast it away on ebay, never keeping a record where it went... I still have that photo which I should scan and post.

I think if every one of us could turn back the clock, we would! It's bad enough, I'm living in the past, as it is. Video tapes, music cassette tapes of big band swing, vacuum tube amps, turn tables and LP records.
Getting back to the Zenith, it's one with the two-tone beige cabinet, in good condition.
That poor Motorola was bad luck for every one of us. First of all, the implosion on your part. I bought it and bought a conversion kit on the Eplace, half the parts were missing, as those parts were used in a conversion job.
Then I get brilliant idea, that I'm going to get a rebuilt 23EGP22 and keep it original. I bought one that was acquired from the Moyer's stock, by VDC.
It looks like it went to air when they had it. It seems like it was a bad weld, when it was rebuilt. I kept the CRT, as I think it can be re-gunned.
The least thing, is the one that sold it to me, could've checked it.

[Findm-Keepm]

Originally Posted by dieseljeep

That poor Motorola was bad luck for every one of us. First of all, the implosion on your part. I bought it and bought a conversion kit on the Eplace, half the parts were missing, as those parts were used in a conversion job.
Then I get brilliant idea, that I'm going to get a rebuilt 23EGP22 and keep it original. I bought one that was acquired from the Moyer's stock, by VDC.
It looks like it went to air when they had it. It seems like it was a bad weld, when it was rebuilt. I kept the CRT, as I think it can be re-gunned.
The least thing, is the one that sold it to me, could've checked it.

Need a 23G? I know where a rebuilt-never-installed one is...dunno the price, only mentioned in passing...

[drh4683]

Originally Posted by dieseljeep

I think if every one of us could turn back the clock, we would! It's bad enough, I'm living in the past, as it is. Video tapes, music cassette tapes of big band swing, vacuum tube amps, turn tables and LP records.
Getting back to the Zenith, it's one with the two-tone beige cabinet, in good condition.
That poor Motorola was bad luck for every one of us. First of all, the implosion on your part. I bought it and bought a conversion kit on the Eplace, half the parts were missing, as those parts were used in a conversion job.
Then I get brilliant idea, that I'm going to get a rebuilt 23EGP22 and keep it original. I bought one that was acquired from the Moyer's stock, by VDC.
It looks like it went to air when they had it. It seems like it was a bad weld, when it was rebuilt. I kept the CRT, as I think it can be re-gunned.
The least thing, is the one that sold it to me, could've checked it.

Excellent! Glad you still have that Zenith portable.

That Motorola was indeed bad news from the start. Its as though the set doesn't want to live. It had the most flawless picture on it when looking beyond the cataracts and I did everything so carefully and that CRT lit up in my face... I don't regret having attempted the repair though because that CRT had cataracts that covered everything but the center 10" of the screen; it had to be done if one wanted to use the set. In fact, when Scotty was still rebuilding CRT's over at Hawkeye, I once asked him about 23EGP22's and he said those tubes are a total nightmare to rebuild. I specifically remember him telling me that over half of the ones he'd attempt to rebuild would implode when he put them in the vacuum oven and that they would often implode when they would cool down and glass would go flying throughout his shop. He said if I ever wanted a 23EGP rebuilt that it would be double the cost of the regular CRT assuming it would make it out in one piece. I never went though with it.

But as for the Zenith portables, as Zeno said, sound can be tricky on these. They usually come back loud and clear with a touchup of the quadrature coil and the buzz control. Zenith's were hard on the 6Z10/10Z10 audio outputs like an RCA is with 6GH8's, so it's always important to have a good one of those in there prior to adjustments. I always was fascinated by the two pole convergence on the little sets. The CRT was small enough that geometry correction was simple enough to combine both red and green in the same circuit. The '68 portables using the 15Y6C15 had the "upside down" CRT, and used the typical 3 pole convergence in those. The CRT was inverted so the blue convergence magnet wouldn't physically interfere with the tight space limitations required for the big convergence panel in those sets.

[Jon A.]

Originally Posted by dieseljeep

I think if every one of us could turn back the clock, we would! It's bad enough, I'm living in the past, as it is. Video tapes, music cassette tapes of big band swing, vacuum tube amps, turn tables and LP records.

I'd like to be able to buy 8-tracks new.

I recently got a record player for my mom and she got records for it at a specialty shop. I was surprised by how good they could sound. I guess I only ever had crappy ones.

Originally Posted by drh4683

That Motorola was indeed bad news from the start. Its as though the set doesn't want to live. It had the most flawless picture on it when looking beyond the cataracts and I did everything so carefully and that CRT lit up in my face... I don't regret having attempted the repair though because that CRT had cataracts that covered everything but the center 10" of the screen; it had to be done if one wanted to use the set. In fact, when Scotty was still rebuilding CRT's over at Hawkeye, I once asked him about 23EGP22's and he said those tubes are a total nightmare to rebuild. I specifically remember him telling me that over half of the ones he'd attempt to rebuild would implode when he put them in the vacuum oven and that they would often implode when they would cool down and glass would go flying throughout his shop. He said if I ever wanted a 23EGP rebuilt that it would be double the cost of the regular CRT assuming it would make it out in one piece. I never went though with it.

So the implosion problem was that common. Considering that and the horrendous picture quality, I'd probably swap one out if I got a set so equipped, weak or not.

[drh4683]

I'll tell you what, I've seen some low hour Motorola sets with the 23EGP22 that had one heck of a nice picture. I think we're all used to seeing these sets after they had a million hours on them and things are not so nice. A low hour set and modern broadcasting equipment made for a pleasing picture on an early Moto rectangular color. The set dieseljeep got from me had a stunning picture. If that cataract repair had gone well, you would have never guessed it was a 23EGP in there.

[Findm-Keepm]

Originally Posted by drh4683

I'll tell you what, I've seen some low hour Motorola sets with the 23EGP22 that had one heck of a nice picture. I think we're all used to seeing these sets after they had a million hours on them and things are not so nice. A low hour set and modern broadcasting equipment made for a pleasing picture on an early Moto rectangular color. The set dieseljeep got from me had a stunning picture. If that cataract repair had gone well, you would have never guessed it was a 23EGP in there.

I've worked on two Motorola tube sets with the 23EG, both in the early 80s, no cataracts, but what I would describe as "burnt" video - the blacks were more brown, despite a full purity, convergence, and gray scale alignment. Dad had one console with the 23EGP22 in it that he refused to sell, only using the set as a loaner for folks with consoles or chassis in the shop. I ungloriously necked it when moving another set - Dad's response was "good, now I have more room," so he wasn't much of a fan of the 23EGP22 either. He was the biggest fan of the original Quasar WITD, having owned one, but hated the Quasar II and most of the later Motorola-built Quasar portables. Still, he serviced them.

Cheers,

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by drh4683

I'll tell you what, I've seen some low hour Motorola sets with the 23EGP22 that had one heck of a nice picture. I think we're all used to seeing these sets after they had a million hours on them and things are not so nice. A low hour set and modern broadcasting equipment made for a pleasing picture on an early Moto rectangular color. The set dieseljeep got from me had a stunning picture. If that cataract repair had gone well, you would have never guessed it was a 23EGP in there.

The first Motorola color set, I bought, was in the fall of 1965. It had the last run of the ETS908, the 28 tube chassis and of course, the 23EGP22 CRT.
My family only got 10 years of use from it, with the original CRT. Only the last year, the CRT was starting to show it's age.

[mstaton]

I have a nice Ge from1967 with that 23e tube and produces a fantastic picture. Every tube in it is original. Came from the estate of a 99 year old woman. She had a flatscreen on top of it. Why I dont know since it worked so well.

[DaveWM]

Originally Posted by mstaton

I have a nice Ge from1967 with that 23e tube and produces a fantastic picture. Every tube in it is original. Came from the estate of a 99 year old woman. She had a flatscreen on top of it. Why I dont know since it worked so well.

grand kids prob got it for her. The biggest prob I have with old CRT sets is all the funky formats out there now. Seems like I have about 1/2 the normal size viewing. Funny thing is when I see old 4:3 format shows what now have boarders added on the sides and already are short so its back to a 4:3 on my 4:3 but now with a 3" boarder all the way around. Upside is the green cataract does not show on those.