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Old 05-07-2016, 10:56 PM
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Jeffhs Jeffhs is offline
<----Zenith C845
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Fairport Harbor, Ohio (near Lake Erie)
Posts: 4,035
There isn't that much to the amplifier; just a small chassis, four speakers and a lot of empty space in the cabinet. Reminds me of the last Zenith console color TVs of the early part of the 21st century, just before Zenith went offshore, with the small master circuit panel that looked like an oversized postage stamp and the large amount of empty space around it. This must have been one of Sears' less expensive consoles; the small amplifier chassis with two tubes and one selenium B+ rectifier practically screams "cheap", and I bet this one didn't sound very "hi-fi" either.

I doubt if this thing was very loud at maximum volume, as the amplifier doesn't look anywhere near big enough to produce any kind of decent audio power output. If I had to guess, I would say this amplifier had no more than five watts of output per channel at best. The speakers don't look big enough to handle much more power than that.

This console was probably meant for people who just wanted a console stereo phonograph without an FM radio tuner and who didn't care beans about high fidelity. I bet the console didn't weigh that much, either, with the small amplifier chassis; most of its weight was probably in the wood (?) cabinet, which probably isn't genuine hardwood or veneers, but particle board with faux woodgrain vinyl over it. Good grief, even the cabinet screams cheap if it is as I just described it.

As for the dead stereo channel, I'd test the tubes first. One of them may be weak or dead, although an open filament in an amplifier such as this one would kill both channels, and the turntable may not run either if its motor is one of those 90-volt jobs that is wired in series with the tube filaments. This was common with the old and very likely cheap one-tube phonographs of the '30s and '40s, in which the filament of the single amplifier tube, usually a 117Z6 2-section amp/rectifier, was wired in series with the phonograph motor. If the tube's filament burned out, the motor would stop. If the tube shorted, the phono motor would probably burn out instantly since the short would put the entire line voltage (105-110 volts in those days) across it.

The 117Z3 or -Z6 tube was used because it operated directly from the AC power line, without the need for dropping resistors. I knew someone years ago who had a small record player with just such a one-tube amplifier. It worked well until the person spilled something into it while it was plugged in and turned on; the liquid got into the amplifier and promptly destroyed it, as evidenced by smoke coming from the ventilation slots in the cabinet. Of course, as I said, the amplifier was destroyed and the phonograph was likely junked.
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Jeff, WB8NHV

Collecting, restoring and enjoying vintage Zenith radios since 2002

Zenith. Gone, but not forgotten.

Last edited by Jeffhs; 05-07-2016 at 11:31 PM.
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