[drh4683]

I got this TV from Wayne this weekend when I helped him install a new CRT and reassemble the components in his 1964 Zenith "Chancellor" roundie combo. Wayne is a great guy, I enjoyed discussing his memories of working in engineering for both Motorola and Zenith back in the 60's and 70's (respectively).

Wayne bought this set brand new from Zenith Employee Sales, which was then part of the Dickens Ave. plant. Wayne being the original owner and giving me the set makes it special and he took great care of it over the years.

This one features "Omni Electronic Tuning" which is a continuous graduated drum type VHF/UHF tuner. I've seen this model maybe once or twice in the past, but never owned one. I kind of forgot they existed. I don't think it was a very popular variety among the 1980 portables. The tuning knob has a flyweight on it, so it turns smoothly and doesn't feel "cheap". VHF/UHF is selected by a rocker switch below the tuning indicator. Incidentally, that rocker switch is the exact same type commonly seen on the earlier 4 tube hybrids!

The set doesn't have many hours on it. We were under the impression it would still work fine even though it's been years since it was last powered up. Unfortunately it appears some of the lytics may have showed their age and upon power up, the set gets only very low/weak volume, no picture and no dial light (which should light up green). Its as though it's not getting full voltage from the power supply. I'll be honest, I never worked much on System 3's, unlike the CCII's and earlier. Is there a common fault on these relating to these symptoms? Presumably some caps in the power supply? Cracked solder joints on the 9-160? I've yet to pull the back off.

IMG_20150825_212927363 by drh4683, on Flickr

IMG_20150825_213018917 by drh4683, on Flickr